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86-668: With the triumph of communism in Albania after the end of World War II, many of the political actors in Albania during World War II had to flee the country. Many of them collaborated with western governments and their secret services in seeking to overthrow the communists, and thus changing the form of the regime in Albania. The members of the committee were heterogeneous. Most were former Balli Kombëtar (Albanian National Front) members including Mithat Frashëri , Abas Ermenji , Vasil Andoni , Hafëz Jusuf Azemi and Ali Klissura . There were also Legaliteti members including their leader Abaz Kupi ,

172-688: A Kosovar Albanian became chairman with the support of Xhafer Deva who had settled in the USA. Abas Ermenji continued to work in France, where he published the journal "Qëndresa Shqiptare" ( Albanian : Albanian Resistance ). The committee collaborated with the CIA in forming the Company 4000 military units, stationed in Hohenbrunn , Bavaria , West Germany in 1950. The "company" consisted of trained military units, supporting

258-601: A military technical agreement . International negotiations began in 2006 to determine the final status of Kosovo, as envisaged under UN Security Council Resolution 1244 , which ended the Kosovo conflict of 1999. While Serbia's continued sovereignty over Kosovo was recognised by much of the international community at the time, a clear majority of Kosovo's population preferred independence. The UN-backed talks, led by UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari , began in February 2006. While progress

344-704: A hardline Albanian nationalist, tried at various times to cooperate with the Communist-dominated Liberation Front (LANÇ). By January 1943, in Southern Albania, some Partisan units fought alongside the Balli Kombëtar during the Battle of Gjorm where they defeated and routed the Italian troops. In February 1943, he organized a meeting with communist-led LANÇ representatives and an agreement for cooperation

430-547: A meeting with King Zog trying to persuade him to recognize the committee. The former King of Albania, Ahmet Zogu , opposed the committee even though his supporter Abaz Kupi was one of the founders, arguing that he was the only legitimate representative of Albania. The committee published the biweekly journal Shqiperia (Albania) in Albanian . The committee moved its base to New York City . After Frashëri's death on 3 October 1949, Hasan Dosti took over, but later Rexhep Krasniqi ,

516-679: A monastery. Aside from many war crimes and atrocities committed by the Serbian Army on the Albanian population , colonist Serb families moved into Kosovo, while the Albanian population was decreased. As a result, the proportion of Albanians in Kosovo declined from 75 percent at the time of the invasion to slightly more than 65% percent by 1941. The 1918–1929 period under the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

602-602: A part of Albania, because they stood for the restoration of occupied nations under their borders as they existed prior to World War II . Despite their lukewarm attitude towards the Allies, the Ballists feared that an Allied victory in the war might well result in LANÇ victory and communist control of Albania. Their lukewarm attitude towards the British was also fostered by their desire to preserve

688-412: A pro-monarchist and former King Zog I 's secretary, Myftar Spahiu and Gani Tafilaj from Legaliteti, with Halil Maçi, Vasil Andoni, and Abaz Ermenji from Balli Kombëtar. Gaqo Gogo served as Executive Secretary, while Abaz Kupi was appointed chairman of the military junta , with Ermenji and Kryeziu as his deputies. On 6 September 1949, the committee announced its creation in a BBC radio transmission. In

774-762: A reaction against the Congress of Berlin, which had given some Albanian-populated territories to Serbia and Montenegro, Albanians, mostly from Kosovo, formed the League of Prizren in Prizren in June 1878. Hundreds of Albanian leaders gathered in Prizren and opposed the Serbian and Montenegrin jurisdiction. Serbia complained to the Western Powers that the promised territories were not being held because

860-680: A republic within Yugoslavia . Those protests were harshly contained by the centralist Yugoslav government. In 1986, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) was working on a document, which later would be known as the SANU Memorandum . An unfinished edition was filtered to the press. In the essay, SANU portrayed the Serbian people as a victim and called for the revival of Serb nationalism, using both true and exaggerated facts for propaganda. During this time, Slobodan Milošević rose to power in

946-579: A strong hatred for the Communists. After forming the collaborator government, the Ballists pressed hard against the Communists. They destroyed a fairly large Communist partisan group southwest of Tirana. By the Fall of 1943 the Ballists, assisted by German forces, were also involved in vicious fighting against the Northern Epirus Liberation Front in Southern Albania. This Greek Nationalist group

