Sami Repishti: 33 VJET MA PARE, EXCHANGE OF LETTERS
Sami Repishti, Ph .D.663
Westminstewr RoadBALDWIN, NEW YORK 11510 U.S. OF AMERICA
August 30, 1978
The Honorable Prof. Dr. Drago Ordenic
President of the University of Zagreb
Zagreb S.R. of Croatia, SFR of Yugoslavia
Dear Mr. President,
The bilingual Albanian English newspaper DIELLI (The Sun) of Boston, Mass. dated August 17, 1978 in its first page, has published news reaching Washington, D.C. from Vienna (Austria) concerning a confrontation, on June 11,1978 between Albanian students studying at the University of Zagreb and the local Yugoslav police. According to DIELLI, three Albanian students were killed and eight more wounded in the melee; one of the wounded students, the nineteen years old freshman, Lirim Juniku, died in his native town of Djakova (SAP of Kosova) on July 8, 1978. The bloody event has shocked the public opinion and especially the one thousand large Albanian community in the United States, since if true it constitutes a monstrous atrocity. Today,we are appealing to you as the distinguihed leader of that renown university, and as an intellectual of high moral integrity, to present the truth about these most serious charges to the world pubic opinion, and to shed the necessary light on these portentous rumors that as of now, are wrapped in utmost secrecy.
Mr.President: The curtesy of your answer will consttute a great service to truth, and will be greatly appreciated by all of us who pursue only the truth.
Sincerely yours, Sami Repishti Chairman,
Department of Foreign Languages Malverne Public Schools,
Lecturer in French, Adelphi University, .N.Y.
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Zagreb, 31st October 1978 Broj: 01-1570-78
Mr. SAMI REPISHTI, Ph.D663 Westmnster Road Baldwin, New York 11510USA
Dear Dr. Repishti,
We have received your letter in which you asked to be informed on the fight which took place among students at he University of Zagreb on 11th June 1978. I am very sorry for the delay in replying to our letter due to the fact that student dormitories are not within the Uniiversity administration and I was not able tosend you a detailed reply earlier. We are pleased that you referred to this Universty in order to get enaugh authentic information. We would like to point out the follomwing facts:The confrontation took place among students at a dancing party in the students’ dormitrory “Nina Markovic” Sarengaska bb. and not “between Albanian students studying at the University of Zagreb and the local police” as stated i your letter, and based on the news from “Dielli”. The police intervened upon the request of he dormitory Administration, in order to prevent the spreading of the conflict and the undesirable consequences. There were a few wounded and an Albannan student died from sustained wounds. A member of the police was seriously wounded. We would like to point out the fact that the inquest conducted by judicial organs in Zagreb has been in the course and the public will be impartially informed accordingly.We are sincerely sorry that such a distressing event took place among our students and we deeply regret the death of one student. We are convnced that on base of the presented facts you will be able to inform truthfully and objectively the general public. I appreciate your intervention and send you my best wishes
Yours sincerely.Prof. Dr. Drago Grdenic
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SERVING THE TRUTH AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
Dr. Repishti’s Note:Today, we present the readers of DIELLI with the above two etters: one letter that we addressed to the President of the University of Zagreb, Croatia (Yugoslavia) and the copy ot the President Grdenic’s answer. The presentation of both letters we think is a fair treatement of both views about “the distrcessing news” that did cost human lves, and we confess a very distressing event for us, since those lives lost were lives of Albanians. Although we greatly appreciate the courtesy of the President’s answer, and especially his expressions of sincere worry and regret, we cannot help thinking that many more questions still remain unanswered. For example:
1) The confrontation took place among students at a dancing party in “the students dormitory”, we are not told which students: Albanians against themselves, or non-Albanians against Albanians?
2)Why the fight was so widespread and violent during such an innocuous social activity as a dancing party?
3 How many people were involved as to impose upon the dormitrory’ administration the need for police intervention?
4) How much more “undesirable consequences” could have been expected than a police gun battle in a student dormitory?
5) Is the armed Yugoslav Police normally authorized to enter student dormitories, and even more important: is it authorized to use its guns against unarmed and defenseless students?
6) Why this “distressing event”was kept so tightly secret, and unreported to the general pubic, even after a huge and symbolic funeral was held on July 8, 1978 in the town of Djakova (SAP of Kosova) in the honor of one of fhe killed students?
7) The judicial intervention that has been going on since June 11, 1978, has it reached any conclusions as of today, six months later? How complicated an incident in a student dormitory dancing can it be?
8) In all fairness to Prof.Dr.Drago Grdanic, a scholar of the Yugoslav academia, we wil be patient until, as he advises us “on the basis of the present facts you will be able to inform truthfully and objectively the general public”?
We repeat , as we did on our Letter of August 30, 1978, that the courtesy of Presidents answer constitutes a grea tservice to jusice and it will be greatly appreciated by all of us who pursue only the truth.(Dr.Sami Repishti is a human rights acitivist and a servant of the cause for the independence of Kosova).