Letters
of Serbian Consuls from Kosovo and Metohija
XIX and XX century

Consul
Branislav Nusic
Pristina, November 20, 1894
We
are presenting here three letters written by Branislav Nusic, the Consul
at the Consulate of the Kingdom of Serbia in Pristina in 1894-1895.
Those were the last years of the Ottoman rule on the territory of today's
Kosovo and Metohija and the letters of Mr. Nusic give a very clear picture
what was the position and life of the Orthodox Serb population. Several
years later, in 1913, after the Balkan Wars, Old Serbia, comprising
today's Province of Kosovo and the FYROM, were liberated from Ottoman
rule, after almost 5 centuries of occupation and opression. These ancestral
lands after a long period thus became the integral part of the Serbian
Kingdom.
Consul Branislav Nusic
Pristina, November 20, 1894
Consulate of
the Kingdom of Serbia in Pristina
Confidential, no. 127
November 20, 1894
Pristina
Mr. M. Bogicevic,
Minister of Foreign Affairs in Belgrade
Respected Minister,
The violence in
Kosovo grows worse and worse with each passing day and is increasingly
unbearable. The displacement of the Serb population is steadily gaining
momentum. At this time even the residents of the towns are leaving.
Four days ago an
incident occurred in Gilan [Gnjilane] that amazes by its impudence and
at the same time attests to the extent of the authorities' indifference
toward all forms of violence.
Arnaut [Albanian]
Sali caus abducted the wife of a Serb man and dragged her into the mountains,
coercing her by force to become Turkish [i.e., to become a Moslem].
In accordance with the law he had to bring her to Gilan before the ucumat
[Turkish court] to declare before a kajmak [Turkish vice vizier] and
an [Orthodox] priest that she desires to become Turkish. Her father
Stanko from the village of Vitina and her mother also came. She declared
that she did not wish to become Turkish and that is when Salim caus
drew a rifle in the middle of the ucumat, which was full of people and
zaptije [Turkish sentries], and shot first the father and then the mother
of the woman. Then he calmly descended from the second floor of the
ucumat, mounted his horse and left. No one touched him and he has not
been caught to this day. This degree of impudence by an outlaw and the
indifference of the authorities, which allows such an outlaw to simply
leave, has caused great distress among the population and a strong trend
to move away can be discerned at this time.
It is expected that
perhaps tomorrow the valija [vali, Turkish governor of a vilayet] himself
will come here because the general situation in Pristina and the Sandjak
[Sandzak] is very disorderly and every day some sort of major incident
is expected, which the authorities already appear to be foreseeing.
It will be my honor
to report to you on whatever occurs. Respected Minister, please accept
assurances of my excellent regards.
Consul Branislav
Nusic
* * * * *
text
in Serbian
Consul
Branislav Nusic
Pristina, March 30, 1895
Consulate of
the Kingdom of Serbia in Pristina
Confidential, no. 33
March 30, 1895
Pristina
Mr. M. Bogicevic,
Minister of Foreign Affairs in Belgrade
Respected Minister,
In addition to the
many Arnauti perpetrators of violence and ajduks [haiduk, anti-Turkish
highwayman] under whom our people in the Gilan srez [Turkish administrative
district] are suffering, there is also an outlaw from Serbia, haiduk
Manasije Dinovic, who has formed a partnership with Ertem Vrabi, Suljo
Zekin and Ajriz of Lab, and commits acts of robbery and blackmails Serbs
just like the worst of the Arnauti haiduks. Manasije is originally from
the village of Negosavlje, srez of Jablanica, district of Toplica, where
his father still lives with the money which his haiduk son sends him.Great
are the evils that have been committed so far in the srez of Gilan by
Manasije and his band of six accomplices. However, what is tragic is
that Manasije, when chased by the Turkish authorities, flees back into
Serbia and is protected there by our border guards, who hide him and
Suljo, Etem and Ajriz in the watchtowers. This is especially true of
the buljubase [military commanders in the Turkish army] at Svirce and
other watchtowers throughout the srez of Jablanica.
Since Manasije fled
Serbia due to certain crimes, it would be a good opportunity to lure
him to the Svirce watchtower and some other and arrest him there so
that he can be tried and, at the same time, removed from this region.
It is my honor to
request urgent confidential orders toward this end. Respected Minister,
please accept assurances of my excellent regards.
