The government sleeps beneath the “drums of war”
Astrit PATOZI
Milosheviçi warned of the imminent possibility of an armed conflict with Albania, in an attempt to spread the flames of war beyond the fires already burning in Kosovo and Serbia. The announcement of the sever[?]ing of diplomatic relations between Belgrade and Tirana is, in fact, also the severing of the only thread in the strained relations between the two countries, which means that now not even a single formal argument remains to hold back the spread of war into Albanian territory. But although this latest gesture by Milosheviçi should not have been needed for us to be prepared, the Albanian government is once again reacting as if this were a conflict taking place somewhere in Africa and not a serious threat to its borders. At a time when northern Albania’s villages have become firing ranges for Serbian artillery, and reports of Yugoslav forces violating Albanian territory have become commonplace, official Tirana is reacting only with statements by Milo or his advisers, as though the problem of Milosheviçi, which has become a source of worldwide anxiety, were still to be resolved through seminars[?]. It is enough to make you hold your head in your hands that, in these dramatic and difficult moments—even for the allies who are relentlessly attacking Milosheviçi’s military machine every day—the areas of northern and northeastern Albania remain undefended and under the constant threat of occupation by the Serbian army. Who needs the government’s statements and its “brave” labels for Milosheviçi and his regime, when none of this country’s citizens—and especially those living in areas most threatened by Serbian attacks—can be sure what will happen tomorrow in Tropojë, Kukës, Has or even Shkodër? The Foreign Ministry’s diplomatic insults against Milosheviçi are worthless as long as a large part of Albanian territory is under threat of aggression by the Yugoslav army. It is no great achievement to call the government in Belgrade a “criminal regime,” because by now even young schoolchildren following the news from Kosovo are saying the same thing all over the world. The Albanian government must not for a moment think that, by providing NATO with airport facilities to attack Serbia, it has done its duty. If it has done very well by operating with units through the Atlantic alliance throughout ... from Kosovo. by acting quickly to open every gate in Albania to the Atlantic Alliance from which Milosheviçi can be struck, while leaving entire areas at the mercy of the common enemy, it is making an unforgivable mistake. First of all, because it is responsible for every inch of Albanian territory; but also because giving the Serbian military machine room to operate would make the allies’ own military operations more difficult. Instead of focusing on attacks against Milosheviçi’s army in Kosovo and Serbia, they would have their hands tied by an enemy that could appear behind them at any moment. Official Tirana has no reason to boast about the installation of American “Apaches” in Albania—not only because this is not its achievement, but also because the famous helicopters are not tasked with defending the borders of a country whose government is making not even the slightest effort to fulfil its constitutional duty. The Albanian authorities have no right to ask NATO to protect Albania’s territorial integrity as long as they themselves have abandoned the border from which the winds of war blow, leaving it under the watch of a dozen border police officers and the few villagers who have chosen to die on their doorsteps rather than be evacuated. The government in Tirana cannot take pride in having saved the lives of its citizens who have left the villages of Tropojë, Has and Gjakovë, because none of them wanted to become refugees in their own country and watch from afar on television as their house is burned by the Serbs. All the men of those regions would have been entirely ready to line up alongside the trenches and fully prepared to stop any attempt by the dark forces of the Albanian army to widen Milosheviçi’s possible circle of hell in Kosovo’s territories. By protecting Albanians, after the terrible massacres in Kosovo. By defending every inch of this country’s land, the Army of the Republic of Albania also has the great obligation to protect the flanks of the thousands of Albanians who have arrived in caravans from Kosovo and settled in the northern areas, hoping to return soon to their homes, homes. It would be disastrous if those who, in one way or another, had hastened Serbian atrocities in Kosovo were to arrive and be massacred by Milosheviçi’s soldiers on Albanian territory. At a time when Milosheviçi is sending clear signals that he is making every effort to move the conflict beyond the borders where the people are, the Albanian government’s regime is unprepared. NATO is acting, the Albanian government’s regime is unprepared. Serbian MIGs have made several attempts to cross the Adriatic; they may find it much easier to bomb Albania, where the defences are proving to be asleep—or nonexistent—and where shells are falling like raindrops and Yugoslav soldiers have made a habit of crossing the border. If Majko’s ministers and Hajdaraga’s officers consider this slippery situation in Tropojë and Kukës to be something they “dare” to report to OSCE people and foreign journalists, then they should know to do one thing: open a refugee status [unclear]. The Albanian government must mobilize all the country’s military and defence resources to respond to any possible attack by the Serbian army, all the more so now that the “Fermauni” of war doesn’t know—perhaps it has one leg, because it is left with one, with nothing with this brother. [The text is cut off at the end]