Author: Flamur Buçpapaj
Scientific Study
Field: Political Science / History / International Law
Abstract
This study examines the Yugoslav state’s efforts to ethnically cleanse Muslim Albanians during the interwar period and after World War II. Focusing on Vaso Čubrilović’s memorandum Iseljavanje Arnauta (“Expulsion of the Albanians,” 1937) and the Yugoslavia–Turkey Agreement (1938), the study argues that ethnic cleansing was not merely nationalist rhetoric but a systematic state policy designed and implemented to alter the ethnic composition of Kosovo and other Albanian regions.
Introduction
In the 1930s, Yugoslav policy initiated a broad project of demographic engineering aimed at the Serbization of Kosovo and the Albanian-majority regions in southern Serbia. This project was explicitly formulated in the infamous memorandum by Vaso Čubrilović and later supported by a bilateral agreement with Turkey for the mass resettlement of Muslim Albanians.
- Historical Context
The Albanian Question in Yugoslavia
After World War I and the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia), Albanians in Kosovo faced violent colonization, state repression, and denial of national rights.
Colonization Policies
Between 1920 and 1935, over 10,000 Serbian and Montenegrin families were settled on Albanian lands. This state-supported process aimed to alter the demographic structure.
- Vaso Čubrilović’s Memorandum Iseljavanje Arnauta (1937)
Content and Objective
In March 1937, Serbian historian and politician Vaso Čubrilović submitted the memorandum Iseljavanje Arnauta (“Expulsion of the Albanians”) to the Belgrade government. In it, he argued that Albanians should be relocated to Turkey because:
“They are not Europeans, they are Islamic fanatics and a foreign body in the Yugoslav national organism.”
Proposed Means of Expulsion
Economic pressure (taxation, lack of employment)
Closure of Albanian schools and prohibition of education
Land confiscation for Serbian colonists
Violent expulsions, burning of villages
Active role of gendarmerie and Chetniks in intimidation
“We must create an unbearable atmosphere so that they will want to leave on their own.”
- Yugoslavia–Turkey Agreement (1938)
Content
On July 11, 1938, a secret agreement was signed between Yugoslavia and Turkey, which foresaw:
The relocation of 40,000 Muslim families (mostly Albanians)
Transport costs covered by Turkey
Resettlement in Anatolia
Full right for Yugoslavia to select which individuals would be relocated
Implementation
The agreement was never ratified by the Turkish parliament due to international pressure and the looming World War II. Nevertheless, in the 1950s, a verbal agreement was renewed between Tito and Turkish Foreign Minister Fuad Köprülü.
- Practical Implementation After 1953
Between 1952 and 1966, over 175,000 Albanians emigrated from Yugoslavia to Turkey.
The Tito regime supported emigration through continuous economic pressure, educational bans, and psychological coercion.
Albanians were registered as “Turks” to benefit from the agreement and avoid discrimination.
- Legal and Ethical Analysis
Crimes Against Humanity
According to Article 7 of the Rome Statute, systematic expulsion of populations constitutes a crime against humanity, whether in wartime or peacetime.
Ethnic Cleansing as State Policy
The Čubrilović memorandum, the international agreements, and post-war pressures constitute institutional planning for ethnic cleansing and the dismantling of a community through both direct and indirect means.
Čubrilović’s plan represents a premeditated project of ethnic state-building in Yugoslavia.
The 1938 agreement and subsequent actions demonstrate active efforts at ethnic cleansing.
These actions must be recognized as part of the historical repression of Albanians and examined by a historical and legal tribunal.
References
Čubrilović, V. (1937). Iseljavanje Arnauta. Belgrade.
Pezo, Edvin (2013). Zwangsmigration in Friedenszeiten?, De Gruyter.
Elsie, Robert (2001). The Expulsion of the Albanians.
Malcolm, Noel (1998). Kosovo: A Short History.
Ramet, Sabrina P. (2006). The Three Yugoslavias.