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1032-561: Is Gheg , typical of northern Albanians. The language of state institutions, education, books, media and newspapers is the standard dialect of Albanian, which is closer to the Tosk dialect. The vast majority of Kosovo Albanians are Sunni Muslims . There are also Catholic Albanian communities estimated between 60,000 to 65,000 in Kosovo, concentrated in Gjakova , Prizren , Klina and a few villages near Peja and Viti . Converting to Christianity

1118-429: Is characterized by use of çiftelia (an authentic Albanian instrument), mandolina , mandola and percussion . Folk music is very popular in Kosovo. There are many folk singers and ensembles. Modern music in Kosovo has its origin from western countries. The main modern genres include pop , hip hop/rap , rock , and jazz . Kosovo Radio televisions such as RTK , RTV21 and KTV have their musical charts. Education

1204-497: Is growing among Kosovo Albanian Muslims in Kosovo. Kosovafilm was the film industry, which releases movies in Albanian, created by Kosovar Albanian movie-makers. The National Theatre of Kosovo is the main theatre where plays are shown regularly by Albanian and international artists. Music has always been part of Albanian culture. Although in Kosovo music is diverse (as it was mixed with the cultures of different regimes dominating Kosovo), authentic Albanian music does still exist. It

1290-453: The eyalet of Rumelia , and from 1864 as a separate province ( vilayet ). During this time, Islam was introduced to the population. Today, Sunni Islam is the predominant religion of Kosovo Albanians. The Ottoman term Arnavudluk (آرناوودلق) meaning Albania was used in Ottoman state records for areas such as southern Serbia and Kosovo. Evliya Çelebi (1611–1682) in his travels within

1376-540: The 1997 Albanian civil unrest , the KLA was enabled to acquire large amounts of weapons looted from Albanian armories. The KLA also received large funds from Albanian diaspora organizations. The KLA-led campaign continued into January 1999 and was brought to the attention of the world media by the Račak massacre , the mass killing of about 45 Albanians (including 9 KLA insurgents) by Serbian security forces. An international conference

1462-607: The Albanian Subversion , though it was never effective. With Albania joining the UN in 1955, the committee's activities diminished over the years, but it continued to organize political gatherings, conferences and seminars. Over 15,000 Albanian refugees were resettled in the United States through its efforts. Krasniqi published the newspaper "The Free Albanian" ( Albanian : Shqiptari i lirë ) from November 1957 to 1970. The committee

1548-635: The Banate of Zeta , the Banate of Morava and the Banate of Vardar . The Kingdom lasted until the World War II Axis invasion of April 1941. After the Axis invasion, the greater part of Kosovo became a part of Italian-controlled Fascist Albania , and a smaller, Eastern part by the Axis allied Tsardom of Bulgaria and Nazi German-occupied Serbia . Since the Albanian Fascist political leadership had decided in

1634-636: The Comintern , and became a province of Serbia within the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia . The Autonomous Region of Kosovo and Metohija was formed in 1946 to placate its regional Albanian population within the People's Republic of Serbia as a member of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia under the leadership of the former Partisan leader, Josip Broz Tito , but with no factual autonomy. This

1720-515: The Conference of Bujan that Kosovo would remain a part of Albania they started expelling the Serbian and Montenegrin settlers "who had arrived in the 1920s and 1930s". Prior to the surrender of Fascist Italy in 1943, the German forces took over direct control of the region. After numerous Serbian and Yugoslav Partisans uprisings, Kosovo was liberated after 1944 with the help of the Albanian partisans of

1806-702: The Serbian–Ottoman War (1876–78) . Many settled in Kosovo, where they and their descendants are known as muhaxhir , also muhaxher ("exiles", from Arabic ' muhajir' ), and some bear the surname Muhaxhiri/Muhaxheri or most others the village name of origin. During the late Ottoman period, ethno-national Albanian identity as expressed in contemporary times did not exist amongst the wider Kosovo Albanian-speaking population. Instead collective identities were based upon either socio-professional, socio-economic, regional, or religious identities and sometimes relations between Muslim and Christian Albanians were tense. As

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1892-929: The United Nations Security Council , had been rewritten four times to try to accommodate Russian concerns that such a resolution would undermine the principle of state sovereignty. Russia, which holds a veto in the Security Council as one of five permanent members, has stated that it will not support any resolution that is not acceptable to both Belgrade and Pristina. As of November 2023, more than 100 UN member states have recognised Kosovo as an independent country. On 26 November 2019, an earthquake struck Albania . The Kosovo Albanian population reacted with sentiments of solidarity through fundraising initiatives and money, food, clothing and shelter donations. Volunteers and humanitarian aid in trucks, buses and hundreds of cars from Kosovo traveled to Albania to assist in

