BY MAURICE WILLIAMS
Some 10,000 Albanians marched in Pristina, Kosovo, December 25 for the second day in a row demanding the right to study in Albanian-language universities that have been closed down by the Serbian government. The protests occurred one week after U.S. president William Clinton announced he was extending the U.S. military occupation force in Bosnia indefinitely.

Political instability is mounting in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo, as assailants launched two attacks on Serb cops December 25, near Podujevo. In one attack they exploded hand grenades near the police station and in the other attack they fired shots at the police.

A court composed of four Serb judges and one Albanian sentenced 15 Albanians December 16 for up to 20 years in prison on charges of terrorism. During the nine-week trial the men were found guilty of belonging to the pro-independence Kosovo Liberation Army, which claimed responsibility for assaults on police stations and other government targets.

Simmering pressures have begun to boil over against Belgrade's measures to stifle demands for independence voiced by many Albanians in Kosovo. Schools teaching in the Albanian language - from elementary schools to Pristina's university - have been closed since 1991.

In 1990, the Serbian government dissolved Kosovo's parliament after stripping the province of its autonomy the previous year. Kosovo was granted autonomy in 1974 following demonstrations demanding a republic.

Some 500,000 Albanians demonstrated in November 1989, in Pristina, the provincial capital. This action was followed by strikes of construction, mine and other workers. Around 90 percent of the 2 million people in Kosovo are ethnic Albanians.

Belgrade nervous about social turmoil
The Stalinist regime of that rules Serbia is jittery over protest actions. One year ago, the government was shaken by a nine-week wave of daily mass demonstrations in the capital Belgrade, as well as 30 other cities. Those protests forced the Serbian government to concede municipal elections to the opposition electoral coalition in 14 of the republic's 19 largest cities.

The recent demonstrations in Kosovo also follow an armed rebellion in the neighboring Albanian workers state, against the U.S.-backed regime of former president Sali Berisha. Tens of thousands of working people and other rebels took control over several cities in the southern half of the country in early 1997.

Berisha's Democratic Party was soundly defeated in elections held June 29 and July 6 under the boot of an Italian- led military occupation force. Most of the Italian and other foreign troops that occupied Albania in April left the country by mid-August.

Washington had organized its naval forces off the Adriatic coast of the Balkans in response to the revolt by the workers and peasants in Albania. Clinton's recent announcement to extend the U.S. military occupation in Yugoslavia past 1998 is linked to the U.S. rulers' goal of reestablishing capitalist property relations there, as well as in other workers states in Europe, including Albania.

For more than two months Clinton administration officials prepared the groundwork for extending the imperialist military mission indefinitely. Clinton did not elaborate on the size of Washington's military operation, but has said it may be slightly smaller than the 8,500 GIs who are part of the nearly 35,000 NATO troops in Bosnia.

Clinton has broken two deadlines for withdrawing his military occupation force, while the U.S. big-business media justifies extending the imperialist intervention by claiming it prevents working people in Yugoslavia from slaughtering each other. "By extending the stay of American troops in Bosnia, President Clinton may help preserve an unsteady peace," opined the editors of the New York Times on December 19. But the GIs "could do no more than provide a temporary respite from ethnic violence," they added.

Meanwhile, Washington has renewed threats to capture alleged "war criminals" in particular, chauvinist Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and former army chief Gen. Ratko Mladic. "You have pledged to isolate and arrest indicted war criminals. Now you must follow through on your commitments," Clinton chided residents in Sarajevo during his one-day visit to Bosnia December 22. Giving a glimpse of Washington's priorities in the region, he declared, "You are working to restore Bosnia's economy. Now you must build up the laws to attract assistance and investment."

As part of his "Christmas visit," Clinton also addressed troops at the U.S. military base in Tuzla, Bosnia.

Three days before Clinton's trip to Bosnia, Dutch paratroopers and marines from other NATO units seized two Croatian men, Vatko Kupreskic in the Bosnian village of Santici and Anto Furundzija in Vitez. Kupreskic was wounded by three bullets in the assault and later flown to the imperialist tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, where he will stand trial along with Furundzija.

The arrests sparked demonstrations by Croats in Vitez, who were blocked by NATO troops from marching to the house of Furundzija. Two days later, two Dutch soldiers were injured when a hand grenade was thrown into their military camp.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home