Letter to Chancellor Helmut Kohl

 

HON. JOSEPH J. DIOGUARDI

50 BARAUD ROAD
SCARSDALE, NEW YORK 10583
(914) 472-6872 FAX (914) 967-7443
MEMBER OF CONGRESS 1985— 1989
717 2NDSThEET, NE, (Sm 301)
W&snNowN, DC. 20002

January 6, 1991

 

The Honorable Helmut Kohl
Chancellor, Federal Republic of Germany
Bonn, Germany

Dear chancellor Kohl :

The Albanian American Community in the United States has followed closely the political line taken by the German Government during the crisis in the former Yugoslavia, and applauds the principled attitude demonstrated by your Government.

We are all aware of the complexity of the ?Yugoslav? problem. We are also not so naive as to equate politics with morality. However, we do believe that an immoral or amoral policy does not serve the long—term interests of any nation. Therefore, we are most pleased with your Government?s insistence on the rights of peoples to self-determination, and its decision to recognize the republics of Slovenia and Croatia.

The Albanian American Civic League is cognizant of the fact that the German Federal Government firmly believes that there can be no solution to the crisis in the former Yugoslavia without taking into account the legitimate interests of the Albanians living there. Please, allow us to add that there will be no peace in the former Yugoslavia if the legitimate rights of the three million Albanians living there are not recognized. The Albanian American Civic League takes this opportunity to bring to the Chancellor?s attention the fact that Serbian repression in Kosova has reached the boiling point, and that Albanian patience and endurance are at the breaking point. We firmly believe that a bloody confrontation in the predominantly Albanian Kosova is only a question of time, and that one should do all one can to avoid it.

The Albanian American Civic League also firmly believes that the situation in. Kosova desperately warrants that:

1.UN Peacekeeping forces be dispatched to Kosova to protect the defenseless Albanian population from a Serbian massacre.

2.The European Community, hopefully led by the Federal Republic of Germany, recognizes the Republic of Kosova as a sovereign and independent state as the only logical and effective solution to protect the Albanian people in Kosova from their Serbian communist oppressors.

As president of the Albanian American Civic League I would be ready and honored to meet with you or, if that is not possible, your representative in Bonn during my visit to Germany on January 14,15 and 16, at your convenience, to discuss this matter of utmost urgency in detail.

 

Respectfully and sincerely,

Hon. Joseph J. DioGuardi, President
Albanian American Civic League