1978-489: The "Blloku Independent" (Independent Block) of pro-Italian and/or collaborationist elements who had been involved with Albanian puppet governments during the war, (e.g. Ernest Koliqi , Mustafa Kruja , Gjon Marka Gjoni , Shefqet Verlaci ) anti-fascist and anti-communist guerrillas (led by Said Bey Kryeziu ) who cooperated with British-American emissaries during the war, other independent anti-communists, e.g. Muharrem Bajraktari , as well as other political factions including

2064-532: The "Peasant League" ( Albanian : Lidhja Katundare ). Preparations for the Committee started in Rome in 1948, at the initiative of Legaliteti. After the rejection of Balli Kombëtar (due to political antagonism against them in place since World War II), Balli's leader Mithat Frashëri took the initiative. However, strong confrontations took place between Balli members and "Blloku Independent" members who decided to stay out of

2150-607: The 1300's In Gjonaj stands possibly one of the oldest Catholic churches in Kosovo. Village Gjonaj is also believed to be the birthplace of Pjeter Bogdani . Other Albanian villages mentioned from the 14th and 15th centuries are Planeje, Zym , Gorozhub, Milaj, Kojushe, Batushe, Mazrek, Voksh etc. Ottoman registers from 1452–53 reveal the Has region in Kosovo was inhabited by a Christian Albanian population Villages that have been identified and still existed today such as Mazrek, Kojushe, Gorozhub, Zym, Zhur, Milaj, Planeje etc were recorded in

2236-484: The Albanian diaspora to overthrow Enver Hoxha's Communist regime in Albania. Starting in 1949 British and American trained Albanian fighters (consisting of men from Balli Kombëtar and the monarchist movement, known as Legaliteti ) were parachuted into Albania with the aim of organizing a popular revolt against Hoxha, marking the start of the Albanian Subversion . The operation failed, thanks in no small part to infamous double agent Kim Philby , who leaked crucial details of

2322-455: The Albanian movements from establishing their rule over Kosovo. In 1912 during the Balkan Wars , most of eastern Kosovo was taken by the Kingdom of Serbia , while the Kingdom of Montenegro took western Kosovo, which a majority of its inhabitants call "the plateau of Dukagjin" ( Rrafshi i Dukagjinit ) and the Serbs call Metohija (Метохија), a Greek word meant for the landed dependencies of

2408-553: The Albanian partisans of communist affiliation, led by Enver Hoxha and grouped in the "Movement of National Liberation" ( LANÇ , for its acronym in Albanian), trying to attract them to the nationalist cause. However, the Balli Kombëtar condemned any cooperation of the LNC with the Yugoslav partisans, whom it considered natural enemies of Albania, which would soon be a deal breaker. With Italy on

2494-729: The Balli Kombëtar was: Shqipëria Shqiptarëve, Vdekje Tradhëtarëve (Albania to the Albanians, Death to the Traitors). Eventually, the Balli Kombëtar joined the Nazi Germany -established puppet government as part of the German occupation of Albania and fought as an ally against communist guerrilla groups. The Balli Kombëtar engaged in significant acts of terror culminating in atrocities committed against Serb and Greek civilians. Although Këlcyra and Frashëri had initiated opposition actions against

2580-629: The Cham contingent numbered 150 men, and, according to German Major Stöckert, "performed very well". Under the idea of creating a racially pure Greater Albania, the Balli Kombëtar enacted campaigns of terror against Serb civilians in Kosovo and Montenegro. . Following the founding of the Second League of Prizren , the Balli Kombëtar combined with the SS Skanderbeg division massacred thousands of Serbs and expelled between 10,000 and 100,000 Serb civilians from

2666-571: The Communists were using the arms they received to fight fellow Albanians far more than to harass the Germans. The west noted that the Communists could not have won without the supplies and armaments from the British, America and Yugoslavia, and that the LANÇ were not afraid of murdering their own countrymen. The Ballists in Kosovo and Vardar region rose to prominence following the capitulation of Italy in September 1943. They seized Struga and Debar from

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2752-638: The Drenica valley. A chrysobull of the Serbian Tsar Stefan Dušan that was given to the Monastery of Saint Mihail and Gavril in Prizren between the years of 1348–1353 states the presence of Albanians in the Plains of Dukagjin , the vicinity of Prizren and in the villages of Drenica. In the 14th century in two chrysobulls or decrees by Serbian rulers, villages of Albanians alongside Vlachs are cited in

