In all crises, the Serbian people in Kosovo remained decapitated because their leaders would always run away. The emigration of the Serbian people, especially in the south, must be urgently put to a stop, the president of the Serb National Forum, Momcilo Trajkovic, said. The situation is reminiscent of 1998, he warned.
„Who did we send to the Kosovo Parliament? The demi-monde, the poor ones who want to take as much as possible from the budget. On the other hand, among Albanians as well – the first elite is not in the parliament either, but that elite is much stronger than ours – economic, intellectual, and political. That’s why ours don’t participate. ‘Let’s go to the parliament and see what politics is, how people go behind the rostrum and oppose with arguments and laws. I don’t have to win, but it has to be recorded.’ They have been going for years, and (in fact) they are just filling their pockets, manipulating these unfortunate people,“ Trajkovic said at a forum held in North Mitrovica.
The political initiatives “Srpski Opstanak” and “Za Zubin Potok” organized a public debate last week on the topic of the Association of Serb Municipalities. Srpska Lista representatives, as the organizers reveal, did not respond to their invitation.
ASM – no solution for the Serbs, but for the status of Kosovo
„The Association of Serb Municipalities was created for political reasons and there is a deep politics behind it, compromises that either one or the other side, that is, both sides, should benefit from. The ASM means the end of Serb institutions, that is, the institutions of Serbia in Kosovo,“ Trajkovic warned.
According to him, that game was accepted, and Serbs also accepted the game by agreeing to the Brussels Agreement. The Serbs received a request to give legitimacy to all the important laws and decisions that were passed.
„Whether they are part of it or not, by participating in the parliament of Kosovo, they give legitimacy and that is a broader agreed-upon policy. Behind the ASM lies not the search for a solution for the Serbs, but rather the search for a solution to the status of Kosovo and the best way to resolve that issue painlessly, and that is where the problem lies now,“ he emphasized.
Reminding the public that the association itself was supposed to be formed „according to the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo“, he underlined that at one point, both Aleksandar Vucic and Hashim Thaci, apart from the common problem, also had kind of „similar views“ when it comes to the solution of the status.
„I think that the Association of Serb Municipalities was set up to define the Republic of Kosovo to the end, and at that moment, when Thaci and Vucic were seeking compromises, that is, if the issue cannot be resolved that way, then it should be in the function of the partition of Kosovo. ASM should have played a role at that moment so that it represents the last stone in the foundation of the independent state of Kosovo,“ he explained, adding:
„Unfortunately, this is not being said openly, but the people are being manipulated.“
In his words, another role was foreseen for the ASM, which is to „finally“ transfer two very important competencies for the Kosovo Serbs – education and health – within the authority of the Kosovo institutions.
Noting that part of the Serbian community sees „some chance“ in ASM, but which essentially accepts the independence of Kosovo, he emphasized that a new twist came with Kurti’s coming to power: Kurti himself does not want that.
„He wants to confuse the Serbian people here, and he confuses them every day in order for them to be unstable and to slowly but surely leave Kosovo. That is the essence of his policy“ – claims Trajkovic.
Bearing in mind the politics led by the former presidents of the Kosovo government, such as Hashim Thaci and Ramush Haradinaj, Trajkovic reveals that he is surprised by this kind of political action by Kurti.
„And for Kurti to be in a position to be the main factor in the eventual emigration of Serbs. And in all the talks that would eventually take place with the Kosovo government and Kurti, the first and basic question must be this. We can accuse the Serbian government, we can accuse Vucic, but here the host is, and Serbia has agreed to it, and the international community as well – the Kosovo government and Kurti. Kurti bears the greatest responsibility for what is happening to our people, especially in central Kosovo and what is happening here in the north, and he should be openly responsible for such a position.“
He assessed that the ASM, in the way it has been envisaged so far, is unacceptable. Trajkovic recalled that back in 1998, he was a co-author of the concept of cantonization of Kosovo – together with professor Dusan Batakovic, and then, after the war of 1999, he advocated the concept of coexistence through democratization and the common life of Serbs and Albanians, which is based on interests.
