Yugoslavia accuses Albania after riot

Press, 18 April 1981, Page 8

Yugoslavia accuses Albania after riot

NZPA Belgrade . Yugoslavia has accused neighbouring Albania of con-

ducting an anti-Yugoslav campaign and of harbouring territorial ambitions. The strongly worded statement came after a meeting ’ of top leaders in the southeastern province of Kosovo, the scene of violent riots last month when ethnic Albanians demanded more autonomy for the province. According to local officials, at least nine people were killed and more than 250 iniured in clashes hn-

tween the demonstrators and police. Almost 85 per cent of Kosovo’s 1.6 million inhabitants are' ethnic Albanians and some of the rioters were said to have demanded a union with the small, strictly communist neighbour. The official Albanian Communist;Party organ, “Zeri i Popullit,” accused the Yugoslav police of using tanks to quell the disturbances. After a meeting of the top Communist Party officials and provincial leaders in Kosovo’s capital of Pristina, an official statement. said Al-

bania Had openly sided with enemies of Yugoslavia. The statement, released by the official news agency. Tanjug, said: “Although an anti-Yugoslav campaign has been continually' conductedfrom Albania even in the past, the article in “Zeri p, Popullit” represents a clear. political platform of territorial claims towards Yugoslavia. . ;; At the same time, the statement said, the. province of Kosovo “should be a factor of rapprochement between Yugoslavia and Albania.” .