Odalovic: Anti-Serb policies intensifying in Kosovo ahead of elections, “hunt for Serbs” permitted

Veljko Odalovic stated that anti-Serb policies in Kosovo are intensifying ahead of the upcoming elections, adding that a “hunt for Serbs” has effectively been permitted, for which he holds Albin Kurti primarily responsible.

“Elections are approaching, so anti-Serb policies are being intensified, while Serbia is being accused of genocide and numerous crimes,” Odalovic told RTS.

He added that such rhetoric is heard not only from Pristina, but also from other centers in the region.

“Clearly, the narrative that the Serbs are guilty for everything sells well. Accusing the Serbs and Serbia is enough to mobilize and motivate the electorate and secure votes,” Odalovic said.

Asked whether it is known how many Serbs in Kosovo are being prosecuted or charged with alleged war crimes, Odalovic replied that “nobody knows.”

“Nobody knows, unfortunately. That is why there are secret indictments, secret trials, trials in absentia, and everything else that Pristina is doing. All of this fits into a pattern we have already seen,” Odalovic stated.

When asked how many Albanians are currently facing proceedings over alleged war crimes, Odalovic responded: “Not a single one.”

“Very often, when we attend meetings regarding missing persons, I ask who is responsible for crimes committed against Serbs. There is never any answer,” he said.

According to Odalovic, Albanians, in the narrative surrounding the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which they seek to portray as an “army that liberated Kosovo” and one with “clean hands,” overlook the fact that more than 3,000 Serbs and other non-Albanians were killed, while 570 people are still listed as missing.

He stressed that no one mentions a single Serb who was killed or remains missing, nor any events connected with those cases.

“We are asking international officials to open certain locations where we know the bodies of Serbs are located, to allow us access to the morgue in Pristina where there are more than 300 bodies, of which at least 100 are certainly Serbian, to continue searches at various locations, and to ensure that, just as we respect Pristina’s requests, our requests are respected as well. Families have the right to seek accountability for those crimes and for those responsible to be prosecuted, but that is something Pristina remains silent about. In none of their statements, not even in the recently adopted resolution, is anyone mentioned except for the so-called ‘genocide of Serbia, Serbian forces, and Serbs.’ And this is now being operationalized through new indictments and trials in absentia,” Odalovic said.

He underlined that neither United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, nor the Brussels Agreement, nor the Washington Agreement — which also addresses the issue of missing persons — are being respected.

“There are many signed and verified documents, and Serbia acts responsibly in accordance with them, while no one else does, nor are they ever told they are accountable or subjected to pressure,” Odalovic pointed out.

Asked whether he expects attacks against Serbs to intensify ahead of the elections, Odalovic observed that, in addition to trials and indictments in absentia, Serbs are also being physically attacked, recalling a recent incident a few days ago in which a group of Albanians assaulted a Serb in Donja Gusterica.

“Trials in absentia are a message to those who were expelled that they can expect legal proceedings without even knowing what they are accused of. We have people living there who are arrested on various grounds, most often based on fabricated charges. People are beaten, as happened a few days ago, and nothing comes of it. A hunt for Serbs has been allowed, and Kurti bears the greatest responsibility for that because he has encouraged this entire process over the past several years,” Odalovic emphasized.

He also noted that, ahead of the new elections, not a single Kosovo Albanian political party had said a word distancing itself from Kurti’s policies or condemning what he described as terror against Serbs.

“They remain silent. Even the party of Hashim Thaçi proposed a resolution glorifying the KLA and identifying only Albanians as victims, while anyone saying otherwise risks becoming the subject of indictments. There is no one with the courage and strength to say: ‘Stop, people, that is not true, the KLA was not without fault.’ For the Americans, it was considered a terrorist organization until the day Richard Holbrooke visited Junik. Until then it was a terrorist organization, and afterward it became a ‘liberation movement,’” Odalovic recalled.

He added that, in this context, pressure is being exerted to ensure that KLA leaders are not convicted in The Hague.

“Because if they are convicted, the narrative about the KLA that they are promoting collapses,” Odalovic concluded.