Wednesday, 28 January 2015

National Assembly Standing Delegation Takes Part in Debate on Situation in Kosovo-Metohija at PACE Political Committee Meeting

On 28 January 2015 in Strasbourg, the PACE Committee on Political Affairs discussed the situation in Kosovo-Metohija as part of the preparation of the report on the topic, with Augustin Conde (Spain) as the rapporteur.


MP Marija Obradovic outlined the key positions as regards the status of ethnic minorities in the letter of father Sava Janjic which was officially submitted to the PACE members, and Adrian Zeqiri, Executive Director of the European Centre for Minority Issues in Kosovo-Metohija, also gave his view on the issue.

Responding to the address of the representative of the assembly of Pristina authorities, Prof. Dr Zarko Obradovic underlined Belgrade’s clear and strong dedication to the talks with Pristina and implementation of the Brussels Agreement despite the many open and unresolved issues, and noted that, in the last almost 16 years, the rights of Serbs, Roma, Goranci and other non-Albanians living in Kosovo-Metohija had not been respected. Prof. Dr Zarko Obradovic cited the reports of relevant international organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, European Union, OSCE, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and others, on the numerous crimes committed against Serbs and other non-Albanians, as well as other human rights violations in Kosovo-Metohija.

At the end of his address, Prof. Dr Zarko Obradovic said: “We need to emphasize two facts. The first is that from mid-1999 to 2015 no court has been set up to address the crimes committed in Kosovo-Metohija. The second - in the last 15 years Kosovo-Metohija has become virtually ethnically clean. If the situation in Kosovo-Metohija does not change, if the international institutions do not abide by the provisions of their authority, if the ethnically motivated attacks on Serbs and other non-Albanians are not prevented, if peace and security is not secured, the perpetrators of the crimes found and punished, the seized property returned or the owners indemnified, the provisional authorities in Kosovo-Metohija act efficiently and without bias and other open issues addressed we cannot speak of the return of Serbs and other non-Albanians to the areas they used to live and there would be no need to speak of the rule of law in Kosovo-Metohija, respect of human and minority rights of Serbs and other non-Albanians, because there will be none left in Kosovo-Metohija, except in traces.”

The work on the report will continue in 2015 and the PACE is expected to vote on it in 2016. Rapporteur Conde will be visiting Belgrade and Pristina in the near future.



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friday, 29 march
  • 9.00 - the National Assembly Speaker meets with the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, Speaker’s Cabinet)

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