Kosovo Assembly MPs discuss the return of Albanians to northern municipalities and obstacles they encounter. Kosovan MPs called for „immediate action“ on resolving the issue of the return of Albanians to the north. However, harsh accusations could be heard today.
Valdete Idrizi, a PDK MP from South Mitrovica, said that „Serbia’s harsh strategy for depopulating Albanians is now more pronounced than ever before.“ Idrizi alleged that the multi-story buildings being built in the north are part of the plan „to bring as many Serbs as possible to these locations and to increase their dominance,“ Pristina-based Koha reported.
Idrizi urged the parties to create a joint strategy on the return of Albanians to their properties in the north.
In addition, LVV MP Saranda Bogujevci estimated that about 500 Albanian properties in the north were usurped by Serbs.
„Even today, this part of the state of Kosovo is the most dangerous place to live,“ she claimed, Koha reported.
„Serbia continues with the colonization by building 300 houses in the Sun Valley in which 1,500 Serbs from Serbia will be living. A church, a health center and other facilities will be built in this settlement. The inhabitants of the north are concerned about the aggressive construction by Serbs which is directed against Albanians – and the former are doing so by evicting the latter,“ she said.
Bogujevci also criticized Kosovo institutions, accusing them of „not only ignoring, but directly contributing to the extension of parallel structures and Serbia’s control over this area.“
LDK MP Saranda Musliu also shared her opinion of the topic. She called for vigorous action to „prevent an outbreak of discrimination in this area“.
„Let’s act in accordance with our competencies,“ she added, Koha wrote.
An MP from the ranks of AAK, Time Kadrijaj pointed out the lack of access to health and educational institutions for Albanians living in this area. Kadrijaj’s fellow colleague, Arbereshe Krasniqi stressed that conditions for the Albanians’ return must be created.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Driton Selmanaj addressed this topic at the session on behalf of the Kosovo government. He told the deputies that the government has allocated funds for the construction of 10 houses in the settlement of Brdjani and the reconstruction of the roofs on the houses in the Mikronaselje settlement, adding that those funds have not been used so far.
Rexhepi: Serb gangs forcibly drowned young men in Cabra
LVV MP Rexhep Selimi also harshly criticized the government. “You left the fate of Albanians in the hands of Srpska Lista,” he alleged.
„You left the fate of Albanians in the northern municipalities in the hands of Srpska Lista, which tells us what the Albanians did. Violence and persecution of Albanians from their homes continues in the north. They are afraid to return to their properties. The project of ethnic cleansing of Albanians continues. Serbia always treats Kosovo Albanians the same way. They have expanded their territory through our countries. That’s what they’re trying to do now. Especially from the second half of the 19th century til today, Serbia has used all its mechanisms of violence to expel Albanians,“ he said, Koha reported.
Rexhepi alleged that 12,000 Albanians were reportedly expelled from the municipalities in the north. He also recalled the case of the murder of Mitrovica residents which took place in the riots in February 2000. This MP claimed that young Albanian men who drowned in the Ibar in March 2004 were „forcibly“ drowned.
„Tell me if these statistics are incorrect, on March 16th, 2004, Albanian children Egzon Veliu (12), Avni Veseli (11), Florent Veliu (9) were forcibly drowned in the river, persecuted and violated by criminal gangs that support Serb parallel structures. Let us remember the execution of Selver Haradinaj with explosives. Let us remember the murder of police officer Enver Zumberi. All those threats and attacks on Albanians happen all the time.“
The unverified allegations by a representative of a local NGO stating that Serbs purposely drowned young men in the village of Cabra in 2004, which was then picked up by the Kosovo public service, turned out to be false. The news, however, served as a trigger for the greatest days-long ethnic violence after the Kosovo war.
At that time, the role of the Kosovo media as a special issue was addressed. OSCE issued a special report in Vienna in which it criticized the „obvious spin“, „irresponsible and sensational“ reports of the electronic media reporting in the Albanian language.
„It should also be noted that the media, specifically the broadcasting sector, displayed unacceptable levels of emotion, bias, carelessness, and falsely applied ‘patriotic’ zeal. In particular, the reporting on the evening of 16th March by the three main Kosovar TV channels deserves the strongest possible criticism,” the OSCE report said.
AAK MP Gazmend Abrashi also demanded the establishment of a special office to solve the problems of North Mitrovica within the Kosovo Prime Minister’s Cabinet, while PDK MP Sejdi Hoxha demanded the allocation of budget funds.
Srpska Lista MP reacts
Srpska Lista MP, Igor Simic reacted to the numerous statements of the MPs from the majority community, pointing out that some of those statements threaten security in the north.
„This debate was organized with a clear political purpose, and we often had the opportunity to listen to this inaccurate information. It is not fair that the north is being mentioned in this room in the context of unfounded accusations, not even everyone is blamed – just Serbs. Nothing positive has ever been said here and that is a bad thing. So far, we have not reacted because we do not want irrelevant stories to be the topic. But your claims could harm peace in the north,“ he said.
Simic inquired as to why the problems faced by Serbs in other parts of Kosovo are not being discussed, noting that this is the case because no Serbs live there anymore.
„There are 40,000 Serbs less in Pristina, and only one priest lives in the southern part (Mitrovica), he is guarded by the police. North Mitrovica is the only multiethnic urban environment in Kosovo. Different nationalities live there in peace, and I have evidence of it, photos – of how over 120 companies in the Bosniak Mahala owned by Albanians and Serbs share problems, even during the pandemic. People also respect the equality of language, which is often not respected even in this room,“ Simic said, reported Koha.
He underlined that Srpska Lista is in favor of punishing all those responsible, regardless of their nationality.
„Serbs who committed crimes live in the North“
On the other hand, LVV MP Arber Rexhaj questioned the legitimacy of the Srpska Lista MP due to, in his words, voter interference. He also described Srpska Lista MPs as MPs of Serbia – not representatives of Serbs.
He said that Kosovo Serbs murdered 1,000 children, raped 20,000 Albanian women, adding that most of them live in the north.
„In most settlements, crimes were committed by Serbs who fled Kosovo and were brought to the North. You say that we expelled them. No, they fled from the crimes they committed. Take responsibility, you committed crimes in the Balkans. I keep wondering how you got out.“
At the same time, a government session was held in Belgrade, which was attended by the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. As it was announced this morning, apart from GDP, the second item on the agenda was the issue of Kosovo. Vucic held a press conference afterward, at which he reminded of Serbia’s investments in health care in Serb-majority areas in Kosovo. The Serbian President reiterated that forming the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities is an obligation of the Kosovo government – and not a matter of agreement.
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