Smajlovic: The arrest of Dejan Pantic was a hostage crisis

Opposition leaders in Kosovo, contrary to our idea that all leaders are united against Serbs, behave very similarly to the opposition here, says journalist Ljiljana Smajlovic, Kurir reports.

"When I see that the main opposition leaders say that Kurti made a mistake twice, because he listened to America too late both regarding the license plates and the barricades, that their position has collapsed, that the north of Kosovo will no longer be decided in Kosovo but in Brussels, that they lost the support of the main Western partners, I understand that there is still no unity," Smajlovic says.

She said that both the Serbian and Albanian opposition parties were similar.

"Once again in Serbia you have an opposition that says that what Vucic did is a disaster, this is not a victory, we have not achieved anything, and now one would have to think who is lying? Is the Serbian opposition lying, or is the Albanian one lying?" Smajlovic asked.

She adds that "neither one nor the other is lying, but they behave logically for the situation in which they find themselves in small countries, in which every political conflict takes on the shape of a struggle for the favor of Western partners."

She noticed this frequent occurrence on the political scene in Serbia and in small countries, in general.

"When one of our politicians makes a statement, and they say, "he is speaking again for domestic use, this does not play in the West". As if it is stupid to fight for the domestic public, as if all politics is not to fight for your voters", explained Smajlovic.

She points out that every government must find a way to represent its national interests without spoiling relations with the West, politicians are trying to stay in power, and we are making sure not to be humiliated, that this does not lead to bombings or sanctions.

She clarified what she meant by the West.

"I am thinking of Brussels and Washington, with the fact that Washington has strengthened its position. The main characteristic of the war in Ukraine is that America is more important and powerful because the European Union's dependence on it has increased," she said, comparing Russia's current dependence on China.

With the next question, she outlined the ultimate meaning of politics.

"What is the meaning of politics if the meaning of politics is not to manage affairs independently and to try to talk to the strongest states as if you are equal, as if you are sovereign, as if you have the right to conduct your politics as you wish", she asked.

According to Smajlovic, everything will depend on the politics of Belgrade.

"All politics consists of pushing your positions. Kurti did annoy the American nation, but he showed that he returned to power with a higher percentage of voters than then. Now it's more difficult for Kurti, because apparently he didn't achieve anything tangible. But someone will always try to oppose America, even Pristina", said Smajlovic.

She characterized American politics as a predictable calculation.

"In the end, your voters are still important and it only makes sense to address them. When Washington and Brussels think about whether they can topple Kurti, they look at the government, how many people he still has in Parliament that he can rely on, and these are sensitive calculations. All governments are in a very similar situation, and they are very cooperative", she stated.

She commented on the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities for which Serbia has been waiting for ten years through Bodo Weber's statement, "we gave them that Community of Serb-majority municipalities just so that the Serbian public can more easily swallow that Kosovo is independent".

"I don't think that the Community will be formed immediately, especially I don't think that it will be formed as envisioned in the Brussels Agreement. It always felt like they were trying to sell us the same thing twice. They got all our concessions and did nothing for us. Local voters are not as senseless and unimportant as it seems, and it is not so easy to break Albin Kurti in that poor country", said Smajlovic, adding that the whole situation lasts a long time, while Kurti is getting stronger.

She concluded that the situation in Kosovo with the arrest of Dejan Pantic was a hostage crisis.

"We can do what we have been doing until now, not to give in, to resist. Let's say you can't do that with us, you can't arrest our people. The situation with Dejan Pantic was a hostage crisis. It wasn't an arrest. No one called it a hostage crisis. If we had arrested someone like that, without a lawyer being able to see him, the Council of Europe would have issued a statement," Smajlovic said.