Consul Branislav
Nusic
* * * * *
Text
in Serbian
Consul Branislav Nusic
November 20, 1895
Consulate of
the Kingdom of Serbia in Pristina
Confidential, no. 104
November 20, 1895
Pristina
Mr. Stojan Novakovic,
President of the Council of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
etc. in Belgrade
Respected Minister,
Feverish excitement
reigns among the local Arnauti in the nahija [Turkish administrative
region] and in the town. What rumors are coming to them from Constantinople
or Salonica I do not know. They are extremely concerned and constantly
holding meetings in the mosques. After such meetings some, who have
Serbs among their friends and acquaintances, offer them friendly advise
to exercise caution. At one such meeting there was discussion how I
myself, the local [Orthodox] priest here and seven or eight others should
be killed. Individuals have already warned me to exercise caution. One
affair that occurred recently best demonstrates the fear of the Turks.
Two or three weeks ago I was walking along the street with my wife when
suddenly a hodza [khoja, Moslem priest] appeared in the middle of the
street and obstructed my path. He was flushed, with bloodshot eyes and
in a state of nervous excitement. He shouted at me: "We will begin
to slaughter with you!" It was as if the carsija [business district]
expected something to happen right away because all the shops were closed
immediately. I believe that if I had not been with my wife that something
would have happened right then. Of course, the following day, the Turks,
as they are wont to do, declared that that particular hodza was mad.
This explanation was accepted by the authorities, who detained him and
then released him after four days. Recently he again accosted me in
the middle of the street; however, I have since learned that he has
been instructed to act thus in an effort to provoke some sort of scandal.
In general the Turks
are behaving in such a fashion towards the Serbs that we should fear
very unfavorable developments in the near future. Recently they took
an oath in the mosque here to sever all ties with Serbs and consider
him who so much as speaks with a Serb to be a traitor and a djaur [non-Moslem
infidel]. After this oath no one dares to come to the Consulate and
even the Mutesarif's [Turkish governor's] terdzuman [interpreter], who
had some business here, had to hide and cover his tracks before entering
the Consulate. None of the Turks stops in the Serb store nor exchanges
a word with the owner in passing. Because the Pasha's terdzuman teaches
the Turkish language in the Serb school, he is called a djaur and was
recently stoned by children from the Turkish schools.
In general the situation
is such that I count each day which passes as a day I have been granted
and I have resolved to send my own family to safety in [central] Serbia.
This situation has
been made even worse by reports of the Turkish consul in Nis that Bilal-aga,
whom you know, is bringing weapons from Serbia for the local Serbs and
now the excitement here has reached its peak. I do not know what has
kept the peace and the heads of Christians upon their shoulders even
this long. It is my honor to request of you, respected Minister, to
be so kind as to make the appropriate authorities aware of this situation
so that they can prevent in timely fashion what will be most difficult
to stop later on.
Respected Minister,
please accept assurances of my excellent regards.
Consul Branislav
Nusic
Translated by S.
Lazovic (Sep. 3, 2001)
From
the book:
KOSOVO
1389-1989
The Land of the Living
serbian
original
* * * * *
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE:
Branislav Nusic (1864-1938), one of the greatest playwrights of the
Serbian theater, was also a noted novelist, story writer and essayist.
Nusic left his mark on the entire twentieth century, dominating the
repertoire of Serbian theatre. Devoting his life to the theatre, not
only through his writing but also through his activities in the theatre
(as a manager, literary consultant, producer, and as an actor as well
in his early years), he would listen carefully to see when the audience
would laugh and then used this experience in writing his comedies, which
are characterised by the widest possible gamut of procedures and approaches
to provoke laughter. Still up-to-date and vital, Nusic's works were
fertile ground for several extraordinary performances in modern Serbian
theatre (The Bereaved Family, produced by Mata Milosevic, The People's
Representative, produced by Dejan Mijac) and truly successful experiments
with changes in genre (A Suspicious Person, produced by Sonja Jovanovic,
Mister Dollar, produced by Miroslav Belovic, The Masses, produced by
Dejan Mijac).
For more information
on Nusic, please see Petar Marjanovic's essay on "The Theatre"
from the book "The History of Serbian Culture" available on
the website of Project Rastko Internet Library of Serb Culture, http://www.rastko.org.yu/isk/pmarjanovic-theater.html

From the old Monastery
photo-Album, photo before the WW2
The Icon of the Holy Virgin of Pec was taken from home to home to bless
the Serb Orthodox families
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