Dashamir Uruçi: “On the Aggravated Political and Economic Situation in Eastern Kosovo”

Subject: “On the Aggravated Political and Economic Situation in Eastern Kosovo”

Honorable Mr. President Joe Biden,

With a high sense of civic responsibility and a great concern we have been following the political developments in Eastern Kosovo, in the three municipalities inhabited by Albanians in the southernmost part of Serbia, in Medvegja, Bujanoc, and Presheva.

In these three municipalities, which have been predominantly Albanian for centuries, the fundamental rights such as: human rights, civic rights, citizenship rights, and freedoms of the Albanians are being continuously violated by the Serbian government.

The Albanian people in these territories have become subject of systemic discrimination and left to the mercy of fate. The policies pursued against them by the Serbian government have been differentiation, political repression, and forced depopulation. The aim of these policies has always been to lower the number of Albanians and to ethnically cleanse these settlements. These policies were implemented in the Albanian territories at alternative periods of history from 1876-1878, 1913-1914, 1919-1939, 1951-1966, 1989-2021.

More recently, Serbia’s anti-Albanian repressive measures have targeted the region of Medvegje, a municipality with a large territory which is located in southernmost part of Serbia; the area of which is half of the three Albanian municipalities in Serbia. The Serbian state has used all the means at its disposal to remove the Albanians from this municipality, making life difficult and impossible for them in their homes. Today, the Albanians of Medvegje are no longer being issued personal IDs by the Serbian state, nor does Serbia recognize their diplomas obtained from universities in Kosovo, and they refuse to recognize the marriage of Kosovo Albanian women married to Albanian men from Medvegje. As if this was not enough, the Serbian government is also actively fighting the Albanian Diaspora in order to prevent its affluent members from making investments in their place of origin. All these developments have led to great dissatisfaction and strained the political situation in this part of the Balkans.

Discrimination against Albanians in Serbia is systematic. The coercive and violent measures of the Serbian government do not serve the peace and coexistence between the peoples. Instead, they keep alive the spirit of the Serbo-Albanian enmity and hatred.

American policymakers have advised, continuously encouraged, and supported the talks between the relevant parties, which led to signing of important agreements between Serbia and Kosovo, with the aim of bringing the two nations closer to each other. This practice is fair and beneficial to all parties. The Albanians have not only accepted these recommendations, but have adopted them in the form of concrete policies over the years. This commitment is reflected in the attitude of the Republic of Albania towards minorities. And, equally significant, it is reflected in generous regime of rights that minorities enjoy in the Republic of Kosovo, especially the Kosovo Serbs.

Respect for the language, culture, religion, preservation of religious objects and their cultural-religious heritage, full respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, speaks of a just attitude, implemented by Albanian policymakers towards its neighbors. In the Assembly of Kosovo, for years, minorities have enjoyed reserved seats in parliament. They also have enjoyed political positions in the Government of Kosovo, at the level of general directorates, deputy ministers, ministers as well as in decision-making commissions for certain laws that affect the interests of minorities, recently confirmed also by the government headed by Mr. Albin Kurti.

In Serbia, Mr. President, the opposite is the case. The attitude held by Serbian policymakers and the government alike with regards to Albanians living within the territory of the Republic of Serbia, and in particular towards indigenous inhabitants in the three Albanian municipalities in Eastern Kosovo (Medvegje, Bujanoc and Presheva), is that of differentiation and unwillingness to integrate them. The unequal treatment of Albanians in relation to other citizens of Serbia, the continuous violation of fundamental freedoms and rights and ongoing discrimination have shrunk the Albanian minority in the Presevo Valley, forcing its inhabitants to leave their homes and take the road of exile. In this context, the most significant example of this discriminatory, repressive and anti-human policy is the targeting of the Albanians in the municipality of Medvegje. Once a municipality with an Albanian majority, today in this city and its surroundings the number of Albanians has decreased to alarming levels.

Through the practice of violent methods, sometimes hidden and sometimes open, Albanians of Medvegje have been prevented from living normal lives in their homes. Since 2011, through the so-called “Passivation of Residential Addresses”, the Albanian families from the municipality of Medvegje are being systematically removed from the Civil Registry by the Serbian competent authorities, making this practice the most flagrant case of violation of most basic human rights, at European level and beyond.

In recent years, the Serbian authorities have “passivized the addresses” of more than 5000 Albanians from Eastern Kosovo, severing interethnic relations and making life impossible for the Albanians in this region. Beginning in 2011, through the ethnically motivated policy of “Address Passivation”, the Serbian authorities have been depriving the Albanians of all civic and political rights as citizens of Serbia. As a result, Albanians no longer appear as citizens of their local towns and therefore face endless obstacles in securing the most basic means of livelihood. As “passivized citizens” they are denied the right to vote and be voted, have no access to healthcare and social services, or any other services related to a normal existence in Eastern Kosovo.

One big concern for all Albanians is the existing double standards practiced by the European policymakers towards the minorities, in Kosovo and Serbia respectively. While there have been maximum demands from the Albanian politicians to secure generous rights for the Serb minority in Kosovo, there has been a total silence about Serbia’s ongoing systematic discrimination towards the Albanian minority in the three municipalities of Eastern Kosovo.

We are aware that for American and European policymakers the arrogant behavior of the Serbian governments towards the Albanian minority can be a small problem in relation to other global problems and crisis facing the world today. But, we are convinced that an unstable Balkans has had and will continue to have great repercussions for regional and European stability. Without constructive Albanian-Serbian relations there cannot be stable Balkans. Without equal treatment of minorities there cannot be constructive political agreements between Serbia and Kosovo. Serbia’s repressive policies towards the Albanians in the municipality of Medvegje, Bujanoc and Presheve, not only represent a clear violation of the European Convention of Human Rights and other international conventions, they also keep alive the enmity between peoples and increase the chances of another Albanian-Serbian conflict, which would have a serious consequence for all sides, and for peace and security of the Balkans as a whole.

Albanians of Eastern Kosovo feel neglected, mistreated, and are exposed to a systematic discrimination by the Serbian government. They fear for the security of their lives and of their children. We think they deserve your attention, as a people who have nurtured and continue to nurture feelings of friendship and deep respect for the United States of America. As a friend of Albanians, as a country with extensive influence in the world economy and politics, the United States of America is the right country to exercise the right pressure upon the Serbian government and force Belgrade to end its repressive campaign against the Albanian minority. The remaining Albanians in Serbia are in a dire need of proactive political engagement and international attention.

Please, Mr. President, use your powers to stop the aggressive campaign of Serbia; stop its depopulation policy targeting the Albanians in Eastern Kosovo. They are an autochthonous minority with a long historical presence in these territories in Serbia.

Please accept, Mr. President, the assurances of my highest consideration.

ALBANIAN CIVIL SOCIETY UNION

The President

Dashamir Uruçi