Andric Rakic: Kosovo Post does not meet the needs of the Serbian population

Milica Andric Rakic, Program Manager at the NGO Social Initiative, assesses that the Kosovo Post offices recently opened in northern Kosovo do not meet the needs of the local population.

Andric Rakic tells Kosovo Online that it is impossible to compare the needs of the residents of northern Kosovo for Serbian postal services with those provided by Kosovo Post, as they used Serbian postal services much more extensively, which have now been closed.

“The needs for Serbian postal services are much greater, and this is something that Kosovo Post cannot replace. Specifically, I cannot pay for a kindergarten at this post office, and what is most striking and affects the citizens the most is that they cannot withdraw their money at these post offices. The service of sending and receiving mail from Serbia is highly questionable, and we all know that there is very poor communication between Serbian and Kosovo post offices, so mail is sent through courier services via North Macedonia or Montenegro, which still does not meet the population's needs,” Andric Rakic emphasized.

She adds that she herself participated in a protest against the officials who came to ceremonially open a branch in North Mitrovica, and that this form of protest was directed solely at the officials who, as she said, only want to score political points ahead of the elections scheduled for February 9, and that this shows that the campaign has already begun.

“I happened to be there, heard the whistles, and joined the protest, and I will continue to do so. I believe that officials are causing unrest among citizens, and some of that unrest felt by the citizens should be conveyed to them, especially when they are doing it in the midst of an election campaign, which clearly signals that this is a political act. I think it is completely justified for citizens to show that they disagree with their lives being disrupted for political gain,” Andric Rakic said.

Andric Rakic notes that the police did not exceed their authority today when they had a protected individual, but she felt that she could approach those who brought unrest to the citizens with their political promotion. She personally believes that the police did not exceed their authority compared to some other known public cases where the police violated their powers.

“We have many examples of poor treatment of citizens, and I do not want to relativize those events with today’s reaction. If a man had been in my place, I believe he would have been detained. As far as I am concerned, I think today's police response was in line with procedure,” Andric Rakic concluded.