http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=397722
Albanians weren't 'second-class'
National Post Published: Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Re: Serbian Myths, letter to the editor, March 22.
Letter-writer Harry V. Herman's statement that Albanians were treated in
Yugoslavia as "second-class citizens" is disingenuous. Although Albanians
were not one of the founding nations of Serbia or of the former Yugoslavia,
they were treated as equals in multicultural Serbia and the former
Yugoslavia. Many Albanians occupied the highest government positions,
including: Mahmut Bakali, former president of Yugoslavia; Fadilj Hodza,
vice-president of Yugoslavia (1979); Ilijaz Kurtesi, president of the
Yugoslav Assembly (1979); Azem Vlasi, president of Communist youth of
Yugoslavia (1974), etc. Serbia offered free health care and education in
their own language to all Albanians. Moreover in spite of refusing to pay
taxes and utilities, Albanians in Kosovo were not fined by the Serbian
authorities and Serbia continued to subsidize Kosovo Albanians.
The Canadian government was wrong to recognize an "independent" Kosovo. In
doing so, Canada not only justified, in advance, the right of any separatist
group to claim independence from a lawful government, it undermined the
authority of international law to control violent aggression.
Boba Borojevic, Ottawa.
Serbian News Network - SNN
[email protected]
http://www.antic.org/