Gjonça, Arjan (2001). Communism, Health and Lifestyle.
Schad, Thomas (2016). From Muslims into Turks?, Journal of Genocide Research.
Daskalovski, Zhidas (2003). The Issue of Ethnic Minorities in the Balkans.
Appendix: Translation Excerpt of Čubrilović’s “Iseljavanje Arnauta”
The Expulsion of the Albanians is the name of the memorandum written by Dr. Vaso Čubrilović, a Serbian academic and politician, in 1937 for Stojadinović’s government. This memorandum proposed ways to resolve the “Albanian problem” through the total ethnic cleansing of Albanians from Kosovo.
Čubrilović argued that only a country “inhabited by its own people” can be sustained and that it is “an imperative duty” of the state not to allow “hostile and foreign elements” to hold important strategic territory. He criticized the ineffective colonization so far and proposed more efficient methods of physical expulsion of Albanians.
“Albanians cannot be subdued through gradual colonization. The only way, the only means is the brutal force of an organized state power — in which we have always been superior to them.”
Means of Ethnic Cleansing Proposed by Čubrilović:
Creating a Psychosis: Use agitators to promote emigration, co-opt religious and influential leaders with money or threats.
State Pressure: Maximize use of the legal and police system to make Albanian life unbearable — fines, arrests, tax collection, denial of property titles, expulsion from public and private employment, etc.
Economic Pressure: Deny business licenses, land rights, grazing privileges.
Health and Administrative Measures: Force implementation of health regulations, demolish house walls and fences, impose veterinary restrictions to hinde Expulsion of the Albanians
The memorandum titled “The Expulsion of the Albanians”, written by Dr. Vaso Čubrilović—a Serbian academic and politician—in 1937, proposed methods for solving the “Albanian question” through the complete ethnic cleansing of Albanians from Kosovo.
Čubrilović believed that a state could only be sustained if inhabited solely by “its own people” and that it was an “imperative duty” of the state to prevent any strategically important territory from being held by “a foreign and hostile element.” He criticized the inefficient Serbian colonization of Kosovo up to that point and proposed more effective methods for the physical removal of the Albanian population. According to him, the main mistake of the authorities had been the attempt to solve ethnic problems in the Balkans through Western methods, while the solution, in his view, should be applied “in a Balkan manner”:
“Albanians cannot be defeated through slow colonization alone. The only tool and the only method is the brutal force of an organized state power, in which we have always been superior to them.”
Instruments of Ethnic Cleansing
Dr. Čubrilović considered mass displacement of Albanians the only effective solution to the “Albanian question.” To achieve this, he proposed the following pressure tactics:
Creation of a Psychosis
The first step was to create a climate of fear. For this, agitators had to be mobilized as soon as possible to promote emigration and try to gain the support of influential Albanian clerics and leaders—either through money or threats.
State Pressure
The second step involved using state apparatus to apply maximum pressure by exploiting all legal means to make Albanian life unbearable. Čubrilović suggested the Yugoslav government use fines, arrests, strict enforcement of police regulations, punishment for smuggling, forest confiscation, the use of police dogs, forced labor (kuluk), and “any other means a practical police system could invent.”
Beyond police pressure, he also proposed economic pressure: non-recognition of old land ownership documents, obstruction of cadastral work, strict tax and debt collection, confiscation of public and communal pastures, and revocation of licenses for businesses such as cafés, trade, and crafts. He also called for exclusion from all forms of public, private, or local employment.
From sanitary measures, he advocated: the forced implementation of health regulations even inside homes, demolition of large courtyard walls, and strict enforcement of veterinary controls to block livestock trade.
He also suggested religious pressure: harassment of clergy, desecration of cemeteries, banning polygamy, and the ruthless enforcement of laws requiring girls to attend school.
