Petkovic: Decisive elections—the fate of the Serbian people in Kosovo is at stake

Petar Petkovic, Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, stressed that tomorrow’s elections are decisive, as the fate of the Serbian people in Kosovo will be decided.

“Tomorrow, repeated elections for members of parliament will be held. These are decisive elections, given that the fate of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija is at stake. That is why it is important to call on the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as all internally displaced persons who hold Pristina-issued documents, to respond to the call of the Republic of Serbia, turn out at polling stations, and vote for the Serb List,” Petkovic told TV Informer.

He emphasized that the Serb List is the only legitimate representative of the Serbian people and that only a victory by this party—by winning all 10 seats—can ensure the continuation of the struggle for Serbian interests.

“In Kosovo and Metohija there are also some allegedly Serbian political parties that are projects of Albin Kurti, existing solely to advance the Greater Albanian agenda, so that before the international community he can claim to have a government that includes Serbian parties and that it is a multiethnic concept—which is simply not true,” Petkovic said.

He singled out Nenad Rasic as such an example, claiming he has “sold his faith for supper,” voting within Kurti’s government for all anti-Serbian decisions and for policies that led to militarization and the persecution of Serbs, particularly in the north.

“Such individuals do not represent the Serbian people, have no connection with official Belgrade, and look exclusively after their personal interests,” Petkovic underlined.

He noted the importance of the decision by Sladjan Nikolcevic and Gordana Mihajlovic—two senior officials of Rasic’s party—to leave him, stating that his policy served only to deepen divisions and weaken the Serbian factor, and that only the policy of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, truly cares for Serbs in Kosovo.

“Vucic has been calling on the Serbian people every day to turn out and vote for the Serb List, because that vote is a vote for survival and the future. If the Serb List wins all 10 seats, forming a government without it will be impossible,” Petkovic stressed.

He added that everything Serbian—the Serbian people and the Serb List—poses an obstacle to Kurti.

“Tomorrow we enter a third election cycle, and one could publish an entire book on everything Kurti has done to ban the Serb List from participating in the elections. His representatives in the Central Election Commission voted against it, seeking to prevent the Serb List, to behead the Serbian people of a legitimate representative, and leave Rasic to decide their fate,” Petkovic explained.

He recalled that Kurti forcibly pushed Rasic into parliament with Albanian votes, effectively taking one seat away from the Serbian people in order to form a government with him and continue anti-Serbian processes.

Petkovic also said that Kurti has been nervous since February because he has failed to form a government.

“Kurti has been extremely nervous since February. He has no chance of forming a government; he lacks a parliamentary majority. Albanians are already noticing that his populist policy brings nothing good. He has nothing to offer voters except attacks on Vucic and the harassment of the Serbian people by shutting down institutions,” Petkovic said.

As an example of such harassment, he cited the recent conviction of Sladjan Trajkovic for alleged war crimes without evidence or witnesses.

“Trajkovic is a former Kosovo police officer, and when he decided to leave the police, Kurti began to take revenge on him and others. That is the pattern of Kurti’s behavior, and it keeps repeating,” Petkovic added.