MINISTER STEFANOVIC: THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT ALLOW FICTITIOUS REGISTRATION OF THE ALBANIANS IN SOUTH SERBIA

31. July 2018.

Belgrade – Nebojsa Stefanovic, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of the Republic of Serbia, said that the government was doing everything to enable the citizens who live in Medvedja and Bujanovac to have ample rights and economic powers, so that they would not leave their municipalities, but that it would not allow fictitious registration.

Asked at a press conference what the police was doing to prevent the Kosovo Albanians from increasingly purchasing property in South Serbia, thus changing the demographic picture, Minister Stefanovic said that there were some our citizens of the Albanian nationality who were trying to create a false picture of their presence in the country.

“They do not live in these municipalities, but in Kosovo and Metohija, and are trying to get registered in several municipalities in order to acquire certain rights to vote at the local level for the purpose of creating the illusion of being in the majority in those municipalities. The activities that we are undertaking, which are within our competence, are to ensure that all citizens have equal opportunities and rights, but that does not mean that they can have fictitious addresses, " Minister Stefanovic said.

Minister Stefanovic also said that the police were working on determining whether people lived at the addresses at which they had been registered.

"There are certain citizens of the Albanian nationality who are making an effort to buy part of the property, land and companies in the territory of central Serbia. No one should think that there are tens of thousands of people who are currently inhabiting those parts of the country, since that is not the case, but that does not mean that there is no interest in starting this kind of practice,” he said.

Minister Stefanovic pointed out that no one could be forced to sell his/her house and land if he/she does not wish to do so, and that the government’s efforts to help citizens in every part of Serbia were directed towards equal development of all the municipalities in the country.

He said that the police would not allow fictitious registration, and that those who were fictitiously registered would not be able to take part in the local election processes.

Source: “Tanjug” news agency and Coordination Body