When did Albanians and Serbs become enemies?

Each in his own way, Marko Miljanov and Dimitrije Tukovic, two important Serbian public figures, once opposed the anti-Albanian hysteria gripping Serbian society and media at the end of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 20th century. On this basis, Aleksandar Pavllovic from the Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory in his book “Albanian Imaginary: Kosovo's symbol and the figure of Albanians in Serbian Culture” tries, as he says, to reaffirm the voices of friendship and respect for Albanians today, Lemondediplamique writes.

Before all of us, stunned by propaganda about secular hatred, asked somewhat forgotten questions: when, in fact, did Serbs and Albanians become enemies?

Pavllovic stresses that prior to the seventh century, perceptions of Albanians in Serbian culture mostly belonged to the type of writing that could be described as a heroic legalisation. Albanians are presented as brave, very close fighters with Montenegrins, with whom they were often in alliance against the Turks.

“VREME”: What do you base on when you conclude that you can't talk about any of the coherent anti-Albanian or antiserb disks before the second half of the 20th century?

Aleksandar Pavllovic : First, given the fact that Serbian authors did not speak negatively of Albanians by then. If you look at the “>, by Dositey Obradovic, you will see that he commends Albanians, remembers with pleasure last year in southern Albania and even writes how Serbs and Serbs said “were a gender and tribe in ancient days!” Vuk Karadzic commends Albanians because, unlike Serbs, they are held together, despite their party. Popular songs mention Albanians as the angry “”, “trima” Arbana (remember, Musa Kese jinn with the popular song of “heroic hearts”, where Marko defeats it through fraud and then laments it as a better hero than himself), Konda Bimbasa and other Albanians participate in the First Serbian Chief Building on the Serb side, while others remain to live in post-prison Serbia. Nationalism tends to design views that have recently been formulated relatively by the ancient past. However, in our deepest past, there is simply no antiAlbanian text, not even negatively intimated. There are even a greedy number of them who see Albanians in positive light.

Balance Breakup

In this period, Albanian-inhabited territories are not at the centre of the Serbian national time programme, and are Albanians themselves not enemies?

Aleksandar Pavllovic : Two key texts often taken as the basis of Serbian national programme are “Srbin Swooda” (“Serba all and anywhere”) by Vuk Karadzic in 1849 and “Načertije” (“Nachertanija” by Ilija Garashan in 1844, who were repeatedly mentioned as “prova<8> in The Hague judgments, as the secular Serbian territorial claims. Let's put aside the fact that this Vuk Karadzic text has a marginal location in its work, that “Načertije” was not an official state document or the constantly promoted goal of Serbian politics. But even if we take them as such, we still see that Albanians and territories where they live are not in focus. Serbian authors deal with what they know at the moment, and they are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Dalmalycia, Slavonia, Hungary. For territories, ethnic situation and relations in the south -- that is, for today's Kosovo and Macedonia -- they write and know little. Vuku simply said: “There is no known (yet) how many Serbs in Arnaut and Macedonia”, while Garashan mentions Albanians only once, in the context of his suggestions for strengthening ties with Montenegrins and Albanians of northern Albania who, according to him, are the key to crossing the Adriatic Sea. Only after that did Kosovo and Albanians win an increasingly important role, if not central to then-Serbian politics.

When and why, as you claim, Kosovo is transformed into a central cultural and national symbol, into Serbian national-Roman legalism, and when does it become a territorial issue?

Aleksandar Pavllovic : The Great Eastern Crisis in 18751878 marred balance in the Balkans. In addition to Serbia and Greece now devoid of evidence, national aspirations were expressed by Bulgarians, Albanians, Serbs from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The major powers wanted to establish balances of influence at the Berlin Congress in 1878.

Serbia was finally recognised internationally, but this was a traumatic event because Bosnia and Herzegovina was expected to join Serbia. Novi Pazar's Sandzak remained in Austro-Hungary. Serbia and Montenegro were not limited to each other. The state was now surrounded on three sides by the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. “surrounded” and “arrested” (Cvilic) and Serbian intellectuals complained that he must breathe and expand his lungs to survive.

Of course, the only remaining course of expansion and final exit to a sea was south in territories of the weakened Ottoman Empire. Since then, an intense campaign began, climaxing with the proclamation of war in 1912. At that time, the Serbian public is increasingly interested in Kosovo, not only as symbolic. Kosovo is portrayed as eternity in popular songs and other works of art, already as a real space. More and more emphasis is on why it is legitimate for this territory to be part of Serbia. But with that interest comes knowledge, spelling, ethnographic works, which show that the majority is Albanians there and that there are fewer and fewer Serbs.

The official revolution for Albanians was changed to the second Yugoslavia, where there were serious efforts to redefine bilateral relations, but the gap remained very deep. Mythic Kosovo remained so strong in the perception of Serbs that they were unable to truly see land Kosovo and find and accept real-political solutions to Kosovo's problems”

Change general perception of Albanians?

Aleksandar Pavllovic : Under the circumstances given, the former dominant image of Albanians as brave mountainers who, like Montenegrins, live in gender and tribal communities, and value heroism and honour, often cooperating with us in the fight against the Turks, becomes unstable. Instead, in scientific discourses, media and education; Albanians increasingly identify with Albanian Muslims from Kosovo, presenting themselves as allies of Turks and tormentors of the few remaining Kosovo Serbs, who, in the words of a school book known from that period of “hurt Serbs more than Turks”. And once the disk of hostility is established and systematically expanded in society, then it's hard to break.

