Fatal for the Serbian community in Kosovo and the remaining institutions: The impact of the Law on Foreigners and a solution

Concern among Serbs who do not possess Kosovo-issued documents is growing as 15 March and the announced implementation of the Law on Foreigners approach. Interlocutors of Kosovo Online assess that the integration of education and healthcare—an objective the Kosovo authorities link to this law—is the main purpose behind the regulation’s implementation. While Kosovo, through the implementation of the Law on Foreigners, skillfully circumvents all obligations arising from agreements reached within the dialogue and achieves its own goals, Serbs are becoming foreigners in their own homes. The international community has so far shown little understanding for the wide range of problems the Serbian community will face from 15 March. According to our interlocutors, the entry into force of the Law on Foreigners will trigger a “chain reaction” and lead to an ethnically homogeneous Kosovo, with postponement until an agreement is reached within the dialogue framework being the only solution.

Written by: Milena Miladinovic

After its implementation was postponed twice, the Law on Foreigners is expected—according to announcements from Pristina—to enter into force on 15 March, despite warnings from political representatives of Kosovo Serbs, official Belgrade, and the entire Serbian community that it will be fatal for them and for the remaining institutions—healthcare and education.

While invoking European laws on foreigners, the Kosovo authorities assure that the law will not be used as pressure against Serbs—an assurance that is difficult to accept, given the punitive measures foreseen for non-compliance.

With the support of the European Union—which stated yesterday to Kosovo Online that it supports the efforts of the Government of Kosovo to ensure that all persons residing in Kosovo are properly registered in accordance with Kosovo laws and provided with Kosovo documents—Serbs in Kosovo are being placed in a serious predicament.

While the OSCE Mission in Kosovo is “carefully monitoring developments” related to the adoption of the Law on Foreigners, the Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs has sought to show the Serbian community “how to be foreigners in their own homes” by opening a free informational hotline that will provide all necessary information upon request.

When asked what the most common dilemmas among citizens regarding the law are, the Ministry had not responded to the Kosovo Online editorial office by the time this text was published.

Fundamental Rights Denied

While some support, others observe, and still others provide information—Serbs are being denied fundamental rights through the implementation of the Law on Foreigners, and the integration of the healthcare and education systems, as envisioned by Pristina, leads to their closure, assesses Dusko Celic, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Pristina, seated in Kosovska Mitrovica.

He believes there is still time to point out to the international community the fatal outcome of implementing what he describes as an unconstitutional regulation.

Celic also emphasized to Kosovo Online that the regulations were deliberately drafted and will be deliberately enforced in a way that strikes at the vital institutions of the Serbian people.

“My view is that the implementation of these regulations will have a fatal impact on Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija and on their institutions. By estimates, nine to ten thousand Serbs in the north of Kosovo and Metohija alone do not have so-called Pristina ID cards, either because they cannot obtain them due to administrative obstacles or because of conscientious objection. They will be prevented from exercising fundamental rights—the right to freedom of movement, the right to a home; they will not be able to remain for more than three days in their own birthplace home. Not to mention what will happen with students from central Serbia and northern Montenegro, who traditionally study at the University of Pristina, or what will happen with nearly two-thirds of teachers and university professors who are either not from Kosovo and Metohija or cannot, for bureaucratic reasons or conscientious objection, obtain a Pristina ID card—thus the work of the University will be made impossible,” Celic told Kosovo Online.

According to him, this is the first step toward integration and, he adds, the integration of Serbian institutions as Pristina has envisioned it is a certain path to their disappearance.

“This means a chain reaction—first, children leaving to attend school in central Serbia or other places; the departure of children later implies family reunification, meaning the departure of parents as well, and it is not difficult to conclude that this would have fatal consequences not only for institutions, but for the entire remaining Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija,” our interlocutor stresses.

He adds that this is the last moment for the academic community to raise its voice against the implementation of the regulation, and to alert both the international community and Belgrade that this regulation and its implementation may have fatal consequences for the Serbian community.

