Nikolic: There is no law or justice for the Serbian people in Kosovo

The Chair of the Serbian Parliament's Committee for Kosovo and Metohija, Danijela Nikolic, stated that Pristina is pursuing a policy of coercion, pressure, and appalling terror against the Serbian people, for whom, she said, there is neither law nor justice. She added that the international community has the mechanisms to prevent this, but is failing to use them.

Speaking to RTS, Nikolic said that the arrests of Serbs on war crimes charges are not isolated incidents, but part of Pristina's policy aimed at expelling Serbs.

She stressed that there is no longer any room for a normal life for Serbs.

According to her, the international community has the mechanisms to stop what she described as Pristina's political determination to rid Kosovo of Serbs and ethnically cleanse the territory of its Serbian population.

“All rights have been taken away from Serbs, both individual and collective,” Nikolic underlined.

She said that Serbia's only option going forward is to continue insisting that the international community use its mechanisms and stop Pristina.

She pointed out that anyone can find themselves on an indictment and that, in 90 percent of cases, it is Serbs who are being prosecuted because of Pristina's policy aimed at driving them out.

Nikolic said they are being tried before what she described as political courts that have nothing to do with law or justice.

“These people who have been arrested live in Kosovo and have never been under investigation. We see that Pristina is implementing its political will through political courts, with a focus on the north, in order to drive out the remaining Serbian population. This is creeping ethnic cleansing,” the Serbian MP underlined.

The European Union, she emphasized, absolutely has the mechanisms to put a stop to it.

“The international community has ways to condition Pristina through financial assistance, as well as through its role as the main mediator in the dialogue. The United States has considerable political and security influence, and KFOR has a mandate to safeguard security. At the moment, we are faced with a policy of turning a blind eye and issuing statements without deadlines. Pristina has become accustomed to everything coming from the international community amounting to nothing more than verbal condemnations without consequences,” Nikolic explained.

She noted that the Visoki Decani Monastery is an example showing that problems can be resolved when the international community becomes involved, as demonstrated recently when construction work in the protected zone was halted.

“When they want to, they can, because they have the means and the mechanisms,” Nikolic stressed.

Speaking about the security situation, and referring to the presence of snipers around the Monastery of the Holy Archangels in Prizren during the celebration of its patron saint's day, Nikolic said the situation is extremely difficult and that there is pressure aimed at depriving Serbs of their religious rights in order to force them to leave Kosovo.

“What our actor Milan Vasic said is, unfortunately, our everyday reality. When you go to a church or a monastery, which are our places of gathering, to pray, and then see someone standing there with a rifle, waiting for the liturgy or prayer to end, that is in fact pressure intended to strip Serbs of all their religious rights as well. The intention is for the people to disappear completely, for us to pack up and leave under that pressure. That is the goal of Albin Kurti and his policies,” Nikolic said.

Commenting on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's call for unity, she stressed that Serbs in Kosovo know what they must do, because divided they can achieve nothing.

“Only through the strength of unity can we preserve our culture and identity, in Kosovo and Metohija, in the Republic of Srpska, or anywhere in the diaspora,” Nikolic underlined.

She particularly argued that geographic qualifiers should be removed from the narrative when referring to Serbs from Kosovo or from the Republic of Srpska.

“We are all Serbs. I am a Serb woman living in Serbia, in Kosovo and Metohija. That geographic designation has been an obstacle, and we ourselves have contributed to those divisions. That is something that needs to change. I also disagree when people say that Kosovo and Metohija has been taken from us. They are trying to take it from us, but it is ours, and we have not given it up. Since 1999, there have been international forces there. It is true that the situation is difficult and that we are under an international protectorate, but we have not given up Kosovo and Metohija. It remains an integral part of our country,” Nikolic said.

Regarding the constitutive session of the parliament in Pristina, scheduled for 6 August, she said she does not expect a resolution to the prolonged institutional crisis.

She noted that the Serb List won ten seats, but that one of its mandates was stolen.

“I do not believe that anything significant will change. I think they will form a government, they are close to reaching an agreement with the Democratic League of Kosovo, but I believe they will stumble over the election of the President of Kosovo. A two-thirds majority is required, which means they need the support of the minority communities, and I do not think all minority representatives will vote to elect the president. So all of this is short-lived. They are in a serious crisis that will not be resolved,” Nikolic explained.

She stressed that the Serb List shares the fate of the people, suffering every day and being deprived of its rights.

She pointed out that everyone must return to dialogue, which Belgrade continues to insist upon because it is the path toward solutions, noting that the Community of Serb Municipalities is now hardly mentioned by anyone except Belgrade.

“We will see what happens, but I do not believe the crisis in Pristina will be resolved, because Kurti is losing strength and no longer has the confidence of Albanians. But whenever things become difficult for him, he will resort to arresting someone in Zubin Potok, Leposavic, or elsewhere. The situation is difficult,” Nikolic said.