On January 10 and February 14, 1921 two letters from the Albanian writer, diplomat and politician Mit’hat Frashëri, also known by the nickname Lumo Skëndo, were published on L’ere Nouvelle. Their contents concern Serbo-Albanian tensions. The second letter is much more detailed than the first:
“What Albania is asking for, Respect for its borders “Mr. Director, The Albanian press office takes advantage of the Tribune des Peuples and the hospitality you grant there to tell you about Albania. This country was admitted to the care of the League of Nations on December 17, unanimously by the 35 States represented there. Its international status was found to have already been fixed as early as 1913 at the Conference of Ambassadors in London, where its independence was officially recognized. As such, Albania’s 1913 borders become intangible and must be respected.
However, Serbia has encroached on the Albanian borders since the armistice, claiming that it was for strategic reasons, which no longer exist. For two years, the Albanians, who have given no reason for complaint to Yugoslavia, have repeatedly requested the evacuation of these regions, but without result. Yes, however, there was one result: the total or partial destruction by the Serbs of 140 Albanian villages, located in Albanian territory. There are currently 40,000 men, women and children left homeless and refugees in the surrounding area of Tirana, supported by public funds.
Would it not be time for the Serbs to withdraw to their own borders and evacuate the territory of a neighbor who has done them no harm and who only asks to maintain good neighborly relations with them? Please accept, Mr. Director, the assurance of my highest consideration. » Lumo Skendo Source: L’Ere Nouvelle, January 10, 1921, p. 4 Albania and Serbia “As the affairs of Albania closely affect the interests of the surrounding countries and France cannot remain indifferent to the policy of the Balkans, I will take the liberty of returning to a point that I touched on in my previous letter which you have kindly published in l’Ere Nouvelle on January 10, 1921.
It was about the difficulties that Albania is encountering from its neighbor to the North and East, that is to say Serbia. The Commission for Albanian Refugees has just written a long report on what happened last August and September, on the Serbian border, in Albanian territory. It’s a dismal list; the facts were not known to the European public, thanks to the stubborn silence maintained by the press. According to this document – the authenticity and veracity of which are guaranteed – there were 132 Albanian villages completely or partially destroyed by the Serbs; in these villages, there were 6,344 houses reduced to ashes, plus 110 mills, 106 shops and stores, 50 mosques and 18 tehe (Muslim convents); 55,068 inhabitants were forced to leave the devastated regions and take refuge in the surroundings of Tirana.
10,293,740 kilograms of cereals were lost (removed or destroyed), as well as 52,227 heads of sheep and goats, 4,584 oxen and cows, 1,552 horses. It’s quite a fortune. We also had to deplore the loss of 742 people killed in the following manner: 240 had their throats slit (including 39 women and 39 children), 201 shot (including 37 women and 126 children), 300 burned alive (including 146 women and 63 children). Before closing my letter, I would like to recall that the government and all the Albanian people are convinced of the need to live in good relations with their neighbors and to maintain correct relations so that the life and prosperity of all are made possible. . But for this to happen it is necessary that these same neighbors also be imbued with the same principles and the same ideas.
– Lumo Skendo Source: L’Ère Nouvelle, February 14, 1921, p.3
Reference
Balkan Academia 