Swiss parliamentarians: Abuses against Serbs in Kosovo must be stopped

Members of the Swiss Parliament, Christian Imark and Andreas Glarner, have stated that there is extensive testimony regarding pressure on the Serbian community in Kosovo and that violations of the rights of Serbs must be brought to an end, RTS reports.

Imark told RTS that Swiss troops have been present in Kosovo for nearly three decades and that the issue must be viewed from the perspective of neutrality as well as costs, while the human rights of Serbs in Kosovo continue to be violated.

“We want to correct that, and we want it to stop. On the one hand, we have a list of individuals whose human rights violations have been documented by the UN and independent institutions, which means that such violations do exist,” Imark stated.

He noted that, on the other hand, they had received individual testimonies from Serbs describing what these violations look like in practice.

“We take this very seriously,” Imark emphasized.

Glarner said that they had heard about the mistreatment of Serbs in Kosovo, which prompted them to speak with affected individuals and invite them to share their experiences. He said he was particularly impressed by a woman whom he described as “sincere and speaking from the heart.”

“We have no doubt that she was telling the truth and that rights violations are taking place. That is why we had many questions for the Minister of Defence—regarding reductions in salaries, pensions, social benefits, and even basic services. We also raised concerns about mistreatment, arrests, and pressure on the political activities of Serbs in Kosovo, as well as the confiscation of land and property in municipalities,” Glarner said.

He added that violations of the right to use the Serbian language, access to justice, and pressure on Serbian media outlets and the information space of minority communities had also been recorded.

It should be recalled that, during a debate in the Swiss Parliament on extending the mandate of the Swiss contingent within KFOR, the issue of protecting the rights of the Serbian community in Kosovo was raised. Members of the Swiss People's Party, pointing to alleged human rights violations against Serbs in Kosovo, asked Defence Minister Martin Pfister and representatives of the competent parliamentary committee to explain what concrete measures Switzerland is taking in response.

The discussion was also preceded by a preparatory working luncheon of the Switzerland–Serbia Friendship Group, organized by the Embassy of Serbia in Bern two days earlier and attended by 14 members of the Swiss Parliament.

The event was also attended by Jovana Radosavljević, a Serb List parliamentary candidate, who told Kosovo Online that she had briefed participants on the position of the Serbian community in Kosovo, placing particular emphasis on transitional justice issues, which she said are becoming increasingly pressing, as well as on legal proceedings conducted against Serbs, often without relevant evidence.