A recent statement of the leader of Progressive Democratic Party and MP in the Kosovo Assembly Nenad Rasic that Serbian institutions in Kosovo will be totally abolished already in April caused a storm of comments.
President of the NGO European Movement of Serbs and former Member of the Assembly of Kosovo Rada Trajkovic see Association/ Community of Serbian Municipalities (ZSO) only as a name: “It is important that ZSO will not integrate Serbian institutions in Kosovo system, and that its goal is the survival of the Serbian population in this region.”
Trajkovic said that regulation of the institutional area in Kosovo is a reality. “That reality should not imply fears and non-transparency of negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina. It should primarily involve the public, so that Serbs know what it is. This includes the withdrawal of Serbian institutions.”
According to Trajkovic, ZSO should be a community of all municipalities with Serbian majority, south and north of the Iber/Ibar River: “Unfortunately, the functioning of municipalities south of Iber/Ibar River, because of the central authorities result in lower percentage of Serbian inhabitants. Municipalities are changing demographic structure, becoming municipalities with majority Albanian population, but also majority Albanian when it comes to the ownership of the property. In this context should be sought an answer for the preservation of Kosovo and Metohija as a multi-ethnic society,” said Trajkovic.
She concluded that the Serbs in Kosovo cannot survive without Serbia and without institutional ties with Belgrade. This primarily refers to the area of vital interest, such as health, education, social benefits and the right of Serbs to decide on the privatization, in the areas where they remained to live.
