Petkovic: Kurti's regime is only interested in recognition, which will never happen

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, stated that the political-security situation in Kosovo is undoubtedly the worst in the past two decades.

In a Christmas interview for Pink, Petkovic said that the Serbian people are faced with a ruthless offensive by the regime of Albin Kurti and terror aimed at forcing the Serbs, confronted with impossible conditions for survival, to give up and leave Kosovo.

For him, there is no doubt that Kurti's goal is the ethnic cleansing of Serbs, which he tries to enforce through persecution, pushing them into displacement, and using physical and institutional violence to enforce submission.

“As long as Kurti has a decisive influence on political and security processes, not only in Kosovo and Metohija but also in the Western Balkans region, there will be neither peace, stability, nor progress,” Petkovic is convinced.

Are there any concrete advances in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina? What do you expect from the upcoming rounds of talks?

I do not expect much because representatives from Pristina do not come to Brussels to agree on anything or even to discuss matters; instead, they feign participation in the dialogue. Their negotiator almost always comes alone and acts like a know-it-all who thinks he knows everything but in reality, only sabotages the dialogue. Pristina does not want any normalization of relations; the only thing Kurti's regime is interested in is recognition from Belgrade, but this will never happen as long as Serbia is led by President Aleksandar Vucic. An essential step in the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, which requires urgency, must be the implementation of the agreement on forming the Community of Serb Municipalities, without which there can be no substantial next step. It is now clear to everyone that Kurti has no intention of allowing the establishment of the CSM and thus, at this moment, Kurti's regime attempts to solve the Serbian issue in Kosovo with aggressive and unilateral methods and actions, unfortunately, with the apparent permission of certain influential Western countries.

What are the priorities of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija in the coming year, especially regarding infrastructure projects, education, and health care?

The educational and health care systems in Kosovo and Metohija are of crucial importance for the survival of the Serbian people, along with other Serbian institutions in Kosovo and Metohija, and therefore it is of absolute importance for us to continue to strongly support all our vital systems, especially in terms of increasing the number of new jobs. However, it is very sensitive in such conditions to speak in detail about strategic plans and development projects, as we witness Kurti's police unlawfully confiscating Serbian property, usurping buildings and facilities built with funds from the budget of Serbia, and throwing Serbian workers into the street. Therefore, our top priority this year will be to create primarily economic and social prerequisites for our people to survive these difficult times, through various types of financial assistance. I could talk at length about the investments of the Republic of Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija, but that would only give Kurti ludicrous ideas. We continue to do our work, and I will tell you enough if I say that this year the budget of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija for our people in the province is record-breaking.

How do you plan to stimulate economic development in Serbian municipalities in Kosovo?

In the past, we have implemented numerous programs to support entrepreneurs, farmers, the socially vulnerable, pensioners, employees, students, and school children to ensure at least existential security. I would emphasize that the Government of Serbia will support 5,000 of the most socially vulnerable in Kosovo and Metohija, who will receive 20,000 dinars each month starting in February. The goal is for every loyal citizen of Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija to have an income from the Republic of Serbia. We will continue this program and expand it to all other unemployed people. Also, at the initiative of President Aleksandar Vucic, every preschool and school child receives 5,000 dinars monthly. The budget of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija this year will be the largest to date, and all these funds will be spent with the aim of helping people in our southern province to survive. In these difficult times, we show our care for the Serbian people, who we will never abandon.

How do you comment on the upcoming elections in February and the attempts by the authorities in Pristina, led by Albin Kurti, to block the Serb List and its participation in the elections?

