Clash in the Assembly and allegations of a Belgrade-orchestrated scenario: Gani Qarri analyzes the Serbian List’s latest move

A statement by the Serbian List during the session to elect the deputy speakers of the Assembly of Kosovo sparked strong tensions and led to the postponement of the vote. The reason was the assertion that its nomination was submitted “on behalf of the Serbian people,” wording that prompted sharp reactions and a refusal to withdraw it.

This episode has reopened the debate over how the Serbian List views the political representation of the Serb community within Kosovo’s institutions and the influence this political force has on the functioning of the legislature.

In comments to “Bota sot,” political analyst Gani Qarri described this position as an unacceptable provocation and an attempt to impose rhetoric that runs counter to the country’s constitutional foundations.

He also viewed the statement in light of broader developments, focusing on the profile of the proposed candidate. “The ‘nominee’ of the so-called ‘Serbian List,’ Sllavko Simiq, should in fact be in prison rather than a candidate for deputy speaker of the entire country’s legislature. In addition to his known links with the chief Serbian terrorist Milan Radojçiq, he is also suspected of being deeply involved in the serious espionage affair against Kosovo and, as has long been known, Simiq also maintained close ties with the criminal Vlladimir Radivojeviq and other Serbian criminals,” Qarri said.

The analyst added that the suspicions surrounding Simiq also extend to his links to another espionage case. “Add to all this the ties Simiq maintains with Belgrade, as well as the espionage affair involving the Serbian spy from Mitrovica, Ana Murganiq. All of these are extremely strong arguments that have obliged, and continue to oblige, the State Prosecutor’s Office, the KIA and the relevant institutions of the Republic of Kosovo to thoroughly investigate Sllavko Simiq over any links he may still have with Serbia’s BIA,” he said.

For Qarri, it is entirely unacceptable for someone facing such allegations to run for a senior state position. “Such a suspicious individual, who has been criminally charged by the State Prosecutor’s Office and is so closely linked to criminals, terrorists and Serbian terrorist organizations that are also outlawed in Kosovo, poses a permanent threat to the security situation throughout the Republic of Kosovo,” he emphasized.

Placing the situation in a broader context, Qarri drew attention to the treatment of Albanians in the Valley. “While fascist Serbia has for decades forcibly and in the most brutal manner implemented the PASSIVIZATION of the addresses of Albanians in Eastern Kosovo, silently expelling them from their homes and their ancestral, indigenous lands, treating them not only as anything but a people but also humiliating them daily as a second- or third-class community, Serbia’s proxy in Kosovo, the so-called ‘Serbian List,’ causes a scandal in broad daylight in our country’s Parliament by declaring that it is nominating a candidate for deputy speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo ‘on behalf of the Serbian people,’ provoking fierce clashes in the Assembly,” he said.

He went on to explain why this phrase is problematic from a legal standpoint. “As is known, Kosovo has a small community, but there is no Serbian people, and therefore, besides the fact that the proposal by the so-called ‘Serbian List’ was a seriously provocative statement and a scandalous and unacceptable act, the so-called ‘Serbian List’ is unlawfully attempting, through unconstitutional statements, to impose a scandalous political narrative that also runs counter to the law and constitutional order of the Republic of Kosovo,” Qarri stressed.

It was precisely the refusal to correct this statement that made the adjournment of the session by the speaker of the Assembly unavoidable. “Thus, the statement by the so-called ‘Serbian List’ that the nomination for deputy speaker of the Assembly was being made ‘on behalf of the Serbian people’ was not only scandalous but also unconstitutional and unacceptable, and it sparked fierce clashes in the Assembly. Although Assembly Speaker Albulena Haxhiu warned the MP from the so-called ‘Serbian List,’ Igor Simiq’s refusal to withdraw the scandalous statement led Assembly Speaker Albulena Haxhiu to also postpone the session for the election of the deputy speakers,” the analyst clarified.

Concluding his analysis, Qarri insisted that this is not merely a procedural clash, but part of a strategy directed from abroad. “This entire development makes us understand that, acting on direct instructions from Belgrade, Serbia’s proxy in Kosovo, the so-called ‘Serbian List,’ is deliberately misusing the Assembly as well to advance Aleksandar Vuçiq’s political agendas, solely to undermine the functioning of the institutions of the independent state of Kosovo as severely as possible,” he said.

Consequently, he called for a firm institutional response. “Therefore, since the Republic of Kosovo has clear constitutional rules for institutional nominations, this deliberate violation by Serbia’s proxy in Kosovo must be punished as severely as possible by the legal authorities and the competent judicial bodies of the state of Kosovo, so that such actions are not allowed to be repeated in the future,” Gani Qarri concluded for “Bota sot.”