Jevtic: The position of the Serbs in Kosovo was never worse

The vice-president of the Serb List and the mayor of Strpce, Dalibor Jevtic, pointed out today, when asked what the situation was like in Kosovo 15 years after the self-declaration of independence, that the position of the Serbs in Kosovo had never been worse.

Jevtic, for RTS, pointed out that everything that had been happening since Albin Kurti had taken power was aimed at denying even those rights that were in Kosovo's laws.

"The situation in which the Serbs in the north have rightly abandoned all institutions, and the Serbs south of the Ibar do not even have the rights they should have, sufficiently describes the situation in Kosovo and Metohija. The number of incidents has doubled since Kurti was prime minister, and that only describes the entire attitude of the current government in Pristina towards the Serbs. The situation at the central level is that you do not have political representatives of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, and this also speaks of the relationship and completes the picture of the problem in which the Serbs find themselves, living insecurely, with weak economic prospects. The current government is doing everything to humiliate, and put the Serbs in an increasingly difficult position," he explained.

Jevtic pointed out that the Serbs were not only deprived of their rights but also faced unjust arrests and imprisonment.

"Those who want to return and recover their property are accused of war crimes. All this affects the number of the Serbs living in Kosovo and Metohija today. A large part of the responsibility lies with the international community, which should not tolerate all institutional violence against the Serbs at all levels. We south of the Ibar live in enclaves. In the municipality of Strpce, we do not have a problem with local Albanians, but with those who come from other parts. That's how a member of the Kosovo Security Forces shot Stefan and Milos, and that is a product of the rhetoric of the current government, which gives someone the right to come to Strpce and shoot someone. The Albanians accept that rhetoric, which is very harsh towards the Serbs, where the Serbs are constantly spoken of as criminals," he explained.

At the same time, he says that dialogue has no alternative.

"We have to talk to avoid conflict. Unfortunately, on the other hand, Kurti and his government are not ready for dialogue because they see it as something that will take away some of their rights, as they think. We insist on dialogue to solve the problem. That's why we believe that with all the problems, we can solve problems only through dialogue and no other way," he said.

Jevtic said that the position of Serbia in the international political arena was different thanks to the politics of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

He says that he saw this during his recent visit to Washington, where this more serious policy, but also an economically and politically stronger Serbia, contributed to a certain change in the US policy.

"Vucic managed to put the issue of Kosovo and Metohija back on the agenda of the Western powers, which is something we should take advantage of. This is the moment in which we can solve problems," he underlined.

When it comes to the formation of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, Jevtic points out the fact that Washington said that it would be formed with or without Kurti, because the US saw that he was not ready to implement it and thus provide the Serbs with at least some rights.

He pointed out that this was because the US wanted to avoid a conflict in this part of Europe, due to the situation in the east, where war was raging.

"I am not sure that all Western powers look at this problem in the same way. I mean some countries in Europe that are not part of the EU, which approach the problem in a different way," Jevtic said, and when asked if it was Great Britain, he answered, "among others."

"I saw the determination of the US to approach the problem differently this time. I haven't heard of any specific dates, but there are deadlines that they are determined to form the CSM. We do not see the CSM as a political issue, but a vitally important issue for the survival of Kosovo and Metohija," he pointed out.

Jevtic said that Kurti did not want legitimately elected Serbs in power, but only those who said what he wanted to hear.

He said that he had no contact with Kurti and Pristina.

"We do not even get the answers from Pristina to the questions and requests that I send as the mayor of the municipality," he added.