Private Initiative
Alongside state mechanisms, Čubrilović emphasized that “private initiative could do much in this regard.” He proposed distributing weapons to settlers and launching a Chetnik action in Kosovo. He further suggested provoking conflicts between Montenegrins and Albanians in Metohija and inciting local uprisings that would be “brutally crushed using the most efficient means”—not so much by the army, but by colonists, Montenegrin tribes, and Chetniks.
Burning of Settlements
In addition to all the mentioned means of pressure on the civilian population, Čubrilović also proposed one more tactic—”which Serbia very practically used after 1878″—namely the secret burning of villages and Albanian quarters in cities.
Consequences
Stojadinović’s government could not fully implement Čubrilović’s memorandum due to the prevailing economic and foreign policy situation. Its implementation was permanently halted by the April War and the collapse of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. As a result, the document remained in the archives, unknown for years except to a small circle of people.
In 1944, Čubrilović proposed a similar plan—this time directed at all non-Slavic populations of Yugoslavia—to the new communist authorities. Although officially rejected as incompatible with communist ideology, Čubrilović was accepted into the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (KPJ), and the document “Expulsion of the Albanians” was erased from his official biography.
The international public first learned of the memorandum in the 1960s when it was discovered by Enver Hoxha, then communist leader of Albania, who used it for propaganda purposes. Yugoslav authorities denied its existence, but the document began circulating among historians.
The Yugoslav public first heard of “The Expulsion of the Albanians” when parts of it were published in January 1988 in the Belgrade newspaper Borba, and shortly after in the Zagreb magazine Start. It caused a scandal, as it tarnished not only the reputation of Čubrilović, a respected historian, but also that of Nobel laureate Ivo Andrić, who had allegedly supported Čubrilović’s plans in the 1930s.
The memorandum was later frequently cited as one of the foundational documents of the Greater Serbian ideology in the 20th century, and as a blueprint for the ethnic cleansing methods used by Serbian authorities during the breakup of Yugoslavia, targeting Albanians, Bosniaks, and Croats.
Some authors believe that Čubrilović’s plan for the expulsion of Albanians from Kosovo was revived in 1999 by Milošević’s regime under the name Operation Horseshoe (Potkovica). During this brutal ethnic cleansing campaign, over 850,000 Albanians were forced to flee Kosovo, but were soon returned after the withdrawal of Serbian troops. both domestic and international at the time. Its implementation was definitively interrupted by the April War and the fall of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. As a result, it remained in the archives and for many years no one knew about it, except for a small number of individuals.
In 1944, Čubrilović attempted to offer the new communist authorities a similar plan that would include all non-Slavic peoples in Yugoslavia. This plan was officially rejected as incompatible with communist ideology. Nevertheless, Čubrilović was accepted into the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, but the text of “The Expulsion of the Albanians” was removed from his official biography.
The international public first heard about this document in the 1960s, when it fell into the hands of Enver Hoxha, the communist leader of Albania, who used it for propaganda purposes. The official Yugoslav authorities denied its existence, but the document began to circulate among historians.
The Yugoslav public first learned of “The Expulsion of the Albanians” in January 1988, when excerpts of it were published in the newspaper Borba in Belgrade, and later in the magazine Start in Zagreb. At the time, the document caused a scandal, as it damaged the reputation not only of a prominent historian but also of the Nobel laureate Ivo Andrić, who was said to have supported Čubrilović’s plans in the 1930s.
The text has since often been cited and considered one of the foundational documents of the Greater Serbian ideology in the 20th century, and as the basis for the methods used by Serbian authorities during the breakup of Yugoslavia for the ethnic cleansing of Albanians, Muslims, and Croats.
Some authors argue that Čubrilović’s plan for the expulsion of Albanians from Kosovo was put into practice in 1999 by the Milošević regime under the name “Operation Horseshoe” (Potkovica). During this brutal act of ethnic cleansing, over 850,000 Albanians were forced to leave Kosovo but returned shortly after the withdrawal of Serbian forces.
