Written by Petrit Latifi

In 1912, Austrian consul Mr. de Tahi (Tahvári és Tarkeői Tahy László or Ladislaus von Tahy) witnessed Albanian corpses flowing in the river of Mitrovica. These corpses were the result of Serbian troops murdering and Albanian civilians. He also witnessed Albanians being raped.

“.. In Mitrovica , Tahy saw whole armies of Albanian corpses floating in the river. In Prizrend, Serbian soldiers desecrated the corpses of young girls, women and children in the open street.”¹

Tahy also saw the Serbian soldiers kicking corpses of Albanians

“… Mitrovitza , Dudwing von Tahy , relates that the Servian troops slew the Albanians in masses . He himself saw them kicking rows of Albanians , corpses with their feet . During the massacres of Albanians in Prizrend he himself saw …”²

He also saw Serb soldiers dragging children into the streets and raping them

“During the massacres of Albanians in Prizrend he himself saw Servian soldiers dragging small children into the streets , perpetrating …”³

The Serbian commander arrested Mr. Tahy so he would not report on the crimes

“… Mitrovitza , Mr. von Tahy , who arrived in Budapest yesterday , reports that the Serbian troop commander in the city in question has restricted his personal freedom and made it impossible for him to report to Vienna …”⁴

Difficulties with the Serbian administration

“In Mitrovica, a small town bordering Serbian territory, Ladislaus von Tahy (Tahvári és Tarkeői Tahy László) found himself in an isolated position that is quite comparable to Prochaska’s situation farther south. Tahy also experienced similar difficulties with the new Serbian administration. Unlike Prochaska, however, Tahy paid a visit to the Serbian military commander as soon as the latter had arrived on October 27.

During this meeting, Tahy argued that, as a diplomat accredited to the Ottoman authorities, he was not permitted to establish any official relations with the Serbian military but that he intended to carry on with his duties until new instructions would arrive. Unfortunately for Tahy, however, his initiative was not crowned with success. In the days that followed, his Serbian counterpart did not return the visit, which humiliated Tahy and caused him lasting emotional distress.

The Serbian authorities began to prevent the consul and his personnel as well as their clients from entering and leaving the consulate. Tensions rose to the point that Tahy decided to leave and return home on November 7.60 In doing so, he probably chose wisely, since his regular activity had become impossible and his attempt to reach a compromise had obviously fallen on deaf ears.”⁵

Was the Austro-Hungarian consul in Mitrovitza, for example, placed under four-day house arrest by the Serbian army for his own protection, as the Serbian authorities claimed, or ‘so that he would not witness the “removal” of the local Albanian population’, as the consul himself maintained?⁶

Mitrovica, 1910.

References

1. https://books.google.se/books?id=oeXNAAAAMAAJ&q=Tahy%C2%A0Mitrovica&dq=Tahy%C2%A0Mitrovica&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&printsec=frontcover&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwja7_b-m7mLAxVEExAIHQEgK_IQ6AF6BAgOEAM ↩︎
2. https://books.google.se/books?id=1E1hLkeydlgC&q=Mitrovitza+Tahy&dq=Mitrovitza+Tahy&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&printsec=frontcover&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjooN7yj7mLAxUzLRAIHXYRNkkQ6AF6BAgJEAM ↩︎
3. https://books.google.se/books?id=bF22ggs__n0C&q=Mitrovitza+Tahy&dq=Mitrovitza+Tahy&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&printsec=frontcover&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjooN7yj7mLAxUzLRAIHXYRNkkQ6AF6BAgHEAM
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4. https://books.google.se/books?id=D504AQAAMAAJ&q=Mitrovitza+Tahy&dq=Mitrovitza+Tahy&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&printsec=frontcover&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj5tLiOkLmLAxVeHRAIHf0IKgw4ChDoAXoECAoQAw ↩︎
5. https://hunghist.org/83-articles/792-2022-2-sven-morsdorf ↩︎
6. https://www.google.se/books/edition/The_Sleepwalkers/unxCQH3LKBcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mitrovitza+1912&pg=RA1-PT298&printsec=frontcover ↩︎