Petkovic: Serbs in Kosovo tomorrow choose between survival and disappearance

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, stated that the Serbian community in Kosovo is going to the polls tomorrow under impossible conditions and while being subjected to constant pressure. According to him, the only genuine and sincere Serbian political party supported by the Serbian people is the Serb List, and every vote for Nenad Rasic is, he adds, a vote for Albin Kurti.

In an interview with Kurir, Petkovic assessed that the upcoming elections are of crucial importance for the Serbian community in Kosovo and that the Serb List represents the only authentic political option defending the interests of Serbs.

He stated that Nenad Rasic's party has no support in Serbian communities and owes its mandates to Albanian votes, which is why he considers it a political ally of Albin Kurti.

According to him, the elections represent a choice between the survival of the Serbian people in Kosovo and the policy pursued by the Serb List, on the one hand, and the continuation of pressure and persecution of Serbs, on the other.

If the Serb List wins all ten mandates, how will that specifically strengthen the position of Serbs in the institutions?

The Serb List is the only voice of the Serbian people in the parliament in Pristina, where an entirely anti-Serb atmosphere prevails, and where Pristina, with Kurti at its head and with the wholehearted support of Nenad Rasic, is attempting to push through numerous decisions to the detriment of our people.

The Serb List is the only barrier to such actions. We have seen that, with the mandate he stole, Rasic became the loudest advocate of Kurti's terror against Serbs, that at sessions of the so-called government in Pristina he demanded the arrest of our school and hospital directors from Gracanica, while not saying a single word about the arrest of more than 50 Serbs, political prisoners of Pristina. In such impossible conditions, the Serb List is fighting strongly for the rights of our people, preventing the adoption of numerous anti-Serb decisions and laws!

What would it mean if the Serb List does not win all ten guaranteed mandates, that is, if Albin Kurti succeeds in securing mandates for Nenad Rasic through Albanian votes?

Nenad Rasic voted with both hands as a member of Kurti's government to seize land from Serbian householders in Leposavic and Zubin Potok and build illegal bases for the so-called Kosovo Police on it, a force that carries out terror against the Serbian people in northern Kosovo and Metohija. As a member of Kurti's government, he also ordered the arrests of directors of Serbian educational and healthcare institutions in Gracanica, honorable and responsible people, respected heads of households. Let me remind you that Rasic supported the declaration that the Serbian people in Pristina were "genocidal."

He never opposed the arrests of our compatriots or the terror of Kurti's police, and that is why we are fighting with all our strength to ensure that all ten guaranteed seats in the parliament in Pristina belong to the Serb List, because it is the only party that fights for the rights of its compatriots. The dark scenario in which Rasic once again deceitfully takes a mandate from the Serbian people would lead to an even more brutal trampling of Serbian rights and the continuation of their persecution and intimidation. One thing is certain: Rasic has no support whatsoever in Serbian communities.

Is there any room at all today for dialogue with Pristina?

As difficult as it is under the current circumstances to conduct dialogue when, across the negotiating table, you have representatives of Pristina who are not ready for any compromise, normalization of relations, or even a decent conversation, it is always better to have dialogue and resolve problems at the negotiating table than to face incidents, violence, and unilateral actions by Pristina on the ground.

As you know, Belgrade is always ready for dialogue, but Pristina avoids all of its obligations, above all the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities, which the Serbian people have been waiting for for a full thirteen years. We know very well why Kurti avoids the CSM and why he does not want conditions and an institutional framework for the affirmation of the individual and collective rights of the Serbian people.

What remains inexplicable is Brussels' behavior on this issue, given that it has an obligation to participate in the formation of the CSM because it was, after all, the guarantor, through its signature, of the implementation of the Brussels Agreement. Belgrade will never give up on the CSM and the rights of Serbs, because what has been signed must also be implemented. Period!

What message does the fact that certain Serbian politicians, specifically Nenad Rasic, participate in a government that makes decisions harmful to the Serbian people send to Serbs?

How much of a disgrace Rasic is to the Serbian people is best demonstrated by his electoral fiasco in his hometown of Dobrotin, where the Serb List has always won convincingly in all previous election cycles. Rasic took a mandate from the Serbian people solely through Albanian votes, and from areas where Serbs have been expelled since the war... so Rasic can represent only Albanians and Kurti.