Historical and Ideological Context
After the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1918, the issue of Albanians in Kosovo and other ethnic Albanian regions in southern Serbia and Macedonia became one of the most sensitive matters for the Serbian regime. Albanians, who were an ethnic majority in strategically important regions such as Kosovo, were seen as an obstacle to the consolidation of a Serbian ethno-nationalist state. Therefore, Yugoslav governments developed deliberate policies to alter the ethnic composition of these territories.
Colonization and the 1931 Ethnic Census
One of the main mechanisms was the colonization of Albanian lands by Serbian and Montenegrin families. This policy was implemented by distributing confiscated or violently cleared lands, excluding Albanians from any opportunity to benefit from agrarian reforms. According to the 1931 population census, the percentage of Albanians in Kosovo dropped from about 65% to 61% — a modest change, but politically significant. It demonstrated the failure of colonization to fundamentally alter demographic balances, which in turn radicalized the Serbian elite’s approach to the “Albanian problem.”
Nationalist Ideology and Institutional Islamophobia
A central pillar of this approach was the ideology that defined Muslim Albanians as a “foreign element,” “non-European,” and an “obstacle to the building of the Serbian nation.” Albanians were often portrayed in state discourse as “savage,” “backward,” “Turks,” or “Islamic fundamentalists,” preparing the ground for their exclusion from full citizenship and for justifying their displacement.
Vaso Čubrilović’s Lecture – March 7, 1937
In this ideological climate, an important lecture was held on March 7, 1937, by Serbian academic and nationalist Vaso Čubrilović, known for his participation in the 1914 assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. In this lecture — which later became the basis for the infamous memorandum “Iseljavanje Arnauta” (The Expulsion of the Albanians) — he clearly formulated strategies for the mass expulsion of Albanians.
One of his most forceful proposals was the use of “state terrorism” as an instrument to accelerate the displacement:
“Albanian homes must be burned. We must create organized fear to accelerate emigration.”
(Vaso Čubrilović, March 7, 1937)
He recommended the use of measures such as:
Intimidation through police and gendarmerie
Raids, arrests, and arbitrary fines
Removal of the right to Albanian-language education
Incitement of divisions among Albanian clans
Prohibition of the use of the Albanian language in administration
This institutional discourse was not merely the product of individual beliefs, but a reflection of a broad consensus among the upper echelons of the Yugoslav state, which considered expulsion as the final solution to the Albanian question.
Colonization Policies
From 1920 to 1935, the Yugoslav state undertook one of the largest campaigns of violent colonization in the history of the Balkans, with the aim of changing the ethnic composition of Kosovo and the southern Albanian-inhabited regions of the country. During this period, over 10,000 Serbian and Montenegrin families were systematically settled on lands that traditionally belonged to native Albanians.
The Goals of Colonization The main goal of these colonization efforts was the gradual ethnic cleansing of Albanians through state, legal, and repressive mechanisms. This included:
The expropriation of Albanian lands through agrarian reform laws;
The settlement of colonists on the most fertile lands, without compensation for Albanian owners;
Financial, material, and legal support for Serbian colonists;
Restrictions on Albanians’ ability to own or inherit land.
Institutional mechanisms
Colonization policies were reinforced through a legal framework that favored only Serbian and Montenegrin colonists. Albanians, in contrast, faced:
High taxes on their land;
Forced expropriations;
Legal obstacles in registering property;
Constant risk of raids and collective punishments.
During this period, colonization was not a spontaneous phenomenon but rather a state-organized project coordinated by the central government in Belgrade, supported by local institutions, the police, the gendarmerie, and public administration.
Demographic and social impact
Although in the short term colonization did not significantly alter the Albanian majority in Kosovo (from 65% to 61% in the 1931 census), its long-term effects were destabilizing and traumatic:
Albanians lost large areas of land;
Interethnic tensions escalated;
A system of institutional discrimination and ethnic segregation was created;
The groundwork was laid for violent displacements in the following decades, as would be explicitly articulated in Vaso Čubrilović’s memorandum in 1937 and later in the Rankovićist plan of the 1950s.
