Kosovo politicians hold off from entering Serbia after sportsmen and artists

During this year, according to them, a series of stops and obstacles have been marked for athletes, artists, but also Kosovo politicians to travel for official visits to Serbia.

Avni Arifi, chief of the Kosovo Technical Team in the dialogue with Serbia, tells Radio Free Europe that the Serbian authorities' north is completely contrary to the spirit of dialogue and agreements reached in Brussels.

“What we are seeing, is that the government of Serbia, now long ago, has largely degraded the process of freedom of movement, where many citizens of the Republic of Kosovo are prevented from entering the territory of the Republic of Serbia. But I'm talking about athletes, handballists, karateists, then artists whose art works have been damaged and thus controlled. In other words, we are talking about conduct that is not entirely in the spirit of any agreement -- that is, the Brussels Agreement”, Arifi said.

Recently, Serbia's authorities have not allowed the visit of Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bengjet Pacolli, who has sought to visit Novi Pazar at the invitation of the Bosniak National Council.

Political affairs analyst from the Kosovo Democratic Institute, Artan Murati, speaking of Radio Free Europe, stresses that despite the fact that in the agreement reached in Brussels, the rules that should be followed by both states when it comes to official and state visits, this agreement is largely not respected by the state of Serbia.

We witnessed many cases where not only politicians but even artists and athletes from Kosovo were detained. This would best reveal the approach that the Serbian state has to do with everything it represents or allows for an independent Kosovo to be represented or where there are elements of the citizenship of the Republic of Kosovo. So, at the moment a delegation or an official travels to Serbia, as a representative of the Republic of Kosovo, this poses problems for the state of Serbia, and trends are continuing not to allow that to happen”, Murati stressed.

On the other hand, Government of Serbia Office for Kosovo chief Marko Djurovic has stressed to the Serbian media that Kosovo officials can visit central Serbia if they are called on to visiting agreements and provided their position exists according to international regulations.

“All officials who exist according to international norms can be freely called to visiting agreements and move on their country's territory. But such are not the so-called Kosovo foreign minister or Kosovo Security Force minister, because the southern province does not have such functions”, Djuric has said, referring to Kosovo.

But such interpretations of the freedom of movement agreement, which make Serbian officials, according to Arifi, should not be committed at all.

Kosovo is a sovereign and independent state and with the fact that in Brussels we are negotiating with each other, means that we have unfinished interstate agreements. The way his interpretation is, I don't care. We are talking about disrespecting Serbia's state agreement towards the state of the Republic of Kosovo. That's how we see it, and that's how it's going to be”, Arifaj said.

Even analyst Murati says Serbia is violating the free movement agreement because this agreement has been made in the spirit to offer or enable greater co-operation between the two states.

So, allowing even state officials to make official visits to these states and somehow, enable at least ʹ in addition to political co-operation, which may be more difficult to have social, cultural, artistic and sports cooperation and so on. However, the restrictions, which the Serbian state is making for Kosovo citizens who, in this case, go to represent Kosovo, in any way, in Serbia. This exceeds the Brussels agreement, and this has already become a preventative policy towards all that holds the image of the Republic of Kosovo”, Murati said.

Kosovo athletes on two occasions within this year have failed to participate in international-type races, which are organised in Serbia under the auspices of respective European federations.

The qualifying match in the women's category in the under-20 age group, between Kosovo and Serbia, which was envisioned to be held on March 23rd in Belgrade, valid for the World Handball Championship to be held in Hungary, has not been held since it was hampered by Serbia's authorities.

On May 9th, Kosovo's karate representative, twice in a row, has been barred from entering Serbia by the authorities of this state to travel to Novi Sad, where the European Karate Championship was held from 10 May to 13 May.

On 30 May, Serbian authorities have not allowed Kosovo artists to carry their artistic works to the <x0-day festival, Dobar Dan! The” that was held in Belgrade.

Also, in May of this year, Serbia's authorities have cancelled their invitations to three Kosovo Assembly deputies, earlier invited to attend the Conference organised by Serbia's Parliament's European Integration Commission Chairman Nenad Canak.