My speech at the Albanian-American Civic League meeting with Congressman Jerry Nadler at my home
Dear Congressman Nadler,
Welcome to our home! According to the Albanian tradition, our home belongs to God, the family and the guest. It was this tradition that welcomed and saved many innocent Jews during the Holocaust who lived or arrived in Kosova and other Albanian lands. I am very proud that my father Arif Aliçkaj was one of the rescuers who participated in this noble nationwide effort.
The ancient peaceful Albanian people have never attacked anyone, always defending their freedom, protecting their children, families, homes and land from aggressors like Serbia that was planted in Southeast Europe by Russia. The Serbian regimes, in cooperation with the Church and the Academy of Sciences, have always tried to annihilate the Albanians, grab their land and satisfy their hegemonic desires to create Greater Serbia and ensure Russia’s access to the Adriatic Sea.
In 1990, with my family I had to escape the occupation and oppression of the Albanian people of Kosova by the Serbian communist dictatorship. I was lucky enough to immigrate to the best country in the world, the USA, the land of opportunities and dreams come true for anyone willing to work hard. Today, like many other compatriots here, I am living the American dream.
I immediately joined the Albanian American Civic League to help our people under Serbian occupation. I am honored and very happy to have worked with League’s President, former Congressman Joe DioGuardi, Balkan Affairs Advisor Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi, and League Board members for more than 34 years. I would like to thank Shirley and Joe for their outstanding leadership and role in the liberation and independence of the Republic of Kosova.
The liberation of Kosova was made possible by the United States of America and NATO, who helped the peaceful resistance of Dr. Ibrahim Rugova and in 1999 the Kosova Liberation Army-KLA, fighting the Serbian army and terrorist paramilitary forces commanded by the war criminal Slobodan Milosevic, who committed a genocide killing more than 15,000 civilians, displacing 1 million people, raping 20,000 women and massacring 1,432 children, including infants.
After the successful intervention and Serbian capitulation, the international community failed to do one very important thing that President Biden suggested as a senator, the denazification of Serbia. The Serbian regime of Milosevic’s disinformation minister, Aleksandar Vucic, today is exactly the same as Milosevic’s, the same fascist ideology, with the same goals to dominate the Balkans.
Controlled and directed by Putin, the destructive Vucic regime is openly promoting the Russian agenda. They refuse to sanction Russia, glorify war criminals and refuse to bring them to justice, including those who killed three Americans – the Bytyçi brothers, and refuse to return the bodies of the forcibly missing people. They train bandits who threaten the Serbian minority not to participate in the democratic life of Kosova, burning their cars and houses.
In May last year, Serbian criminals rioted and beat NATO soldiers, while on September 24, commanded by the master criminal Radojčić, who roams freely around Belgrade, they committed aggression against Kosova with the terrorist act in Banjska, killing policeman in duty, Mr. Afrim Bunjaku.
Above all, they mock the dialogue facilitated by European mediators by refusing to sign and implement the EU agreement proposed by Presidents Macron and Scholz. At the same time, they are continuing with the destabilization of Bosnia and Montenegro.
European politicians and diplomats are unwilling to stand up to Serbian blackmail and aggression for geopolitical reasons, hoping that Serbia will leave Russia for Europe, which will never happen. Instead, they are putting pressure on the victim, the democratic government of Albin Kurti, asking it to make harmful, unjustified concessions, blaming it for all Serbian misdeeds and intrigues.
Our State Department has blindly followed the failed European policy, which came as a great surprise, knowing that President Biden is very familiar with the situation in the Balkans and the Serbian aggression.
The Republic of Kosova, led by democratic pro-Western leaders, President Vjosa Osmani, Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Speaker Glauk Konjufca, is doing everything right, implementing law and order, building democracy and safe life for everyone in Kosova, including the Serbian minority.
Frustrated and unhappy with Kosova’s achievements, the despotic Serbian regime of A. Vučić has concentrated all efforts to destroy Kosova by demanding the creation of the Association of Serbian Municipalities as a precondition, without accepting the EU agreement and without recognizing independence of Kosova.
This is an issue that you understand very well, Honorable Congressman Nadler, as the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. The United States and the most democratic countries have recognized the Republic of Kosova, based on the Ahtisaari plan prepared by them, which guarantees with the Constitution the highest rights that any minority in the world can enjoy. The Government of Kosova is faithfully implementing this plan.
Serbia’s demand to grant additional autonomy to their minority has only one goal, to make Kosova dysfunctional, subject to partition and complete destruction. It is approximately the same number, about 80 thousand Albanians living in southern Serbia, who are being discriminated against and ethnically cleansed by the Serbian regime. Why can’t they enjoy the same rights as Serbs in Kosova? Why can’t they also have an Association of municipalities with an Albanian majority?
The comparison of rights shows that the Serbs in Kosova have their own hospital, their own university in the Serbian language, recognized diplomas, 10 automatically reserved seats in the parliament with the right of veto, a minister and so on. Albanians in Serbia have none of this, while at the same time more than 6000 of their addresses have been removed from the registry with no right to vote.
The people of Kosova demand justice, not revenge against Serbia, which has yet to accept and apologize for the genocide. They only seek to have the right to exist in their ancestry land. In this regard, we are kindly asking you to use your power and connections in Congress and the Biden-Harris administration to help the most pro-American people of Kosova live freely in peace and democracy by:
- Asking the White House and the State Department to engage directly in the dialogue by leading, not by following Europe. We expect that equal justice to be applied to both parties involved, emphasizing the need to seriously pressure Serbia to sign EU agreement without preconditions, especially without unnecessary harmful association of Serbian municipalities. As President Biden stated earlier, the mutual recognition and membership of Kosova and Serbia in the EU should be the final result of the dialogue.
- Organize a hearing, after November elections to address and evaluate the general situation, as well as the rights of Albanians in Serbia and Serbs in Kosova.
We understand that there are bigger and more dangerous problems in the world that the US must deal with, such as the war in Ukraine and Gaza, but the problem in the Balkans is related. All these problems are caused by the “axis of evil” countries, Russia, Serbia, China, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas. Russia is especially interested in using Serbia to open a new conflict in the Balkans so that the war in Ukraine becomes easier for them.
Agim Aliçkaj,
Member of the Executive Board of AACL
Bronxville, NY, On September 16, 2024
