Caretaker Kosovo minister Mimoza Kusari-Lila yesterday refused to answer questions in Serbian from Serbian-language media during a visit to North Mitrovica, despite Serbian being one of Kosovo’s two official languages and despite previous leaked recordings indicating she speaks the language fluently.
The incident unfolded outside the former Serbian Post Office building in North Mitrovica, recently repurposed by Kosovo authorities into offices of the Kosovo Forestry Agency after the closure of Serbia-run institutions in the north.
A white-clothed table with refreshments had been arranged outside the building while Kosovo Police redirected traffic and secured the area during the visit.
Speaking alongside associates, Kusari-Lila said economic development in northern Kosovo should be integrated into Kosovo’s overall economic system and insisted there should be no divisions among citizens.
“The existence of economic activity throughout the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, without distinction, is very important,” she said, adding that members of the Serbian community should not hesitate to participate in the labor market or apply for jobs.
She encouraged residents to “feel safe” and apply for employment opportunities with businesses from the Albanian community, stressing that all communities should benefit from economic development.
Kusari-Lila also said Kosovo institutions are considering establishing an industrial zone in northern Kosovo, following the inauguration of an industrial park project in the village of Frashër/Svinjare near South Mitrovica earlier the same day. According to officials, Kosovo plans to invest more than 30 million euros over the next three years into 14 industrial parks across the territory.
Yet the political and public focus quickly shifted away from economics and onto language.
Although Kusari-Lila appeared to understand every question posed in Serbian, she responded exclusively in Albanian throughout the encounter with Serbian-language reporters.
After repeated requests to answer in Serbian, she replied that she “would not speak Serbian today.” She also confirmed that she had not brought an interpreter.
Even her direct messages to the Serbian community about security and employment opportunities were delivered only in Albanian.
The moment immediately revived controversy surrounding previously leaked recordings involving Kusari-Lila and senior representatives of the Serb List, including Milan Radoičić and Slavko Simić.
Audio recordings published in October 2024, allegedly originating from conversations held in 2022, captured discussions about legislative proposals and voting processes inside Kosovo institutions, including issues related to minimum wage legislation and Constitutional Court appointments.
The conversations were conducted in Serbian and in what appeared to be a notably cordial tone.
Kusari-Lila later claimed the recordings had been manipulated and maintained that she had spoken with Radoičić only once, in Albanian, while he was in hiding. However, a court later determined that the published material was connected to those conversations.
The contrast between those Serbian-language political conversations and yesterday’s refusal to speak Serbian with journalists in a predominantly Serb municipality sparked immediate criticism.
Later in the day, the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) and its branch in Kosovo condemned Kusari-Lila’s conduct, reminding Kosovo institutions that Serbian and Albanian are equal official languages under Kosovo’s Law on the Use of Languages.
The association stressed that all central institutions are obliged to ensure citizens can communicate and obtain public information in their own language.
UNS further noted that Serbian-language media had not even been informed in advance about the arrival of a senior Kosovo government official in northern Kosovo.
While acknowledging that ministers are not personally obligated to speak a language they do not wish to use or do not know, the association underlined that institutions themselves are legally required to provide translation.
UNS called on Kosovo’s Language Commissioner, the Ombudsperson Institution, and international organizations advocating rule of law standards to react and ensure that Serbian-language and minority-language media are able to work without discrimination.
The episode comes amid heightened political tensions ahead of Kosovo’s June 7 elections, with language rights and institutional integration once again emerging as central issues in relations between Pristina authorities and the Serbian community in northern Kosovo.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
