Letter concerning the attacks by the Government of Kosovo officials (DPM and Chief Negotiator Mr. Besnik Bislimi, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Administration Mr. Arbër Vokrri, and party Lëvizja Vetëvendosje!)
Regarding systematic and orchestrated attacks by Kosovo Government officials in relation to our visit to Brussels last week, we, the representatives of civil society organizations, declare the following:
Our organizations have been working both individually and jointly for years to build bridges between Albanians and Serbs, and to promote reconciliation and inter-ethnic tolerance in Kosovo. In our activities, we have always advocated for peace, and publicly condemned all forms of violence in Kosovo, whether they come from members of the Kosovo Serb community or Kosovo institutions. The results of our work are widely known to the public, and we are extremely proud of them.
Our organizations actively support the EU-facilitated Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue, which was, among other things, the main reason for our visit to Brussels. During this visit, we presented the results of the analyses and the views that we’ve been expressing in public daily concerning the worrisome circumstances of the Kosovo Serb community.
We’d like to emphasize that the work of our organizations is in accordance with the Kosovo laws and regulations. In our work, we are independent from any government structures, whether they come from Pristina, Belgrade, or elsewhere. Accusations that we are “Vučić’s millionaire propagandists”, and that we receive instructions from the Serbian President, or anyone else, are the most heinous lies designed to scare us, expose us to public lynching, and prevent further cooperation with partners from different ethnic communities in Kosovo.
Through targeting of civil society representatives, several officials from the Kosovo Government have been exposing their aversion to constructive criticism and their unwillingness to engage in dialogue, especially with organizations that are active in non-majority communities in Kosovo.
Bearing in mind that Prime Minister Albin Kurti often proudly points out that a high degree of democracy is among the greatest achievements of Kosovo in its modern history, we hereby invite him to publicly disassociate himself from discriminatory and lies-based attacks directed at us by Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi and Deputy Minister of Local Self-Government Arbër Vokrri, as well as by members of Lëvizja Vetëvendosje!
Sincerely yours,
Jovana Radosavljević, New social initiative
Dragiša Mijačić, InTER
Miodrag Milićević, NGO Aktiv
