Gudzic: Albanian political elites do not want any autonomy for Serbs in Kosovo

Historian from Gracanica, Aleksandar Gudzic, says that the Albanian political elites, both in the government and opposition, do not want any autonomy for Serbs, including the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities, but rather the fate of their compatriots in Shkodra.

"The political elites of Kosovo Albanians, both those currently in power and those who held power in previous years, the former politicians, do not want to form the Community of Serb Municipalities and are unwilling to provide guarantees for Serbian churches and monasteries. Although both requests, the CSM and guarantees for Serbian churches and monasteries, are not unfamiliar to European and global legal frameworks, or to European and world nations," Gudzic stated to Kosovo Online.

He emphasizes that the authorities in Pristina persistently promote a narrative about some sort of historical Kosovo, where all the churches are considered Albanian.

"When representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church insist on legal guarantees, they always refer to examples from other countries. Why is Kosovo unwilling to give guarantees for Serbian churches and monasteries? Because Kosovo society, its political elites, and academic elites are persistently constructing a narrative about a 'historical Kosovo,' where there exists exclusively 'Kosovar' cultural heritage, with the claim that Serbian churches and monasteries are actually Kosovar, that is, Albanian, and that Serbian rulers in the Middle Ages simply built those churches and monasteries on existing foundations. For this reason, they do not want to provide guarantees for Serbian churches and monasteries, as their long-term intent is to appropriate Serbian cultural heritage," Gudzic argues.

As for the formation of the CSM and the possibility for the Serbian community to achieve some form of autonomy, this historian asserts that the consistent refusals from the Kosovo side send a clear message.

"They aim, through pressure on Serbs and provocations, to simply make life difficult for the Serbs so that, in the long run, the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija face the fate of the Serbs in Shkodra, to become statistically insignificant or to effectively disappear. What do we know today about the former Serbian presence in Shkodra? We know from place names and village names in the surroundings of Shkodra, and from some historical documents, but today, very few Serbs remain there. So, I fear that the desire and intent of the political elites in Kosovo is for the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija to meet the same fate as the Serbs in Shkodra and its surroundings," Gudzic concludes.