Representatives of the Pupin Initiative in Pristina and Gracanica: Serbs in Kosovo deserve respect

Representatives of the Pupin Initiative, after visiting Gorazdevac and North Mitrovica, concluded their stay in Kosovo by visiting Gracanica and Pristina, where they discussed the position of the Serbian people in Kosovo with representatives of American institutions, Metropolitan Teodosije, and journalist and writer Zivojin Rakocevic. Summarizing their visit, they emphasized that Serbs in Kosovo deserve great respect, given the conditions in which they live.

In Pristina, the delegates of this initiative, who are both Serbian and American citizens, held discussions with the presidents of the Kosovo and American Chambers of Commerce, Lulzim Rafuna and Arian Zeka, as well as with the U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier. In Gracanica, they met with Metropolitan Teodosije and writer and journalist Zivojin Rakocevic.

The Executive Director of the initiative, Vuk Velebit, expressed great respect for the Serbs living in Kosovo and emphasized that it is incredible that, in the heart of Europe, Serbs are facing a humanitarian crisis.

"I must say that, based on these few days with representatives of the Serbian community and Church representatives, we have great respect for every Serb man and woman living in this area today. What people here are facing is a type of humanitarian crisis, and it is truly incredible that in the heart of Europe today, the Serbian people in Kosovo are facing issues that concern not only human and religious rights but also their very survival," Velebit said.

Regarding the meeting they held with Hovenier, Velebit emphasized that Serbs see an ally in America, but stronger reactions are needed, both from the U.S. Embassy and the State Department.

"We talked with representatives of the American administration to better understand what they are doing on the ground. We believe that Serbs and Serbia should see an ally in America, as we have also heard from our community representatives. They see the U.S. Embassy as a contact point when there is a problem. We could see more engagement; we have seen statements, but we would like to see more concrete actions, not only in Pristina but also from the State Department in Washington," he stated.

At the end of his visit to Kosovo, Velebit stressed that the partnership between Serbia and America must be strong and stable.

"What is crucial when we talk about peace and stability in the Western Balkans: Serbia and America must be the closest partners to ensure stability in this region. Stabilization of the Serbian community is necessary because if Albin Kurti continues with his unilateral actions, it could lead to regional destabilization. Only a stable partnership between Serbia and America can ensure peace and stability. That is why our work is focused on strengthening these relations and better understanding Serbia's position in the region," he said.

He added that the goal of this initiative is to position Serbia as America's main partner in the region.

"The current administration led by Kurti is anti-Western, and I think America needs to be aware of that and should not abandon its regional interests just because there is one unconstructive leader in the region. We will certainly work to further position Serbia as America's main partner in the region," Velebit concluded.

Regarding the meeting with Zeka and Rafuna, Velebit said that the presidents of the chambers of commerce share concerns about economic freedoms, specifically the ban on the import of Serbian goods, as well as the ban on importing American goods produced in Serbia.

The President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo, Arian Zeka, said that the economic normalization between Kosovo and Serbia is necessary and that during the meeting, all the challenges faced by businesses were discussed.

"We understood that the Pupin Initiative is involved in improving relations between Serbia and the U.S. They wanted to hear the views of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo and the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce regarding the economic cooperation of the Western Balkan countries. We shared our thoughts on what we believe are the challenges for business between Serbia and Kosovo. We discussed current issues, including the ban on importing Serbian goods imposed by the Kosovo government, as well as various restrictions faced by Kosovar companies when trying to export to Serbia, the recognition of official documents, and other important matters. We are working on the normalization of Kosovo-Serbia economic cooperation. Economic normalization is also one of the key goals of the American administration," Zeka said.

Vladimir Milosevic, the co-founder of the Pupin Initiative from San Francisco, stated that what they observed on the ground is concerning and that the conversation with Hovenier was focused on ensuring a better life for the people in Kosovo.

"We have read information and news from Kosovo, but we came here to meet with representatives of politics, civil society, and the economy, both from the Serbian and Albanian sides. Today, we had a meeting with Ambassador Hovenier. We discussed what we saw over the past four days. The situation for Kosovo Serbs is worse than we thought. Our conversations were focused on the steps that should be taken to guarantee a better life for the people, to ensure they have access to basic needs such as medicine, and that people do not live in fear or are afraid of arrests. The ambassador and his team provided us with information about what they are working on. We believe there is room for greater engagement and cooperation," he said.

Ivan Trifunovic, a member of the Advisory Board of the Pupin Initiative from Pennsylvania, stated that their visit aims to improve the situation for Serbs in Kosovo, who, as he assessed, are subjected to the terror of the Pristina authorities.

"Our people are deprived of all human rights; I would compare it to a form of apartheid, where laws are selectively applied with the clear goal of pressuring Serbs through harassment to leave Kosovo. We tried to separate what happens to Serbs daily from the larger political issues that should be resolved through dialogue. A more pressing issue is what is happening to people on the ground today. They are being arrested, they lack medicine... We have noticed that the U.S. Embassy has taken a tougher stance towards Albin Kurti's regime and that they disagree with these unilateral actions. We also heard from the Serbian community that the U.S. Embassy is trying to help, but we insisted that they do more. We believe they can, and we agreed to send them some ideas on where we could work together," he said.

Trifunovic added that difficult political issues cannot stop the resolution of problems for Serbs.

"Any move by Kurti's regime to raid schools or healthcare facilities is a red line that could lead to catastrophic consequences. Hovenier agreed with this. We hope to continue our cooperation with the U.S. Embassy," he said.

Velebit, Trifunovic, and Milosevic concluded their visit to Kosovo by meeting with journalist and writer Zivojin Rakocevic.

After the meeting, Rakocevic emphasized the importance of constantly being aware of what is happening in Kosovo.

"We discussed the dynamics of life here, how this area is changing at a frightening pace, and how it is essential to always be aware of what is happening here. Even though this is a globalized world with perfect technological presence, it is difficult to capture the moment when an entire community suffers from massive discrimination. It is also difficult to speak about discrimination in a place where perfect European laws are prescribed but are perfectly unenforced. This is one of the paradoxes we must explain to ourselves, and especially to the Western world," Rakocevic said.

Regarding the Pupin Initiative, he expressed his belief that these visits are very important, confident that at some point, the fate of the people in Kosovo will be decided by someone based on the principle of justice.

"It is very important that people living in America, our people who know a lot about Kosovo, feel the dynamics of the real situation here. We are a medium-sized nation, but sometimes a few people make decisions about us. Among those who come to us from America, there will be someone who will make decisions about us. In a crucial moment, these people will be in a position to, based on the principles of justice and normality, significantly influence not only our lives but also our overall existence in Kosovo and Metohija," Rakocevic said.

With the meeting with Rakocevic, the representatives of the Pupin Initiative concluded their visit to Kosovo. As they stated, their next step is to convey the situation of Serbs living in Kosovo to people from the State Department and American NGOs at the Pupin Forum in Washington on September 18th, and to demand greater advocacy and respect for human rights.