Odalovic: Serbs in Kosovo must show a high level of unity in the October 12 elections

The President of the Serbian Government’s Commission on Missing Persons, Veljko Odalovic, stated today that Serbs in Kosovo must demonstrate a high level of unity in the upcoming local elections on October 12 in order to secure a majority that will provide a solid foundation for establishing the Community of Serb Municipalities, RTV reports.

Speaking to Tanjug, Odalovic said the local elections are important so that some institutions, especially in northern Kosovo, can be returned to Serbian hands, meaning that local governance in areas where Serbs live would once again be in their control.

He pointed out that this may be the last chance for Serbs to establish an institutional stronghold, given that Serbs are no longer present in the police, judiciary, local administration, or any significant institution where they could influence matters directly affecting their future and survival in Kosovo.

Odalovic stressed that Serbs must be represented by their own freely elected representatives and added that conditions must be created to allow people to exercise that right, since Serbs currently do not participate in anything, with all institutions forcibly taken away from them.

He noted that 12 Serbian lists will take part in the elections and assessed that Pristina fears Serbian unity because, if Serbs once again respond in a united way and the Serb List is once again identified as the most transparent promoter of that unity, Pristina will face a problem of what to do next.

Odalovic argued that in the long run, it is also in the Albanians’ interest to have Serbs who genuinely represent the Serbian community, with whom they can engage, build bridges of trust, and a shared future, because, as he pointed out, Kosovo without Serbs, or with Serbs who do not truly represent their community, is not a viable future for Albanians either.

“This is a moment for sobering up. I hope that this outgoing administration, I mean Albin Kurti and those who think like him, will be followed by Albanian political parties that will begin to think differently about their future and the future of coexistence there. Everything else leads nowhere near normalization. What Kurti is doing is only destabilization and playing with fire,” Odalovic said.

Commenting on the Independent Media Commission’s ban on airing the Serb List’s campaign ad, Odalovic said that Pristina has been continuously trying to block everything related to the Serb List because it is identified as being close to the state of Serbia and its policies.

“They first tried to challenge the Serb List, to prevent its registration. We had to fight for the right to be on the ballot. If they think such lists and such Serbs will disappear from Kosovo and Metohija, they are gravely mistaken,” Odalovic emphasized.