On October 25th a distinguished and diverse academic panel from
Kosovo and Serbia addressed - ‘Albanians and Serbs - Pending Issues’
that builds on the research published by the Helsinki Committee for
Human Rights in Serbia: “Albanian Minority on hold”
“Serbian Community in Kosovo: Frozen Life in a Frozen Conflict”
The panel is the part of a wider Helsinki Committe project related
to the history of Yugoslavia. The project is supported by German
Foreign Ministry.
The panelists:
Sonja Biserko – Executive Director, Helsinki Committee for Human
Rights in Serbia
Lulzim Peci – Executive Director, KIPRED
Ylber Hysa – Former Ambassador to Macedonia & Montenegro
Aleksandar Miletic – Executive Director of the Center for History
Studies and Dialogue
Gjulieta Mushkolaj – Former Justice, Kosovo Constitutional Court
Mark Baskin – Moderator, Adjunct Faculty, RIT Kosovo
Below are the two publications that were discussed:
Sonja Biserko
Democracies in the Balkans have not yet been consolidated, nor have
they essentially adopted a value system that respects minorities as
equals.
The position of minorities and their integration into the wider
political, economic and cultural community is one of the most
important indicators of the democracy.
Almost all governments in the region maneuver between the
integration of national minorities into political systems and their
segregation. Segregated multiculturalism maintains ethnic distance,
without achieving greater integration. It is a multiculturalism that
does not establish bridges and cooperation between ethno-cultural
groups. Minorities agree to this position because it still
represents progress compared to the previous period.
* * *
The Albanian community in Southern Serbia is territorially compact
and located along the border (with North Macedonia and Kosovo). It
is the one of the most underdeveloped regions in Serbia and thus
both Serbs and Albanians were continuously immigrating, Serbs to
bigger cities in Serbia and Albaninas to the West. Albanian
community has been subjected to various administrative measures
(structural discrimination) aimed at reducing their numbers, as well
as stifling demands for territorial autonomy.
Also, important aspect of their position and actual status is
closely linked to the status of Kosovo and the Serb community in
Northern Kosovo.
The legal framework, the Constitution, the Law on Protection of the
Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities, the Anti-Discrimination
Law, as well as numerous strategies and action plans that guarantee
equality and integration of all citizens of Serbia, are
insufficiently applied in practice. Regardless of the presence of
numerous embassies, the OSCE and other organizations in Southern
Serbia, the Albanian community is living in limbo and in expectation
of their status finally being resolved as part of the resolution of
the Kosovo question.
As of 2013 or 2014 the Serbian state is conducting the process of
so-called "Passivation of residence of Albanians" working abroad,
either in Western Europe or in Kosovo. This "passivation" also
targets citizens who permanently reside at their addresses. This
measure is, in essence, a form of ethnic cleansing through
administrative means.
"Passivation" (mass and selective passivation of residence) leads to
individuals losing their status of being a citizen of Serbia and,
accordingly, all civil rights – the rights to vote, property, health
insurance, pension, employment, etc. Since citizens are not informed
about "passivation", they usually lose their right to appeal, the
deadline for which is eight days.
As “passivation” serves to reduce the number of Albanians in these
three municipalities. It is indicative that this measure applies
exclusively to Albanians, and not to Serbs who are temporarily
working abroad.
The Albanian community in Southern Serbia is completely isolated,
and neither the government nor the opposition have shown interest in
the problems it is facing. Opposition party leaders are only
interested in electoral coalitions and the support of Albanian
voters.
One particular problem is the non-recognition of diplomas, which
prompts the departure of the most educated people belonging to the
Albanian elite, who have no possibility of employment in state and
public institutions.
In order to create conditions for the restoration of trust between
the majority and minority community, it is necessary for Government
and state institutions, the media and other actors to demonstrate
political will and to seriously engage in integrating the Albanian
community into the broader political community, to which the
Republic of Serbia has committed itself under three agreements
relating to Southern Serbia. Serbia missed the opportunity to
confront the past - to prosecute cases of murder, abuse, violence
and abduction of civilians in the period between 1996 and 2002 has
been missed.
State institutins such as the judiciary is a major integration issue
in light of proportional representation. The actual number of
Albanians is not being taken into account since they boycotted the
2011 census. It is being taken advantage of.
Belgrade officials must keep in mind that it is logical and
legitimate for the Albanian community in Serbia to ask for the same
status that Serbia wants for Serbs in Northern Kosovo.
'Institutionalized' hate speech against Albanians is growing, and
negative media coverage of Kosovo inevitably spills over to
Albanians in Southern Serbia. Deconstructing stereotypes about
Albanians as a disruptive, criminal and terrorist factor is an
imperative in order to create the preconditions for restoring the
trust and normalization of relations.
Gjulieta Mushkolaj
Kosovo Serbia Dialogue is vital for peace in the region, and
facilitation by the EU is imperative. Even though there is a growing
suspicion regarding the ability of the EU to successfully conclude
the disputes between the two parties, the EU is mandated by the UN
General Assembly Resolution adopted by consensus to accomplish this
mission. There is no other mechanism for settling disputes between
the two parties, and the EU's greatest advantage for being a
successful mediator in the Balkans, the promise of membership, has
vanished! Still, the EU is even in these troubling days the most
influential actor in the Balkans, and with a proper strategy could
reinvent its role especially in Serbia, in order to rescue its
capacity to go forward and accomplish its role as a mediator.
The success of the EU as a mediator in Kosovo Serbia dialogues has
another important dimension: the inclusion of the civil society
dialogue between the two countries! Let’s not forget the outrage
expressed by the civil society when the idea of the land swap, the
partition of Kosovo, or other territorial fragmentation was openly
discussed at the EU table! The success of the dialogue could be only
expected if the process is supported with the active role of civil
society groups that have shown the prospect of lasting peace between
the people of two countries.
