Jovanovic: Serbs in Kosovo are like hostages in a ghetto, Pristina's provocations must stop immediately

Former Yugoslav diplomat Zivadin Jovanovic has warned that the main cause of the prolonged crisis in northern Kosovo is that Albanian leaders in Pristina are not interested in anything other than Serbia recognizing Kosovo's independence. He called for the immediate release of all unjustly detained Serbs, the withdrawal of special forces, and the closure of their bases in Serbian-inhabited areas, and he also urged the removal of illegitimately appointed mayors and the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities as agreed upon and signed in Brussels in 2013.

"While the province is still under the mandate of the United Nations, the Albanian leadership, with the support of their Western promoters, simply disregards UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and all previously signed agreements. They continuously provoke Serbs and violate their basic human rights, such as personal security, freedom of movement, and private property, to name just a few. Around 130,000 Serbs in the province are treated as hostages in ghettos, while the remaining 250,000 expelled Serbs are still not allowed to return to their homes and properties," Jovanovic stated in an interview with an Italian portal.

He added that unfortunately, Western countries, particularly the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, persistently ignore this alarming reality.

"It is evident that they are not willing to take any concrete measures to compel the Albanian leadership to adhere to the letter of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and the Brussels agreements, nor to respect the basic human rights of Serbs. Their policy of double standards now manifests itself in punishing Serbia through a third party for not recognizing the unilateral and illegal secession of Kosovo and Metohija, for remaining militarily neutral, and for not imposing sanctions on Russia," Jovanovic said.

He emphasized that Serbia and Serbs are committed to peace and to a peaceful resolution based on universal principles of international law and UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

"No one should expect Serbia to recognize the severing of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is extremely dangerous that the same parties that carried out aggression in 1999 and imposed recognition of the criminal secession in 2008 are now attempting to force Serbia to legalize all of that, thus retroactively disguising their crimes as something supposedly moral and peaceful, without expansionist and hegemonic intentions," Jovanovic stated.

He said that whoever is behind them, Pristina's provocations must cease, the human rights of Serbs must be respected, the signed Brussels agreements must be implemented according to their original text, and the dialogue on normalization must continue.