“Foreigners react only when they have a problem on the ground. Therefore, if there is no problem, there is no reaction. They know there will be problems—that is clear—but I think they should be shown that the problem will be of such magnitude that Kosovo and Metohija will no longer be a multi-ethnic society. If they truly want that, then it should be stated clearly and loudly—an ethnically clean Kosovo, cleansed of Serbs, will be on their conscience,” Celic says.

Celic emphasizes that the Law on Foreigners is unconstitutional and that this must be pointed out both to international actors and to institutions in Kosovo.

“It seems to me that there is still room to point out, on that basis as well, to foreigners—and perhaps to institutions within Kosovo—that this is an unconstitutional regulation. It respects neither the acquired rights of Serbs nor freedom of movement; it declares 220,000 refugees to be foreigners, which is unprecedented in comparative international law. Therefore, it seems to me that, no matter how aware they may be and how benevolent their attitude toward Pristina, there is still room to exert pressure on the international community by pointing out the fatal consequences if these regulations are implemented,” Celic concludes.

The University Also Under Threat

Nebojsa Arsic, Rector of the University of Pristina with a temporary seat in Kosovska Mitrovica, stressed that employees and students at the University are concerned about the announced implementation of the Law on Foreigners, as a large number of them do not possess Kosovo documents, and that implementation of the law would be a major problem for the entire Serbian community.

Rector Arsic told Kosovo Online that the University in North Mitrovica is one of the pillars of Serbian society in Kosovo and that imposing a regime that would prevent the University from operating would be a serious problem.

“The announced implementation of the law and then its postponement for a few months shows how serious this issue is, especially when it comes to the University. The University is one of the pillars of our society in Kosovo and Metohija and, together with the healthcare system, represents a support for our people. Any imposition of a regime that would prevent our University from functioning represents a major problem—not only for the University as a teaching and research unit, but for our entire society. Naturally, this has caused great concern among both students and staff for justified reasons, because the provisions of the law foresee restrictive measures regarding the stay of people they consider foreigners, and in such a situation a large number of employees and students at our University would find themselves affected,” Arsic said.

The Rector explained that out of 1,100 people employed at the University, 500 do not have Kosovo documents, as well as more than 2,000 students.

“Under that law, they would automatically find themselves under a regime in which they are foreigners, and their stay in Kosovo and Metohija would be limited; they would not be able to attend classes, people would not be able to come to work. That would, in a way, mean the shutdown of our University, and that is why it has caused such great concern,” Arsic added.

He emphasized that the University has, over the past period, done everything to point out the serious consequences such a decision would have—not only for the University, but for the entire Serbian community.

“We have been in contact the whole time with international representatives, because we are convinced it depends on them, and that without their consent Pristina will not be able to carry this out. I must say we encountered understanding, so the decision to postpone the application of these laws is probably the result of certain talks with them and of pointing out the factual situation. We are not making anything up, we are not speaking untruths—we are speaking only about concrete data. We believe that every action and every activity must be part of a joint agreement with our bodies,” our interlocutor said.

According to him, postponing the implementation of the Law on Foreigners would mean the University could continue to function normally, as it has until now.

“Despite all these developments, in recent months we have been working under more difficult conditions, but normally. All teaching activities, scientific and research activities, projects, all activities related to students are taking place normally. Of course, there is concern; we also have quite a number of people who have withdrawn from the University—that is our biggest problem. The question is how this will affect enrollment policy for the next academic year. These are things that make us very concerned and compel us, so to speak, to be proactive in that regard—to be in contact with all actors who decide on this issue,” Rector Arsic said.

He denied claims about integration of the University into the Kosovo system, as well as relocation to central Serbia.

