Antonijevic: Decision to change Cyrillic signs forcefully and poorly implemented

Legal expert Milan Antonijevic says for Kosovo Online that the decision to change signs with Cyrillic inscriptions was poorly prepared and is being used for internal political needs.

"This is the implementation of something that Kosovo authorities must carry out differently towards the Serbian community in the future," Antonijevic says.

He adds that if there is a decision for bilingual signs, it is fine to implement it.

"But if it is done forcefully and without agreement with the Serbian community, and if the signs disappear from the streets, I think that's an additional problem. I believe that this is calculated for the internal public to balance between the decision regarding Decani property as well as some future decisions regarding the CSM, which Kosovo is also obligated to implement," Antonijevic says.

He notes that there is evident pressure from the international community for this.

"Kosovo must not allow itself to implement decisions that resemble provocations. If we talk about Kosovo's multi-ethnicity, it must prepare all decisions regarding language and script, which is very sensitive, with the community, and only then implement them," he emphasizes.

Regarding the decision on the Visoki Decani property, Antonijevic says its implementation has been expected since 2016.

"It can be linked to political pressures, mentioning that it is a condition for Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe, but I wouldn't interpret it so narrowly," he says.

He highlights that the Kosovo government has had the obligation to make such a decision for many years.

"There are pressures. Every report from the EC and the State Department mentions that Kosovo has not fulfilled obligations regarding property, not only Visoki Decani but also a large number of cases of Kosovo citizens of Serbian nationality who have not yet realized their rights before Kosovo institutions," Antonijevic says.