The candidate for mayor of North Mitrovica and head of the citizens’ initiative “North for All” (Sever za sve), Marko Jakšić, has called on citizens to show “personal courage and responsibility” in the upcoming local elections. In an open letter to fellow citizens, he urged them to end “humiliation and shadow governance” and to seek new ways for Serbs in Kosovo to live and work “beyond Albin Kurti’s ethnocracy and false promises like the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities (ASM).”
Jakšić emphasized that his campaign has been deliberately quiet, explaining that he wished to protect his supporters from potential repercussions.
We share Jakšić’s open letter in its entirety:
“My dear fellow citizens,
In just a few days, we face unusual but very important elections. Under complex conditions, when our position as a people in this region is historically the most unfavorable, and under daily pressure, after three years of humiliation and oppression, the time has come to send into history the illegitimate authorities that, as an extended arm of Kurti’s
regime, have been toying with our lives.
We also have a chance to prevent those who are almost equally responsible for our current situation from returning to power and continuing what they began in 2022 — the surrender and blind execution of what Vučić negotiated and agreed upon to our detriment.
However, despite this opportunity, we are facing months and years of difficult struggle — for survival, for rights, and for a normal life.
If anyone tells you that things will return to how they were before we left the institutions, they are not telling the truth. Time does not run backward, and life does not return to the past.
The task of the future local authorities will be to repair the damage as much as possible, to ease everyday life for citizens, and to show those who have forced us for 26 years to live within a framework we neither want nor that is ready to accept us as equals, that it simply does not work. Even our renewed participation in Kosovo’s institutions will not improve things — every decision made by the municipality will be challenged.
Therefore, it is definitely necessary to find new solutions that would allow Serbs and Albanians, despite the ethnocracy introduced by Kurti, to live side by side as good neighbors — organizing their lives in their own way, without imposition and domination.
That is certainly not the so-called ASM, another empty promise of all these years.
In recent days, I’ve heard that I’m being mentioned at semi-closed gatherings by certain representatives of the list of ‘one-mindedness’ hiding behind the idea of unity.
Time has shown that their actions speak louder than their words — and since their actions are weak and meaningless, their words are full of emptiness and lies, as they have always been.
Unlike them, I don’t need to mention anyone by name — it’s enough to remind you of their past deeds. And there were many, enough not to be forgotten despite all their strong words and promises in this campaign.
I’m sure you still remember them well.
Many have asked why we haven’t been more visible in public and in the media. We chose a quieter, more modest campaign for several reasons. We know you are tired of countless elections, posters, videos, and promises. You simply want this three-year ordeal to end, to finally breathe and live a somewhat normal life.
But most importantly, we didn’t want to endanger any supporter. Your anonymity in these turbulent times was our priority. We didn’t want anyone to suffer consequences because of us, as dissenters have in the past. That doesn’t mean we haven’t been talking to many of you all this time.
As the ‘North for All’ citizens’ initiative, I and my team will not betray your trust. Once again, publicly, I promise that we will remain consistent, listen to your voice, and consult you on every decision — because only through open, honest, and responsible dialogue with all citizens can we work for the common good.
The rest is up to you. On Sunday, October 12, you will be alone behind the curtain. Your personal courage in those few moments can change many things. I believe the time has come, and that you are aware of both your responsibility and your freedom — that your vote is a matter of will and choice, not of pressure and coercion.
I thank all of you in advance who will vote for our initiative, because without your support we would remain only a group of individuals with opinions. With your help, we can, as one big team, over the next four years, implement our program and turn our municipality into a place of sustainable future, modern infrastructure, and young creative people who contribute to the development of their community.
Together we can! For a city of new hope!
Civic Initiative “North for All”
Sincerely,
Your future mayor,
Marko Jakšić
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