Kosovo institutions react to former Serbian minister's statements

Meanwhile, Kosovo's Assembly states that such statements violate the patient's fundamental rights and are at odds with the World Health Organisation.

Many Kosovo patients per year go to hospitals in Serbia to find cures for diseases that they cannot find in Kosovo. There are those who suffer from various mountain diseases and who are hoping in the state with which Kosovo faced war.

But someone today is asking Serbian health institutions not to treat Kosovars who are accommodated in Belgrade hospitals and who suffer from cancer and other malignant diseases. It's about former Serbian Economy Minister Dragan Marshjan.

“Quane dehuman, heartless, but I would stop Kosovars suffering from cancer being treated in Belgrade. I order Albanians to be treated in NATO countries, as they covered with impoverished uranium, even Serbs”, wrote Marsichan.

But such a declaration is inhuman for those who deal with health in the country.

The chairman of the Commission for Health, Labour and Social Goodness, Besa Baftiu, in a proposal for the Journal Express on Monday has said that each patient is a Kosovar patient or any other has the right to recovery in every state of the world.

Such a statement by the former economy minister is very strange and biased. Medicine has no limits, every patient if he requires healing wherever he is must receive”.

Former Serbian minister, in his post, has also written that Kosovars should be treated in NATO member states, because according to him NATO covered Kosovo with impoverished uranium.

According to her, those statements directly violate fundamental human rights.

“Such statements are human rights violations and are out of line with the World Health Organization. It's a pity what situation Serbia has come to be, and it's getting in the way of disease. All that is going on from Kosovo they are getting in the way of”, Baftiu declared for Express.

Asked if they have any information on the number of Kosovars going to Serbia for recovery, she says they do not possess such data.

When it comes to sickness, we know that our patients have sought healing outside Kosovo for sickness. Those healings have been received in Macedonia, Albania, the oath even in the EU countries, but also in Belgrade, and we are reported on the matter”, she says.

Health Ministry officials in Kosovo have reacted during the day.

Albattri Matoshi, media adviser to Health Minister Uran Ismaili, told Express that such statements are of regret and concern.

The Serbian minister's statements are not new and not surprising. Serbian ministers have earlier ordered the killing of Kosovo Albanians. Therefore, today, although many circumstances have changed, the Serbian mentality remains the same in governing this country. This calls for no more comment than regrets of such thoughts, of a country that aspires to Europe, and on the other hand calls for a halt to health aid even for patients who face such a serious illness as cancer”, Matosh has declared.

And officials from the Ministry of Health in Kosovo are declaring that no patients have sent him to Serbia for treatment of any disease. They say they are recommended for healing in Turkey and other neighbouring states.

The Ministry of Health has sent no citizens who are cancer sick, but also other diseases for treatment to Serbia. Usually they are sent to Turkey or other countries of the European Union.”, the MSHA statements say.
However, throughout the past year at the Ministry of Health in Kosovo for healing abroad have applied about a thousand and 432 patients.

“await these clinics with their references: The Sy Clinic, Orthopedic Clinic, the Clinic of Pediatrics, Oncology Clinic”, says the official data of the Health Ministry.

And for all these cases from the state budget, they spent over 9m euros. Countries where Kosovars find out about treating their diseases are Turkey, Macedonia, Albania, as well as some other European countries.