Albin Kurti letter EU for April 3rd Serbian elections

In his letter to EU Ambassador to Kosovo Tomáš Szunyog, Kurti has estimated that Belgrade in his request does not even mention the Government of Kosovo, but calls it Kosovo's “governing re-authority”. According to Kurti, it is a pity that until Kosovo works with the EU and Quint countries to find an acceptable solution between the two governments, Serbia's illegal structures try to organise elections in Kosovo as if its government did not exist.

It is regret that, while Kosovo is working in trust with the EU and Quint to find a mutually acceptable solution between our governments, Serbia's illegal structures are trying to prepare and organise elections on our territory as if our government did not exist. And they're doing this with financing from Belgrade, of course. That is probably why the proposal (in his first paragraph) stipulates that elections “will be held “, instead of demanding that they keep, thus taking it as Belgrade's priority to decide on the territory of Kosovo”, says among other things in Kurti's letter.

Kurti has also stressed that Belgrade in its request uses the term “eligible to vote” instead of using “players abroad. According to him, it is important that this attempt by Serbia is not legitimised by EU or OSCE authorities.

According to him, Belgrade is showing destructive in many ways, citing here the failure to implement certain agreements and also Serbia's refusal to impose sanctions on the Russian Federation.

Moreover, this attempt to humiliate Kosovo and its state institutions is taking place at a time when Belgrade is showing destructive in many ways: refusing to resolve the problem of failing to pay electricity in northern Kosovo; the lack of agreement on license plates of Kosovo and Serbia; appointing illegal structures as electoral commissioners; using administrative means to carry out ethnic cleansing against Albanians in Presevo, Meddja and Bujanc through their homes as residents; and refusing to join EU sanctions and US sanctions against the Russian Federation for its military invasion of Ukraine. Despite these difficulties, let me repeat my thanks and appreciation for the EU and Quinn's continued efforts to help us resolve this challenging” issue, concludes Kurt's letter to the EU ambassador to Kosovo, Szunyog, to whom the government official of Serbia has written.

“In accordance with Interconnective Agendas, please inform Kosovo's relevant governing authorities that Serbia will hold parliamentary and presidential elections on April 3rd, 2022. Serbia urges Kosovo to co-operate to enable O The SEU organises an operation of “ballot collection”, which would justly allow voters living in Kosovo to vote on election day. Serbia urges Kosovo's relevant authorities to facilitate the operation of “ballot collection”, including in terms of the physical locations needed for the voting process”, it is also said in the letter of Serbia's liaison official.

Kurti's complete letter:

Dear Ambassador Szunyog,

Thank you for conveying my proposal to Belgrade on Friday evening.

Serbia's April 3rd elections can only be held in the Republic of Kosovo in line with an agreement between our two respective governments. For this purpose, we were expecting a request from the Government of Serbia directly to the Government of Kosovo. Interconnection offices (for contrasting from officials) are just tools for carrying intergovernmental communications, not political or institutional replacements of such communications. Furthermore, Belgrade doesn't even mention our Government, but it calls us the “relevant government authorities of Kosovo”.

It is a pity that, while Kosovo is working in trust with the EU and Quinn to find a mutually acceptable solution between our governments, Serbia's illegal structures are trying to prepare and organise elections on our territory as if our government did not exist. And they're doing this with financing from Belgrade, of course. That is probably why the proposal (in his first paragraph) stipulates that elections “will be held”, rather than demanding that they be held, thus taking it as Belgrade's priority to decide on Kosovo's territory.

In particular, Belgrade uses the term “votters rightly vote” to refer to Kosovo Serbs who have dual citizenship. However, this is according to the civil registry defined and possessed by Serbia's illegal municipal structures in Kosovo, thus violating our Constitution and laws. It is important not to be legitimised by EU or OSCE authorities. Also, their reference to voters rightly voters and not local voters is incompatible with the best international practices.

Furthermore, this attempt to humiliate Kosovo and its state institutions is taking place at a time when Belgrade is showing destructive in many ways: refusing to solve the problem of failing to pay electricity in northern Kosovo; lack of agreement on license plates of Kosovo and Serbia; appointing illegal structures as electoral commissioners; using administrative means to carry out ethnic cleansing against Albanians in Presevo, Medvedj and Bujanovac through their homes as residents; and refusing to join EU and US sanctions against the Russian Federation for its military aggression and the invasion of Ukraine.

Despite these difficulties, let me repeat my thanks and appreciation for the ongoing efforts of the EU and Quinn to help us resolve this challenging issue.

The highest honours,

Albin Kurti