Simic: A terrifying scenario for Serbs in Kosovo is looming with the Law on Foreigners

Igor Simic, a member of the Presidency of the Serb List, once again warned about the consequences for Serbs in Kosovo if the Law on Foreigners enters into force on March 15 in the manner that, as he says, is being planned by the regime of Albin Kurti, stressing that this represents an administrative method of ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Kosovo.

“These are laws designed with the aim of ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija. By applying these laws in the way Kurti’s regime has envisioned, nearly 10,000 Serbs will not be able to stay in Kosovo and Metohija because they do not possess Kosovo documents. Or they will be prevented from entering, and here I primarily mean doctors, professors, and students. If we are talking about people who live in the area of Kosovo and Metohija, especially in the four municipalities in the north, 7,000 people will, under this law, remain at the Jarinje, Brnjak, and Merdare crossings on March 15,” Simic told TV Pink.

He pointed out that the survival of Serbs in Kosovo is under threat, regardless of the phrases Kurti uses to justify anti-Serb actions.

“This is not a mere application of the law, this is a plan to expel everyone who survived the exodus through the application of regulations that will mean separating children from their parents and tearing apart thousands of Serbian families. This is very dangerous and will jeopardize the functioning of the healthcare and education systems. Out of 1,180 teachers and associates of the University of Pristina with temporary headquarters in Kosovska Mitrovica, 550 do not have Kosovo documents. We have a terrifying scenario looming in just over a month,” Simic warned.

He therefore stated that the international community should finally fulfill what was promised to Serbs.

He explained that under the new law, Serbs must obtain Kosovo documents not because they want to, but in order not to be treated as foreigners in their own villages.

“You have to register as a foreigner, as if you are arriving for the first time, if you do not have documents. They do not recognize a marriage certificate if you were married within the Serbian system and not the Kosovo system. They say you must have means of subsistence, but they do not recognize this for those who work in Serbian kindergartens, schools, and hospitals, because they work in what they consider parallel institutions,” Simic said, adding that the Serb List conducted an analysis showing that there are situations in which both parents have Kosovo documents, but the child cannot obtain them, which means that the child practically does not exist for the system.

“This is an administrative method of ethnic cleansing of Serbs from the area of Kosovo and Metohija,” Simic emphasized.

Speaking about the reaction of the European Commission spokesperson, who said that Serbia violated an agreement by arresting members of the KLA, Simic noted that the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, correctly observed that the situation has moved from a phase of non-implementation of agreements that benefit Serbs to a phase of inventing agreements.

“I would like the European Commission to show where that agreement is which says that Serbia must not punish those responsible for crimes against the Serbian people, and how the EU, a mission that constantly mentions the rule of law, is now denying the rule of law and justice to Serbian victims,” Simic said.

When it comes to the trial of former KLA leaders, for whom the prosecution has requested sentences totaling 45 years in prison, he said that he would be restrained on that issue at this moment, because so far only the prosecution’s request has been heard.

“We have had cases where those responsible for crimes against Serbs were convicted at first instance, only to be acquitted by a second-instance verdict. It is obvious that in this constellation of power in international relations there is no justice for Serbian victims,” Simic concluded.