Greater Albania promoted by Serbia, not Albanians

TIRANA, June 20 – The idea of a Greater Albania is being pushed by Serbia, its top officials and the media. Ironically, this idea is not popular in Albania or Kosovo, at least not publicly or formally by top officials in power of any of the ethnic Albanian-populated areas.
Strangely enough Serbian Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic insists that a “Greater Albania” is intended to be created soon by Albanians adding that would harm not only Serbs, but also other neighbouring states, adding that this would destabilize the entire region, and that the Serbian government opposed forming any unreal countries.
“It is well known that the ever since the ‘Prizren League’, the Albanians intend to create a ‘Greater Albania’ and this is nothing new. But now everyone knows how dangerous such a project could be and how much it would threaten other nations and their cultures,” the Minister told Belgrade-based daily Vecernje novosti.
“The illegal declaration of independence of Kosovo was only an initial step by Albanians in making the mosaic of the Greater Albania,” Bogdanovic said. “The whole international community should therefore urgently send out a warning alarm,” he added.
Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga has stated that partition of Kosovo and exchange of territory are not good solutions and that Kosovo would not discuss its internal issues with anyone.
Jahjaga stressed to Kosova Sot newspaper that she could not say whether Belgrade would request partition.
“We are not talking with anybody, especially not with Serbia as they say, about partition or exchange of territory. Those are not solutions and they will not contribute to stability and peace in the region. At the same time they do not represent a European perspective and they are not a good example either,” she stated.
She assessed that partition or exchange of territories would not be good for continuation of Belgrade-Prishtina talks.
“I support and advocate the success of the dialogue because that way we will overcome an unstable situation in some areas and normalize relations between the two countries,” Jahjaga pointed out.
When asked to comment on Serbian President Boris Tadic’s decision not to attend international meetings in Warsaw and Rome because Kosovo officials were there, the Kosovo president said that such decisions “represent a responsibility issue of the Serbian president himself before his people and country.”
“Every leader and his voters assess the benefits and damage of such moves. His actions have nothing to do with Kosovo or with my responsibilities as the country’s president,” she pointed out.
In his interview for the daily Pravda, Riza Halimi, the only Albanian deputy in the Serbian assembly, said that rumours of his readiness for the secession of the southern part of Serbia and its unification with Kosovo is “just collection of cheap points.”
“I don’t believe in a change of borders – it’s too late for that. It’s not realistic that we now talk about any changes, since if borders start to change, it’ll go on and on. That would be a domino effect and would encompass wider proportions than anybody would like. ŠBorders are borders as they are set, and after everything that took place in 1999 and last war in Kosovo, further thinking about change of borders to me has no realistic foundation,” said Halimi.
Tirna has turned it down any time it comes out, considering it only a nationalistic effort from the Serb academic circles and nothing based on any proof.