2838-486: The Italian authorities almost from the beginning of the fascist occupation in 1939 , they had practically not developed any military organization for open struggle against the invader. Albanian nationalists from the end of 1942 began an irregular fight against the Italian garrisons. The Balli Kombëtar was officially founded in November 1942 by joining the efforts of a series of nationalists. It tried to find an agreement with

2924-611: The Italian period in prison in Porto Romano near Durrës . Mitrovica's cabinet, most of whom had credentials as nationalists as well as some German or Austrian connection, included Xhafer Deva . Deva, a leading Ballist also from Kosovo, was appointed Minister of the Interior in the Government of Rexhep Mitrovica and collaborated with the Germans to oppose the spread of Communist forces in the north, effectively giving him direct command over

3010-628: The Italians on 9 September 1943, taking much of the military equipment left behind. Following the establishment of the Albanian Kingdom , leading members of the Balli Kombetar from Kosovo became involved in forming the new government. On 6 November 1943, Berlin announced that the regents and the assembly had formed a government headed by Kosovar Albanian Rexhep Mitrovica , who had joined the Balli Kombëtar resistance movement in 1942 and spent much of

3096-601: The Italians, were threatened by the superior forces of the LANÇ and the Yugoslav Partisans , who were backed by the Allies. In the autumn of 1943, Nazi Germany occupied all of Albania after Italy was defeated. Fearing reprisals from larger forces, the Balli Kombëtar made a deal with the Germans and formed a "neutral government" in Tirana which continued its war with the LANÇ and the Yugoslav Partisans. Safet Butka ,

3182-678: The League of the Socialists of Serbia. Soon afterwards, as approved by the Assembly in 1990, the autonomy of Kosovo was revoked, and the pre-1974 status reinstated. Milošević, however, did not remove Kosovo's seat from the Federal Presidency, but he installed his own supporters in that seat, so he could gain power in the Federal government. After Slovenia 's secession from Yugoslavia in 1991, Milošević used

3268-576: The Nazis brought about the one thing they had sought to prevent – a Communist-dominated government. Balli Kombëtar fighters fled the Balkans to Austria, the United States, Australia, Switzerland and South America . The Ballists who did not escape were executed. An organization was set up in exile. Many Ballists that managed to escape Albania subsequently set up the CIA backed Free Albania Committee , aimed at organising

3354-550: The Ottoman Sultan 's visit to Kosovo in June 1911. The aim of the League of Prizren was to unite the four Albanian-inhabited Vilayets by merging the majority of Albanian inhabitants within the Ottoman Empire into one Albanian vilayet . However at that time Serbs consisted about 25% of the whole Vilayet of Kosovo 's overall population and were opposing the Albanian aims along with Turks and other Slavs in Kosovo, which prevented

3440-435: The Ottoman Empire were unfairly partitioned during World War I amongst Yugoslavia and Greece. After World War II , Midhat Frashëri began advocating for a Greater Albania . When Midhat Frashëri formed the Balli Kombëtar, it was based on his nationalist ideas and the old ideologies of Abdyl Frashëri , Ymer Prizreni and Isa Boletini . The works of Franz Nopcsa , Johann Georg von Hahn and Milan Šufflay , helped strengthen

3526-615: The Ottomans were hesitating to do that. Western Powers put pressure to the Ottomans and in 1881, the Ottoman Army started the fighting against Albanians. The Prizren League created a Provisional Government with a President, Prime Minister (Ymer Prizreni) and Ministries of War (Sylejman Vokshi) and Foreign Ministry (Abdyl Frashëri). After three years of war, the Albanians were defeated. Many of the leaders were executed and imprisoned. In 1910, an Albanian uprising spread from Pristina and lasted until

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3612-528: The Yugoslavs and the Greeks as their real enemies. The Mukje Agreement immediately triggered a hostile reaction from the Yugoslav representative in Albania, Svetozar Vukmanoviċ . He denounced the agreement and put pressure on the LANÇ to repute it immediately, and Yugoslav Communist leader Milovan Đilas subsequently described the Balli Kombëtar as "Albanian Fascists". The Balli Kombëtar, which had fought against

