Milovic: Difficult situation for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, unity and solidarity are essential

The Vice President of the Serb List and Mayor of Zvecan, Dragisa Milovic, stated today that Serbs in Kosovo are suffering legal and institutional violence from Pristina and called for solidarity and unity so that the Serb List can win all 10 mandates intended for the Serbian community in the Kosovo parliament and protect its interests.

Milovic thanked the several thousand Serbs from Kosovo who came yesterday to the first rally as part of the election campaign to support the Serb List.

“We are calling for solidarity and unity, which are necessary, as always. Our slogan is – ‘One heart, one people, one list’. The situation is difficult, our people are aware of that, a good number of people are tired because of frequent elections, but I sincerely hope that during these 10 days of campaigning we will explain to the citizens what we want to do,” Milovic told TV Prva.

He stated that yesterday’s incursion by special police forces into the railway stations in Zvecan, Leposavic, and Slatina, where Cyrillic signs and Serbian flags were removed and Kosovo ones installed, was not accidental.

In addition, one hour before the start of the Serb List gathering in Zitkovac near Zvecan, the electricity went out.

“All of these are planned moves. The power outage allegedly happened because of a fault on the power line. We started without sound equipment, but the electricity returned. So it leaves a bitter impression that from the very first step they are trying to make even the campaign more difficult, just as they have been making life difficult for Serbs since 1999,” Milovic pointed out.

He repeated that the goal of the Serb List is to win all 10 out of 10 mandates guaranteed for the Serbian community in parliament.

“We had them in the previous elections as well, but then, in a mysterious way, one mandate was handed to Nenad Rasic through Albanian votes. He received more than the 1,500 necessary votes in areas where Serbs do not live. We want all 10 mandates so that we can defend the interests of our people in the best possible way,” Milovic said.

He emphasized that the Serb List candidate list, led by Dr. Zlatan Elek, includes professors, deans, lawyers, engineers, and respected householders proven in their professions and communities.

Regarding the fact that 300,000 citizens have left Kosovo in the past five years, Milovic said that Albanians also live with difficulty and are leaving precisely because of the poor economic situation.

“There are no jobs, and their diaspora is strong in Western Europe, so some young people who cannot find work are leaving. And during these five years, Albin Kurti has not dealt with capital investments, investments, or opening jobs. His focus has been on the north, where we now have two police bases and 20 police stations and substations. That is why there is now an attempt to shut down Serbian institutions and carry out arrests. His campaign will now also be based on the north,” Milovic said with certainty.

He noted that the campaign has begun “intensely,” with numerous mutual accusations among Albanian parties.

“A lot of money is at stake. Kurti is trying to buy voters with 100 euros, two million euros are being allocated for airline routes going toward the diaspora. A lot of money and pressure are involved,” Milovic pointed out.

He emphasized that Serbs are living very difficult lives.

“It was difficult in 1999 and in 2004 when the pogrom happened, and after the unilateral declaration of Kosovo’s so-called independence in 2008, but now we are facing institutional and legal violence against Serbs. Every day people are arrested for alleged war crimes and endangering the constitutional order. Every one of us living in Kosovo and Metohija fears whether we are on some arrest list,” Milovic said.

He also sees last week’s arrest of directors of health and educational institutions in Gracanica in that context.

“That arrest also supports that claim. Those people were arrested and detained simply because they wrote certain reports for their employees. That does not exist anywhere in the world,” Milovic concluded.