Serbia will drown two birds with one stone, even obtain association and enter the EU before Kosovo

Serbia wants with one stone to kill two birds, even before we enter the European Union, and to create the Serb community within Kosovo”, Kurti says in an interview for the Patria Agency, adding that this would be a loss for the entire region.

If one country enters just one day before the other, nothing like Greece has done to Macedonia for a quarter century, what we will do here. Do you see what Republika Srpska is doing to B&H?”, says Kurti.

The VV chairman in the interview speaks of relations between Kosovo and Belgrade, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brussels' relationship with countries in the region and the fate of the entire region.

NAP: In Bosnia and Herzegovina with particular attention, the relationship at the Belgrade delegation is forwarded to Pristina. Everything seems like Vuciq has given up on Kosovo and is now just looking for the way he tells his voters?

Kurti: Vucinqi is weakening every day, but on the other hand, the president to us, Hashim Thaci, is weaker than he and Vuciq right here see his chance. Thaci is neither capable nor creditable to lead these talks. He fears the Supreme Commissioner for Foreign Policy and Security as a kind of immunity dialogue with Vucinqiqi's office. Because, as he engages in that dialogue with Belgrade, Thaci seems very necessary to Brussels and in that way the Special Court leaves him alone for a while. But that's like when you want to quench your thirst with seawater. It won't be long.

NAP: Why do you think these talks between Kosovo and Serbia are not honest?

Kurti: We have had six years of dialogue with Serbia from 2011 to 2017, and no official document exists for that dialogue. And to start in new talks, we need to know what happened earlier. They have 33 agreements between Pristina and Belgrade for 6 years; some of those agreements have been met, most not, some have been fulfilled in part, already some have, but are completely counterproductive. One of these is for the bridge over the river Iber. There is agreement that this bridge can be passed freely, but the agreement is not respected... and so on. So there's no such thing as this government's report of what the agreements were observed and what wasn't, so that we could move on. And, in the end, Thaci negotiates as if we owe Serbia something, which is absurd. The government has never defined its conditions when it comes to negotiations with Serbia. Our president has backed the “Responsibilities of the Serbian Communists” in Kosovo, which is contrary to the Constitution of Kosovo, so he has no more legitimacy to be a member of the negotiating team, and let alone lead negotiations.

NAP: How is the report of Kosovo power towards Serbs in that country in general? This is also referred to as “The figure where it is shown at the fingertip” between Pristina and Belgrade?

Kurti: We think we need direct dialogue with Kosovo Serbs, not a closed Mogher office. So we need that dialogue with Serbs, Bosniaks, Turks and other minorities. We now have contact with the Serb minority in Kosovo through Belgrade, which is Thaci's big mistake. However, he does so for the international community to close an eye to war crimes that I don't believe is guilty of, and for peace crimes that I think is very guilty of, because he with his brothers is one of the richest men in Kosovo and his wealth cannot reason.

Thaci in this process has wronged other minorities. Because, it is focused on dialogue only with the Serb minority and how Belgrade sees it.

And, in the end, we have to start having a real conversation with Brussels. These six years of dialogue with Serbia have passed into the realm of “abnormalisation of relations with Serbia”. But if you ask what this normalisation means, in Pristina, Belgrade and Brussels, you will get at least three different answers.

Brussels is not normal. Five EU states do not recognise Kosovo, while Brussels says we will normalise relations between Kosovo and Serbia. So the mediator has confusion about reality.

And, now, the newest dialogue they want to start with is called “dialog for full normalization”. Earlier was normalisation, now it's full normalisation.

The relationship with Serbia cannot be something that will divide us in Kosovo. There are things within Kosovo that we may face, but about relations with Serbia there must be unity. Any dialogue with Serbia in the future cannot snatch Kosovo's statehood and development agenda. Because when the dialogue began, all other issues were in second place. This can't be allowed. We cannot forget the health, the economy... just because we have this dialogue with Belgrade. Perhaps this from the perspective of Moghrin's office seems fair, but not from the perspective of people in Pristina and in Kosovo villages.

NAP: Do you think Brussels is sometimes unfair with Western Balkan countries.

Kurti: I think we should tell Brussels we want to enter the EU. But when it comes to it, we must all enter the Union at once. European. If one country enters just a day before the other, nothing like Greece has done to Macedonia for a quarter century, what we will do here. Do you see what Republika Srpska is doing to B&H?

