[NCDXA] Letter to DXAC Regarding Kosovo

[Jim Locke]

Fred, simply an outstanding note.  I have thought of K3LP many times since his death and wish the clock could be rolled back to the time he decided to risk it all going out on that ice... just as I did years ago when my very good work chum, Hunky, decided to try to save his dog instead of following his wife to safety when his house was on fire.


73, Jim W3NRJ 

    On Tuesday, January 9, 2018, 12:54:28 AM EST, Alfred Laun via NCDXA <ncdxa at ncdxa.org> 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, aVirginia non-profit corporation and the administrator of the ARRL Third CallArea Incoming QSL Bureau.  Members are located primarily in the greaterWashington, D. C. area.

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

While we realize that decision about this matter has been delayed in the pastdue to the desire not to offend powerful member societies of the InternationalAmateur Radio Union (IARU) which opposed the addition of Kosovo to the DXCCEntities 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 addKosovo to the list of DXCC Entities.  Itshould be noted that the web site https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_registration_prefixes  lists Z6 as the aircraft registration prefixfor Kosovo (Kosovo listing right below Jordan on the list). 

Though we understand that most Serbians continue to oppose status as anindependent nation for Kosovo, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić himself has indicated a willingness to normalizerelations between Serbia and Kosovo.  Indeed, Kosovo already has all ofthe trappings of an independent nation and in practice functions as such. Currently the United States and 110 other members of the United Nationsrecognize Kosovo as an independent nation. A number of Radio Amateurs have been licensed by the Kosovo authorities and havebeen eager to join the fun on the bands. Unfortunately the fact that Kosovo has not been recognized as a DXCCentity causes them to be subject to occasionalabuse 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 byreinstating the former consideration that being a member society of the IARUin itself qualifies the nation that society represents as eligible for statusas a DXCC Entity.

Alternatively, the DXAC could specify that any nation appearing on theDepartment 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 formerPresident 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 participationin DXpeditions all over the world as you make your decision.   Thankyou 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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