The relations between the Serbian government and ethnic Albanians from the Presevo Valley remain strained. The president of Albanian National Minority Council in Serbia, Ragmi Mustafi, said during an interview on Balkan Talks, a weekly show on Euronews Albania, that President Vucic is hostile toward the Albanian community in Presevo.
“The relation with the Albanian community in the Presevo Valley is hostile and there is a politically discriminatory approach on the side of the institutions”, says Mustafi.
According to him, the passivization of the community’s home addresses is proof of the ongoing discrimination and a form of ethnic cleansing.
Mustafi explains that the National Albanian Council has taken several measures to address the problem and has also reached out to international institutions.
“We’ve pointed out the problem and called for intervention from the international community to press on the Serbian government given that it is persisting with its discriminatory policies against Albanians”, said the chair of the National Council.
The issue has been taken up in Serbian courts, and Mustafi says that it will be also be sent to Strasbourg, underlining that the only solution is to halt the process and give back to citizens their due legal status.
In addition, he believes that there cannot be an improvement of the Kosovo-Serbia ties without dealing first with the problems of the Albanian community in Presevo.
To Mustafi, the Open Balkan initiative between Serbia, Albania, and North Macedonia will have an impact on the community.
“I believe that Prime Minister Edi Rama needs to address the issues of the Albanians in Presevo during this process”, he concluded.
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