Gervalla: There is no Serbian people in Kosovo, only a Serbian community

Self-Determination Movement MP Donika Gervalla, after the Serb List proposed Slavko Simic for the position of deputy speaker of the Assembly, said that the proposal was scandalous and unacceptable because “there is no Serbian people in Kosovo.”

“The Serb List's proposal for deputy speaker of the Assembly is scandalous and unacceptable. There is no Serbian people in Kosovo, only a Serbian community. Serbs have their elections in Serbia, on October 25,” she wrote on Facebook.

As reported by Koha, when proposing Slavko Simic, MP Igor Simic referred to the Serbs.

“On behalf of the Serbs, and with the signatures of nine of the ten MPs who make up the majority of Serbian MPs, we propose Slavko Simic for deputy speaker,” Igor Simic said.

Acting President of Kosovo and speaker of parliament in the previous legislature Albulena Haxhiu was elected president of the Kosovo Assembly today.

Following the election of the speaker, the constitutive session continued with the nomination of candidates for deputy speakers.

After consulting with the leaders of the parliamentary groups, Haxhiu said there was no agreement among the political entities on how the vote for deputy speakers should be conducted.

“There are proposals to vote as a package, and there are also reservations about that,” she said, calling for a 30-minute break to consult with the parliamentary group leaders.

She also asked the administration to inform her whether the Serb List's proposal for deputy speaker was in accordance with the Constitution.

Although a 30-minute break had been announced, the session was suspended for almost an hour and a half.

When the session resumed, Albulena Haxhiu stressed that Igor Simic had made a statement that was unacceptable while presenting the proposal for deputy speaker.

“This statement is unconstitutional. Such a statement is unacceptable,” Haxhiu said, calling on Simic to withdraw his statement.

Simic said that he understood the game they were playing.

“I am a member of the Serbian people, and they will not take that right away from me,” Simic said, after which Haxhiu took away his right to speak.

She then adjourned the constitutive session and announced that it would resume on Friday at 11 a.m.