The Memorandum “Iseljavanje Arnauta” by Vaso Čubrilović (1937)
Content and Objective
In March 1937, Vaso Čubrilović – a historian, university professor, and Serbian politician, former member of the terrorist group “Black Hand” which participated in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand – submitted a confidential memorandum to the government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia titled “Iseljavanje Arnauta” (The Expulsion of Albanians). This document represents one of the clearest manifestos of institutional ethnic cleansing ever formulated in the Balkans in the 20th century.
In the memorandum, Čubrilović presents the Albanian population as a strategic threat and an obstacle to Yugoslav integration, proposing a clear policy of their elimination through mass expulsion. He describes Albanians as:
“Non-Europeans, Islamic fanatics, uncultured, and a foreign body in the national Yugoslav organism.”
The purpose of this document was to offer the government a practical plan, to be implemented through the state apparatus, for altering the ethnic structure of Kosovo and other Albanian-majority regions.
Proposed Means of Expulsion
The memorandum does not conceal its violent and racist nature. It proposes a series of state-organized measures to exert psychological, economic, and physical pressure, encouraging “voluntary” emigration to Turkey. These measures included:
- a) Economic pressure
Imposition of heavy taxes on Albanian property and businesses;
Denial of employment opportunities in the public sector;
Blockade of trade and punishment of Albanian rural economies.
- b) Confiscation and redistribution of land
Expropriation of Albanians without compensation;
Transfer of confiscated land to Serbian and Montenegrin colonists;
Restrictions on Albanians’ rights to inherit and purchase land.
- c) Closure of schools and banning of the language
Systematic closure of Albanian-language schools;
Cessation of publications and instruction in the Albanian language;
Subjugation of education to Serbian propaganda.
- d) Intimidation and physical violence
Burning of Albanian villages through “punitive actions”;
Active role of the gendarmerie, paramilitaries, and Chetniks in intimidation and torture;
Arbitrary arrests and collective punishments of the civilian population.
- e) Propaganda and disinformation
State-led campaign portraying emigration as salvation from poverty;
Deceptive promises of housing and employment in Turkey.
The document explicitly states:
“We must create an unbearable atmosphere so that they will want to leave on their own.”
This sentence encapsulates the core philosophy of state-sponsored silent terror: to incite emigration not through direct intervention, but through the creation of a violent, merciless, and insecure environment for Albanians. Ideological and Racial Justification
Čubrilović justified his policy with deeply racist, cultural, and religious arguments, excluding Albanians from being part of the European world. He stated:
“Assimilation is impossible because they have a very strong national and religious consciousness.”
Thus, in the absence of a possible assimilation, he suggested physical elimination and displacement as the only way to achieve the “national stabilization” of Yugoslavia. At one point, he even referred to Albanians as:
“Useless human material for the state.”
Consequences and Historical Impact
Although this memorandum was not implemented immediately in 1937 due to international circumstances, it served as the ideological foundation for later ethnic cleansing policies in the 1940s and 1950s, especially during the rule of Aleksandar Ranković in socialist Yugoslavia.
After World War II, many of these ideas were revived in the form of:
Silent purges in the name of “administrative reform”;
Closure of Albanian-language schools;
Encouragement of emigration to Turkey (through secret agreements);
Collective punishments for “Albanian nationalist tendencies.”
Implementation of the Yugoslav-Turkish Agreement for the Displacement of Albanians (1938)
On July 4, 1938, a secret agreement was signed in Belgrade between the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Turkey. Its aim was the systematic displacement of Albanians from Kosovo, Macedonia, and the Sandžak region to Anatolia. The agreement foresaw the deportation of 200,000 Albanians over a 6-year period, disguising them as ethnic Turks to avoid international and local resistance.
