Petkovic: Elections on Sunday are crucial for the survival of Serbs in Kosovo

The upcoming local elections in Kosovo, scheduled for October 12, are of fundamental importance for Serbs to reclaim four municipalities in the north and confirm victories in six municipalities south of the Ibar River, Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic emphasized.

“We have entered the final week of the election campaign. These elections are of fundamental importance for us to reclaim our four municipalities in the north and confirm victories in six municipalities south of the Ibar. I call on Serbs to participate in these elections, which are crucial for survival in Kosovo,” Petkovic told TV Pink.

He urged Serbs to vote for the Serb List and mark number 170 on the ballot to show that Serbs in Kosovo have their legitimate representative, which is the Serb List.

“A victory for the Serb List means the continuation of all infrastructure projects. The Serb List is the only party with full support from the President and the state of Serbia,” Petkovic emphasized.

He called for support for the Serb List in order to remove, as he put it, the false Albanian mayors from the north and to get rid of the “Gauleiters” who, for nearly three years, tried to change the situation on the ground through various anti-Serb decisions.

“Kurti tried everything he could. He attempted to ban the Serb List, reduce the number of members in polling boards for the Serb List, and, through fake elections, install four false mayors who managed Serbian municipalities with just a few hundred votes. He tried in various ways, through institutional violence, arresting Serbs, militarizing the north, and harassment, to expel Serbs. Because of this violence, 20 percent of Serbs left northern Kosovo. He tried everything to expel the Serbian people and install Albanians in the north, to integrate the north into the Kosovo system,” he pointed out.

Petkovic stressed that despite Kurti’s terror, the Serbian people have endured and kept their focus on Belgrade and President Aleksandar Vucic.

“You can harass and trample the people, but you cannot take away what they feel, they carry the state of Serbia in their hearts. Serbs will show in the elections that they carry Serbia in their hearts,” Petkovic said.

He highlighted that the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, and Serbia as a state, do a great deal to help Serbs in Kosovo, striving to maintain peace and stability under extremely difficult conditions.

He also recalled that citizen gatherings opposing the blockades on Saturday, October 11, will be dedicated primarily to supporting Serbs in Kosovo.

“These gatherings will especially support the Serbian people and the Serb List, so that the next day the Serb List shines, wins, and we can continue the work we have done so far, which includes a wide range of projects,” Petkovic said.
He reminded that a significant social measure came into effect in February, providing 20,000 dinars to 5,000 of the most socially vulnerable Serbs in Kosovo, and announced the continuation of this financial support.

“In October, we will continue this program, and an additional 5,000 unemployed Serbs will receive 20,000 dinars per month. This will help 10,000 Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija who do not work, motivating them to remain in the region,” Petkovic said.

Responding to claims that many may belittle this, Petkovic said those people have never done anything for Serbs in Kosovo.

“Until 2012, they handed independence to Pristina on a silver platter. The Serbs in Kosovo know this best. That is why they lack support in Kosovo and Metohija, they created a border at Jarinje between Serbs and Serbs,” he said, adding that those attacking the state today want the Serbian people to be completely divided, disunited, and without unity, because they can act only in that way.

“Kurti hopes that the blockaders will seize power violently on the streets to immediately recognize Kosovo, because that is all he cares about. Neither will the blockaders come to power, nor will power be formed on the street, it will be done through elections,” Petkovic said.

He reiterated that Serbia allocates significant funds to help Serbs in Kosovo and noted that the budget of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija is at an all-time high and that assistance will continue, as commitment to Kosovo is proven through concrete actions.

“We help both the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian people, so they can survive under the most difficult conditions,” Petkovic added.

Commenting on the fact that an Albanian candidate is running for the first time in Gracanica, Petkovic stated that he expects a decisive victory for the Serb List candidate Novak Zivic, whom he described as an honest and respectable Serb who lives in Kosovo with his family and is well known to the people.

He noted, however, that Serbs could sometimes take a lesson from Albanians in terms of how they protect themselves and national interests.

“They attack each other, and in the campaign, they are like rams in a sack. But when it comes to uniting against Serbia, Vucic, or the Serbian people, they are united. When they voted in the assembly for the so-called Kosovo Army, they were all one. In Gracanica, they have a single candidate, and the same in Klokot,” Petkovic said.

He added that Kurti’s policy is “no Serbs, no problem” and that his open support for the blockaders clearly shows which way the Serbs should go and what they should do.

“If Kurti doesn’t want the Community of Serb Municipalities, that is the best indication that the CSM is good for the Serbian people. If he wants to abolish the Serb List, that means everyone should vote for it. If he attacks President Vucic, that means he is the best for Serbia and Serbs,” Petkovic said.

Regarding the arrests of Serbs, he said people are being detained because of Cyrillic inscriptions on T-shirts, images of Tsar Lazar, and Serbian names and surnames.

“They can ban Cyrillic and patron saint celebrations, do everything to trample our tricolor, but they can never trample the sacred and honorable in the soul of a Serb in Kosovo and Metohija, and this will be shown in the elections,” Petkovic said confidently.

He added that although Kurti tried to integrate the north and installed a fake mayor, Erden Atiq, in North Mitrovica, after three years of harassing Serbs and trying to harm them with even the smallest decisions, Atiq held a rally in the pedestrian zone in front of just 10 Albanians.

“That is their image and reality. No Serb will let anyone dictate how to think or feel. They are oriented toward Belgrade, toward Aleksandar Vucic, who is their only president. The international community must understand this. That is why it is important to unite and vote for the Serb List,” Petkovic said.

He added that there are other “so-called Serbian parties,” but they are Serb only in name.

“Nenad Rasic is at the center of scandals, as Albanian media report, misusing funds from his ministry, taking percentages… In the previous elections on February 9, they secured him 500 purely Albanian votes to enter parliament and form a government with Kurti,” Petkovic said.