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Albanians in south Serbia

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Albanians in Serbia
Languages
Albanian
Religion
Islam (majority)
Bektashi and Atheism (minority)
Related ethnic groups
Other Albanians


Part of a series on
Albanians

According to the results of the 2011 Census which was mostly boycotted, there are 5,809 Albanians in Serbia if the Kosovar Albanians are not counted. An estimate of 50,000 - 70,000[1][2][3] Albanians live in Serbia out of whom majority live in the municipalities of Preševo (Albanian: Preshevë), Bujanovac (Albanian: Bujanoc), and part of the municipality of Medveđa (Albanian: Medvegjë).[4]

Geography

In the municipalities of Preševo and Bujanovac Albanians form the majority of population (89.1% in Preševo and 54.69% in Bujanovac according to the 2002 census). In the municipality of Medveđa, Albanians are second largest ethnic group (after Serbs), and their participation in this municipality was 28.67% in 1991 and 26.17% in 2002.[5] The region of Bujanovac and Preševo is widely known as the Preševo Valley (Serbian: Прешевска Долина, Preševska Dolina, Albanian: Lugina e Preshevës).

History

In 1992, the Albanians of southern Serbia organized a referendum in which they voted that Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac should join Kosovo.[citation needed] Between 1999 and 2001, an ethnic Albanian guerilla organization, the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac (in Albanian Ushtria Çlirimtare e Preshevës, Medvegjës dhe Bujanocit, UÇPMB), was operational in this region with a goal to secede these three municipalities from the FR Yugoslavia and join them to Kosovo upon achieving independence. The activities attracted less international media interest than the related events of Kosovo and Macedonia.

Since then, the Albanian Coalition from Preševo Valley has gained representation in the National Assembly of Serbia where it holds a seat.

Culture

Education in Albanian is provided for primary and secondary schools. There may be some university-level courses provided in Albanian, in the capital of Serbia, Belgrade, but students mainly do their university degree in Universiteti i Prishtinës in Kosovo, in Macedonia, or in Albanian Universities.

The main religion of Albanians in this region is Islam.

Prominent Albanian individuals

  • Riza Halimi, a politician, the former mayor of Preševo municipality.
  • Jonuz Musliu, head of the UCPMB political wing.
  • Skender Destani, paediatrician, leader of the Democratic Union of the Preševo Valley (DUD).

Belgrade

Belgrade, has an Albanian community. In the census of 1981, 8,212 Albanians were registered. In 1991 there lived only 4,985 Albanians in Belgrade. After the Kosovo War this number decreased to 1,492.

Year 1948 1953 1961 1971 1981 1991 2002
Albanians 1,137 3,262 8,262 6,978 8,212 4,985 1,492

Notable Albanians associated with Belgrade include: Faruk Begolli, Bekim Fehmiu, and Zana Nimani.

See also

References

  1. ^ "South Serbia Albanians Seek Community of Municipalities". Retrieved 17 July 2013. South Serbia is home to 50,000 or so Albanians.
  2. ^ . BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1043583.stm. Retrieved 24 October 2013. Initially, the guerrillas' publicly-acknowledged objective was to protect the local ethnic Albanian population of some 70,000 people from the repressive actions of the Serb security forces. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ^ "The Presevo Valley of Southern Serbia alongside Kosovo The Case for Decentralisation and Minority Protection" (PDF). Retrieved 24 October 2013. The total population of the Valley is around 86,000 inhabitants of whom around 57,000 are Albanians and the rest are Serbs and Roma
  4. ^ Template:Sr icon Template:PDFlink, pp. 12–13
  5. ^ Popis stanovništva, domaćinstava i Stanova 2002. Knjiga 1: Nacionalna ili etnička pripadnost po naseljima (in Serbian). Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. 2003. ISBN 86-84433-00-9.
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