Albanians in Yugoslavia Strike Over Human Rights

Tens of thousands of ethnic Albanians staged a one-day general strike in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo on Monday to protest against human rights violations by the republic of Serbia.

Many shops were padlocked shut throughout Kosovo. Major roads were deserted as people heeded a call by an opposition trade union to stay at home to protest the sacking of thousands of ethnic Albanians and the restrictions on Kosovo’s autonomy.

“We are striking to show how we feel about the bad situation in Kosovo for Albanians,” said Salem Lepaja, a university lecturer.

The strike was called by independent trade unions set up recently by Kosovo’s 1.9 million ethnic Albanians, who make up 90% of its population.

Serbian officials said the strike did not paralyze life in Kosovo because hundreds of people from Belgrade and other Serbian towns were sent to the province to fill in for the strikers.

There were no reports of violence. Last week, Serbian authorities said 21 policemen and scores of demonstrators were injured in clashes with thousands of ethnic Albanians waiting for a U.S. congressional delegation investigating charges of human rights abuses.

The delegation, headed by Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.), criticized what it called “a systematic pattern of violating the rights of Albanians.”

Serbia’s Communist government took administrative control of Kosovo last spring, saying it had to abolish the province’s autonomy to protect the Serb minority from alleged harassment by the ethnic Albanian majority.

In July, the Kosovo Parliament proclaimed the province’s independence from Serbia, which reacted by dismissing the lawmakers.

Serbian authorities also closed the Pristina-based, Albanian-language radio and television stations, while Serbian language broadcasts continued.

More than 8,000 ethnic Albanians were fired or suspended in July and August for refusing to work under the control of Serbian authorities.

After a long period of hot summer weather, it was raining and chilly in Kosovo on Monday. Serbian special police reinforcements on foot and in cars patrolled the streets of Pristina and other provincial towns.

“Trade union leaders asked us not to go out to avoid conflicts with the police,” Lepaja told journalists in his home near the center of the city.

“We all expect we could lose our jobs,” he said, adding that his wife, who works for a state firm, had already emptied her desk “because she is convinced she will be fired tomorrow.”

“But Albanians are ready for sacrifices--the community has never been so united before,” Lepaja declared.

Officials of Serbia’s provisional government in Kosovo said any ethnic Albanians absent from work in state companies on Monday faced dismissal. They threatened to replace them with workers brought in from Serbia.

Kosovo has been a focus of ethnic friction for decades. The ethnic Albanian majority wants more autonomy, but Serbia, Yugoslavia’s biggest republic, retains tight controls because it regards Kosovo as the cradle of its culture.

More than 50 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, have been killed in protests against Serbian rule since March, 1989, according to official figures.