MR. MUSLIU IS NOT ABOVE THE LAW

16. October 2017.

Belgrade – Commenting on the statement made by Jonuz Musliu, the President of the Albanian National Council, that following the example of Catalonia, "Presevo Valley” should unite with Kosovo and Metohija, Zoran Stankovic, the President of the Coordination Body for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, said:

"The President of the Albanian National Council uses the rhetoric that irritates the citizens, but under criminal legislation, that does not constitute a criminal offense. That is nothing new from Jonuz Musliu, who uses every possible opportunity to get to the front pages of our newspapers because of his inappropriate tirades. Neither the international community nor the Albanians from the area believe that such a scenario is possible. "

Based on the findings in the field, Zoran Stankovic is of the view that many Albanians believe that Mr. Musliu only harms them by such statements, because he creates artificial tension among the population.

"I responsibly claim that there are no inter-ethnic tensions in the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, nor any stories about the topic that Mr. Musliu pushes, except for those who think like him, but there are few such persons. Although he uses heavy rhetoric in his speeches that irritates the citizens, under the criminal legislation of the Republic of Serbia, it is not incriminated and does not constitute a criminal offense. As one of the political leaders of Albanians, he uses such a way of addressing to gain points from the few like-minded people. Although he would probably like to be outside the law, he is not, because everybody, including himself, must respect the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Serbia ", said the President of the Coordination Body for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja.

As Mr. Stankovic says, Mr. Musliu is the President of the Albanian National Council and the President of the Bujanovac Municipal Assembly, and should, for the sake of salaries he receives from the budget of the Republic of Serbia, deal with what he is paid for.

"In three years since he has been the President of the National Council, he did not propose the introduction of a single textbook in Albanian for the children who are taught in this language," Mr. Stankovic said.

Mr. Stankovic called on all public officials, the media and the public not to use the terms “Presevo Valley” or the “Eastern Kosovo and Metohija” in their speeches on the subject of South Central Serbia and Pcinj District, and added that those terms had been invented by Albanian leaders, who use them for political purposes.

Source: “Politika” daily and Coordination Body