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The Yugoslav-Turkish Convention of 1938 - an Intention for Ethnic Cleansing
The first state contacts between Yugoslavia and Turkey about the expatriation of the Albanians to Turkey were made in 1926. These contacts produced a new platform in 1933 on the preparation of grounds for general ethnic cleansing.
The Yugoslav-Turkish Convention on the expatriation of the Albanians to Anatolia is one of the original documents that presents permanent genocide exerted on the Albanian population in general., Although this document was not ratified and implemented in the way it was planned, it had hard consequences for the future of the Albanian population.
Consequences of Expulsion and Colonisation between the Two Word Wars
The expatriation and assimilation of the Albanians and colonisation of the land of ethnic Albanians by the Serbian hegemonist regime was considered as a Serbian national sacred mission. To accomplish this mission, the Serbian invading regime made use of all possible means, starting from arbitrary laws, killing, burning villages and whole regions, up to forceful conversion of Islamic and Catholic population into the Serbian Orthodox religion.
As a consequence of the implementation of these measures the relations between ethnic groups became tense, particularly between Albanian villagers and Slavonic colonists that had been settled in their land. Besides many other state measures that were taken, the government organised chetnik bands, such as those of Kosta Pecanac, Milic Krstic, Jovan Babunski, Vasilije Trbic, etc., who organised punishing expeditions exerting violence, terror and organising plunder.
Mass expropriation of Albanian villagers resulted to great poverty. As a consequence of ethnic cleansing and colonisation of the Albanian land, a significant change of the ethnic structure of population resulted. While the Albanians comprised 90% of population in these regions in 1912, they came down to 70% in 1941.
This was also the consequence of liquidation of the Albanian leadership and Islamic and Catholic clergymen.
Settling the Serbs and Montenegrins in the villages and houses of the Albanians and the erection of Serbian colonies in their property had negative influence on their psychological viewpoint and security perspective. The settlement of the Serbs in the whole quarters in cities among Albanians and the life in the proximity of Serbs resulted to emigration of the Albanians and closing elementary religious schools, and that influenced reduction of the educational level of the Albanians.
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