And Ragmi Mustafa vs Thaci: His Late Declarations

In an interview for EO, politician from Valley, however, says the Kosovo president's idea is encouraging.

President Thaci's “Declarations are too late in the case. So far, at least, the Presevo Valley has not been mentioned, yet the statements of the last two weeks are very encouraging, because seriously the president is dealing simultaneously with Pristina dialogue Belgrade and the life of the March 1st and 2nd 1992 referendum of Albanians in Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanoc, associating in the association of these three Albanian-run municipalities with its trunk, the Republic of Kosovo<1>, Mustafa says.

Mustafa, further on, estimates that President Thaci is not talking about exchange of territories, but about border corrections, which, according to him, are unfairly imposed on Albanians there.

“Let's expect the epilogue of the talks in Brussels when the proposal is put on the negotiating table before the Serbian side, then of course we will have the entire situation clarified, the reaction of the Serbian side even to wait on that occasion and to respond to the facilitator of the European Union talks, as well as the guarantor of the expected agreement by the two sides exactly the United States of America”, Mustafa points out.

Header The DPA does not clearly show whether to support the exchange of territories, a very controversial idea in recent weeks, as the option for a final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, but which has been rejected by Germany and Great Britain, fearing it would destabilise the region.

“At this stage of preparing talks between the two sides, that of Albanians and Serbs, we strongly support the correction of the unjustly set borders since the end of World War II period here, especially towards vulnerable Albanians in Presevo municipalities, Medvedja and Bujanoc! Therefore, joining the Presevo Valley with the Republic of Kosovo is a very important element of continuing Pristina talks, Belgrade and leading to normalising relations between Albanians and Serbs”, Mustafa says.

Mustafa expects Kosovo to address the Presevo Valley issue with caution. It takes care not to make mistakes, since it does not often happen again.
“We are now in peace time, the agreement will be reached with compliance and caution from both sides of the conversation, and eventually Albanians of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanoc want to join Kosovo, where they feel themselves autochton, free, quiet and comfortable contributing to the Euro Atlantic integrations of the New Kosovo, the true Republic of Kosovo<1>, Mustafa declares.

He thinks it is a good time for the issue of Albanians in the Presevo Valley to rise in Brussels.

“Now is the most convenient moment than ever before, because the demands of the Serbian side are even all the time focused on the political status of Serbs in the north of the Republic of Kosovo. Since we Albanians of the Presevo Valley have repeatedly sought reciprocity in the right with Serbs in the northern Republic of Kosovo, then the requirement for attaching Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanoc concurrent referendum on March 1st and 2nd of 1992, is more than hit in the time dimension of”.

This request by Albanians in the Valley, I remember, will help the Kosovo side's negotiating team in the next dialogue. On the other hand, there is no doubt that this demand by Albanians in eastern Kosovo ballistics the demands of Serbs in the north of the Republic of Kosovo and in no way can be considered excessive”, because it is meaningless to implement double standards regarding minority rights on the two sides of the border between the two neighbouring states”, he says.

Mustafa hopes that the international community, political parties and civil society in Kosovo will support the idea of mending borders with Serbia.