The search for the causes of the tragedy

Continuation of yesterday text "Who were the members of the units from Kosovo that arrived in Bar?"

It is not appropriate to arbitrate between two opposing viewpoints about the “forced mobilization or capture” victims, except for unequivocal facts that can be strengthened by claims from other sources. Therefore, based on the documents and literature available today, it seems reasonable to conclude that these are the persons whom the aforementioned author Nikolić most precisely names with "recruits"This name does not exclude the fact that these are mainly "forced, not voluntarily mobilized" people and that they were not partisans, because then it would be impossible to explain the escort during the transport from Prizren, through Albania, to Shkodra, and then to Bar, and that until they surrendered to the Montenegrin partisans, they were accompanied by a Serbian partisan battalion composed mainly of people from Piroj and Vranje. The broader historical context, which is important for understanding the setting in which the event took place, is also ignored.

Namely, it is known that Kosovo and Metohija were liberated from the German occupier in December 1944 and that a mass uprising against the new Yugoslav communist government broke out there at the beginning of 1945. Since the main focus of this mass uprising was in Drenica, the Supreme Headquarters of the NOV and POJ first sent around 30.000 soldiers to suppress the uprising, and on 8 February 1945 the Military Administration in Kosovo and Metohija was established. Although the main resistance was broken only in March 1945, that is, at the time of the first mobilizations, it should still be borne in mind that the basis of distrust between these forces did not arise on the day of mobilization, but was visible in the mass collaboration with the occupier on the one hand and the final operations in the expulsion of the occupiers from these areas, on the other.

The rebel forces in Kosovo were finally crushed only at the end of February, after the encirclement on Mount Čičavica. After that, the need for a larger inclusion of the Albanian population in the ranks of the partisan movement became apparent. It should be noted that this was also the time when the mass transition from the Chetnik to the partisan movement was coming to an end and that a significant number of yesterday's "Chetniks" were already in partisan units. This is not intended to emphasize the national ideology of the partisans, but rather to try to understand that formal and ideological conversion do not have to take place simultaneously. If this is so, it is certain that there was distrust between the deported recruits and their companions, just as it is certain that numerous partisan documents contain explicit orders on how to properly treat "recruits" (in documents they are most often marked as "Shiptars"). At the same time, this does not mean that all of this should be idealized or that partisan reports that explicitly speak of "friendly and benevolent" The welcoming of the partisan forces by the native Albanian population during this journey. The behavior of the escorts during the transport of these echelons from Kosovo to Bar, when according to many testimonies they did not allow them to stop to take water or even to relieve themselves, which led to minor incidents during the journey, should be understood as an expression of mutual distrust and the need to carry out orders too zealously in order to reduce the number of escapees.

What is the cause of the massacre that everyone was "ashamed of"?"?

Every event in history has a cause and effect. Without these characteristics, it is impossible to explain the event, especially if you do not have detailed insight and testimonies about it. In this case, there are several clues that explain the crime. Given that every "explanation" crime resembles its justification, which, in our opinion, is a futile and meaningless task, we have tried, based on existing knowledge and testimonies, to delve into the reasons that could have led to this event.

Based on what we have at our disposal, the following are the possible causes: "religious and national intolerance" ,"revenge", "rebellion"Analyzing each of the above items, it seems to us that only through the symbiosis of the above causes, including those we do not know, is it possible to penetrate the core of the causes of this event. Religious and national intolerance or so-called "religious and national atavism" is an explanation that is often given in a situation where there is no understandable explanation. It concentrates centuries of history, which "most often false" portrayed as a permanent conflict, usually by those who justify or supposedly understand the crime.

Using this specific example, we will try to show how sustainable such an argument is, and how much it is a statement of generality, which many believe does not require explanation. It is simply interpreted as "given state" which is often a historical original lie, just as, on the other hand, is often no less a lie about "to true love, mutual respect and tolerance".