3698-469: The agreement ended the three-year-long Bosnian War . After the Bosnian War, the KLA began staging ambushes of Serb patrols as well as killing policemen, as they sought to capitalize on popular resentment among Kosovan Albanians against the Serbian regime. From 1996 onwards, the KLA took responsibility for the attacks it committed. The KLA grew to a few hundred Albanians who attacked police stations and wounded many police officers from 1996–1997. Following

3784-408: The area was massively depopulated during this period nor massively settled by another population from outside Ottoman records indicate that during the 15th and 16th century, the Hasi region, which was part of the Nahiya of Hasi, was inhabited almost entirely by Albanians. Ottoman records from the 15th century show western Kosovo had a large native Albanian population. And further research indicates

3870-469: The brink of defeat in 1943, the Albanian National Liberation Movement (LANÇ) and the Balli Kombëtar organized a meeting in the village of Mukje. The Balli Kombëtar entered into a fragile alliance with the communist-led LANÇ, and acted as a resistance group against the Italians. Following the Mukje Agreement , the vague mutual tolerance that had existed between the Ballists and LANÇ quickly evaporated. The Allies too could not guarantee that Kosovo would be

3956-399: The capitulation of Italy, was attacked by the Ballists of Xhem Hasa in early November 1943. After 7 days of fierce fighting, the Partisans were defeated and forced to retreat from the city. Fiqri Dine , Xhem Hasa and Hysni Dema, as well as three German Majors, also directed military campaigns against the Albanian and Yugoslav partisans. When Maqellarë, midway between Debar and Peshkopi,

4042-473: The collection of weapons in Kosovo and the arrest of prominent Albanians. The order was not well received and, combined with passions felt about Kosovo, inflamed an insurrection. On 2 December 1944, anti-communist Albanians from the Drenica region attacked the Trepca mining complex and other targets. Numbering at most 2,000 men, these anti-communists managed to hold off a Partisan force of 30,000 troops for two months. Similarly in Kičevo , Gostivar and Tetovo ,

4128-442: The combined Chetnik - Yugoslav Partisan forces back from Novi Pazar , and crushed their stronghold in Banja . Novi Pazar remained under the control of Acif Hadziahmetovic who was a member of the nationalist Balli Kombëtar movement, right up until December 1944. During this time the region between Ballist held Novi Pazar and Chetnik controlled Raška , witnessed constant fighting between the Albanians, Yugoslav Muslims and Serbs in

4214-481: The committee's creation and activities. Balli Komb%C3%ABtar The Balli Kombëtar (literally National Front ) was an Albanian nationalist , collaborationist , and anti-communist resistance movement during the Second World War . It was led by Ali Këlcyra and by Midhat Frashëri . The movement was formed by members from the landowning elite, liberal nationalists opposed to communism , and other sectors of society in Albania. The motto of

4300-485: The committee. The US State Department did not want any of the Blloku members involved in the committee due to their pro Italian/German stance during the war, but there was support for guerillas like Ismail Vërlaci of Gjon Markagjoni to join as unaffiliated individuals. An office was opened in Paris on 1 July 1949. The "Free Albania" National Committee was officially constituted on 7 July (although some Albanian sources place it later in time, on 26 August 1949). Mithat Frashëri

4386-469: The communists declared victory in 1945. In 1996 it won 5 percent of the popular vote and two seats in parliament. It has since declined. In the 2001 elections it was part of the Union for Victory ( Bashkimi për Fitoren ) coalition which received 37.1% of the vote and 46 members of parliament. The National Front has chapters in Kosovo, led by Sylejman Daka & in North Macedonia, led by Vebi Xhemaili. Midhat Frashëri believed that Albanian provinces under

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4472-482: The defter. In the defter of 1485 which covered the Gjakova region of Western Kosovo, half of the villages had Albanian names or a mixture of Slavic-Albanian names. During Stefan Dusan's reign, Albanian Catholics in Kosovo were forcibly converted into Orthodoxy, many others were expelled, and Catholic churches were converted into Orthodox ones. The Ottomans defters of 15th and 16th century also recorded new arrivals into Kosovo and abandoned places. Nothing indicates

4558-533: The estimation in the year 2000, there were between 1,584,000 and 1,733,600 Albanians in Kosovo or 88% of population; as of 2011, their population share is 92.93%. Toponymical evidence suggests that Albanian was spoken in western and eastern Kosovo and the Niš region before the Migration Period . In this era, Albanian in Kosovo was in linguistic contact with Eastern Romance which was presumably spoken in contemporary eastern Serbia and Macedonia. Between 1246 and 1255, Stefan Uroš I had reported Albanian toponyms in

