Marsenic: Census in an atmosphere of fear, violence, and terror against Serbs

Sociologist Marija Marsenic from the Institute for European Studies assessed that the population census process in Kosovo had been accompanied by numerous controversies and that the results would impact the Serbian community, and she said that the fundamental criticism was that it had been conducted in an atmosphere of fear, violence, and physical and institutional terror against Serbs.

“The results of this census will, in any case, not favor Serbs in terms of creating and implementing public policies. We know that the distribution of municipal budgets is based on the number of populations and minority communities. There will be no funds allocated for the development of the economy, healthcare, education, and other economic and social aspects,” Marsenic told Kosovo Online.

She also added that the official Pristina would use the Serbian community’s boycott to downplay their actual numbers.

“Pristina will use the Serb boycott of this census to show that the Serbian community is actually smaller than it really is, to continue the repression against them. Of course, this will create even worse living conditions for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, and it will mean limiting the protection of their rights both politically and institutionally,” she said.

Marsenic has no doubt that, due to the census boycott, the Serbian community will be sanctioned, either directly or indirectly.

“I expect penalties to be enforced. Now, whether it will be monetary fines as announced by Pristina, and whether 200,000 displaced Serbs will be financially penalized, or if the penalties will come later in the form of bureaucratic bans or administrative problems, meaning Serbs will not be able to access certain public services, elections, or document renewals, obtaining certain permits. It is possible that census forms or other proofs of participation in the census will be required,” Marsenic emphasized.

She added that there were several contentious moments in the recently completed census, with the key issue being that neither the socio-political nor security aspects had been ensured for it to be conducted properly.

“The population census cannot be conducted at any moment and under any circumstances. The census should be scheduled when the socio-political and security situation is stable to ensure sufficient trust in the institutions conducting it. Clearly, this was not the case with the census in Kosovo and Metohija. It was conducted in an atmosphere of fear, violence, and physical and institutional terror against Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, as evidenced by recent events,” Marsenic said.

As examples, she cited the recent raid by Kosovo police on the Postal Savings Bank, the abolition of the dinar, and the ban on importing Serbian products.

She also emphasized that a large number of Serbs did not have the opportunity to be counted.

“We should also consider the 200,000 forcibly displaced Serbs who are currently not in their usual place of residence and are not able to return, which indicates that the timing of this census is inappropriate,” she stressed.

She expressed doubts about the section dealing with the census of war damages.

“This does not favor Serbs, and it raises the question of how well the census takers were trained for this task and how these data will be verified at all,” she emphasized.

Marsenic also pointed out the inadequate informational campaign as a major flaw of the completed census.

“The informational campaign was extremely poor, as people could not access basic information on the Statistical Agency's website in Albanian, let alone in Serbian. Not to mention the questionnaires, which were poorly translated into Serbian. There were many irregularities and inconsistencies, making it difficult for Serbs to understand these questionnaires adequately. This indicates that the conditions of inclusivity and transparency were not met in this census, showing that there are no objective conditions for determining the actual number of Serbs currently in Kosovo and Metohija,” Marsenic concluded.