That is why, keeping all of this in mind, we need unity and solidarity embodied in the Serb List more than ever, because it is the strongest bulwark against all those who wish no good for the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija. Our unwavering conviction is that the Serbian people, Serbian unity, and the Serb List will prevail!

Would you describe the current situation as the most difficult since Kurti came to power?

Life has never been easy for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. The last 27 years since the end of the war are a true testament to the perseverance and determination of the Serbian people to survive and remain in their ancestral homes. Since Kurti came to power, the political and security situation for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija has deteriorated further and turned into outright terror, persecution, and both physical and institutional violence.

However, throughout their history, Serbs have learned that there is no suffering without resurrection, and it is precisely this hope for a better tomorrow, together with faith in the living God, whose presence is felt most strongly in our holy sites in Kosovo and Metohija, that gives the Serbian people the strength to endure and bear everything. Alongside spiritual strength, there is also the support of the Republic of Serbia, led by President Vucic. He will never abandon his people, but will continue to fight strongly for the preservation of their right to a decent life, work, and overall progress.

What will be the first priority of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija after the elections?

Our support for the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija is continuous and systematic, and it follows its own dynamics regardless of elections, because without the support of the Republic of Serbia and President Aleksandar Vucic, there can be no survival of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija.

Our priority is for every family to receive assistance from the Republic of Serbia, to reach every household, hear the problems of our people, and resolve them to the extent possible. Let me remind you that, at President Vucic's initiative, ten thousand of our most socially vulnerable compatriots receive 20,000 dinars per month as a measure of permanent assistance from the Republic of Serbia.

In addition, every child from preschool age through high school receives a monthly meal allowance of 5,000 dinars. In healthcare, we have created more than 2,500 jobs over the past several years. We are building homes, renovating our healthcare and educational institutions, and we will continue with such policies because by investing in our people, we are also investing in our continued presence, survival, and future in Kosovo and Metohija.

Kurti has announced the formation of a gendarmerie as a new security structure after the upcoming elections. Do you expect a reaction from KFOR? What are the chances that this unit could assume full control over the administrative boundary line?

This is yet another of Kurti's pre-election provocations, once again at the expense of the Serbian people. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 is very clear that the only armed formation in Kosovo and Metohija is KFOR, and therefore all paramilitary formations of Pristina are deeply contrary to international law and established principles.

The Brussels Agreement clearly defines that the police presence in northern Kosovo and Metohija must be proportionate to the ethnic structure of the population there, and accordingly Albanian police officers and their long guns have no place north of the Ibar River.

This message was also conveyed by KFOR, which is responsible for securing the administrative boundary line, and any attempt to form new police formations requires compliance with the implementation plan of the Brussels Agreement and agreements reached within the framework of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

What is your message to Serbs who are disappointed, frightened, or considering not participating in the elections?

We are aware that our people are tired of yet another election, as this is the fifth electoral cycle in just 16 months, and that they are exhausted by the pressure and terror to which they are exposed every day. However, we have no alternative but to fight politically and secure our rights, and to ensure that the fate of the Serbian people is decided by Serbs rather than by Kurti, Svecla, and Rasic. Our people are fully aware of this.

That is why I once again call on the Serbian people, both those living in Kosovo and Metohija and internally displaced persons in central Serbia who possess valid documents, to respond in as large numbers as possible, participate in these elections, and vote for the Serb List, because that is also a vote for the Republic of Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija.

Yesterday we witnessed the detention of the leaders of North Mitrovica, Mayor Milan Radojevic and Municipal Assembly President Ivan Zaporozac...

Kurti has embarked on open violence against the most prominent representatives of the Serb List and the legitimately elected representatives and clearly expressed will of the Serbian people. This is the true face of Kurti's so-called democracy and rule of law, and the international community should take a good look at the terror being carried out against Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.

While Pristina unlawfully, contrary to a valid municipal decision of Serbian councilors in the center of Kosovska Mitrovica, a city where 95 percent of the population is Serbian, installs a street name honoring Isa Boletini, our municipal representatives are being detained for removing a false sign, despite having a lawful municipal decision authorizing them to do so! To all of this, our people will respond even more loudly and clearly in the June 7 elections with a vote for the Serb List.