Dr Aleksandar R. Miletić has introduced himself and his NGO’s
(Center for History Studies and Dialogue - CHSD) activities
undertaken in Kosovo within the previous 2-3 years. He presented two
educational brochures published by his NGO and preliminary results
of the project “(Extra)ordinary People. Documentation Repository on
Albanian-Serbian Coexistence in Kosovo, 19-21 centuries” based on
interviews conducted with members of both Albanian and Serbian
communities in several regions in Kosovo. Rather than directly
deconstructing poisonous ethnocentric narratives, this project aims
at providing historical sources and giving voice to those ordinary
people whose life accounts defy stereotypes and biases of their
respective ethnic communities. Hence, the CHSD aim is to collect and
make visible positive and affirmative accounts on Serbian-Albanian
coexistence in Kosovo throughout the 19-21 centuries.This include
process of gathering historical sources (archival documents,
newspapers articles, photo documentation) and literature, and
providing oral history accounts (interviews). All these materials
will be made available as a documentation repository on the
project’s web-page which is currently under construction. In his
presentation Miletić provided several examples of life accounts
defying stereotypical representation of Serbian-Albanian
relationships throughout history and nowadays.
During the discussion and while answering questions from the
audience Miletić insisted on maintenance and gradual strengthening
of the protection of minority rights in Kosovo as well as further
consolidation of institutional capacities of Kosovo state. In the
domain of educational reform he advocated a transition from
ethnocentric model of history education towards a more inclusive
model which would integrate minority narratives in national
curriculum both in Serbia and Kosovo. Miletić expressed his remorse
about the poor state of monuments and other commemorative objects
dedicated to the WWII anti-fascist and socialist era period in
Kosovo. Being associated with Yugoslav and Serbian rule, most of
them are either completely destroyed or abandoned which provides for
quite an awkward situation even in regional terms. Namely, there is
virtually no public commemorative practice dedicated to commemorate
anti-fascist struggle of Kosovo citizens during the WWII.
Ylber Hysa
Albanian-Serbian relations, as a complex and long relationship, have
complex dimensions and segments.
Generally, we may decide these relationships in 3 segments:
Historic, Political and non-political
Historic dimension of Albanian-Serbian relationship as at less
millennium and half registered and it involves direct experiences,
conflicts and alliances, cooperation within empires or conflicts
through different empires, two Balkan Wars, 2 World Wars, communism
and disintegration of former Yugoslavia.
But, this very long relationship also includes language borrowings,
ethnographic influences, the phenomenon of institution of vojvodas,
guardians of Orthodox monasteries, costmary law influence, etc.
In fact, sometimes, more complex than the very history of
Albanian-Serbian relationship seems to be the historiography of
these relations, or perception about out. Myths and stereotypes are
still prevailing, combined with daily politics influences and
agendas.
The political dimension of Albanian-Serbian relations is having as a
central issue the question of Kosovo. Here the dialogue remains the
core of the issue that does not allow further normalization of
relations that might open up a different perspective of the
Albanian-Serbia relation and as a consequence- the stability of the
region.
As much as the first dimension still holds its influences, is the
political one that keeps all three others pending?
And the third one, “non-political” have interpersonal dimension,
professional, business, cultural, and other segments of the possible
relations.
Albanian and Serbs, as the two biggest ethnic groups in Western
Balkans, have to be responsible In trying to reach the political
outcome of their relations in a way that will not create a negative
precedent of the stability of the Balkans.
Lulzim Peci
The discussion initially was focused on the centralized nature of
Serbian nationalism and decentralized nature of Albanian
nationalism. The Serbian nationalism, until the Treaty of San
Stefano and the Congress of Berlin had not territorial ambitions
towards Albanian and Macedonian populated lands, but it was focused
on Bosnian and Herzegovina, whereas the birth of Albanian
nationalism was a reaction towards the decisions of San Stefano
Treaty. The weakness of Albania and the strength of Serbia played a
major role on the future developments that culminated with the war
of 1998-1999, NATO intervention, and subsequently on the declaration
of independence of Kosovo in February 2008. Albania, in comparison
to Serbia, could not decide neither on behalf of Kosovo nor on
behalf of Albanians in former Yugoslavia in general, whereas Serbia
was a primary decision maker for Serbs in Former Yugoslavia. The
ethnic alignments between strong “mother states” and statelet
entities can create the illusion of unconditional support by “mother
states”, like in a case of “Republika Srpska Kraina” that can
produce fatal consequences of abandonment for statelet entities.
This was not a case between Albania and Kosovo, due to the financial
and political independence of Prishtina, which also enjoyed
international support.
Kosovo and Serbia have a historic choice in front of them. They can
decide to remain either eternal enemies or to become good neighbours
or future allies. Serbia, through Srpska Lista has put under full
control the political life of Serbian Community in Kosovo, at the
expense of democracy, political pluralism and their integration in
Kosovo. On the other side, Kosovo authorities are widening the gap
between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo by not understanding the
importance that the Serbian Orthodox Church has on the national
identity of Serbs, which is also a product of lack of ability to
understand this identity dimension of Serbian identity, which
derives from the secular nature of Albanian nationalism. Kosovo
government, as the first trust – building measure should implement
the decision of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo of 2016 to return
the land to the Decani Monastery, whereas the Government of Serbia
should implement the agreement on recognition of diplomas, achieved
in the EU facilitated dialogue.
Finally, Peci stated that without a strong trans-Atlantic consensus
on an outcome of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, it is
difficult to imagine that an agreement that will transform the
current relations between two countries to those of good
neighbourhood.
