Shqiptarët në Serbi

Emri me i sakte eshte Shqiptaret ne Kosoven Lindore According to the 2002 census, there are 61,647 Albanians in Serbia if the Kosovo Albanians are not counted. Of those, 59,952 live in Central Serbia, chiefly in the Preševo Valley, at the far south of Serbia near the border to the disputed Kosovo region. They mainly live in the municipalities of Preševo (Albanian: Preshevë), and Bujanovac (Albanian: Bujanoc), as well as in the part of the municipality of Medveđa (Albanian: Medvegjë).

Gjeografia

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.

Some Albanians still refer to the region of those three municipalities as "Eastern Kosovo" (Albanian: Kosova Lindore). But 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. 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.

Kulture

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 University of Priština in Kosovo, in Macedonia, or in Albanian Universities.

The main religion of Albanians in this region is Islam.

Individe te shquar

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

Beogradi

Belgrade, has a small 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	1137	3262	8262	6978	8212	4985	1492

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

Shih edhe

• Preševo Valley conflict
• Central Serbia
• Albanians in Kosovo
• Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia
• Albanians in the Republic of Montenegro
• UCPMB, Former guerilla Liberation Army of Presheva, Medvegja and Bujanoc

Lidhje te jashtme

• Southern Serbia: In Kosovo's Shadow