Tomic: The world should hear how Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija live today

Political scientist from Gracanica Ivan Tomic said, ahead of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's address to the United Nations General Assembly, that the world should hear how Serbs in Kosovo live today, pointing out that the issue of their security cannot be reduced to the number of interethnic incidents, RTS reports.

Tomic believes that what should primarily be heard from New York is what everyday life looks like for Serbs in Kosovo and that their situation is becoming increasingly difficult year by year.

“Our situation today is very difficult, and it has been worsening year after year. When we talk about security, we do not mean only whether an incident has occurred, but also how free we are to live, to move around, to use our language and our script, how secure our property is, and how impartial institutions are in carrying out their duties,” Tomic told RTS.

Tomic sees as one of the key problems the actions taken by Pristina which, he says, have affected the everyday lives of Serbs in recent years.

“We have had issues concerning personal documents, vehicle registrations and the judiciary, as well as a large number of arrests, the illegal demolition of buildings, and so on,” Tomic said, stressing that the authorities in Pristina use the law as a means of repression against Serbs.

He also points out that such actions have not prompted any particular reaction from the international community.

Tomic therefore believes that the United Nations should send a concrete message about the need to halt unilateral actions and resume the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

“It is important to draw attention to everything that has happened in the previous period, but also to call for an end to unilateral actions by Pristina and call on Pristina to return to the negotiating table under the auspices of the EU. There is no alternative to dialogue, and it is necessary to continue talks in order to avoid any unilateral moves and further deterioration of the security situation in this part of the Balkans,” Tomic said.

Speaking about the extent to which the principles of international law are reflected in the everyday lives of Serbs in Kosovo, Tomic says that, for them, those rights remain “a kind of abstract concept”.

“We know that they exist, that everyone talks about them, that they are somehow accessible somewhere, yet to this day we have been unable to exercise these basic human rights in any way... We are only asking for those basic human rights and for what every normal person in today's world should have in order to have the opportunity to live a dignified life,” Tomic said.

He supports the role of international organizations, but believes that the UN has a problem implementing its own decisions and norms.

“I think such an institution is needed at the international level to provide a framework for international dialogue and international law, but at the same time we must be honest and say that the United Nations currently has a major problem implementing both its own resolutions and its own norms,” Tomic said.