According to the text of the agreement (now partially published in Turkish archives), the targeted groups for displacement were:
Albanian residents of Kosovo, the Preševo Valley, Western Macedonia, and Sandžak;
Individuals labeled by the state as “undesirable elements,” “fanatical Muslims,” and “Albanian nationalists.”
The category of “Turkish-speaking” was politically invented to include Albanians in the agreement.
Obstacles to Implementation
Although the document was signed and preliminary lists of people for deportation were prepared, the agreement was never ratified by the Turkish Parliament due to:
International reaction, especially from Italy and Britain, who saw the move as a threat to Balkan stability;
The outbreak of World War II, which shifted states’ focus toward military priorities;
Internal resistance within some Turkish political circles, concerned about the economic and ethnic impacts of mass migration.
Nevertheless, the formal failure of the agreement did not stop the Yugoslav state from continuing efforts for ethnic cleansing through indirect and silent means. The idea of displacement remained part of internal policy for decades.
Practical Implementation After 1953
The Tito–Köprülü Verbal Agreement and the Resumption of Emigration
In 1953, after Stalin’s death and the cooling of Yugoslav-Soviet relations, a new strategic alliance was formed between the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO-member Turkey. In this context, Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito and Turkish Foreign Minister Fuad Köprülü reached a verbal agreement to facilitate the emigration of Albanians to Turkey—without an official document or parliamentary ratification.
This silent agreement paved the way for an institutionally coordinated process in which Albanians:
Were registered in civil records as “Turks” to benefit from emigration rights;
Signed “voluntary” departure declarations, often under psychological pressure or false promises of a better life in Anatolia;
Faced social exclusion policies if they refused to leave.
Mass Emigration 1952–1966
According to official data from the Turkish State Archives and estimates by researchers like Sabrina Ramet and Shkëlzen Gashi, between 1952 and 1966, over 175,000 Albanians emigrated from Yugoslavia to Turkey. In some unofficial estimates, the number reaches up to 250,000, including:
Around 100,000 Albanians from Kosovo;
Over 50,000 from Western Macedonia;
Several tens of thousands from the Preševo Valley and Sandžak.
This migration was carried out silently but in a coordinated manner by state structures, involving:
- a) Economic and institutional pressure
Lack of investment in Albanian-populated areas;
Increased taxes and exclusion from agricultural aid;
Inability to secure employment in the state sector.
- b) Educational and cultural pressure
Closure of schools in the Albanian language in some regions;
Inability to pursue secondary and higher education in their mother tongue.
Control over Libraries and the Ban on Albanian Publications
- c) Psychological and Police Pressure
Summons by the police for “information about nationalist activities”;
Mandatory registration as “Turk” to avoid discrimination;
Propaganda promoting favorable living conditions in Turkey.
Demographic and Cultural Consequences
This mass displacement had severe consequences for the demographic structure of Albanians in Yugoslavia and for the national identity of the diaspora in Turkey:
The percentage of Albanians in Kosovo decreased from over 65% at the beginning of the 20th century to around 60% by 1966;
Entire villages were emptied in the Dukagjin Plain, in Tetovo, and Kumanovo;
Rapid assimilation of Albanians in Turkey, who were registered as Turks, and the prohibition of the Albanian language in public spaces;
Disappearance of the middle intellectual class in the Albanian territories of Yugoslavia, which was among the most affected groups by the forced emigration.
Legal and Ethical Analysis
Crimes Against Humanity
According to Article 7 of the Rome Statute (ICC, 1998), “deportation or forcible transfer of population” is considered a crime against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack:
“Deportation or forcible transfer of population” means forced displacement through oppression, intimidation, or administrative measures aimed at removing people from their habitual place of residence.
— icc-cpi.int
— ihl-databases.icrc.org
Such a crime against humanity can also occur outside the context of war (e.g., during peacetime), if the state or other powerful actors use force, economic pressure, or other violent methods to drive citizens out.
