Translation provided by KoSSev
“The negotiations on Kosovo’s partition must cease immediately because they are dramatically worsening the position of Serbs in Kosovo,” Izabela Kisic from the Helsinki Committee said, speaking about the findings of a report made by this organization on the position of the Kosovo Serb community. “Compromise is not supposed to be an exchange of territory but the common good of the population,” she added.
Kisic said that the Serbs in the south and north of Kosovo are against the partition, adding that they are in a much worse position today.
„Fear and uncertainty are the dominant feelings among them today. They have been unable to plan a future in Kosovo since talks on the partition of Kosovo began, they fear that people will emigrate if a partition were to happen, that those who remain in this situation in Kosovo, south of the Ibar, will be completely marginalized,“ she explained.
The report, which the Helsinki Committee worked on for four months by talking to more than 40 Kosovo Serbs, was completely ignored in official Belgrade, unlike Pristina, where there was great interest in it and its recommendations – said Kisic.
„First of all, Ramush Haradinaj (Kosovo Prime Minister) was greatly interested in it. He agreed with the recommendations, and we will see if he will work on it,“ she added.
According to Kisic, Kosovo Serbs must be integrated into Kosovo society regardless of when the status of Kosovo is resolved.
The report was completely ignored in official Belgrade, unlike Pristina, where there was great interest in it and its recommendations.
„The partition of Kosovo signifies the creation of ethnic states in the Balkans and this is disastrous not only for the Serb minority in Kosovo but for all minorities in the region, and for Serbia as well. At that moment, the demands of minorities in Serbia to join their homelands will become legitimate and this will become Europe’s problem,“ she underlined.
The main problem of the Serbian community in Kosovo is the socio-economic life, the social position of the population and lack of a plan for the economic development of the Serbian community in Kosovo – the report reads.
„The source of income is salaries from public institutions, and the problem is that official Belgrade is using it as the most significant blackmail potential for Kosovo citizens and is using it to manipulate the citizens of Kosovo. You have a large number and percentage of a poor population in Kosovo and a small number of privileged, those who are loyal to official Belgrade and have a monopoly on jobs in institutions, positions in Management Boards. You have families that earn three, four thousand euros and those who earn 100, 200 euros a month,“ Kisic stated.
Kisic pointed out that compromise is not supposed to be an exchange of territories, but a common good of the population and economic development, which is difficult to achieve as long as the location of the borders remains unknown, who will invest, who will manipulate so that tomorrow this part may be part of another country.
„No one is concerned about the people but only about the territory,“ she said.
Kisic described Srpska Lista as “a pawn in the hands of Belgrade and an instrument that Belgrade uses” to influence the Serbian community in Kosovo. According to her, this party does not represent the interests of the Serb community in Kosovo in the parliament or in the institutions.
„It’s very unlikely to hear any other opinion there, especially in the north. The situation is even more difficult there, not only to avoid the label of a traitor, but there have been more than 60 physical attacks in the past two years, including a murder that has not been resolved yet. Threats are more serious than anywhere, threats coming from the Serbian side. The Serbs are not threatened by the Albanians, but by some Serbs,“ she emphasized.
Speaking about the recommendations of the report, Kisic said that the talks on the partition of Kosovo must cease immediately, while Belgrade has to continue the process of normalizing relations with Pristina, which have never been more worse, since the 2000s, than today.
Belgrade must stop blocking Kosovo in international institutions, the integration of Serbs into Kosovo society should continue, while great responsibility regarding this matter rests on the Kosovo government, and the economic development of the Serbian community in Kosovo must be ensured – Kisic underlined.
She added that it is necessary to introduce Albanian language classes in Serbian educational institutions, as well as the Serbian language in Albanian institutions because language is one of the main obstacles to communication today. She also said that special attention has to be paid to young people because they are isolated and their only communication with the world is accomplished via the Internet.
The report also recommended that representatives of Kosovo institutions go to places where Serbs live and talk directly to citizens, as well as that meetings of young people of Serb and Albanian nationality are needed, while the international community should stop sending signals that encourage the idea of the partition of Kosovo.
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