Elek: Kurti is scoring political points by mistreating Serbs, the persecution will continue because no one is stopping him

President of the Serbian List Zlatan Elek says there is no doubt that Pristina will try to continue persecuting everything Serbian from Kosovo because, as he states, those who have the mechanisms to stop them are doing nothing in that direction.

In an interview with Kurir, Elek emphasizes that the Serbian people in Kosovo have never been worse off than they are now, in the last 25 years. Regarding the elections in Kosovo in February, he claims that Albin Kurti is scoring cheap political points by mistreating Serbs.

Elek points out that some statements by international representatives encourage the regime in Pristina to continue its actions against Serbs.

“Unfortunately, with pessimism and disappointment, we look towards the international community at this moment. They have done nothing to protect the Serbs and our institutions. Furthermore, I suspect that some have directly facilitated Kurti’s actions on the ground, and that their responsibility is the greatest. I would remind you that they are all bound by the mandates they received from the highest bodies of the United Nations to protect all citizens, including Serbs, but they are not doing so. Some might ask if this is a surprise given our 25 years of experience with them, and my answer is definitely not," said Elek.

He points out that all those summoned for questioning – Ivan Zaporozac, Igor Simic, Ivan Todosijevic, Milan Radojevic, and Zoran Todic – responded to the summons, aware that they have nothing to be ashamed of or that any Serb doubts their work.

As he says, they were heads of institutions that provided services to citizens of all nationalities, including Albanians.

"With these summonses, they aim on the one hand to continue the pressure on Serbs, and on the other hand, their stance is that by closing Serbian institutions, Serbs will either be expelled or reduced to one percent of the population, in which case there can be no talk of Serb rights, the Community of Serb Municipalities, or anything similar. I wonder if the Kosovo police will arrest Albanians who received social assistance or pensions from these institutions," Elek said.

The President of the Serbian List points out that the Serbian people are under heavy pressure and that everyone agrees that things have never been worse for them in the last 25 years.

"The Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija are heroes, living Spartans who, under impossible conditions, preserve the Serbian name and surname in these areas, and who, under such terribly difficult conditions, are raising their children and building their foundations here. Believe me, it is admirable," he points out.

Answering the question about his view on the calls from the EU and the West for both sides to resolve the issues through dialogue, Elek says he sees it as a hypocritical invitation from those who deceived the Serbs in 2013 and 2015, promising to establish the Community of Serb Municipalities, an institution that would protect the collective and individual rights of the Serbian people.

"While our people are being denied food and medicine, the right to vote, sports and cultural events, the right to receive salaries, pensions, scholarships, social, and other benefits, now also denied the right to work, they issue statements, and their negotiator is treated without credibility in Pristina. Statements seem to be the maximum that international representatives are willing to do while Serbs suffer. They can do much more, and we are all aware of that, but this is the maximum they are willing to do," he adds.

Speaking about the upcoming elections in Kosovo, Elek says that Kurti is exclusively gathering cheap political points by mistreating Serbs.

"Well, remember which highway he opened, or factory, or innovation center, etc. He will undoubtedly continue the persecution of Serbs. In the context of the elections, I deeply believe that Kurti, through arrests and threats against representatives of the Serbian people from the Serbian List, wants Serbs to hand over mandates in the Assembly in Pristina to Rasic, so Kurti can eliminate all the rights that belong to the Serbian people," Elek concludes.