The head of the Helsinki Committee for human rights in Serbia, Sonja Biserko, said that the latest measures of Serbia towards Kosovo are attempts to cover up the previous failures of the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić.
On Monday, the Government of Serbia announced Kosovo as a "special social protection area" and approved the draft law which provides for the prosecution of those who, according to Belgrade, persecute the Serbian population in Kosovo. The internationals have described this action of Serbia as a violation of the dialogue agreements and have requested the reconsideration of the decisions taken.
And on KTV's "Interaktiv", Biserko said on Friday that with his latest actions, Vuçiqi is trying to bring back the Serbs removed from Kosovo's institutions after he had banned them from participating in the elections.
"The idea of this was that KFOR and EULEX would be in the north and the Serbs would live the way they lived. But they were unsuccessful because Kurt sent the police there before anyone could react. Therefore, I see this action of Vucic as a reaction to the new reality in Kosovo. Of course, it should be borne in mind that Serbia or the Serbian elite is waiting for Trump to win the elections in the United States and then to accept some new separation agreement or something else. Therefore, I see this as a maneuver to cover the mistakes that Vuciqi has made in the past when he left the Serbs with nothing because they are not in institutions, they did not participate in the elections, they are totally abandoned and without any leader because the Serbian List is out of the game especially after Banjska's attack. Therefore, this is happening because a part of the nationalists are accusing Vucic of handing over Kosovo and thus he wants to cover this failure with new realities that he has created", said Biserko.
Biserko has said that Serbia's moves represent a violation of the Brussels and Ohrid Agreements. She has seen the international pressure and criticism towards Serbia as a test of whether Vucic is really oriented towards the European Union.
Considering the European funds, Biserko has said that Vuçiqi will try to manipulate the international community and the Serbs involved.
"I am not sure how money will go with this thing, but I assume that it will find other ways to manipulate", he said. "And everyone knows that he manipulates, but as you know the strategy of the West is for Serbia to stay with the West and to remove Serbia from Russian influence. It is difficult to say how much they will succeed because Russia is very different and in Serbia public opinion is mostly pro-Russian. And it is not only in this sphere of politics, but in the media, in academia, in the sphere of security, and this can be seen in how Vučić sends ministers to Kazan, Russia, for security issues and so on," Biserko declared.
According to her, the future of these measures, but also many other things, will be understood after the elections in the USA. "It is very important who wins these elections because for the first time I can say that the two American parties have a very different attitude about what their Foreign Policy should be. And this thing is very crucial not only for America, which is very polarized, but also for Europe and the wider world", she said and expressed hope in the victory of the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
If her opponent, Donald Trump, wins, according to Harris, the policies that Trump's people wanted before could be postponed. However, according to her, the Balkans will no longer be the first concern of the Americans.
Biserko has reiterated the position that the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority is equal to the division of Kosovo as was done with Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Biserko has seen the measures of Serbia, which says that it will pursue people who endanger the Serbs of Kosovo, as a theatrical performance.
The decisions of the Government of Serbia were announced in September by the president of this country, Aleksandar Vučić. He made this warning in an address to the media, in which he presented several demands, among which was the announcement of elections in the north and the return of Serbs to the institutions of Kosovo.