Just as 10 countries on January 1st 2004 joined the EU, so the six remaining states of the Western Balkans must enter the same day, whenever that happens. The sooner the better. Serbia now wants to kill two birds with a stone: Enter Kosovo before the EU and win “The Peace of the Serbian Communists” in Kosovo. Because, Serbia has never been able to imagine equality with Albanians and Kosovo. Today, they may consider freedom for Albanians, but not equality.

NAP: What is the ratio of citizens of Serbia to Kosovo? Or does all this show take place for citizens or politics?

Kurti: People are not a problem, the problem is the state of Serbia. The Serbian state traditionally but also currently is the military theocracy where you have the trinomic: The Serbian Orthodox Church ? The Army, Police and Information Services ? Politics is just a tool of this trinomy. Serbia not only in the last quarter century, but nearly a century and a half since it exists since the Berlin Congress, has nominally had a democratic leader in Zoran Djindjic, and he has been killed.

However, we now have a situation where no Serb from Kosovo thinks any Albanian has killed Oliver Ivanoviqi. There is consensus that this is the work of Belgrade. But they can't talk about it. Because the criminal act against Ivanovic is not only against him, but it was against all those who would try to think with their own heads.

NAP: B&H and Kosovo have not yet defined their relations. B&H has not recognised Kosovo. This mostly harms ordinary citizens. What is the solution?

Kurti: Albanians and Bosniaks have good relations, but passive ones. We think good of each other, but those relationships are passive. On the other hand, we have bad, but active relations with Serbia. This has to change. We need good and active relations between Pristina and Sarajevo.

Freedom of Movement between B&H and Kosovo should be resolved as soon as possible. For me it is unacceptable that out of 52 companies from B&H currently working in Kosovo, 47 of them are from Republika Srpska, and it is Republika Srpska that creates problems in Kosovo and B&H relations.

NAP: It has been spoken that when you come to power, the political situation in Kosovo will finally calm down. How is it that people refuse to have secure governments and secure lives?

Kurti: I think the people want us to be the ruling party. You know, there is power without democracy, but there is no democracy without opposition. We were the active democratic opposition, which last June won 200 grand votes, but the people's will was suppressed with manipulations... This won't last long.

We in June last year have doubled the number of votes and won 32 parliamentary mandates. After a few months, some of our representatives left the V And joined the Social Democrat Party. We are continuing our work with the same social democrat orientation. In all likelihood, those who left our Movement have done more harm to themselves than we have. From recent polls, our movement stands about 10 times better than those that came out. I have to admit that I'm enigmatic why they've decided to get out of our Movement when we're so strong, when it's clear that we're the next government in the inevitable extraordinary elections, because now we have minority governments, which have 52 deputies out of 120.

It should be known, however, that no matter how bad a situation, one can cope because someone benefits from it. If no one benefited, this situation would not be permanent. Bad situations are stable because someone who is strong continues to benefit.

But true democracy does not come from above because it is authoritarian. True democracy comes from above, and these are elections.

Enough, of course, about your next victory?

Kurti: We move forward on the road that connects full sovereignty for Kosovo and sorrow over the national issue in the increasingly troubled Balkans, with the centre left, with socially-oriented policies that want economic growth to combine with social justice.

Today's prime minister, Ramush Haradinaj, is weak. Not a real example. He is the prime minister's task worker. Looks like President Thaci rented it. It doesn't take a week to make a scandal. Over 10 months he has doubled his salary and the salaries of ministers, deputys, as well as his cabinet. Kosovo has 21 ministers, 5 deputy prime ministers and about 80 deputy ministers. And that until today. We don't know what happens tomorrow. He is prime minister with the largest salary in the Balkans. It's got 3,000 Euros. He has made a coalition with the Serbian List, which is the political party Belgrade controls. The deal was made with Milan Radojcicin, who is a criminal from northern Kosovo, on Kosovo Police and EULEX lists. In Government he has taken him as Agriculture Minister Nenad Rikallon, of whom dozens of Albanians say he has participated in paramilitary groups of Serbian forces who have beaten Albanians. But that's still being investigated.

When they asked: Why have you doubled Haradinaj's salary has replied: “I need good tie”.

NAP: If you win power in the upcoming elections in Kosovo, which are the most late in the spring, in that case would a Western Balkan bloc of ruling Social Democrats be won from Greece through Macedonia to Kosovo? Does this mean that the region would enter into a period of peace?

Kurti: Our people are poor. Because what is that system when success is reserved only for the successful. System must be created so that other humans can succeed. Politics in the region mainly deal with national issues, but not with social issues. Many people today say that there is no war. But this can't last all my life. That feeling of peace is good. But peace with social misery is a struggle in the next package.