Simic: I do not share the optimism of some European politicians who believe in quick solutions to the Kosovo issue

The Vice President of the Serb List, Igor Simic, says that he cannot share the optimism of some European politicians who believe in quick solutions to the Kosovo issue, Kurir reports.

In an interview with Kurir, Simic explained that this was not his attitude based on some feeling, but a clear result of the behavior of the anti-Serb regime in Pristina, which wanted to avoid its obligations in every way, but also to abolish all the rights that, at least on paper, had been guaranteed to the Serbs in Kosovo.

"In this sense, we do not need signed papers that fade over time, but concrete actions that will create the possibility for the Serbs to feel safe in these areas, because this is a prerequisite for all other things, including education, economic development, and improvement of health and social protection," Simic says.

How does the Serb List view the offered Franco-German, or European, plan for the Kosovo issue?

Since its establishment, the Serb List has advocated the position that dialogue is the only way to resolve all open issues between the Serbs and Albanians, that is, Belgrade and Pristina. In situations where there is no dialogue, meetings in Brussels, or talks, as a rule, we have unilateral moves by Pristina on the ground, and attacks on Serbs, the Serbian Orthodox Church, and their property, all to intimidate and expel the Serbs, i.e. the creation of a "new reality on the ground", which implies the implementation of institutional violence and incidents directed against the Serbs, especially in the last two years, since the dictatorial regime of Albin Kurti has been in Pristina. If we are talking about the European proposal, I think that before any analysis of that plan, it is necessary to implement existing agreements, signed ten years ago, and of course to form the CSM without any delay, as it was agreed in Brussels in 2013 and 2015. Without the CSM there is no point in answering the new proposals, especially those that have not been accepted and signed yet, i.e. in connection with which the conversation is still ongoing.

Do you think that there is room in the continuation of the dialogue to change certain items, such as the fact that Serbia will not stop Kosovo from applying for membership in international organizations, including the UN?

President Aleksandar Vucic is a statesman and an exceptional politician, who keeps his word, and his word has been clearly spoken several times in the National Assembly in front of the entire public, and these are the clear red lines of our negotiating team, that there is no recognition or possibility to reach an agreement with Pristina to give them the possibility of joining the UN. The Serbs in Kosovo, but also in Central Serbia, Republika Srpska, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Croatia, and wherever they are, have full confidence in President Vucic that he will fight for the best possible solution, bearing in mind the circumstances in which these negotiations are being conducted after 24 years since the NATO aggression against our country. We must be responsible, and realistic, and look to the future. There is no future for the Serbs, no matter where they live, without a strong Serbia, as President Vucic is building it; on the other hand, we have to find a way to live and cooperate with Albanians. As the two largest nations in terms of numbers, we are directed towards each other, to build bridges of cooperation instead of conflict, to connect infrastructurally and economically, and to resolve open issues through talks, preserving the peace and security of the Serbs, but also the Albanians, Bosniaks, Goranis, Roma people and everyone else, but also protecting our national interests.

Although the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said officially that he accepted the proposal, in which it is firmly stated that Pristina had to form the CSM, it can be heard at the same time that he is not interested in the CSM. Do you believe that the CSM can be formed soon and in the manner already agreed upon in the Brussels Agreement?

The formation of the CSM is an international obligation of Pristina, not a whim of the Serbs. The fact is that in previous years it has been clearly shown that neither Pristina nor its institutions are able, and I personally think that they do not want to solve the problems of the Serbs. Moreover, everyday life shows that the goal of Albin Kurti's regime is not the normalization of relations, but the silent persecution of the Serbs through institutional violence, arrests, and detention of our people without any evidence, endangering personal and property security. Only in Kosovo, under this regime in Pristina, on the soil of Europe, in the 21st century, Ivan Todosijevic is punished with a prison sentence for a spoken word?! Only the Serbs in Kosovo are deprived of their property without carrying out any procedures or taking into account the attitude of the owners of those land plots in Leposavic and Zubin Potok. Only the Serbs in Kosovo were forbidden to exercise the right to vote in elections and referendums, the right to treatment and education, and the right for our children to play sports. Bearing all this in mind, we need the CSM in order to guarantee our safety from attacks from Pristina, so that we can organize our own municipalities in accordance with the needs of our citizens. Whether Pristina will begin to fulfill its obligations is the responsibility of the authorities in Pristina, and even more so of the EU, which was the guarantor of the implementation of the agreements reached. I will remind you that the Brussels Agreement from 2013 is also legally binding. Moreover, it was ratified by the assembly in Pristina as an international act and thereby elevated it above domestic regulations.

How do you comment on the statements of the Serbian opposition that accepting this proposal would represent a betrayal of Serbia and a renunciation of Kosovo?

To be honest, I would prefer not to comment on them because they have shown their concern for Kosovo and us who live here countless times when they remained silent while we suffered here, and in 2004, when the March pogrom happened, and in 2008, when Pristina unilaterally declared independence, but also recently in the National Assembly, when they did not deign to behave responsibly, nor to sit in the assembly hall while the debate was going on. Well, 90 percent of them from the opposition do not know where the Serbs live in Kosovo, they cannot name the three municipalities with a Serb majority south of the Ibar, let alone know about the problems of our people. Their only goal is to fight against President Vucic at this fateful moment, and thus Serbia, and not to do something good. Today's opposition uses the same sentences as Albin Kurti when attacking President Vucic or the Serb List. You will never hear a single word they will say against Albin Kurti or those who support him in anti-Serbian activities, but you will hear all sorts of lies against the President of Serbia. I can only say that the Serbs in this region hope and in the political sense we will do everything so that today's opposition never gets the opportunity to decide on our lives and on Serbia.

How to respond to the seizure of land from the Serbs in Kosovo, which the Pristina government is carrying out through alleged expropriation?

Don't blame me, but I have to correct you, what we have in the municipalities of Leposavic and Zubin Potok is not expropriation, but classic institutional violence or, to be even more direct, robbery carried out by the regime of Albin Kurti. Bringing hundreds of special forces armed to the teeth at dawn to Serbian properties, a Serbian cemetery, and the port of a Serbian church, to fence it with wire and start building some kind of police bases is more befitting of the Wild West than the European continent in the 21st century. Of course, the owners of the mentioned estates publicly and clearly protested against this expropriation, emphasizing two clear demands that the land be returned to them, and the situation on the ground be returned to its previous state, that is, that the already erected, illegal objects located there to be removed. In this just fight for their basic rights, they have all the support of the Serbian List, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, and our country, but also prominent lawyers, the non-governmental sector, and the entire Serbian people.

Is there anything else that can be done to help Ivan Todosijevic, who was sentenced to prison for his statement about Racak?

In a legal sense, the legal team of Mr. Todosijevic will continue the legal battle before the Supreme Court in Pristina in order to overturn this anti-Serb and clearly illegal verdict, but we must know that this is not a legal but a political case to persecute an honorable host in order to send a message to all the Serbs through Ivan Todosijevic and his family. This is a case where the international community must raise its voice clearly. I wonder if the EU is ready to keep quiet about the introduction of a verbal tort in the 21st century. Who are the EU and the countries of the Quint afraid of, so they must not publicly stand up for the protection of the right to freedom of speech of an honorable Serb? Why is the case of Ivan Todosijevc not discussed in the reports of international organizations that ensure respect for human rights?