4644-444: The first as being between the White Drin and Lim rivers (1330), and in the second (1348) a total of nine Albanian villages are cited within the vicinity of Prizren. Toponyms such as Arbanaška and Đjake shows an Albanian presence in the Toplica and Southern Morava regions (located north-east of contemporary Kosovo) since the Late Middle Ages. The Albanian villages Ujmir and Gjonaj are mentioned in Serbian scriptures from

4730-481: The following days, Mithat Frashëri organized a press conference, which created a conflict with pro- Yugoslavian British authorities , who opposed Frashëri's words which included " Kosovo ", stating that he should speak about only those territories that were part of the Albanian state. Soon after, the British intelligence officer Billy McLean together with Alan Hare and Harold Perkins flew to Alexandria , Egypt where they joined Julian Amery and Robert Low. They had

4816-433: The following ten-point program, also known as the "Decalogue" The Decalogue states: After World War II ended, the Balli Kombëtar were defeated by Yugoslav and Albanian communists. The Ballists were so thoroughly discredited by their collaboration with the Nazis that there was no chance of them having a role in postwar Albania, though it took until 1945 to finish them off. Ironically, the Ballists' decision to work with

4902-432: The forces of the new government. The fighting in Kosovo took on an ethnic and ideological basis with the Albanian Balli Kombetar forces fighting the predominantly Serb Partisans . In Vardar Macedonia, when it was a part of the independent state of Albania, the German and Ballist forces had occasional skirmishes with Yugoslav partisans. Kicevo , which remained in the hands of Macedonian and Albanian Partisan units following

4988-414: The highest governmental titles—President and Premier and a seat in the Federal Presidency, which made it a de facto Socialist Republic within the Federation, but remaining as a Socialist Autonomous Region within the Socialist Republic of Serbia. Serbo-Croat and Albanian were defined official on the provincial level marking the two largest linguistic Kosovan groups: Serbs and Albanians. The word Metohija

5074-488: The largest ethnic group in Kosovo . Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-group of Ghegs , who inhabit the north of Albania , north of the Shkumbin river, Kosovo, southern Serbia , and western parts of North Macedonia . They speak Gheg Albanian , more specifically the Northwestern and Northeastern Gheg variants. According to the 1991 Yugoslav census, boycotted by Albanians , there were 1,596,072 ethnic Albanians in Kosovo or 81.6% of population. By

5160-595: The narrow valley that separates the two towns. Balli Kombëtar was also active in northwestern Greece, in particular in a region referred to by Albanians as Chameria . Administration of the Thesprotia prefecture was handed over to the Albanians, although this region was not officially annexed into the Albanian kingdom. The "Balli Kombëtar Çam" (Cham National Front), founded in 1943 by Nuri Dino, received full German support since they were willing to fight both Albanian and Greek Communist Partisans. These units were used in anti-partisan operations in Greece codenamed Augustus . By

5246-410: The nationalists' cause. The Balli Kombëtar believed that Albanians were "Aryans of Illyrian heritage". This helped gaining support by the Nazis. The party had also a strong agrarian socialist wing, which gained the leadership of the party after the war with its leader Abaz Ermenji , and also Zef Pali, Halil Maçi and Vasil Andoni . The original objectives of Balli Kombëtar were set out in 1942 in

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5332-412: The occupied united Albanian state under the borders drawn by the Italians in 1941, for they bitterly opposed and dreaded the loss of Kosovo and Debar to Yugoslavia once again, and feared that the Allies in their support of the Greeks might prevent them from claiming Chameria and deprive them of their southern provinces of Korçe and Gjirokaster , the heartland of their liberation movement. They regarded

5418-461: The only country to recognize it was Albania. With an 87% turnout, 99.88% voted for Kosovo to be independent. The non-Albanian population, at the time comprising 10% of Kosovo's population, refused to vote since they considered the referendum to be illegal. In 1992–1993, ethnic Albanians created the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). In 1995, the Dayton Agreement was signed in Dayton, Ohio . Finalized on 21 November 1995 and signed on 10 December 1995,

5504-399: The plan to the communist authorities who were consequently able to intercept many of the fighters upon arrival. The subversion cost the lives of at least 300 men and for a long time was one of the most carefully concealed secrets of the Cold War. In 1950, the Balli Kombëtar (in-exile) was divided into two wings, one Agrarian headed by Abas Ermenji , and one headed by Ali Këlcyra . Tetovo

