“No one is asking today what Serbs in Kosovo think. We have come to a situation in which we are struggling for normality. At the moment, no Serb is destroying the unity. Unity cannot be formed by some criminals ruling over us. Unity includes understanding, listening, joint decision-making, consensus, and not that type of attitude towards anyone who is not part of Srpska Lista and the SNS,” Aleksandar Stojanovic, the representative of the People’s Party’s for Kosovo (Vuk Jeremic is the leader of the party), said on the „Razotkrivanje“ Serbia-based TV talk show.
Stojanovic has recently caught the public attention with his emotional speech during the “1 out of 5 million” protest walk held two weeks ago in North Mitrovica, after a woman addressed the gathered protesters criticizing them for disrupting “the unity of Serbs”. Stojanovic recognized her however from a similar speech she gave a year ago during President Aleksandar Vucic’s visit of North Mitrovica – after the murder of Oliver Ivanovic. Stojanovic explained that she insulted the protestors and that her address against the protesters was instigated by the SNS.
Threats?
Aleksandar Srojanovic confirmed that following his speech he received „controversial calls“ which contained threats against him or his family members.. He, however, expressed hope that the pressures will stop.
„I am not in favor of things being requested on the street at all, as it is happening at present. However, what can you do when the government is not ready to sit down and resolve it constructively!“ – he underlined.
Stojanovic stated that “the enormous amount crime, the lack of media freedom, and the need to articulate the solution based on the needs of Kosovo Serbs” were some of the reasons why he joined the protest in North Mitrovica. He further explained that he came to support the protest after seeing the strong pressure officials placed on several organizers of this protest.
He underlined that an image of Kosovo Serbs’ united support of Vucic’s politics is important to the Serbian President. Stojanovic, however, stressed that he (Vucic) does not have one in reality.
Stojanovic spoke of Srpska Lista as nothing more than the Kosovo registered Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), adding that when Vucic talks to Kosovo Serbs, he talks exclusively with these people.
„He is leading an inter-party dialogue. He does not talk with Serbian intellectuals, with people who think differently, with politicians who have long survived in Kosovo, with very serious people. There is no such kind of serious dialogue finding solutions but an inter-party monologue,“ Stojanovic said.
Even when he (Aleksandar Vucic) comes, he holds speeches while they listen to him. He says: Well, do you also think that? And they remain silent. Well, I’ll say that instead of you, despite the fact that you are silent, and then he speaks again. He is the only one who talks, he asks, he replies, while they exclusively remain silent, inserted into a strong party machine in which they have lost, not only political, but also their personal identity.
“These people do not think for themselves anymore. They do not represent Kosovo Serbs. They are not allowed to say what they personally feel and think.” – Stojanovic shared his opinion of Srpska Lista. He also spoke of SNS and Srpska lista members with criminal files.
„Now I ask you, what kind of message should the ordinary citizens get upon seeing such people, the criminals, sitting side by side with Srpska Lista’s mayor candidates?“ Stojanovic argued.
In the last 7 years, since 2012, 6 murders have happened in North Mitrovica. None were solved, two candidates for the mayor were killed, Dimitrije Janicijevic, and Oliver Ivanovic on the same day. No murder was resolved. Now you can probably understand this atmosphere of fear in which Serbs live in. In which we share the streets with some unknown people, where the center of power is not the municipality, but some restaurants that Oliver spoke about. Rada and Momcilo Trajkovic, and many others also spoke about them. Serbs are leaving Kosovo in such an atmosphere today because they do not want to live fearing Serbs.
Stojanovic also criticized the ethnic partition proposal as Serbia will lose and there will be “no end to concessions”.
As soon as a part of the international community sees that Serbia “easily” relinquishes its territory, it will raise the issue of the Raska area, Vojvodina and other parts – he added.
„This kind of hazardous relationship is striking and I do not know where Aleksandar Vucic finds such courage to bring Serbia to such a solution that can mean the destruction of the nation in the long run,“ he added
Stojanovic also explained that the theme of ethnic delimitation is kept out of the public eye and that nobody explained what it means to the Serbs or Albanians, while the communities are being brought before a fait accompli.
While talking on the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, he spoke of his importance, but also a media and political lynching which preceded the murder, adding that Kosovo Serbs cannot “sit by and watch this”.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
