Citizens of North Mitrovica: They are taking away all our rights, after March 15 it will be even harder for us

In the final weeks before the start of the implementation of the new Law on Foreigners, citizens of North Mitrovica are concerned that after March 15, the lives of Serbs in Kosovo will become even more complicated. Speaking to Kosovo Online, they say that the new measures will threaten their basic human rights, primarily the right to freedom of movement, but also the right to medical treatment and education.

Dragan Mitrovic does not expect anything good from the new law and says that life will become even harder.

“They have decided to do it and they will not give up. Life in Kosovo will only become harder, nothing else. Everything is getting more and more difficult. There are no medicines, no newspapers, nothing. There is not even a currency. We have nothing,” Mitrovic said.

Milan Savic believes that a large number of citizens will face problems and that people could be deprived of basic human rights.

“My personal impression is that a large number of citizens, especially from the northern part of Kosovo and Metohija, will be in trouble, considering that, according to my observation, practically every third vehicle is registered with license plates from central Serbia. What is being announced and what can be concluded from the media is that in our own state we will be unable to normally exercise basic human rights - the right to movement, the right to life and the right to use our property. There is one absurd situation. I think it is an exception in the world - that in one family someone can obtain the right to Kosovo documents, while someone who did not succeed in that will not be able to and will be a foreigner in their own state, unfortunately,” Savic said.

Husein Mehmet believes that people should look to the future and that additional divisions bring nothing good.

“What does it matter where people live? Enough of that already. Look at what is happening in the world. I do not see anything good in all of this. It is not a reason for us to hate each other now and create problems for one another. We should look to the future,” Mehmet said.

Branislav Barovic says he expects additional pressure and that he is particularly concerned about the issue of education.

“Everything will be different. There will be ultimatums and blackmail. It is possible that our schools will also be banned. That affects me the most. My daughter is in her fourth year of medical high school, and Serbian diplomas are not recognized. Doctors will leave and we will remain on the margins, we will not be able to do anything. My personal position is that, if it comes to that, I am already ready - I am moving away. We do not have the right to get medicines, we do not have the right to buy food, we do not have the right to spend money. They have taken everything away from us. And once we had everything together - we ate, drank, received treatment and went to school together. We shared everything. This is now being done deliberately, so that we would move out,” Barovic said.

Miodrag Jovanovic also does not expect anything good from the implementation of the new laws.

“I can only say that everything will become harder and harder,” Jovanovic said briefly.