POLEMICS/ THE HEAD OF KOSOVO’S “SCIENCES”: THE WRITER IS A HYPOCRITE AND INTRIGUER CLASH BETWEEN ACADEMIES Albania to Kosovo: Don’t insult Qosja Rexhep Qosja called the Academy a “neighborhood clique.” Hivzi Islami shot back: You’re a filthy, sick troublemaker. 37 intellectuals in Albania react: Qosja, multifaceted By FATMIRA NIKOLLI A total of 37 Albanian academics and professors have signed an open letter, through which they come out against the accusations that the head of the Kosovo Academy of Sciences, Hivzi Islami, has made against academic Rexhep Qosja. In a Wednesday article, Islami described the professor as hypocritical, defamatory, intriguer and a divider of the nation. Academics such as Muzafer Korkuti (president of the Academy of Sciences), Jorgo Bulo, Arben Puto (historian), Rexhep Meidani (former president), Luan Omari, as well as professors such as Paskal Milo and Pellumb Xhufi, described the accusations as unprincipled and a model of intellectual misery, while noting that Qosja is a multifaceted personality. As part of the Albanian scientific and cultural community, they express regret over the degradation of freedom of expression into open verbal aggression, with insinuations and personal accusations, which go beyond the framework of a normal scientific debate. Continues on page 14