Serbian NGOs from Kosovo: Kurti and his movement are ideologically and practically against mechanisms protecting the Serbs

In the statement signed by non-governmental organizations Aktiv, Advocacy Center of Democratic Culture (ACDC), Institute for Territorial Economic Development (InTER), and New Social Initiative, regarding yesterday's statements by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti about the achievements of the Ahtisaari Plan, it is stated that Kurti must support and protect the legal framework related to non-majority communities or other areas of public life.

"The fact that Kurti boasted about his party's role in opposing decentralization in the mid-2000s, which granted key competencies in self-governance to non-majority communities, establishing special protected zones around Orthodox religious sites, the condition of double majority preventing majority rule when it comes to vital law amendments for non-majority communities, and other provisions of the Ahtisaari package is concerning," the NGO statement said.

They add that Kurti must support and protect the legal framework related to non-majority communities or other areas of public life.

"The comprehensive proposal for the Kosovo status settlement was a practical response by the international community to the dramatic demographic changes and violent expulsions in 1999 and 2004, which led to the displacement of the Kosovo Serb community from all urban areas. Furthermore, we emphasize that this legal framework was precisely the condition under which major Western nations recognized Kosovo's declaration of independence and, as some of them often emphasize, continue to expect Kosovo to fulfill that promise. Unfortunately, as we saw yesterday, as well as countless times before, Kurti continues to, both in words and deeds, violate constitutionally guaranteed rights, especially those pertaining to the Kosovo Serb community," they add.

They point out that Kurti boasts about the rights Kosovo grants to communities on the international stage while labeling the same rights as 'mono-ethnic concessions' and 'the cause of problems' that have caused many consequences in society before the domestic audience.

"This is hypocritical and undermines the existing order. It also exposes the false commitment of this government to a multi-ethnic Kosovo and power-sharing mechanisms. For example, the ongoing crisis in the north escalated in 2022 when the government violated two provisions of the Ahtisaari package that were later incorporated into the Constitution - provisions guaranteeing that the ethnic composition in the police force reflects the ethnic composition of the communities in which they operate. This government began openly violating this provision in February 2022 by building mono-ethnic bases for the Special Police on illegally expropriated private land, creating a second layer of police and undermining the authority of the Regional Directorate North, established in Brussels negotiations as a security guarantee for the Kosovo Serb community in the north. This, along with previous and subsequent violations of other agreements respecting the concerns of the Kosovo Serb community, shows that the ruling party uses the rule of law as an excuse to implement its ideological opposition to mechanisms protecting minority communities in Kosovo," the statement further says."

In conclusion, they add that by accepting the Agreement on the Normalization of Relations between Kosovo and Serbia, the Government of Kosovo has agreed not only to a self-governing mechanism for Kosovo Serbs but also to a special status for the Serbian Orthodox Church.

"Therefore, we expect a reaction from the international community, primarily the EU, Germany, and France, condemning the statements of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the actions of his government that undermine mechanisms for protecting minority communities and label them as problems," the statement from non-governmental organizations concludes.