Description
Kosova is Albania brings together selections from Enver Hoxha’s Political Diary, chosen by his son, Ilir Hoxha. In it, the Albanian statesman demonstrates a keen understanding of Balkan history and the internal dynamics of Tito’s Yugoslavia, together with the instincts of a skilled diplomat. Here, he applies V.I. Lenin’s concept of firmness in principle and flexibility in tactics — without overtly involving the Albanian state in the internal affairs of Yugoslavia, he articulates what he regarded as the aspirations of the Albanian nation — not only three million within the borders of Albania, but six million including Kosova and the other Albanian-inhabited territories in Yugoslavia.
At its heart, Kosova is Albania is devoted to the author’s concern for the Albanians of Kosova, offering advice while recognising that they must ultimately solve their own problems themselves. At the same time, he expresses deep indignation whenever writing about the repression of the Yugoslav government against them. Enver Hoxha maintained that Kosova “is Albanian, belongs to Albania and should be returned to Albania,” and that the Albanian nation constituted a single historical whole that had endured despite changing borders and foreign rule. Spanning more than thirty years of diary entries, the book concludes that only the Albanians themselves, relying on “their own pen and gun,” could realise their aspirations to unite their lands and people.