[NCDXA] Letter to DXAC Regarding Kosovo

[Alfred Laun]

Fellow members of NCDXA:

The matter of whether Kosovo should be added by the ARRL to the list of
DXCC entities has reportedly been passed on the to ARRL DX Advisory
Committee (DXAC) for consideration.  I had been asked by my good friend,
well-known DXpeditioneer Martti Laine, OH2BH, with whom I serve on the
Board of Directors of the Yasme Foundation, to send a letter, as President
of NCDXA, to the DXAC supporting this step.  However, I did not feel
comfortable acting on behalf of NCDXA without first consulting our
membership.

So I added the matter to the agenda for our meeting on December 16, 2017
where the initiative was approved unanimously by those in attendance.  As
can be seen in the minutes of that meeting which have been sent to you
earlier, I was tasked with composing a letter to be mailed to the DXAC.  I
have now done so, and I present it here for your information.  In case
anyone has any suggestions for additions or corrections, I will wait until
Friday January 12 before mailing off the letter by USPS post.

The text follows herewith:

NATIONAL CAPITOL DX ASSOCIATION
                              P. O. BOX 1149
                  CLINTON, MD 20735-5149


Rick Roderick, Esq., President, American Radio Relay League
Dr. Gary Jones, Chairman, ARRL DX Advisory Committee (DXAC)
Chris Shalvoy, Atlantic Division Representative, DXAC
Gary Dixon, Roanoke Division Representative, DXAC

Dear Sirs:

The National Capitol DX Association (NCDXA) is an ARRL-affiliated DX club,
a Virginia non-profit corporation and the administrator of the ARRL Third
Call Area Incoming QSL Bureau.  Members are located primarily in the
greater Washington, D. C. area.

It is our understanding that the DXAC is currently tasked with the
responsibility of determining whether Kosovo should be added to the list of
DXCC Entities.  At its regular meeting on December 16, 2017 NCDXA members
in attendance voted unanimously to petition the DXAC to add Kosovo to the
list of DXCC Entities.  Prior to sending this letter to you, the draft has
been circulated to the entire NCDXA membership via the club reflector in an
effort to make sure all members agree with this decision, and to provide
the membership with a chance to comment and make additions or corrections
to the proposal.

While we realize that decision about this matter has been delayed in the
past due to the desire not to offend powerful member societies of the
International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) which opposed the addition of
Kosovo to the DXCC Entities list, now that the IARU society members
themselves have added the* Shoqata e Radio Amatorëve të Kosovës* (SHRAK) to
the list of IARU member societies, we believe it is time to add Kosovo to
the list of DXCC Entities.  It should be noted that the web site
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_registration_prefixes
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_registration_prefixes%20>
 lists
Z6 as the aircraft registration prefix for Kosovo (Kosovo listing right
below Jordan on the list).

Though we understand that most Serbians continue to oppose status as an
independent nation for Kosovo, Serbian President* Aleksandar Vučić* himself
has indicated a willingness to normalize relations between Serbia and
Kosovo.  Indeed, Kosovo already has all of the trappings of an independent
nation and in practice functions as such.  Currently the United States and
110 other members of the United Nations recognize Kosovo as an independent
nation.  A number of Radio Amateurs have been licensed by the Kosovo
authorities and have been eager to join the fun on the bands.  Unfortunately
the fact that Kosovo has not been recognized as a DXCC entity causes them
to be subject to occasional abuse on the packet clusters when their call
signs are put out there.

We believe that the addition of Kosovo as a DXCC Entity could be
facilitated by reinstating the former consideration that being a member
society of the IARU in itself qualifies the nation that society represents
as eligible for status as a DXCC Entity.

Alternatively, the DXAC could specify that any nation appearing on the
Department of State's "Independent States in the World" list at
https://www.state.gov/s/inr/rls/4250.htm qualifies that nation to be a DXCC
Entity.

It is our hope that you will give favorable consideration to our request.
Our club has just been shocked by the untimely and tragic death of our
former President David Collingham, K3LP, who was elected to two terms as
our leader, and we would hope that you would keep in mind David’s very
active participation in DXpeditions all over the world as you make your
decision.   Thank you very much for your time and attention to this matter.

                               73,

                               Alfred A. "Fred" Laun, K3ZO
                               President
                               National Capitol DX Association

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73, Fred, K3ZO
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