PRESS RELEASE - 11.09.2018

11. September 2018.

Belgrade – Zoran Stankovic, the President of the Coordination Body for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, says that political representatives of the Albanians from these municipalities were countless times told that they were not the topic of the discussions in Brussels, and that they were "citizens of the Republic of Serbia, while their problems, as they alwys were, should be addressed to the competent governmental bodies of the country in which they live."

Regarding the statements issued by the political leaders during yesterday's press conference in Pristina, Mr. Stankovic said that tough rhetoric was misleading to ordinary people and that it was very unpopular.

“When you so easily say that you are the most discriminated nation, then you must know that this tough rhetoric always warns of a problem and that it badly qualifies the country in which you live. If this means for you that you should have a special treatment, then you must know that you do have it in Serbia, as well as the care of the government, which respects the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, the laws and conventions on the rights of national minorities, and invests in these three municipalities both the resources and efforts, so that the citizens could have a better living. When you say that you'd be better off somewhere else, then you need to be aware of the political game you are playing and who you are plazing it for, as well as of what you can get and what you can lose in it. You must also be aware of how your words reflect on the citizens of Serbia," Mr. Stankovic said, adding that life and politics wrere a permanent process of decision-making and taking responsibility.

„The heart of a politician has to be in the head. Each leader must, first of all, take care of the citizens and not raise tensions where there are none, " Mr. Stankovic said.

"I heard from a political leader of Albanians from Presevo at yesterday’s press conference that the idea of boundaries was not Thaci’s, but of the Albanians from Presevo and that it dated back to 1992. I just once heard from the very same politician that it was time to put an end to the stories about border changes in the Balkans and that Presevo and other Albanian municipalities in the southern part of the country should search their future in Serbia "(interview granted in August 2016) Mr. Stankovic said.

Mr. Stankovic pointed out that, in spite of everything, the state of Serbia would always be their constructive associate with its hand out.

“All political leaders from the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja know very well that the largest problem in those municipalities is what ordinary people are interested in, and that is unemployment. The Coordination Body, together with other state bodies of the Republic of Serbia, will continue working on improving further the living and working conditions of the residents of these municipalities“, Mr. Stankovic said.

The President of the Coordination Body said that security and safety in those three municipalities in the southern part of central Serbia were stable and that there were no inter-ethnic and other conflicts and tensions there.

Source: Coordination Body