5590-453: The region during 1660 referred to the western and central part of what is today Kosovo as Arnavudluk and described the town of Vushtrri 's inhabitants as having knowledge of Albanian or Turkish with few speakers of Slavic languages. A large number of Albanians alongside smaller numbers of urban Turks (with some being of Albanian origin) were expelled and/or fled from what is now contemporary southern Serbia (Toplica and Morava regions) during

5676-439: The region. In October 1943 during a large-scale German offensive in southern Albania , the Balli Kombëtar in conjunction with German troops attacked Greek villages and committed numerous atrocities including burning villages and executing civilians. The Balli Kombëtar was revived in Albania as a political party in the early 1990s. Founded under the leadership of Abas Ermenji , a surviving Ballist, who escaped from Albania when

5762-413: The remaining Ballists tried to remain in control of the region after the Yugoslav Partisans announced victory. Now "an armed uprising of massive proportions" broke out in Kosovo led by the Balli Kombëtar (which still had around 9,000 men under arms at the time), which aimed to resist incorporation of Kosovo into communist Yugoslavia. It was only in July 1945 that the Yugoslav Partisans were able to put down

5848-446: The seat to obtain dominance over the Federal government, outvoting his opponents. Many Albanians organized a peaceful active resistance movement, following the job losses suffered by some of them, while other, more radical and nationalistic oriented Albanians, started violent purges of the non-Albanian residents of Kosovo. On 2 July 1990, an unconstitutional ethnic Albanian parliament declared Kosovo an independent country, although this

5934-448: The situation and people were involved in tasks such as the operation of mobile kitchens and gathering financial aid. Many Albanians in Kosovo have opened their homes to people displaced by the earthquake. There is a large Kosovo Albanian diaspora in central Europe. Culturally, Albanians in Kosovo are very closely related to Albanians in Albania. Traditions and customs differ even from town to town in Kosovo itself. The spoken dialect

6020-409: The south of Albania, the rivalry between the Communists and the Balli Kombëtar heated up. The Communists almost immediately repudiated the Mukaj agreement, and fearing the British might open a second front in the Balkans and lend their support to the Ballists, they issued orders that the Balli Kombëtar be eliminated wherever it was found. These factors contributed to members of the Balli Kombëtar forming

6106-422: The suffering they had endured over previous two decades, burning perhaps as many as 30,000 houses belonging to Serbs and Montenegrins . Most vulnerable to these attacks were Serbs who had settled in Kosovo in the interwar period . In October 1944, as the German Army began retreating through Kosovo, fierce battles between the Germans and the Partisans broke out. After the Germans had been driven out, Tito ordered

6192-625: The time Operation Augustus ended, a larger number Chams were recruited for armed support. Their support was appreciated by the Germans: Lt Colonel Josef Remold remarked that "with their knowledge of the surrounding area, they have proved their value in the scouting missions". On several occasions, these scouting missions engaged EDES units in combat. On 27 September (1943), combined German and Cham forces launched large scale operation in villages north of Paramythia: Eleftherochori, Seliani, Semelika, Aghios Nikolaos. In this operation

6278-596: The towns in Eastern Kosovo had a large Muslim Albanian population prior to the Austrian-Ottoman wars of 1690 and research shows the towns lost their population considerably due to the wars. During the 18th century and onwards there were also movements of people within these Albanian inhabited territories (Nish, Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania) Kosovo was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1455 to 1912, at first as part of

6364-560: The uprising and establish their control over Kosovo. Parts of Montenegro and the Sandžak were annexed into Albania in 1941. The cities included Bijelo Polje , Tutin , Plav , Gusinje, Rozaje and Ulcinj . Some of the Yugoslav Muslims that lived in these regions sided with the Albanians. Acif Hadziahmetovic , former mayor of Novi Pazar and member of Nexhip Draga 's party, and Ballist forces under Shaban Polluzha successfully repelled

6450-677: Was a time of persecution of the Kosovar Albanians. Kosovo was split into four counties—three being a part of official Serbia: Zvečan, Kosovo and southern Metohija; and one in Montenegro: northern Metohija. However, the new administration system since 26 April 1922 split Kosovo among three Regions in the Kingdom: Kosovo, Rascia and Zeta . In 1929 the Kingdom was transformed into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . The territories of Kosovo were split among

