Simic: Serb List relies on the support of its people, Serbs must show unity and solidarity

The Vice President of Serb List, Igor Simic, says that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti will use all mechanisms, both institutional and non-institutional, to prevent Serb List from operating, but that Serbs in Kosovo must stand united and show their solidarity in the elections on February 9.

Speaking on TV Pink, Simic said that Kurti seizes every opportunity to score cheap political points, which, according to him, in Kosovo means harassing Serbs.

"This still resonates with Albanian voters. It garners support and is the foundation of his politics, as he has nothing else. He has reached a point where even international representatives have grown accustomed to his behavior. Occasionally, they issue weak statements in which they themselves don’t believe, much less the Serbs in Kosovo, even though they have the mandate to protect peace and the multiethnic character of Kosovo," Simic said.

He emphasized that pressure on Serbs in Kosovo is a daily occurrence.

"Many things have happened. Even today, we have dozens of Serbs in Pristina’s prisons without any evidence, and their families live in constant fear. A group of special police even came to my apartment to supposedly check who lives there, even though I am not an unknown figure, they know very well who I am. I was a member of their parliament. They have checkpoints where they stop cars, search entire families for nearly an hour, often late at night, armed with long rifles. Even if you live honestly and know you’ve done nothing wrong, in Kosovo, it feels inverted. They arrest you, and instead of proving your guilt, you are left to prove your innocence, all under the watch of the most expensive international rule-of-law mission, EULEX, which stands idly by in silence, giving Kurti room to continue harassing Serbs," Simic added.

As he said, Kurti will use all mechanisms, institutional and otherwise, to suppress the Serb List.

"We have MPs boycotting parliament because, at this moment, Kurti's MPs hold a majority and refuse to create even the illusion of multiethnicity or to have us as a mere decoration in their assembly. There is a risk that Kurti might declare Serb List a terrorist organization. Most of these actions are illegal, but no one has stopped him. Serb List knows it can rely on the support of its people, its president, and the state of Serbia. With this, we are heading into the parliamentary elections," he said.

He noted that the Serb List has more candidates than ever before, 48 in total, and one of them is Dragica Gasic.

"We are especially honored to have the best candidates the Serbian people can offer on our list. We are the only Serbian political party with official support from Belgrade. We are the umbilical cord connecting Kosovo and Belgrade. Among our candidates are doctors, judges, professors, and respected individuals, including Dragica Gasic, a heroine of the Serbian people who has endured so much," Simic emphasized.

Simic says that the Serb List needs parliamentary mandates primarily to protect the interests of the Serbian people.

"The Parliament has 120 seats, of which 100 belong to the Albanian community, 10 to Serbs, and 10 to other non-majority communities. To preserve rights, even those that exist only on paper, we need all 10 seats. If that doesn’t happen, we will face a situation like today, where we have Nenad Rasic, a Serb who follows all of Kurti's orders and has voted for the expropriation of Serbian land where police stations were built. These 10 mandates are crucial to preventing decisions like merging Kosovo with Albania or eliminating protected zones around monasteries. Without them, other Serbs might come who would vote for such actions, which international representatives would then deem legal and legitimate. That is why these elections are not a game. Without those seats, they could remove the Serbian language from official use or hinder the operation of schools and hospitals. We must show how united and harmonious we are," Simic said.

He emphasizes that unity has sustained the Serbian people in Kosovo and that without the state of Serbia, there would be no Serbs in Kosovo.

"Kurti has done everything to weaken the Serb List and Belgrade because he knows that every attack on the Serb List is an attack on the survival of the people in Kosovo. Recently, during the US elections, Pristina fully supported Kamala Harris, even mocking Donald Trump and Richard Grenell. Grenell, however, after the arrival of Albanian mayors in Serbian municipalities in the north, came to speak with us about our situation. He knows our circumstances well. Our diplomats, especially Marko Djuric, when in Washington, effectively presented the position of the Serbian people and Serbia. We do not expect major changes in US policy toward Serbia and Kosovo, but we do expect greater understanding," he said.

Simic also points out that Kurti instructed municipalities across Kosovo to bring in Albanians by buses, who are required to spend several hours walking through North Mitrovica, making comments and provoking reactions.

"They do everything to incite incidents. Today, exceptionally brave people live in Kosovo, people who have endured everything over the past 20 years yet continue to stay, live, and fight. All of Europe welcomed the decision of the government in Pristina to allow the import of Serbian goods, but we still don’t see those goods in our markets because trucks are held for hours at checkpoints and must enter through Merdare, bypassing northern Kosovo. That is the paradox, Kurti makes ten harmful moves, then partially reverses one, and all of Europe applauds him," Simic said.

He clarified that Serb List had condemned the incident in Zubin Potok, stating that only someone working against Serbian interests could have done it.

"We continue to insist on knowing who ordered it and who carried it out, as we are convinced it has nothing to do with Belgrade or Aleksandar Vucic. This was done by someone who wanted to bring the Kosovo Security Force into the north through the back door and remove the Serb List from the election process by declaring us criminals and offenders. They will not stop. As the elections approach, the pressure will intensify. We will fight politically. Kosovo doesn’t just belong to those of us living there, it belongs to the entire Serbian people," Simic said.

He noted that the protests in Serbia were welcomed by politicians in Pristina.

"The violent protests in Belgrade were warmly welcomed by all Albanian politicians in Pristina, and that should be a clear signal to everyone," Simic concluded.