Kamberi: There could be good reports from Kosovo, Serbia, without the issue of Albanians resolved in Valley

They by means of a joint statement demand that in the final document of a possible Kosovo agreement, Serbia is also involved in their status issue.

Bujanoc Mayor Shaip Kamberi told Radio Free Europe that Albanians in the Presevo Valley continue to face big problems and violations of human rights.

“There can be no lasting stability and peace in the Balkans until the sources of the crisis continue to exist, what are these in the Presevo Valley. We think there can be no mutually good reports between Serbia and Kosovo, even eventually if an agreement is reached, as long as the rights of Albanians here continue to be violated”.

“Therefore, we have called on all parties participating in this dialogue in Brussels to engage in the issues involving Albanians in the Valley to find a solution and take the right direction”, Kamberi said.

Kamberi said Albanians of the Presevo Valley are calling for the president of Kosovo, Parliament and Government to engage much more in the realisation of Albanian demands in these three municipalities.

He also said it is irelevant whether in the process of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia to have any representatives from the Presevo Valley, but, according to him, relevant is the solution to the problem.

“Minority issues have a crucial role. While Kosovo offers maximum opportunity to Serbs there, at the same time Serbia has requirements even on what the international community offers, while Albanians in Serbia are denied basic rights, even those rights that by Serbia's internal right are guaranteed”.

Then we demand that a parallel be established here. Establishment of privileged minorities as in the case of Serbs in Kosovo at the expense of the fundamental rights of Albanians in the Presevo Valley, I don't believe it can be good for good neighbourly construction”, Kamberi said.

The institutions of the Republic of Kosovo have consistently asked Serbia's authorities to respect the rights of Albanians living in the Presevo Valley, says Bekim Colaku, adviser to President Hashim Thaci.

“Of course, that Serbia must do much more to meet the legitimate requirements of Albanians living in the Presevo Valley. While, the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo will continue to support and protect the interests of Albanians in Serbia, in all democratic forms. This certainly does not rule out discussing this issue at different international levels, including dialogue on normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia. Kosovo applies the highest standards and is the best example Serbia should take for respecting communities' rights”, Colak told Radio Free Europe.

Aleksandar Popov, director of the Centre for Regionalisation, says it is unrealistic to expect the issues of Serbs in Kosovo and Albanians in Serbia to be resolved in the dialogue, because, as he says, both countries have their norm systems, regulating minority rights.

“Dick minority rights are regulated on the basis of bilateral agreements Serbia has with Macedonia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, but that these rights across Europe are different. So there's no certain model here. Each country is a separate case”, Popov says.

Meanwhile, Serbia's diplomacy chief, Ivica Dacic, commenting on the Albanian representatives' statement from the Presevo Valley, had told them that “mos play”, underlining that “whatever patience has its limit”.

“Pristina does not want to implement what it signed with the Brussels Agreement on the Association of Serbian municipalities, and here we talk about what these people are now seeking rights they do not have. What rights did they not have?”, Dacic had declared, rejecting the demands of Albanians in the Valley.

On the other hand, Aleksandar Popov says the statement by Albanian representatives of the Presevo Valley may be another attempt to realise ideas for exchange of territories, which he describes as being highly trusted.

“The international community's largest share, especially that part involved in deciding what the agreement between Pristina and Belgrade will look like, does not support the option of partitioning Kosovo's territory, because then the process of new divisions --” would be opened, Popov says.

He says municipalities -- Presevo, Bujanoc and Medvedja -- are among the poorest in Serbia, so according to him, the Serbian state must invest in their development and integration of all residents there -- Albanians, Serbs, Roma and others.

In contrast, Life Krasniqi, the connoisseur of the dialogue process between Kosovo and Serbia, [Kosovo's Democratic Institute] told Radio Free Europe that representatives of the citizens of the Presevo Valley, have the right to seek respect for their rights on the basis of international conventions, reciprocity of these rights with the Serb community in Kosovo, including here, as she said, the European Charter of local self-government, the same as it is targeted and offering the rights of the Serb community in Kosovo.

The basic rights of Albanian citizens in the Presevo Valley have been repeatedly violated by Serbia's authorities. Kosovo-Serbia dialogue aims at improving the lives of citizens, of course, and the issue of guaranteeing the rights of Albanian citizens in the Presevo Valley should be part of addressing and resolving the parties. This solution should also be sought through Serbia's EU path”.

“The EU should demand from Serbia respect for the rights of the Albanian community in Serbia, conditioning Serbia's journey to the EU and opening new chapters with respect for their human, political and economic rights. Kosovo leaders have consistently declared there will be reciprocity with the Serb side. The same is being requested by Albanian citizens in the Presevo Valley of”, Krasniqi said.

The constructive approach, which promotes citizens' rights, should be the core of these discussions on both sides of the border, Krasniqi claims.

“The EU, as a facilitator of this process, must aim to build lasting peace and stability in the region. Therefore, the will of the citizens of the Presevo Valley should be taken into account, either by the Kosovo leadership, but by Serbia's own leadership”, she said.

Albanian municipal leaders in the Presevo Valley say Albanians of these municipalities continue to have problems with education, with the inability to supply textbooks from Kosovo, as well as the inability to pass on diplomas that they have received in Kosovo, despite agreements that have been signed between Kosovo and Serbia, for recognition of diplomas.