6536-633: Was also removed from the title in 1974 leaving the simple short form, Kosovo . In the 1970s, an Albanian nationalist movement pursued full recognition of the Province of Kosovo as another Republic within the Federation, while the most extreme elements aimed for full-scale independence. Tito's government dealt with the situation swiftly, but only giving it a temporary solution. In 1981 the Kosovar Albanian students organised protests seeking that Kosovo become

6622-460: Was destroyed during these clashes and was eliminated as a fighting force. With the Grand Alliance established, the Germans began losing the war. This also affected the situation in Albania as the Germans could not supply the Ballists. With the current situation favouring the Communists, the partisans began a full-scale attack on the Balli Kombëtar. British liaison officers in Albania noted that

6708-586: Was held in Rambouillet , France later that spring and resulted in a proposed peace agreement, called the Rambouillet Agreement , which was accepted by the ethnic Albanian side but rejected by the Yugoslav government. The failure of the talks at Rambouillet resulted in a NATO air campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia lasting from 24 March to 10 June when the Yugoslav authorities signed

6794-560: Was its chairman, with other members of the Directing Board being: Nuçi Kotta (son of the Albanian former Prime Minister Kostaq Kotta ), Abaz Kupi, Said Kryeziu, and Zef Pali. There was also a national committee consisting of Eqrem Telhai of the "Peasant League" (Albanian: Lidhja Katundare ), Hysni Mulleti of the "Agrarian League" (Albanian: Lidhja Agrare ), Muharrem Bajraktari from the "Independent Fighting Group" (Albanian: Grupi Luftëtar i Pavarur ), Ihsan Toptani (independent), Gaqo Gogo,

6880-510: Was made on technical matters, both parties remained diametrically opposed on the question of status itself. In February 2007, Ahtisaari delivered a draft status settlement proposal to leaders in Belgrade and Pristina, the basis for a draft UN Security Council Resolution that proposes 'supervised independence' for the province. As of early July 2007 the draft resolution, which is backed by the United States, United Kingdom and other European members of

6966-581: Was not recognized by the Government since the ethnic Albanians refused to register themselves as legal citizens of Yugoslavia. In September of that year, the ethnic Albanian parliament, meeting in secrecy in the town of Kačanik , adopted the Constitution of the Republic of Kosova . A year later, the Parliament organized the 1991 Kosovan independence referendum , which was observed by international organisations, but

7052-999: Was once the largest Balli Kombëtar base in Albania and still has strong ties with the name. The Tetovo-based football club KF Shkendija has a large support firm called the Ballistët . They are known in the media in North Macedonia for their use of hardline nationalistic rhetorics in football matches. The most notable Ballist leader in Macedonia was Xhem Hasa from Gostivar . A statue of him has been erected in Simnica , just south of Gostivar, by local Albanians. Kosovar Albanians The Albanians of Kosovo ( Albanian : Shqiptarët e Kosovës , pronounced [ʃcipˈtaɾət ɛ kɔˈsɔvəs] ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians , Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars (Albanian: Kosovarët ), constitute

7138-583: Was one of the nine national representative bodies which were used by US State Department to create the Assembly of Captive European Nations (ACEN). With the demise of communism in Eastern Europe, the board of directors of the NCFA decided that its functions would no longer be needed, and it was disbanded in 1992. Recently (2013) CIA documents became public, which showed the CIA's sponsorship and deep involvement in

7224-580: Was reached in March 1943. He also made another local agreement in August 1943 and was one of the initiators and supporters of the Mukje agreement. The communist-led LANÇ had demanded that Kosovo be ceded to Albania after the war. The LANÇ met with the Ballists in August 1943, agreeing upon the establishment of Greater Albania . The agreement was however short-lived. The agreement was the denounced by Albanian communists. In

7310-629: Was recaptured by the Fifth Partisan Brigade, the Germans with the assistance of the Ballist forces of Xhem Hasa launched an attack from Debar, defeating the partisans. The main centres of the Balli Kombëtar in these regions were Kosovska Mitrovica , Drenica and Tetovo . It was noted that the Balli Kombëtar in these regions were more aggressive than the Ballists of Albania. With the tables now turned in their favour many Ballists saw an opportunity to take their revenge upon their Serbian neighbours for

7396-748: Was the first time Kosovo came to exist with its present boundaries. After Yugoslavia's name changed to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia's to the Socialist Republic of Serbia in 1963, the Autonomous Region of Kosovo was raised to the level of Autonomous Province (which Vojvodina had had since 1946) and gained inner autonomy in the 1960s. In the 1974 constitution , the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo's government received higher powers, including

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