This piece was not published in Serbian language edition . -- n. =======================================
Valley Albanians "to consider situation" 1 March 2008 | 12:59 | Source: Beta PREŠEVO -- The Party of Democratic Action’s (PDA) main board will convene today in Preševo. The meeting will mark the 16th anniversary of the referendum on political and territorial autonomy held by the ethnic Albanians in the south of Serbia. Party leader Riza Halimi, who was one of the driving forces behind the 1992 referendum for the Albanians in Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa, told Beta that a bleak message would be sent from today’s session to their fellow countrymen and the Serbian authorities. “Our idea was then accepted by a plebiscite, with 43,000 Albanians voting in the space of two days, a turnout of some 97 percent. Everyone who voted ticked ‘yes’, if we discount a few spoilt ballot papers,” Halimi stressed. The PDA leader said that the referendum question had then read: “Are you for political and territorial autonomy with the right to accede to Kosovo?” The result of the referendum entered the official documentation of Albanians in the south of Serbia, and, particularly after 2000, became a key policy feature in talks with Belgrade and the international community. “Of course, the referendum’s fundamental principles cannot be applied to today’s political reality, but it remains an open question how the Albanians are to solve their numerous problems,” he explained. According to Halimi, regionalization is one of the ways that not only the Albanians can resolve their status in Serbia, although Belgrade continues to show minimal political readiness for something of that nature.
