Canaj: Kosovo does not belong to Albanians, but to everyone who lives here

When I say that Albin Kurti is an obstacle in relations between Kosovo and the United States, I primarily mean the policy he pursues. That policy has brought us to the situation we are in now. Still, I don’t think his political career is over, because Self-Determination still enjoys significant support. Sometimes I think it is hard to reach any political agreement without Kurti. Instead of a new government, I expect new elections in Kosovo, Blerim Canaj, a political analyst from Pristina, said in the KOntext podcast.

Canaj served as a diplomat in Germany and Austria, regions he knows well. He completed part of his education abroad after studying in Pristina. Today, he is a professor of political history, and he says that both his diplomatic and academic experience help him better understand Kosovo’s political circumstances. He is well known to the Kosovo public as a frequent guest on Albanian-language media. In his interview with Kosovo Online in Serbian, he spoke about the institutional crisis that has marked the past year in Kosovo.

“The only ones benefiting from the crisis are the ministers. At the same time, we haven’t had a functioning parliament, so the ministers and the prime minister are accountable to no one. But we do have sanctions, which could be seen as the greatest success of Serbian diplomacy, or of Aleksandar Vucic’s diplomacy. Sometimes I feel that Kurti and Vucic feed off each other politically, while Kosovo, under sanctions, is losing the most,” Canaj said.

He believes that integration is the best solution for improving the position of the Serbian community in Kosovo.

“Anyone engaged in politics must make an effort to talk with the Serbs in Kosovo and explain that they are part of this state. We live in a new reality, the 21st century, and everything that happened belongs to the 20th century. The new reality is this: Kosovo is no longer part of Serbia,” he said.

Canaj describes himself not as a nationalist, but as a patriot.

“A patriot is not someone who spreads nationalism. Patriotism is something else. I cannot be a patriot if I hate even one Serb. I am a patriot if I love and respect my country, and if I respect the Serbs. I believe Kosovo does not belong to Albanians, but to everyone who lives here, Albanians, Serbs, Gorani, Turks, Roma…” Canaj said.

Speaking about the rights of Serbs in Kosovo, he referred to the Constitution and laws.

“Under the Constitution, the Serbian minority is part of this republic, and they should work toward that. I cannot think for the Serbian minority, they must think for themselves. I don’t believe there is a single normal Albanian who would want even one Serb in Kosovo to experience what I went through in the 1990s. If one Serb were to experience that, then we don’t need a state. I studied for three and a half years at a parallel university in the 1990s, and the worst thing is when a young person finishes their studies and asks, ‘What now?’ I don’t want young Serbs to be asking that question. We must not become a bad copy of the 1990s. But Serbs shouldn’t live in illusions, this is the new reality. Kosovo belongs to me as much as it does to the Serbs. The question is: what will we do together for this country?” Canaj said.

Commenting on Pristina’s unilateral moves, he said he has always opposed the ban on the dinar and that the Serbian currency doesn’t bother him.

“Politicians have abused the issue to claim they are establishing sovereignty in Kosovo. The government must hold a dialogue with the Serbs in Kosovo and find a solution to this problem, one that will make people feel satisfied and not threatened,” Canaj said.

He also criticized the announced integration of the Serbian education and healthcare systems into Kosovo’s institutions, a move Albin Kurti promised during the local election campaign.

“How is it possible that it only occurred to him to deal with this now? It is not the right time. Kurti, or any other prime minister, should discuss that issue with Serbian political parties. The best way forward is for Serbs and Albanians to sit down and think together about how we can move ahead,” he stressed.

Regarding northern Kosovo, Canaj said it is realistic that Serbs will once again take office and serve as mayors in the four municipalities that have been run by Albanians for the past two and a half years. He sees no hidden message in the return of a Turkish general as KFOR commander at a time when Turkey has delivered drones to Kosovo, only continuity.

“He has been here before, knows the troops, and knows how KFOR operates. None of this depends on Turkey, it depends on KFOR who the commander will be. KFOR doesn’t deal with politics, it has its mandate, and it fulfills it well. Albanians respect the mission that ensures the security of all citizens. As for the drones, Kosovo has an army and can buy weapons. We no longer talk about UN resolutions, because since 2008, Kosovo has been independent. The only valid part of Resolution 1244 is KFOR, and it is good that it’s here. I believe it will remain for many years, because KFOR is a symbol of Kosovo’s security,” Canaj concluded.

The full interview of Blerim Canaj with Dragana Biberovic can be watched in the video feature.