Petkovic: We have reached a solution, Serbs will not be foreigners in their homes and institutions

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, said today at an emergency press conference that a solution has been reached regarding the Law on Foreigners that will enable the uninterrupted and normal functioning of Serbian health and education institutions in Kosovo and Metohija, stressing that Serbs will not be foreigners in their homes and in the institutions where they work.

“I convened an emergency press conference to announce that we have reached a solution that will enable the uninterrupted and normal functioning of Serbian health and education institutions in Kosovo and Metohija. We worked on the solution for days and weeks with the European Union,” Petkovic said, praising the engagement of the EU’s Special Envoy for the dialogue, Peter Sorensen, and the EU on this issue.

He said that throughout the process, he had been in contact and had spoken with Serbs on the ground and employees of Serbian institutions, with the rector, deans, hospital directors, and representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church, because this issue is not administrative or technical, but above all a matter of the survival of Serbs in Kosovo.

“We avoided the worst possible scenario of shutting down Serbian institutions in Kosovo and Metohija, because that was the main goal of implementing the Law on Foreigners, which Albin Kurti decided to implement after 13 years. We stopped the closure of our institutions so that our people can continue to study, learn, receive treatment, and go to their jobs. We preserved the Clinical Hospital Center in Kosovska Mitrovica, health centers in Gracanica and Pasjane, all health clinics, educational institutions, and the university with ten faculties and an academy,” Petkovic explained.

He stressed that this is very important and good news for Serbs in Kosovo.

“Serbs can breathe easier. Monday will be an ordinary working day,” the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija emphasized.

He explained that the solution consists of ten Serbian mayors compiling a list of employees in all educational and healthcare institutions, including the university and students, on the basis of which work and residence rights will be issued to Serbs employed in those institutions.

“This means that no one will be able to interrupt their work, raid or close institutions, and our people will be able to freely continue to work, study, and receive treatment. The list will be renewed every 12 months, because some employees will retire, new ones will be employed, and students will change,” Petkovic explained.

He stressed that only personal data will be entered on those lists and that there will be no security risk for Serbs, since all those data are already held by the Kosovo Police.

“It is important that everyone clearly understands that this solution does not represent any integration of Serbian health and education institutions into some Pristina system. That is absolutely not the case. It is simply a way to preserve those institutions and allow the people working in them to continue operating according to the same plans, programs, regulations, and protocols as before. The employer remains the Republic of Serbia, and our people will continue to work in Serbian institutions in Kosovo and Metohija. I emphasize this because there will be those who will try to mislead the public,” Petkovic said.

He said that Belgrade expects the continuation of dialogue, normalization of relations and that the issue of Serbian health and education institutions should be part of the dialogue, but also a central element of the Community of Serb Municipalities, which, he stressed, must come onto the agenda as soon as possible in order to protect all provisions of the agreements from 2013 and 2015, as Peter Sorensen has repeatedly said.

“This is not any act by the state of Serbia that would lead to explicit or implicit recognition of Kosovo and Metohija. That will not happen while Aleksandar Vucic is at the head of Serbia,” Petkovic stressed.

He also noted that the achieved solution will allow Serbs who do not have them to obtain the necessary Pristina-issued documents through an accelerated procedure, which they have been seeking for years.

He explained that around 7,000 people who do not have Pristina documents but live in Kosovo would be directly affected by the law.

“This is especially important for women, mothers who married, moved, and gave birth to children in Kosovo and Metohija, but cannot obtain Pristina documents. According to our data, 37.7 percent of our people who tried to obtain documents were either rejected or never received a response. Now, through a simplified procedure, based on Serbian identity cards for adults or birth certificates for children, they will be able to quickly resolve this life problem and obtain documents,” Petkovic said.

He reminded that the implementation of the Law on Foreigners in the first week would affect more than 10,000 people and asked whether the image should be of those people waiting to enter Kosovo.

“Should the image be an empty Kosovska Mitrovica or that Serbs, as before, can enter, work and live in Kosovo and Metohija, and that the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica once again becomes a city of youth where students come to study?” Petkovic pointed out.

Regarding the Law on Vehicles, Petkovic announced that very soon, in the coming period and in agreement with the EU, a solution will also be found for drivers operating vehicles with Serbian license plates under authorization.

“We will find a solution for them as well, so that the Kosovo Police would not fine them, so that they can participate in traffic and continue their normal lives. This concerns private vehicles, but we are also seeking a solution for the vehicles of our institutions, primarily ambulance vehicles which are essential for treating patients in Serbian health institutions in Kosovo and Metohija,” Petkovic said.

He stressed that the solution was reached in almost impossible conditions and that it is certainly not ideal, but it is good given that everything is happening at a moment of crisis in Pristina, when it is uncertain whether elections will be held again and in an atmosphere of persecution.

“At a very difficult moment, when there is no normalization of relations and when there is not enough readiness and understanding from the EU to support what is simply normal. We were positively surprised by the reaction and engagement of the EU so that we could live, preserve peace, and, at a time when wars are raging around the world, send a message of peace while working on strengthening institutions and supporting Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija,” Petkovic said.

He thanked Patriarch Porfirije who, as he said, with his letter to world leaders showed the real situation and emphasized that human life is the greatest sanctity and that it must be defended.

“Now I expect, and we have guarantees from the EU, that after this solution we will preserve our people so they can survive and remain on their centuries-old hearths,” Petkovic stressed.

Asked whether the Law on Foreigners will begin to be implemented on Monday, he said that Serbia is focused on Serbian institutions and the lives of Serbs who until yesterday were endangered by Kurti’s intention to implement the law.

“We cannot influence what Kurti does. The fact that after 13 years he is starting to implement that law instead of the Community of Serb Municipalities shows what his goal is,” the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija said.

He added that Kurti was further encouraged in his anti-Serb stance by the results of the last elections and that he will not abandon his intentions and goals.

“What is important is that the implementation will in no way endanger the survival of our people and our institutions. This is a period when the list will be formed and when our people will be allowed, based on our documents, to obtain Pristina documents they have been waiting for for years. There will be no danger and no ‘D-Day’ for our people,” Petkovic said.

Petkovic’s address followed today’s meeting between EU Special Envoy Peter Sorensen and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Pristina.

At a press conference in Pristina today, EU Envoy for Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Peter Sorensen said that the EU considers it a key priority for the Kosovo Government to provide residence permits for employees and students affected by the Law on Foreigners for an initial period of 12 months in order to prevent any disruption of health and education services.

Albin Kurti said at a press conference after the morning meeting with Peter Sorensen that no citizen should fear the implementation of the Law on Foreigners.