Difference from the Concept of Genocide
Although ethnic cleansing is often associated with genocide, the Geneva Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948) defines genocide as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, or religious group. In the case of the mass expulsion of Albanians:
The crime against humanity of forcible population transfer covers the reality of the forced displacement;
For qualification as genocide, it must also be proven that there was an intent to destroy the targeted group; Yugoslavia’s policy to alter the ethnic composition fulfilled the definition of ethnic cleansing, but there was not always clear evidence of intent for full physical extermination.
International Human Rights
Acts of forced displacement also violate:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), Article 9: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile.”
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), Article 12: the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
Humanitarian Norms and IHL
Even in times of peace, the basic principles of humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions reject any form of violence against civilians and any pressure that results in ethnic cleansing. Moreover, customary IHL prohibits:
“Any person from compelling civilians to leave their areas of residence.”
Ethical Dimension
From an ethical perspective, the policy of forced displacement violates fundamental principles:
Human dignity – every person has the right to survive and coexist in their birthplace;
Equality and non-discrimination – ethnic displacement is a discriminatory act aimed at depriving a specific group of fundamental rights;
Institutional complicity – the involvement of bureaucracy, police, and diplomacy shows that state radicalism used government organs to violate both ethics and law.
The plan of Vaso Čubrilović and the subsequent actions of Yugoslavia—using economic pressure, administrative measures, and structured violence—are a clear example of acts that belong to the category of crimes against humanity and ethically and legally unacceptable violence within the international community.
The Premeditated Project of Ethnic State-Building
Vaso Čubrilović’s plan was not merely a personal vision, but part of a strategic program by Yugoslav high institutions to create an ethnically homogenized state.
It clearly demonstrated that demographic transformation, bureaucratic interventions, and the use of force were all tools in service of building the doctrine of “one nation, one state.”
By incorporating economic, legal, educational, police, and diplomatic tools (e.g., agreements with Turkey), the document illustrates a comprehensive model for an ethnic cleansing project.
The 1938 Agreement and Subsequent Actions
The secret Yugoslavia–Turkey agreement (1938), although not fully implemented formally, upheld the spirit of Čubrilović’s memoranda:
It established a bureaucratic system for mass displacement, disguised as voluntary emigration. Subsequent Implementations (1953–1966) under Tito and Verbal Agreements with Turkey
These were assembled into a “step-by-step package” that pushed thousands of Albanian families toward Anatolia.
These actions prove that, even after World War II, ethnic cleansing policies were not halted—they merely changed in implementation, shifting from an overt plan to a silent campaign.
Historical Significance and the Need for a Tribunal
Yugoslavia’s actions against Albanians represent a dark chapter in Balkan history, where the institutionalization of discrimination turned into planned ethnic cleansing:
Documentation: Every step taken—from memoranda and colonization to bilateral agreements—is traceable through archives, official pamphlets, and oral testimonies.
Historical Justice: In order to face the past honestly, a historical tribunal is needed, not only to establish the guilt of the actors but also to assess the material and cultural damages inflicted.
Transitional Responsibility: Successor states must acknowledge their role and take measures for compensation, public remembrance, and comprehensive education in schools, museums, and national media.
Preventing ethnic cleansing requires more effective international mechanisms for demographic oversight and early condemnation of ethno-nationalist propaganda.
Comprehensive Education on the consequences of extreme nationalism, to foster civic responsibility in younger generations.
Regional Cooperation among Balkan peoples through platforms for historical and cultural dialogue, to heal collective wounds and build mutual trust.
Transitional Justice Policies
National Investigative Commissions
Establishment of an official commission to collect and verify documentation on colonization and forced displacements.
Invitation for testimonies from survivors and their families.
Regional Historical Tribunal
In cooperation with international actors (Council of Europe, UN), the creation of a tribunal to assess crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing in the Balkans.
Issuance of a legal opinion to serve as a basis for compensation claims.
Reparations and Compensation
Creation of a state fund to compensate Albanian property owners for sales and confiscations of immovable assets.
