The Next Crises

Call Number
304-0-16:170/6

General information

Call No.:
304-0-16:170/6
Part of series
HU OSA 304-0-16 Records of the International Human Rights Law Institute Relating to the Conflict in the Former Yugoslavia: Video Recordings Relating to the Conflict in the Former Yugoslavia
Located at
VHS NTSC #170 / No. 6
Digital ver. identifier
HU_OSA_00007554
Original Title
Die nächte krise
Date of production
1992
Date
1992
Level
Item
Primary Type
Moving image
Language
German
Duration
9 min.
Notes
No transcript.

Content

Form/Genre
Television program
Contents Summary
This broadcast focuses on Kosovo as an area where conflict is possible to reappear. Having always been the poorest part of Yugoslavia, Kosovo's ethnic make-up is then examined, detailing showing how many Serbs have emigrated to cities in Serbia, creating an even larger ethnic Albanian majority. The report talks about the police state existing in Kosovo and the ethnic Albanians' desires to gain full independence. The report includes an interview with Ibrahim Rugova, ethnic Albanian leader of the LDK, several other ethnic Albanian leaders and Serbian officials in Kosovo. The report details how the Serbian Orthodox Church aids in the oppression of the Albanian majority, featuring interviews with Fathers Atanasije Rakita and George Trajkovic, Serbian Orthodox priests in the Prizren diocese, who state that Serbs have deeper roots in Kosovo and that it has always been Serbian territory. According to the priests, Muslims have been continuously endangering Serbian churches and its priesthood with little tolerance towards Christianity, especially, as they claim, since the 300,000 Albanian Muslims settled after WWII, offsetting the Serbs' historical ethnic majority. Alushi A. Gashi, an Albanian doctor and human rights activist, states that Serbia has created a state of apartheid in Kosovo, experiencing oppression in every aspect of daily life. A Serbian female student at the University of Pristina is also interviewed, mentioning that she feels very unsafe in Kosovo, being that she is a member of the Serbian minority. Radivoje Papovic, Serbian President of the University of Pristina, claims that demands for political secession are coming from the Albanian side, namely out of ethnic Albanian student organizations, and that there will be no negotiations over to whom Kosovo belong. Ibrahim Rugova gives his view on how Serbian propaganda has been used to skew the reality that Serbs have succeeded in controlling all public institutions in Kosovo and forbidding official use of the Albanian language. He also touches on Kosovo Albanians' desires to be an independent state and the possibility of uniting with Albania. Other footage available includes: monasteries in the Prizren area (Decani); the ruins in Kosovo Polje; street life and markets in Kosovo; Albanian writers and intellectuals meeting at the Literary Society of Kosovo; impoverished living conditions among Albanian families in their homes; and Albanian children being taught in private homes.

Context

Associated Names
ORF (Producer)