[NCDXA] Letter to DXAC Regarding Kosovo

Tue Jan 9 12:50:30 UTC 2018

On 1/9/2018 12:53 AM, Alfred Laun via NCDXA wrote:
> 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.htmqualifies 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
>
> -------------------------------------------
>
>
> 73, Fred, K3ZO
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> NCDXA mailing list
> NCDXA at ncdxa.org
> http://mail.rickmurphy.net/mailman/listinfo/ncdxa

Hi Fred:

The letter looks ok to me. Let it go out.

73, John, N4MM

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