Provision of fiscal incentives to communities that restore their cultural and historical heritage.
Education and Public Memory
School Programs
Inclusion of a module on the ethnic cleansing of Albanians in high school and university history textbooks.
Organization of seminars and lectures in cooperation with Albanian and Serbian universities.
Museums and Memorial Centers
Establishment of a memory museum in Pristina dedicated to documentation and testimonies of ethnic cleansing.
Itinerant exhibitions in major Balkan cities to spread the message of awareness.
Translations and Academic Publications
Publication of original documents (Čubrilović, agreements) in various languages with critical commentary.
Funding of comparative research on other European cases of demographic colonization.
Future Academic Research
Comparative Studies
Analysis of ethnic cleansing policies in the Balkans compared to those in Greece (population exchange with Turkey, 1923) and Czechoslovakia (post-WWII transfers).
Researchers to address the geopolitical factors that determined waves of mass emigration.
Interdisciplinary Methodologies
Use of geospatial methods (GIS) to visualize demographic movements.
Sociological research on the psychological harm caused by forced displacement to second and third generations.
International Cooperation Networks
Creation of an online platform for the exchange of archives and primary sources among Balkan and European universities.
Annual interdisciplinary conferences to discuss findings and policy implications.
This series of recommendations aims not only to address historical responsibility but also to offer practical steps to ensure justice, acknowledgment of the past, and the prevention of similar tragedies in the future.
The study “The Ethnic Cleansing of Albanians in Yugoslavia” has identified a range of state instruments—from the Vaso Čubrilović Memorandum (1937) and the Yugoslavia–Turkey Agreement (1938) to institutional policies of the 1950s–60s—that aimed to alter the demographic composition through forced displacement. In confronting the dark legacy of these actions and ensuring justice as well as the prevention of similar tragedies, we propose an integrated package of transitional measures:
National Investigative Commissions
Establishing an official commission, composed of historians, jurists, and representatives of affected communities, to collect, analyze, and document evidence on colonizations and forced displacements.
Ensuring oral and archival testimonies to build a comprehensive picture of what occurred, including interviews with survivors and their families.
Regional Historical Tribunal
In cooperation with international institutions (Council of Europe, UN), founding a judicial-historical body to assess cleansing policies, human rights violations, and crimes against humanity.
Preparation of a Legal Opinion
Drafting a legal opinion to be used in future compensation claims processes and in official state documentation.
Reparations and Compensation
Establishment of a state compensation fund that provides financial or property-based reparations to those Albanians harmed by confiscations and colonization during the 20th century.
Provision of fiscal incentives and grants to communities that maintain and restore their cultural properties—for example, the restoration of mosques, schools, and traditional houses.
Education and Public Memory
Integration of modules on the ethnic cleansing of Albanians into secondary and higher education curricula, to provide younger generations with an unfiltered understanding of the consequences of extreme nationalism.
Establishment of a Memory Museum in Pristina, dedicated to documents, photographs, and testimonies, as well as the organization of traveling exhibitions in key Balkan locations.
Funding the publication of primary documents (Čubrilović, agreements), translated into various languages, accompanied by critical commentary and comprehensive bibliographies.
Academic Research and International Cooperation
Encouraging comparative studies with other European cases of demographic colonization (e.g., the 1923 Greece–Turkey Population Exchange; post-WWII transfers in Czechoslovakia).
Utilizing geospatial (GIS) methods and sociological research to analyze the long-term psychological and cultural impacts on displaced communities.
Creation of a regional digital platform for the exchange of archives and documents, along with an annual interdisciplinary cooperation conference.
Thus, only a comprehensive approach—encompassing investigation, legal adjudication, reparation, education, and research—can ensure that the crimes of the past are fully acknowledged, addressed with justice, and serve as a lesson to prevent the recurrence of ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. This is not only a moral necessity, but also an international and historical obligation to build a peaceful and sustainable future in the region.
