Expulsion of Serbs from Kosovo: Easy and quiet

A table divided by a net. Two players, sometimes four and one ball. Sports require quick reactions. Just a ping-pong ball could describe it reality of Kosovo Serbs.

In the last ten days, five Serbs, police officers who live in Kosovo and work in the Ministry of Interior of Serbia, have been deported. They were banned from returning to Kosovo for five years. Why? It is not clear.

The Kosovo authorities refer to the Law on Citizenship (Article 24), which allows for the revocation of citizenship of those who serve in foreign security structures without prior permission.

Belgrade and its office in Kosovo, that is, Srpska lista, react to this - with a statement. And that hasn't helped much so far.

Non-governmental organizations in the north of Kosovo jointly sent an open letter to the institution of the Kosovo Ombudsman and to a number of addresses of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the United Nations...

They require them to launch an independent investigation and assess the legality of the deportations, as well as to give recommendations to the authorities in Pristina on how not to do similar things in the future.

And this is not an isolated example. In just the last month, several women and girls experienced - and some reported - sexual harassment in the north of Kosovo. More institutions functioning in the Serbian system were closed.

Futile measures

In 2023, the European Union introduced punitive measures to Kosovo for taking control of municipal buildings in the north of Kosovo. From then until today, almost all Serbian institutions in both the south and the north have been closed.

However, during a recent visit to Pristina, the EU's high representative for foreign policy and security, Kaja Kalas, stated that the European Union has begun to gradually lift sanctions.

There was also an inter-ethnic incident during the celebration of the end of the school year of Mitrovica graduates. Then the Kosovo policeman grabbed a high school graduate by the neck.

Many things could still be listed, and all of this leads to the question: What is the attitude of the Kosovo authorities towards the Serbs, and what is Belgrade's responsibility in all of this?

Miodrag Milićević, executive director of the non-governmental organization "Aktiv", says that the non-governmental sector has been warning for three years about the bad attitude of Aljbin Kurti's government towards the Serbian community.

"We are talking about the fundamental disrespect of human rights towards the Serbian community. This has been documented in numerous examples, but nothing is changing," Milićević points out.

Serbs between a rock and a hard place

"This has been going on for too long. For too long, the Serbian community has been between a rock and a hard place," he continued in an interview with "Vreme".

"Therefore, the community is politically disoriented and without serious leadership. There has been a serious disruption on the socio-political level, which obviously has consequences for human rights as well," explains Milićević.

He adds that there is not a strong enough argument for any of the decisions implemented by the Kosovo government when it comes to the north of Kosovo - "which, instead of what is called the Brussels Agreement and which was ratified in the parliament, actually began to selectively apply a series of laws that conflict with what was agreed in Brussels".

And why the negotiation process, asks our interlocutor.

Belgrade – press release

Milićević emphasizes that Belgrade's support was absent.

"Communications are written, that's the only thing. This is also done locally, but no solution is offered at all. How is it possible that no one offers a solution? How is it possible to refer to that Kosovo law that seemingly gives discretion to the Minister of Police to expel anyone from Kosovo tomorrow?"

Non-governmental organizations in the north of Kosovo stated in a joint open letter that none of the citizens affected by the deportations had previously been formally deprived of Kosovo citizenship.

Expulsion without a Court decision is a direct violation of the Constitution and international conventions that prohibit the expulsion of one's own citizens, non-governmental organizations write.

The third factor is the international community

In addition to Belgrade and Pristina, another factor in Kosovo is the international community. Whose responsibility is it then?

Milićević says that there is a great responsibility on both sides, and that this is a "tripartite arrangement" in a way.

"So, there is Brussels. You have an international factor that is also strongly present in Kosovo, which mediates communication and tries to create an environment in which some things are possible," says the interlocutor of "Vremena".

He further recalls the year 2013, when the Brussels Agreement was signed, but also 2015, when the agreement on the Association of Serbian Municipalities was reached.

"Then it was announced that the Union of Serbian Municipalities is the framework for the future life of the Serbian community in Kosovo. And there it was clearly defined which areas the community will deal with. And then you have a whole decade where platitudes are just repeated."

(Dis)trust towards Kosovo institutions

In May, the NGO Aktiv presented a survey that showed that mistrust, insecurity and a sense of abandonment dominate among Serbs in Kosovo.

As many as 58 percent of respondents cite political instability as a key challenge. 72 percent of them do not trust any political party or actor representing the interests of Serbs, and 87 percent of them did not want to name any leader in whom they have confidence.

In terms of institutional trust, the Government of Kosovo, Serbian ministers and members of parliament in Kosovo's institutions received the lowest marks. "Citizens believe that their expectations have been systematically betrayed and that political actors, both from Belgrade and Pristina, have not shown enough responsibility towards their own community," they stated.

Even two-thirds of young people want to leave Kosovo.

"These are serious figures. Instead of the authorities recognizing it, either in Kosovo or in Belgrade, you have a wall around it and a unilateral policy is stubbornly applied without consulting the local communities and without respecting the needs of the community," concludes Milićević.