“I must also stress that the problem is that various disinformation is being spread regarding the status of our University—about some kind of integration, about the University moving out, being redistributed to other cities in Serbia. On this occasion, I must deny—and I do not know how many times already—that these are only rumors and speculation spread by people who do not wish well to our University and our people. We have no official information or confirmations that anything of the sort is being done,” Arsic emphasized.

No New Postponements

Aleksandar Sljuka, an associate of the NGO Nova drustvena inicijativa, does not expect new postponements in the implementation of the laws on foreigners and vehicles, because that would, as he notes, represent a kind of defeat for the Kosovo government. Nevertheless, he believes the issue should be resolved within the framework of the dialogue, as it affects many categories of people.

“I am not sure how ready the Kosovo government is to back down again, in the sense of saying it will be postponed for an indefinite period until all the concerns of the Serbian community are resolved, because that would simply be a defeat for them. They have already postponed it twice, and it would be a defeat for them in the context that their political opponents could say they are now giving up, that what they said about not tolerating the dictate of foreigners is now happening in practice and that they are yielding to the Serbian community—which was not their principle of work and action,” Sljuka told Kosovo Online.

As he noted, the issues these laws cover are structural problems that cannot be resolved easily, and he sees no other solution but to postpone their implementation for an indefinite period.

“That is why many say this is a situation perhaps even more significant or dramatic than the situation when the dinar was abolished. This affects many people in different ways—some are affected in the context of applying both laws, some in the context of one law. There are many individual cases, and these are not problems that can be resolved with a single decision—by, for example, saying we will tolerate one thing and that will solve all problems. It does not work that way, because these are specific laws, they affect different people in different aspects, and that leads to thousands and thousands of people having different problems that will have to be addressed separately,” he added.

For all these reasons, he stressed, it is not realistic to expect the Kosovo authorities to postpone implementation of the law, or at least not for a long period.

“I think they will begin implementation and that the consequences will be seen among a certain group of citizens—those who do not manage to adapt in some way. We have a situation where a dialogue is being conducted between Belgrade and Pristina, where certain things have still not been addressed. And the Kosovo government wants to act as if it has an absolute right to fully apply its laws, to behave like any other state in terms of the Law on Foreigners. It is similar to some European practices; however, the situation in Kosovo, the fact that we have a dialogue, that we have many unresolved issues, including in the context of the civil register, registry books, people who could not obtain documents for various reasons—when we have all these unresolved issues, it is not appropriate to apply such a law,” Sljuka said.

According to him, the Kosovo government is aware of the problems the Serbian community will face after implementation of these laws.

“I believe the Kosovo government is aware that implementation of these laws will put many people in difficulty. I think they were aware, when they decided on full implementation, that it would negatively affect the Serbian community, even in the context of discussions about integrating education and healthcare. These are different processes that should be resolved in dialogue and through the establishment of the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities. They are trying to do all of this unilaterally,” Sljuka concluded.

Education and Healthcare Under Pristina’s Control

Historian Aleksandar Gudzic said that Kosovo, through the implementation of the Law on Foreigners, seeks to bypass all obligations from agreements reached in the dialogue and to bring the education and healthcare systems operating under Serbia under its control.

Gudzic told Kosovo Online that, under the Ahtisaari Plan, healthcare and education have the highest possible degree of autonomy, which Pristina wants to change.

“Pristina wants, through the implementation of this law, to bypass all possible agreements that Kosovo has signed so far—if you will, even its own Constitution and its own legal regulation. The Constitution of Kosovo, which is based on the Ahtisaari Plan, provides for the highest possible degree of autonomy for Serbs in the field of healthcare and education. Through this law, Pristina wants to bypass international agreements and obligations arising from those agreements, and by unilaterally implementing this law it wants to place the last two forms of autonomy that Serbs have in Kosovo—healthcare and education—under its control,” Gudzic said.

According to him, the Law on Foreigners will make life more difficult for Serbs in Kosovo.

“Under the slogan of various licenses and work permits, a significant part of education workers and faculty professors will likely be prevented from working,” Gudzic said.