„And yes, at that time we were declared traitors by Vucic, Nikolic, Seselj, those who stand for ASM today,“ he added.
According to Trajkovic, the ASM must not be an NGO, nor a Republika Srpska, as is being insinuated.
„It must be a much more serious construction, especially for those who will remain in independent Kosovo if they so agree, with a much stronger guarantee and not a solution they are now envisioning.“
Serbs are disappearing from Kosovo
Kosovo Serbs face a big problem as there is no longer an organized Serbian political force, warns Trajkovic.
„We don’t have political strength, we don’t have profiled political forces that should seek solutions, a compromise, and that’s where the problem lies now, and no one is solving the problem, but creating a crisis. Why? Because they need crises.“
This is 1998
According to Trajkovic, crises are created by Belgrade, Pristina and the international community. And the international community is on the move.
„This is 1998. The international community – like cats in a bag! What is the international community? Who is the international community? The US? EU? East? The UN? The international factor is not coordinated in the search for a solution and that is why it will take a while. There is no solution for Kosovo, there is a process. ASM was born in the course of slowing down that process. The issue will not be resolved, because the Serbian side will not accept the ASM as an NGO – on which Kurti stubbornly insists.“
Trajkovic also warned about the outflow of Serbs from Kosovo, especially the south, while the government in Pristina presents Kosovo as a democratic and civil society.
„Where I live south of the Ibar, one nation is disappearing. My neighbors have disappeared in the last 10 days. Four families around me left and I was left alone now to cheer for civil society I see how one politics – both Serbian and Kosovan and international – are observing all this because they need such processes in order to close Kosovo in that way, that is Serbian-Albanian relations page. This makes me think about the state institutions that should prevent such processes because I fear that civil society, based on what is happening south of the Ibar, will only be among the Albanians“.
The emigration of Serbs is taking place because of a policy that is presented as civil, claims Trajkovic.
Ahtisaari gave the Serbs 10 municipalities not to make them nationalist, but to stabilize the Serbian national being, which the Albanian national being really needs in order to co-exist with the Albanian national being and thus create a civil society
In his opinion, the Kosovo authorities are responsible because they want to solve the problem by force, while on the other hand, the entire Serbian people are being criminalized because a „criminal group“ is placed as its leader.
„If Kurti and the Government of Kosovo had taken regular steps and had implemented the Brussels agreements, if they had introduced ASM as it was accepted, regardless of what I think about it, I think that the atmosphere would have been different and the people would have believed in the moves made by that government. Unfortunately, by force, with firearms, they want to force these people to accept that policy.“
He predicts that a local conflict could break out.
Kurti is not ready for talks with Kosovo Serbs
„Kurti should dial it down, cool off and talk to his citizens. He has been promising that he will talk with the Serbs for the past two or three months. He doesn’t have the courage to ask for that, let alone talk. I told him on several occasions, the Serb National Forum wants to talk to you. I received no answer, he remains silent because he is not ready to talk. We can’t just talk about plates. He must be ready to discuss the issues I am talking about here, these are crucial issues for the Serbs to trust that government“.
„It is not possible for one nation to disappear and another to remain. That is not the way, nor a good thing for Albanian society, and I create a civil environment and society on my micro level, I have friends, but politics destroys everything! Kurti is destroying it, Vucic is destroying it, the unjust and indolent international community is destroying it,“ he added.
Kosovo Serbs – a button on the remote control
He reveals that he „gambled away“ his entire decades-long career by insisting to the authorities in Belgrade that he would help the Kosovo Serbs in becoming a factor in deciding their fate. He also recalled that this was the topic of his last talk with Oliver Ivanovic.
Instead, the Kosovo Serbs remain a button on the remote control.
„We are controlled with remote control. We are nowhere! Who are the people who govern us both before the war and after the war?! We need help to become a pillar of the Serbian people who will participate in the implementation and creation of policy both in Belgrade and here,“ he emphasized, adding that whether the Kosovo government wants this or not, Belgrade will always have the possibility to influence the politics of the Kosovo Serbs.
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