The destructive Drocess began in 1981 , after the bloody student riots that left as many as 300 Albanians killed. More than 600.000 Alkanians (approx. 1/3 of the Albanian population) have gone throughpplice hands since then, and over 7,000 have received jail sentences of up to 20 years . In 1988, 1989 and 1990, a wave of massive demonstrations by dissatisfied Albanians have been mercilessly crushed by mainly the Serbian police. During this period of time, seventy cases of Albanians murdered by the Police have been reported. The wounded and the arrested are in the hundreds and maybe in the thousands. Police brutality, operating on “emergency state laws” has reached monstrous Droportions: house searches. massive beatings, torture and killings.

With forced “constitutional changes” of March 1989, and the subsequent dismantling of Kosova’s administration and economy (Serbia has taken over 250 large and medium—sized companies), Kosova has been transformed into an administrative and economic appendix of Serbia, and human rights of Albanians are violated at will . Faced with these “intolerable acts”, 115 delegates from the Assembly of Kosova proclaimed the independence of Kosova within the Yugoslav Federation/Confederation (July 2, 1990) and promulgated clandestinely the Constitution of the Republic of Kosova (September 7, 1990). Serbia’s response has been the abolition of the Assembly of Kosova and the dissolution of its Government. A Serbian “gauleiter” rules now over Kosova by decree. Presently, the struggle in Kosova is between the 90 _ percent Albanian population led by the democratic parties and enaaaed in peaceful resistance on one side, and the ruling pro-communist Government of Serbia acting as an occupying power with thtassistance of the 9 percent Serbian minority, on the other side . Under these circumstances, Albanian insist on free elections and the work resumption by the Assembly and the Government of Kosova. Serbia so far has rejected these demands.

In Macedonia (where maybe as many as one million Albanians live) the recent elections (November 1990) produced 23 elected Albanian delegates to the 120 Member Macedonian Parliament. In Montenegro (with over 50,000 Albanians) elections gave them some minor representation.

It appears that only throuah a genuine democratic process can the thorny political problems of Yugoslavia be overcome. In it’s First Report, The Society for Endangered Nations (Germany 1987) writes:

on governments not to give further help, credit and trade facilities to Yugoslavia. unless (the Yucroslav Communist Government) stop violatina human _ rights, and they render equality to Albanians and all other nations of this multi-national state”.

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