According to the statements of Serb political representatives, who earlier announced withdrawal from the Kosovo government, 10 Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo should form independently the ZSO, in accordance with the principles outlined in the Brussels agreement, Serbian media reported.
This ZSO would have President, Deputy President, Council, the Assembly, and would consist of the representatives of 10 municipalities. This is what Igor Simic, Serbian List MP told Tanjug news agency, specifying that those municipalities include Leposavic, Zvecan, North Mitrovica, Zubin Potok, Partes, Ranilug, Novo Brdo, Gracanica, Strpce and Klokot.
He added that in accordance with the agreements from 2013 and 2015, the ZSO comprises of these 10 Serb-majority municipalities in KiM, having between 110,000 and 120,000 inhabitants.
ZSO is an obligation of Pristina under the Brussels Agreement, signed in 2013, whose first six out of a total 15 points, refer to the formation of that Community.
Community of Serb Municipalities will have its governing structure, which will consist of the President, his deputy, Council, and the ZSO Assembly, which will be made by legally and legitimately elected members of the existing MAs in these 10 municipalities.
“Not only Serbs would benefit from ZSO, but also Albanians, because they will have one voice that would speak on behalf of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, and the Serbs themselves would take care of the problems of the Serbs” Simić said.
He is convinced that this way the international community would also have relevant interlocutors when it comes to the issues of Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija.
Simic also rejected objections that the formation of ZSO is a unilateral move. “On the contrary, it is a forced move and absolutely in line with the Brussels Agreement, but with a delay of five years, because Pristina institutions did not want to fulfill what they had committed to before both Belgrade and the representatives of the European Union,” Simić underlined.
“We intend to revive the Brussels Agreement in the way it was signed, which means that the 2013 Agreement on General Principles for the Establishment of the ZSO, with executive powers, is revived through the process that is ahead of us on April 20.”
According to him, the ZSO should be an “umbrella institution” of Serb people in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, which would the best address the needs of the citizens living there.
“Not only Serbs, but all other communities that live in these municipalities” Simić emphasized. The ZSO, he specified, would, in accordance with the Brussels Agreement, deal with health care, education, urban and rural planning as well as economic development of these municipalities.
“It is not directed against anyone, nor it will endanger in any way any community in KiM, but would help the Serb community to better manage their lives,” Simić said. He added that in all of these municipalities Serbian List, in accordance with the democratic will of the citizens expressed in the local Kosovo elections, has majority in local assemblies.
