Ivan Bosnjak: Pristina's law on foreigners is anti-civilizational and targets Serbs

Photo: Mateja Beljan

State Secretary in the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue Ivan Bosnjak said today that the law on foreigners, which Pristina said would come into effect on March 15, is anti-civilizational and directly directed against the Serb people.

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Bosnjak told Tanjug that this law implies a process of assimilation, i.e. expulsion of all those who do not adapt to the circumstances created by Pristina and pointed out that the implementation of this law can lead to a cycle of violence that no one needs at this time.

He added that President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic said he and all other state authorities of Serbia will undoubtedly establish direct communication with the Serb people living in Kosovo and Metohija in order to ensure they are able to stay in their centuries-old homes and enable as normal a life as possible in the current circumstances.

"Many Serbs already had to adapt to administrative changes over the previous 25 years. March reminds us of the pogrom experienced by the Serbs, and in order to prevent such things, we must be proactive in certain situations. This law is neither humane nor democratic, it directly targets a people in Kosovo and Metohija," said Bosnjak.

Asked how Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija will live after March 15 if the implementation of this law begins, Bosnjak said that Serbs have shown that they can remain and survive in that area, thanks to the support they receive from Belgrade and their innate resilience, and pointed out that the Serb people in Kosovo and Kosovo still manage, despite all the pressure, to preserve their identity.

Asked what kind of reaction can be expected from the EU, Bosnjak assessed that it will amount only to some individual diplomatic statements, given that "it turns out that the mechanisms that Europe has at its disposal at the moment are very limited."

According to Bosnjak, Pristina's behavior depends primarily on the influence of the US and some other non-EU partners, which is why he believes that there will be no delay in the implementation of this law.

"I think that Serbia, regardless of that small space for maneuver, will make additional diplomatic efforts to achieve a delay," Bosnjak said.

Commenting on the political conflict between the prime minister of the provisional institutions in Pristina, Albin Kurti, and the president of those institutions, Vjosa Osmani, Bosnjak said that specific moves affecting the position of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija will not change because of this, that is, Pristina will use this political situation not to engage in dialogue with Belgrade, but work exclusively on its own interests.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)