In the time of the first Yugoslavia, such efforts were weak and unsystemic. The official creation for Albanians was changed to the second Yugoslavia, where there were serious efforts to redefine bilateral relations, but the gap remained very deep. Mythic Kosovo remained so strong in the perception of Serbs that they were unable to see Kosovo literally on earth and to find and accept real-political solutions to Kosovo's problems.

In parallel with the Serbian view, the attitude of Albanians towards Serbs changed throughout history?

Aleksandar Pavllovic : Of course, such political and anti-Albanian intellectual tendencies had their expression on the other side, through the appearance of anti-Serb narratives. It would be ideal if there was proportion. If the authors of our environment who dealt with these negative perceptions -- Olivera Milosavlevlevq, Djordje Stefanovic and others -- were shown by the Albanian side to deconstruct and follow the Albanian discour of hostility. In my book, I talked about it in the context of the Albanian tradition of the Battle of Kosovo ʹ the old Albanian songs ʹ and Albanians performed songs with an instrument, which they call Iaha and the Gusla Serbs. In these songs, Lazarus as Serbian king and Serbs cited as the biggest opponents of Sultan, and the biggest hero is Milos, who is said to be from Kosovo, without ethnic affiliation.

On the opposite side, in recent decades, a Kosovo Albanian “ “> is actually being created, according to the Serbian model. Lazarus and the Serbs are not mentioned. The participation of Albanians in the Battle of Kosovo is highlighted in 1389, and Milos is identified as Albanian by Drenica etc.

On the opposite side, in recent decades a Kosovo Albanian “is actually creating, according to the Serbian model. Lazarus and the Serbs are not mentioned. The participation of Albanians in the Battle of Kosovo is highlighted in 1389, and Milos is identified as Albanian by Drenica and so on.

School texts are an even worse example. Under the rule, Serbian textbooks present Serbs as victims, aspirations and actions as legitimate, silent to the suffering of the other side. Albanian textbooks have the same merit as otherwise.

Positive coexistence and examples over the centuries did not mention. The result is that today the new generation of Serbs and Albanians know nothing about each other, look at each other as enemies, and it is absolutely unimaginable that we, who have actually lived together, even for centuries, in the same country, as in Byzantium, the state of the Nemanjiks, Ottoman Emperor or Yugoslavia.

Co-operation Chance

I think you want to offer another language, re-evaluate tradition and knowingly, clearly and firmly, proximity and friendship, which “would eventually remove this burden from the shoulders of future generations”. Has the “so become too dangerous to preach the need to work together with the Arabians”, as Dimitrije Tucowiqi once wrote?

Aleksandar Pavllovic : I don't think it's as dangerous as it was during the Tucovish era. While he wrote at the front of the battle parties and died as a young man in the Battle of Kolubara, knowingly sharing the fate of the people, I wrote my book in a comfortable institution office and its publication was financed by the Ministry of Science of Serbia. Except for a handful of revolted rightists who interrupt lectures from time to time, there is no other consequence. I had no problem holding lectures from Subotica to Vranje, as well as in Pristina, Prizren, Tirana...

A “risking” comes from the fact that we do not cultivate critical spirit in schools and science, that Serbian humanists continue to cultivate and affirm tradition in the spirit of delayed romance rather than re-intour it. Therefore, if you speak in a critical manner, few are your chances of fame, gratitude, title of the nation's “ “, membership in the academy, favourable publishing contracts and similar, as well as naming the post-mortum road and busts in your homeland. This is how we ended up in the paradox that naturalists like “medjek” Kostic and “Traffic Specialist” Teodorovic has more intellectual courage to talk about hot subjects “and national myths than philologists, philosophers, historians who should be according to the description of the workplace.

“We're finished in the paradox that naturalists like “medik” Kostic and “Traffic Specialist” Teodorovic has more intellectual courage to talk about hot “and national myths than philologists, philosophers, historians who must be according to the job site's description”

As budget users, I feel obliged to promote content that will reconcile us and bring us closer to our neighbors and the world, not deepen our self-issuance and autism. In general, I believe intellectuals have work to review, investigate, problematize and, above all, criticize the existing one as well as try for positive changes, not to serve dominant discours and official politics.

And finally, how do we talk about the Albanian today? Can we separate ourselves from the symbols and language nearest to the start of the 20th century?

Aleksandar Pavllovic : Historical circumstances and relations in the Balkans are changing. Political alliances and state creations are emerging and disappearing. There are no enemies and unnatural enmity “” and “eternal”. Insisting with negative examples brings only new divisions, maintains the fire of the conflict that balloons and again enables it to flare in the future.

Our best chance is to join forces and co-operate as best we can, to interrupt the vicious circle of mutual intolerance and mutual accusations. Western Europe has succeeded in the venture. Today's new generations of Germans and French are not growing with hatred and deep historical wounds, even though the scale of conflict, destruction and suffering between them was uniquely longer and greater than anything that happened in the Balkans. Serbs and Albanians throughout history have been the most frequent one, sharing both good and bad. We have many examples of co-operation, friendship and positive views stemming from centuries of common traditions and common life in the Balkans. With this awareness and such language, we have the greatest chance of making our societies better and our people want to stay and build their future.

(Based on weekly “Vreme”)