Berisha: Kurti is trying to meddle in Serbia's internal affairs with laws

By adopting laws that grant only Albanians from Medvedja, Bujanovac, and Presevo the right to Kosovo citizenship and property acquisition in Kosovo, the Kosovo government is clearly attempting to interfere in Serbia's internal affairs and, in some way, draw parallels between northern Kosovo and Presevo, Medvedja, and Bujanovac, the president of the Albanian National Council in Serbia, Demo Berisha, assessed for Kosovo Online.

"This is another in a series of activities by the government of Albin Kurti in which he seeks to directly interfere in Serbia's internal affairs because, by singling out only one group, specifically Albanians from the areas of the three municipalities in the 'Presevo Valley', it's a direct incursion and disorientation of citizens. In any case, it constitutes discrimination because it prevents anyone from any municipality in central Serbia from buying land or acquiring citizenship," Berisha said.

It's widely known, he emphasized, that in 1999, a certain number of citizens from those areas remained to live in Kosovo, and until this moment, they haven't been able to resolve issues regarding residence, employment, or were in some unregulated status. On one hand, they lived in Kosovo, and on the other hand, they used documents from central Serbia, such as IDs, passports, and other documents, Berisha clarified.

"Albin Kurti, with such decisions, wants to have a direct impact on a portion of the population living in these three municipalities to create some parallel between the north and the 'Presevo Valley'. Therefore, he's attempting to incite incidental situations and create dissatisfaction among citizens," the president of the Albanian National Council in Serbia warned.

However, he points out that Albin Kurti forgets one of the key internal problems of Kosovo, which is that the Albanian community, instead of buying land, is leaving Kosovo in search of a better life.

"It is known that from the 1st to the 15th, according to Kosovo Police data, more than 650,000 citizens of Kosovo, predominantly Albanians, have left Kosovo. Now it is public knowledge that 600 teachers have announced their departure, taking unpaid leave," Berisha added.

According to him, Kurti is trying to stir up unrest in Serbia with the help of the representative of Albanians from southern Serbia, Shaip Kamberi.

"We see what he's doing with Shaip Kamberi and the parties around him—he opened the Office of the National Council of the Albanian National Community in Novi Pazar. He directly participated there with his team, collaborating with Sulejman Ugljanin, trying to reach a certain number of voters to create destabilization in central Serbia. However, I believe that the citizens of Serbia will understand the game played by Albin Kurti and his spokesperson Shaip Kamberi," Berisha said.

He believes that Albin Kurti is additionally bothered and exerting effort because, despite all the pressure, the Serbian community shows unity and openness to democratic processes, which, he emphasizes, they demonstrated by collecting signatures for the removal of mayors from four municipalities in northern Kosovo.

"The Serbian community has shown discipline and democracy in collecting signatures in a short period because they didn't resort to riots. This stability of the Serbian community bothers him. With these laws, he's trying to create space to maneuver and exert mild pressure. He uses all the methods that come to mind to simply push out the Serbian community from Kosovo," Berisha evaluated.

However, as he says, the international community will not react in this case, just as it doesn't react to other issues.

"The international community will mildly or not at all comment, invoking restraint and saying that we should wait while the dialogue is ongoing. This allows him to slowly implement his project of cleansing Kosovo of Serbs through a calm stream," he emphasized.

Berisha notes that approving the purchase of land in Kosovo only for Albanians, pressuring Serbs, and meddling in the internal affairs of neighboring countries are part of Albin Kurti's ultimate goal – creating a "Greater Albania."

"We had the opportunity to see this when the new Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Talat Xhaferi, was elected. Ali Ahmeti's statement on the matter was that the Albanians' dream in North Macedonia had already been achieved and that now we should work on eliminating the borders between Macedonia and Albania and Kosovo, which indicates that it fits into Albin Kurti's plan to create Greater Albania," Berisha concluded.