Kurti perceives the Serb List as the only real ideological opponent in Kosovo and Metohija and the sole protector of the Serbian people, and therefore he tries with all his might, using legal violence, to prevent their participation in the elections. Serbs, in Kurti's political vision, represent a people who should disappear because they do not fit into the concept of monoethnic "Kosovo." In the upcoming elections, Kurti will strive to solidify political support for this project, and the only one who can stop him is precisely the Serb List. Instead of Serbian patriots, Kurti wants to see in the Pristina parliament some Serbs loyal to him, ready to betray their beliefs for a meal, who have done so repeatedly before, like Nenad Rasic who voted with both hands to confiscate land from Serbian homeowners in Leposavic and Zubin Potok to build police bases, who did not oppose Pristina's efforts to accuse Serbs of some so-called genocide. I need not list further, Rasic and those like him who only bear a Serbian name and surname and are ready to bow to Kurti, do not wish anything good for the Serbian people and if, God forbid, they came into a position to enter parliament, they would be even worse executioners of Serbian interests. We must not allow this, and therefore Belgrade supports the Serb List in defending Serbian national interests.

What are the key steps the Office for Kosovo and Metohija is taking to ensure the participation of the Serb List in the elections and to protect the rights of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija?

In our contacts with representatives of the international community, we continuously warn about the danger of a violent change in the ethnic structure in Kosovo and Metohija, which Kurti has been systematically and diligently working on for a long time and therefore wants to eliminate the Serb List. As we could see, he has not succeeded in his intent because the Serbs are much more resilient and tougher than he could ever imagine, and they will not bow down to his terror, but will stand upright and protect their own.

The formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities remains the main unresolved issue. Do you believe that the elections in March will put additional pressure on Pristina to finally fulfill its obligations?

Either Kurti is apparently stubborn to resist pressures, or those pressures are not substantial, not even uncomfortable for him. And here we come to the responsibility of the international community, especially the Quint, which often, by verbally condemning Kurti's unilateral moves, has only given a boost to the Pristina regime. Kurti will, I am sure, do everything to prevent the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities because it would be a defeat of his ideology of hatred. The Community of Serb Municipalities is a concept that enables the protection of Serbian individual and collective rights, is based on all universally accepted norms and values, and as such, is the antithesis of everything Kurti as a politician represents.

Christmas is a time of peace and solidarity. How does the Office for Kosovo and Metohija contribute to preserving these values among Serbs in Kosovo?

Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, together with the state of Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church, are the bearers of the Orthodox faith and guardians of Serbian identity. Additionally, the Serbian Orthodox Church is a true foundation of Serbian endurance and existence, and nowhere in the area where Serbs live are religious holidays so interwoven into the collective being as in Kosovo and Metohija. Aware of this fact, we have been strongly supporting our church in Kosovo and Metohija for years because without it, there is no survival for the Serbian people there. Followers of Kurti's ideology of hatred know this, and that is why it is no coincidence that Serbian children in Strpce were shot at during Christmas two years ago.

Are there any special activities or initiatives planned to mark Christmas in Serbian communities in Kosovo?

I am sure that Christmas in Kosovo and Metohija will be magnificently celebrated, as every year, and that it will be a manifestation of unity and collective will and strength of our people. Christmas is a time when we all further understand how important and invaluable it is what we defend in Kosovo and Metohija.

What is your message to Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija for this Christmas? How can they remain united and steadfast?

The birth of Jesus Christ brought hope to mankind that we can all be better together and taught us that love, not hatred, is what makes us stronger as individuals and as a people. This ethics and, if you will, theology of love is what overcomes all hatred, and in Kosovo and Metohija, we are daily in a position to witness that this is the absolute truth. The response to all kinds of hatred and disenfranchisement that Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija are exposed to is the nurturing of collective consciousness and the values that have been a beacon and guiding star to our people for centuries.

Christmas is not just one of the holidays; it is a confirmation of the best that we carry within ourselves as people and Christians! What does Christmas personally mean to you and how do you celebrate it?

Since I come from a clerical family, Christmas has been and remains a holiday of joy filled with rich symbolism for me from an early age. Christmas is not just one of the holidays; it is a confirmation of the best that we carry within ourselves as people and Christians. Every year in my home, Christmas is an opportunity to reaffirm ourselves in family and Christian values and a day when we are given a new opportunity to start the year with a clean heart and ready for kindness and love towards our neighbors.