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KOSOVO SERBS DEMAND TO BE INCLUDED IN KOSOVO-SERBIA DIALOGUE

Roundtable 13.12.2017

Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) in cooperation with the Center for Peace and Tolerance held a public discussion on the topic “Kosovo Serbs’ expectations for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue”, held at the Media Center in Caglavica.

Part of the panel discussion were members of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, Slobodan Petrovic from SLS, Arben Gashi from LDK and Nenad Maksimovic from the Center for Peace and Tolerance.

Jeta Krasniqi from the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) said that the 6-year journey of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue was accompanied by ambiguities and non-implementation of the agreements, requesting recapture of the results. She added that the Kosovar side should bear in mind that citizens are looking for transparency and inclusiveness in dialogue, regardless of whether the president of the country or someone else is in charge of the team. Krasniqi stressed that this would be when the Kosovo Assembly was informed and when the people’s constituents would hear the reporting of the negotiators.

MP of the Republic of Kosovo Slobodan Petrovic assessed that dialogue is important for Kosovo Serbs and as such it should have the support of institutions and of society as a whole. He added that so far Kosovo-Serbia dialogue has been unclear and that ambiguity and lack of clarity are two elements that have damaged the process, causing confusion to citizens. Asked if Serbs living in northern Kosovo were treated differently from Serbs living in the south of the country, Petrovic said that through different forms the Serbs in the north are more privileged. While, deputy Arben Gashi said that Kosovo and Serbia have approached a dialogue led by different purposes, while adding that Kosovo Serbs have been used by the Government of Serbia as an instrument for increasing its influence in Kosovo. On the other hand, he said that Kosovo’s government has used the dialogue as an instrument to advance on its path towards EU integration. MP Gashi emphasized that the constitution and laws of Kosovo offer protection and respect for the rights of the Serb community inviting them to integrate into Kosovo’s institutions and social life.

Meanwhile, Nenand Maksimovic, from the Center for Peace and Tolerance, said that the current practice of not representing Kosovo Serbs in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, either in Serbia’s or in Kosovo’s, should change. He added that the way in which dialogue was initiated was wrong, because instead of being an internal request for improving the lives of citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, it was initiated from abroad, transforming into a process by top-down. In this discussion emerged, it was said that Kosovo Serbs have been circumvented by direct involvement in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue process and that this should not happen in the future. This discussion highlighted the need for more frequent meetings between citizens and their elected representatives to promote an internal dialogue between communities living in the state of Kosovo. This discussion was organized within the framework of the memorandum of cooperation signed between KDI and Assembly aimed at increasing citizen participation in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue as well as strengthening the oversight role of the Assembly towards the Government, with the funding of the Swiss Embassy.