Based on the Law on the Use of Languages, Albanian and Serbian have equal status in Kosovo institutions. However, in practice very often this law is not applied, reports Gracanica based portal gracanicaonline.info.

The journalists who follow the work of the Assembly are faced with a big problem because they do not have a translation if there are no Serb deputies in the room.

Although, according to the Constitution of Kosovo, Serbian and Albanian are official languages, and on Thursday in the Kosovo Parliament, there was no translation into Serbian, just right after the Serbian MPs have left the session.

Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) and Society of Journalists of Kosovo and Metohija (DNKiM) strongly condemn this act and demand to cease the discrimination of all citizens of Kosovo, as well as journalists, whose mother tongue is Serbian.

The right to use one’s mother tongue - Albanian or Serbian - is essential for everyone in Kosovo, but progress is being prevented by political disputes, the government’s Language Commissioner told BIRN.

“Language rights reflect on all other rights, like fair legal processes, obtaining documents, work rights, healthcare, education, and many more,” Slavisa Mladenovic, the Kosovo government’s Language Commissioner, told BIRN in an interview.