So, in concrete terms, it was a population that suffered oppression, stigmatization, persecution, and even projections of emigration in a part of Yugoslav territory[1], and in that sense, its mass collaboration with the occupier was largely an expression of the acquired distrust in the state in which they did not feel equal. The projection of the new communist government was also built on such an experience, which, emphasizing the slogan of "brotherhood and unity" of the Yugoslav peoples needed to strengthen it with concrete active participation of all peoples in the ranks of the NOR. Although this issue has not been sufficiently researched, and this is the end of the war, it should be borne in mind that the mass presence of Serbs (outside Serbia) in the partisan ranks was further strengthened by the general amnesty of the Chetniks in August 1944 and their mass entry into the partisan units. A similar situation occurred with the Muslims in Sandžak, where at this time (near the end of the war) the first "Muslim Partisan Battalions".

These facts are mostly ignored in official historiography, as are many other things. This does not mean that they should not be introduced into the discussion of the aforementioned issues. Mustafa Balje does not point to the motives, because this is what his interlocutors, the surviving participants of this event, say, and that is why he claims: "The truth about the Bar massacre, when more than two thousand Kosovars were shot at the end of March 1945, is still shrouded in secrecy or has been little presented to our, Kosovo's, and the wider public. No one has been held accountable for that massacre so far, the circumstances and motives have not been clarified, but it is certain that the crime was committed by the partisans, while the victims were young Kosovar recruits, gathered from different backgrounds. This event in Bar will be remembered as one of the largest mass executions in those areas directed by the partisans." One of his narrators, Mehmed Kaplani, states: "At the beginning, they informed us that we were being taken to help the partisans in the fight against the Germans, who were 'entrenched' somewhere on the coast. Vojo Mandušić, a sergeant by rank, was also with us from Sredska. Those who had a 'pick' from the authorities were mobilized. Slave Kekov was from Drajčići, Miloš from Gornje Selo, Trajko from Ljubižda, while Spiro Petković and a certain Petko who was wounded in Bar and had his leg amputated were from Mušutište."

Therefore, this surviving participant unequivocally confirms that among the recruits there were not only Albanians (in the documents "Shiptars") but there were others. The same witness says: "We were led to Shkodra by the army from Pirot and Vranje. These partisans in civilian clothes had no insignia. They had "Kragujevka" rifles and in Shkodra they handed us over to the 10th Montenegrin Brigade, who were well armed and dressed in "English uniforms."[2] The fact is that the recruits from Kosovo (the assembly point was in Prizren) were first followed by Serbian partisans (from Pirojë and Vranje) and handed over to the 10th Montenegrin Brigade in Shkodra, concluding: "Those from Montenegro didn't torture us as much as the people from Vranje and Pirot, who had previously shot at us when someone wanted to fill the water from the river. They considered us deserters."[3]

The second witness, Zejno Šefitagić, a Bosniak from Donji Ljubinje who, along with eight other locals, survived the Bar ordeal, is more specific in his description of the atmosphere and reception: "We all set out with the belief that we were being mobilized to help fight the Germans in Montenegro. In Shkodra, we heard with disbelief from some citizens words like: 'Kini me pa ju Kosovar, kini me pa k'tu' (You'll see, Kosovars, you'll see there...). I found it strange how the citizens of Shkodra behaved! They sold us water. For one bottle of water they asked for 10 lek. We couldn't figure out where there was so much hatred towards us Kosovars. They are Muslims like us, and they hate us".[4] His son Adil Šefitagić, coincidentally, was one of the workers who stayed in my house, as he states: "By a coincidence, I worked in Bar from 1988 to 1990, so I learned some new details that my father didn't know." He then states that he learned from Baran (he mentions Nuz, the president of the vakuf board) that many residents of Bar had shot at them, but he did not forget to mention an example that he had witnessed: "There were also those who behaved differently. During my stay, I heard that a certain Petrović, from one of the wealthier families in Bar, saved seven Kosovars from the worst. After the crimes in Bar, he sent them back to Kosovo alive and well"...[5] The already mentioned Adžo Bexheti categorically claims: "It was, in fact, a setup"!

The author is a regular member of CANU, BANU and DANU.

To be continued tomorrow

__________

[1] See more: Šerbo Rastoder, A Lesser Known Elaborate by Vaso Čubrilović on Solving the Minority Problem in New Yugoslavia, November 3, 1944

[2] Mustafa Balje, nd 99-117.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.