Page 664 - Kosovo Metohija Heritage

From the 13th to the 20th century
This is just a part, one fifth to say the least, of everything that has actually happened, as we do not even come to learn about most crimes, since the victims or their families dare not even complain.
Suffice it to present only a certain number of such mis- deeds, so the emperor’s Government could see in what dis- mal condition the Serbian population of the Western parts of Kosovo province is. in the appendix to this note, there is a list of crimes that the Royal Government has learnt about and established the authenticity of them.
it should be added that not a single perpetrator mentioned in the appendix has been accused or punished. Such a situ- ation, which prevents the survival of the Serbian population in these areas, is untenable, unless it causes uprising which is very detrimental to good relations of the two States, and very dangerous for good law and order at the border and in- side the Kingdom, and as the population that seeks salvation and assistance in Serbia exposes the Royal Government to a lot of inconvenience and expenses, besides the information on suffering and violence of our compatriots in the empire, regardless of age and sex. Therefrom the agitation in the pub- lic opinion here, putting the Government of His Royal High- ness in a very unfavorable and difficult position, causing harm to its reputation and exposing it to complications the seri- ousness of which cannot be fathomed (...)
Correspondence on Albanian violence in Old Serbia (Vilayet of Ko- sovo) 1898–1899, BeLGRaDe, Ministry of Foreign affairs, 1899, pp. 15–17
a LiST OF THe aCTS OF ViOLeNCe PeRPeTRaTeD aGaiNST THe SeRBS iN 1897 aND 1898
Murders
1. Two albanians: ajdar Uskoković from the village of Busovat (the District of Gilan) and Suljo killed a Serbian na- tional named Gavril Kušliovac wounding heavily his broth- er Sava. This murder occurred in the month of March, near the village of Boževac where the two brothers lived.
2. On april 19th, two albanians killed a Serb peasant Gika Denić and misappropriated his oxen as well as all the live- stock which belonged to his friends janko Tomić and Cana Stanimirović from the village of Čaglavica.
3. in the month of january, an albanian named Bajram, son of ismail adza from Novo Selo (the District of Peć) killed Vuča jeremić from Goraždevac having fired 5 revolver bul- lets at him, in Filip Brandić’s shop, in the main street of Peć.
4. Two albanians from the village of Kabaš, notorious for their crimes, Mustafa and adem, killed Djordje Katančević from the village of Vitina (the District of Gilan).
5. albanian Sali Bisla killed one Serb and his wife—the parents of the daughter whom he had previously abducted— in broad daylight and in the building of the Local Govern- ment’s Office in Gilan! and instead of being punished for this crime, he was, during the Greco-Turkish War admitted into the imperial army as volunteer!
6. at the beginning of the month of May, albanians at- tacked the home of Vukosav Dragutinović whose daughter they intended to abduct. Yet, Vukoslav accompanied by his men managed to resist the attack. and as they could not take his daughter, they killed his wife instead. after some time,
they repeated the attack on Vukoslav’s home and this time they killed both Vukoslav and his son Vukota.
7. On july 20th, on St. eliah’s Day, Sulcha Hasanović, an albanian from the village of Busovat, went to the village of Gogolevac (the Gilan Kaza) to the home of Giga Stojiljković, forcing him to send his workers to his estate to reap for him without being paid. Since Giga refused that as it was the feast day, Sulcha fired a gun and shot him dead.
8. On july 24th, a field-gurad from the village Brsja, an al- banian named Bajram wounded heavily Stanislav Stanojević, one of the most prominent inhabitants of the village of Ugl- jare. Seven days later, Stanislav died of that wound. No steps were taken by the local authorities to detain the murderer though lawsuits had been filed against him by the relatives of the victim.
9. On june 26th in Kolašin, ashin and Pashe, albanians from Drjenovići, murdered a Serb Živko Simeonović from Kijevac.
10. On july 28th, albanians killed Pera Radenković from the village of Sisovac (the District of Vučitrn).
11. Four albanians killed Stanko Maksimović, an ethnic Serb, near the village of Končul.
12. On august 25th, some albanians from the village of ajvalovo, killed Salija Zejnilović and his friend, both from Priština.
13. in the vicinity of the village of Babljak (in Kosovo Po- lje) and next to the railroad, three albanians attacked Nisa Stanisavljevic, an ethnic Serb, who was herding his cattle there. One of them fired at Nisa with a gun and shot him dead. Nisa’s family and neighbors ran to help him. The kill- ers started to run and being chased they were shooting at the crowd killing Nisa’s son, an eight year old boy.
14. Vukašin Mitrović and his companion, both ethnic Serbs from the village of jašinac (the District of Prizren), while pass- ing through the Gatnjan Wood, spotted from afar a group of albanians whose leader was an albanian from the village of Sopotnica, near Kačanik. Being afraid that these albanians might rob them, the Serbs began to run but the albanians chased them and having caught Vukašin, they cut him to piec- es. Vukašin’s friend managed to escape.
15. at the beginning of the month September, albanians killed Vukašin Dimić from the village of jašinac.
16. On September 14th, Osman Dražanin, from the vil- lage of Voćnjak, killed Milija jeremić, an ethnic Serb and a very respectable and well-known man from the same village.
17. On October 3rd, a Turkish soldier was beating up with rifle-but and kicking a twelve year old child, son of Šina Ma- ksimović from Gilan.
18. The son of Omer ashan from the village of Zabela, an albanian, torched the chaff of Zdravko Nišić from the vil- lage of Babljak thus destroying all of his hay. Last summer, the self-same albanian killed Zdravko’s father Nisa as well as his brother Nestor. He threatened Zdravko that he would torch his house and burn down his whole family; and indeed, he was constantly lurking and following Zdravko from the field of Babljak, in order to ambush and kill him when the latter was passing by. This criminal committed all these crimes against Zdravko because Zdravko would not yield to extortion and fleecing which he wanted to impose upon him.
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