Even six years after it declared independence, Kosovo still doesn’t have a single Serb ambassador, reports Voice of America. Although, stipulated by the Constitution and laws Serbs are entitled to nine per cent of posts in public institutions, that remains, as some would say, another dead letter on the paper.
In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo there is only one Serb employed – Srdjan Sentic, until recently the Deputy Ambassador of Kosovo in Brussels. Even though it is still posted on the Ministry’s web page that Sentic is Deputy Ambassador, he was withdrawn to Pristina about two months ago, after two and a half years spent in Brussels, without any justification or explanation. Sentic is, by the way, one of the most educated diplomats in Kosovo, with the foreign policy master degree from Bundeswehr’s University in Munich.
In the written statement forwarded to Voice of America, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Petrit Selimi said that “Kosovo is not choosing ambassadors in line with ethnic criteria but in line with the laws, qualifications and, in some rare cases, the political context”. Such appointments, explained Selimi, are “exclusive constitutional right of the Kosovo President”. According to Selimi, Sentic was brought back to Kosovo following a regular rotation, which is not rare in diplomacy. Anyways, said Selimi, “Sentic is informed already that he will soon be appointed to a new duty of the chargé d’affaires in Montenegro”. On question why is there only one Serb employed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Selimi replied “I think that participation of Serbian minority in institutions of the Republic of Kosovo is quite satisfactory, even though in some cases a bit more could’ve being done in promotion of the opportunities for employment of minority communities”.
The same question was forwarded by the Voice of America to Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga. The spokesperson of her cabinet Arber Vllahiu replied:“It is a very good question for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, particularly for representatives of the Serbian community in Kosovo.”
It is not difficult to make a calculation that law is not implemented in this case either, which stipulates explicitly that at least ten per cent of the members of minority communities should be employed in public institutions in Kosovo, carried Voice of America. If there are 250 employees in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo, that is to say that Serbs are entitled to 25 posts – at least, that refers to all positions: from drivers, ambassadors to, if not the minister itself, the deputy or assistant ambassador.
This topic was never opened by Serb representative in Kosovo institutions either, not even in the Kosovo government have insisted on the implementation of the law, nor have they insisted on sanctions against those who are stubbornly refusing to implement the law, admitted to Voice of America the outgoing Minister for Communities and Return in the Kosovo Government Dalibor Jevtic.
The analyst of the Serbian-Albanian relations Fatmir Sheholli argues that rights of Serbs are not only violated when it comes to employment in public institutions and added that Constitution and laws, when it comes to minority communities, are respected only for the sake of the form.
“I think that this sort of communication with Serbs will cost Kosovo dearly, in sense of the integration in diplomatic circles. I am of opinion that employment in public institutions where we have around 80.000 persons, and there are only 2-3 per cents of Serbs is unacceptable, since Kosovo Constitution and laws stipulate, along with Ahtisaari’s plan, that at least 10-11 per cent of employees should come from the ranks of minority communities. I also blame and Serbs who were in the government from the beginning until these days, because they didn’t fight enough for it. I hope that the new government will have different approach to this issue,” said Sheholli.
Unless the new parliamentary elections take place, Kosovo will, most certainly, get the new government in September. Considering that none of Albanian political parties, which plans to participate in the executive, has promised new work places for Serbs, neither in companies nor in institutions, it is hard to imagine that above mentioned ex deputy ambassador in Brussels, Srdjan Sentic, will soon be accompanied by another compatriot.
