by Fahri Xharra
Summary
Historian Jusuf Buxhovi discussed the genocide and cultural genocide experienced by Albanians during their deportation to Turkey. He explained that Albanians were forced to change their names and register as Turks, stripped of their identities under different occupations. Buxhovi also highlighted a century-long effort to depopulate Kosovo, with Serbian hegemonic projects aiming to displace Albanians. He credited NATO’s 1999 intervention for halting the last stage of these efforts. Reflecting on Kosovo’s independence, Buxhovi emphasized its significance as the culmination of a century-long struggle for national sovereignty and freedom from oppression.
Historian Jusuf Buxhovi stated that Albanians experienced genocide and cultural genocide when they were deported to Turkey. He explained that they were forced to change their names and register as Turks, subjected to these processes due to the circumstances under different occupations.
He emphasized that Albanians who stayed under Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro, who did not accept being recognized as ethnic Albanians but as Muslim or Turkish, were subjected to great terror, with no national rights or education, and forced to become Muslims. Buxhovi asserted that Albanians endured genocide and cultural genocide as they had to abandon their lands and move to harsher regions of Turkey, where their identities were erased and they were made to register as Turks.
Buxhovi: For a century, experiments were carried out to depopulate Kosovo
Historian Jusuf Buxhovi stated that over a century, different projects and policies were developed with the aim of depopulating Kosovo of its Albanian population. Speaking on the 18th anniversary of independence, Buxhovi called this date one of the most important in national history, as it closed a long period of oppression, violence, and efforts to displace Albanians from their homeland.
He explained, “For 100 years, we have had a period of oppression, genocide, suffering, and various experiments to remove an ancient people from their lands. This was a Serbian hegemonic project, extending to the policies of Milošević, aimed at displacing Albanians through various programs.”
Buxhovi noted that NATO’s intervention in 1999 halted one of the final projects of massive Albanian displacement during the period of March to June that year. He added that the historic journey toward statehood is an essential part of collective memory, and that the declaration of independence represented the realization of a century-old aspiration for an independent state.
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