Zoran Stankovic, the President of the Coordination Body for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, expressed his willingness to continue the talks on the improvement of the living and working conditions in that area, which were, around a year ago, discontinued  by the decision of the ethnic Albanian political ledares.    

Commenting on the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s viewpoint on “supporting and forcing” the dialogue between Albanians from the region and the Serbian government regarding the solution of their living problems, especially those in the spheres of ​​infrastructure and education, Mr. Stankovic noted that the Coordination Body and the Government “are always open for those discussions” provided they’re in compliance with the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Serbia.

“I didn’t expect Mr. Rama would  express full support to the talks between the Serbian government and the Albanian leaders on the issues affecting the life and work not only of Albanians in the territory of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja”,  said Mr. Stankovic.

He recalled that the talks were launched owing to the Serbian government’s decision, by which conclusions on seven points were adopted, which covered all the requirements that the Albanians had in the period from 2001 to 2012, when the government adopted the proposal. 

“It’s up to us to resume these talks, given that the talks were broken off (last November) by the the Albanian leaders,” said Mr. Stankovic.

He pointed out that “we were always open to resolving all the issues the Albanian leaders put before the Government through an open dialogue and in accordance with the Constitution and the laws prevailing in Serbia”.  

According to him, the Coordination Body and the Government are open to resolving all the problems “within the national minority conventions, too, which relate to the rights and obligations of national minorities in a country.”   

“We are ready to resume the talks and I hope that the most important requirements will, thereafter, be resolved on the basis of the postulates which I previously stated, which include compliance with the Constitution and laws of Serbia,” Mr. Stankovic said.  

Pursuant to the talks that were, in January and February, held with representatives of the Albanians from Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja in the presence of representatives of the OSCE, the Serbian Government adopted the conclusions on seven points on June 4, 2013.  

The said conclusions refer to the representation of Albanians in state institutions, the economic recovery of the three municipalities, the official usage of the language, script and national symbols, the decentralization of the judiciary, education, culture and the media, health and social protection and security and confidence- building measures in the region.

The political representatives of the Albanians from South Serbia discontinued the talks because none of their amandments to the network of courts in Serbia had been accepted during the debate in the Serbian Parliament in late November last year.  

In his address to the citizens of Presevo at Presevo’s cultural center, Mr.Rama emphasized that the government in Tirana supported and forced the dialogue of the Albanians from South Serbia with the government in Belgrade, especially when it comes to solving their living problems, primarily those in the fields of infrastructure and education.  

Source: “Tanjug” News Agency and Coordination Body