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Preševo (Serbian: ???????, IPA: ['p?????v?]; Albanian: Preshevë or Presheva), also known as Presevo and Preshevo, is a town and municipality in Pcinja District of Serbia, bordering the Republic of Macedonia and Kosovo. According to 2002 census, the municipality of Preševo had a population of 34,904 people.
Demographics
Ethnic groups in the municipality
| Ethnic Composition |
| Year |
Serb |
% |
Albanian |
% |
Total |
| 1961 |
6,741 |
25.21% |
18,229 |
68.18% |
26,738 |
| 1971 |
5,777 |
19.22% |
23,625 |
78.60% |
30,057 |
| 1981 |
4,204 |
12.38% |
28,961 |
85.31% |
33,948 |
| 1991 |
3,206 |
8.23% |
34,992 |
89.85% |
38,943 |
| 2002 |
2,984 |
8.55% |
31,098 |
89.10% |
34,904 |
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The Preševo municipality has a population consisting of ethnic Albanians who speak Albanian Gegë dialect, and Serbs, who speak the Torlakian dialect of the Serbian language. It also has the largest percentage of ethnic Albanian population in Serbia outside of Serbian province of Kosovo with Albanians nearing 90%.
Settlements by ethnic majority
Most settlements in Preševo municipality have an absolute Albanian majority. The exceptions are the villages: Ljanik, Svinjište, Slavujevac and Cakanovac, where Serbs compose an ethnic majority.
Also, most villages have a 99% Albanian population, but there are some settlements in which the Serbs of Preševo Valley live and where they form a significant minority: Buštranje, Golemi Dol, Reljan, Strezovce, Trnava, Cukarka, and the town of Preševo. Nevertheless,those villages 20-40 years ago were settlements with Serbian majority. Serbs have started to move out since that period,while Albanians were buying their households and finally settled there.
Politics
In 1992, the Albanians of the area organized a referendum in which they voted that Preševo, Medveda and Bujanovac should join Kosovo. Between 1999 and 2001, an ethnic Albanian guerrilla organization, the "Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveda and Bujanovac", was operational in this region with a goal to secede these three municipalities from Yugoslavia and join them to a future independent Kosovo. The activities attracted less international media interest than the related events of Kosovo and Macedonia. The uprising was quelled by Serb Forces, the current situation is stable but with some tension.
Since December 2005, the previous president lost in his seat and was replaced by the Albanian Democratic party (PDSH) with leader Ragmi Mustafa. After six months, the population again voted and again Ragmi Mustafa was chosen as Municipal President of Preševo for the next four years.
See also
External links
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