Student Movements for the Republic of Kosovo by Atdhe Hetemi

Author:Atdhe Hetemi
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030549527
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

4.4.2 During Demonstrations: Actions and Reactions

Soon after breaking plates in the student dining hall, the organizers and a group of students went out to the streets where they chanted: “Kushte” (Conditions), “Disa në karriga të buta e disa pa bukë” (Some on soft chairs and some without bread), “Poshtë borgjezia e kuqe” (Down with red bourgeoisie), and “Lironi shokët tone” (Release our friends—referring to the imprisoned illegal group activists). Once on the main street, students headed downtown, and some citizens joined them along the way as well. The student organizers explained that seeing long lines of people shouting “Conditions, conditions, conditions” encouraged students, who started acting irresponsibly. Koci mentions that he shouted “Kosovo Republic,” but that Kadri Kryeziu put a hand over his mouth saying “It’s still early for that, don’t rush.”

Once the crowd reached downtown, a group of students took down SFRY flags hanging from light poles. At this time, there were no slogans, only commotion by the students. Koci claims that the entire episode would have remained at the level of mere commotion, but then the police showed up. They intervened brutally near the Faculty of Philosophy, and the demonstrators struggled to rescue a student from their hands. This student was severely beaten by the police. Another student named Ali Lajqi climbed up a light pole and started giving a speech, saying: “What is all this force, energy and spilling of the blood of youth about? What is this vurmak (a loanword from Turkish meaning “hitting”)?! You are giving vurmak… (cited after Demonstrations Judgment of Supreme Court, AP-KZH, nr.437/81). Organizers claim Mehmet Bislimi also gave a short speech. These speeches excited the masses and inspired them to stand up to the security forces even more defiantly.

Demonstrators started smashing store windows with stones and blocked the road. This lasted until 5 or 6 a.m. Police reported that about 2000 students and citizens protested that night. The chanting was in Albanian. Many UP students of Albanian nationality from Macedonia and Montenegro also participated in these demonstrations. The Kosovo Provincial Committee (PC) reported that police were attacked: Around 19 policemen were hurt and hospitalized. Seven cars, two buses, and one private coffee bar were destroyed, and there was damage to the dormitory. On March 12, 1981, the Presidency of the LoC of Kosovo and the Presidency of the Socialist Autonomous Province (SAP) of Kosovo held a joint session. Mahmut Bakalli, President of the LoC of Kosovo, emphasized that despite many attempts by sociopolitical organizations, as well as the infiltration of activists among the students who demonstrated, the authorities had not managed to convince the students to calm down and to discuss their concerns. Here, it was confirmed that the situation in other municipalities was calm and that these demonstrations impacted only Prishtina. Mustafa Sefedini, in charge of the Secretariat for Internal Affairs, confirmed that “our intelligence service did not have any information or indication about the student rebellious actions of March 11. This happened in a moment and spontaneously” (AK LoCPC/1981/81).

According to the declarations of double-agent Abdulla Prapashtica, this was not true.

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