Hyseni: The voice of Preshevo, Bujanoc and Medvegjë must reach Belgrade, Brussels, Washington, Strasbourg and New York

In Pristina, Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti held a meeting with political and civil society representatives from the Preshevo Valley. During the meeting, Kurti accused Serbian institutions of implementing systematic discrimination against Albanians.

Beyond the political positions, the question remains as to the extent to which international institutions are addressing this problem and whether the deactivation of residential addresses, threats, pressure and the underrepresentation of Albanians are being treated with the necessary attention.

According to experts, the political support of Kosovo and Albania must be translated into concrete diplomatic steps, the documentation of facts and international pressure. At the same time, the Albanians of the Valley must play a leading role in this agenda.

In this context, the question arises as to whether Serbia can be asked to meet European standards and respect human rights while the problems of Albanians in Preshevo, Bujanoc and Medvegjë continue to remain on the margins of the international agenda. There is also a need for an answer as to who should provide stronger support to this community.

Analyst and publicist Nehat Hyseni raises the question of the extent to which the world is listening to the voice of Albanians from Preshevo, Bujanoc and Medvegjë. He made this assessment while commenting for “Bota sot” on Albin Kurti’s meeting with Albanian political representatives from the Preshevo Valley in Pristina, as well as the prime minister’s accusations against Belgrade’s policies.

According to Hyseni, Kurti’s meeting and statements once again bring to the center of attention a problem that for many years has been considered peripheral in the Balkans: the political, legal, institutional and demographic position of Albanians in Preshevo, Bujanoc and Medvegjë.

He believes that the debate should not be limited to the question of whether Kosovo’s prime minister has the right to speak on this issue. For Hyseni, the main question is what international institutions are doing in response to a situation that the Albanians of the Valley describe as systematic discrimination and which, over the years, has been documented by local and international organizations.

Hyseni says that such a problem can no longer be covered up solely through diplomatic statements. According to him, Pristina and Tirana have the right to react in defense of the Albanians of the Valley, but the greater need is for the issue to be taken to international institutions and addressed through measurable mechanisms for the protection of human rights.

Among the problems, he lists the deactivation of residential addresses, inadequate representation in state institutions, obstacles to the official use of the Albanian language, issues concerning education and school textbooks, the lack of economic development and employment, as well as the continued weakening of the Albanian institutional presence.

According to Hyseni, these phenomena cannot simply be presented as an ordinary political confrontation between Albanians and Serbs. He argues that when a community’s opportunities to live, work, vote, be represented and develop its life in an area where it has historically lived are gradually restricted, fundamental human rights are being violated.

Referring to reports about the deactivation of Albanians’ residential addresses, Hyseni says that this practice has raised concerns over the loss of civil and political rights. These include the right to vote, property rights, health insurance and employment opportunities.

For this reason, he says, it is not enough for Pristina to react while Belgrade rejects the accusations. He calls for the establishment of an international mechanism that would measure, document and assess the reality on the ground.

Regarding the international approach, Hyseni notes that the situation of the Albanians of the Valley has for years been kept in an intermediate zone between Serbia’s domestic affairs and regional diplomacy. According to him, there has been a response, but not at the level or with the intensity demanded by the situation.

He says the attention of the international community has often focused on the Belgrade–Pristina dialogue, while the Albanians of Preshevo, Bujanoc and Medvegjë have not been part of the table where issues directly affecting their future are discussed. Hyseni calls this a political paradox.

If the protection of communities constitutes one of the European and Euro-Atlantic standards, then, according to him, different criteria cannot be applied to Albanians in Serbia and Serbs in Kosovo.

Hyseni considers the inclusion of the issue of the Albanians of the Valley on the agenda of the United States Congress through H.R. 6411 – the Preshevo Valley Discrimination Assessment Act – an important step.

He explains that this initiative seeks to request that the U.S. secretary of state prepare a report on how ethnic minorities are treated in Serbia, paying particular attention to the Albanians of the Valley.

Although it does not yet constitute a solution to the problem, Hyseni considers the initiative a move of strategic importance. Its significance, he says, lies in the possibility that the issue will no longer be seen merely as a series of political complaints, but will move to the level of an institutional assessment of Serbian state policy toward minorities. This is precisely what the Albanians of the Valley should demand, he emphasizes.

Addressing the responsibility of the Serbian authorities, Hyseni says that President Aleksandar Vučić and the institutions in Belgrade have a direct obligation to create equal conditions for all citizens of Serbia, regardless of ethnicity.

According to him, it is not enough to claim that the Constitution grants Albanians equal rights. Rights, Hyseni argues, are assessed not only by the content of the Constitution, but by their implementation in everyday life.

A functioning democracy must show in practice that every Albanian in Preshevo, Bujanoc or Medvegjë has real opportunities for education, employment, representation, use of their language, political participation, economic development and legal security. If these guarantees exist only in documents, then, according to Hyseni, there is a deep gap between formal and substantive equality.

Hyseni stresses that the initial responsibility for representing this community belongs to the Albanians themselves in Preshevo, Bujanoc and Medvegjë. Neither the government in Pristina nor the one in Tirana, he says, can replace the political, institutional and civic organization of the Albanians living there.

However, he adds that the Albanians of the Valley should neither be left nor can they be left alone. Kosovo and Albania must act first, not through occasional reactions, but through a coordinated, joint and long-term policy.

For Kosovo, the Valley should not remain merely a topic of national symbolism, but should also be viewed through the lens of human rights and security in the region. Albania, meanwhile, as a NATO member and a candidate for membership in the European Union, should make stronger use of its diplomatic capital in Brussels, Washington, Berlin, London and international organizations.

According to Hyseni, the Albanian diaspora can also play an important role. He calls for the establishment of a structured diplomacy for the Preshevo Valley in Washington, Brussels, London and other European capitals, based on documents, reports, statistical data and concrete testimony.

The general assertion that Albanians are being discriminated against is not sufficient, he stresses. Only thorough documentation can turn a national issue into a credible international matter.

According to Hyseni, Serbia’s European Union integration process is an important instrument that Brussels can use to address the situation. He asks whether Serbia can advance toward the EU without resolving the real problems of its minorities and answers that this should not happen without a serious assessment of human rights and minority standards.

He calls for the standards Brussels imposes on Kosovo regarding the treatment of minority communities to also be applied to Serbia in relation to the Albanians of the Valley. Hyseni emphasizes that this is not a demand for privileges, but the implementation of a European principle.

One of the greatest historical problems, he says, is the fact that the fate of the Albanians of the Valley has been treated as a secondary issue in relations between Belgrade and Pristina. This approach, he says, must come to an end.

The Albanians of Preshevo, Bujanoc and Medvegjë must not serve as bargaining chips in political negotiations. Hyseni calls for them to have their own voice, agenda and representation.

Pristina, he says, must also act carefully. Support for the Valley is essential, but it must be institutionalized, inclusive and coordinated with the legitimate representatives of the Albanians in the area.

Hyseni proposes that Pristina and Tirana, together with Albanian representatives from the Valley, prepare a “National and International Strategy for the Preshevo Valley.” As part of this effort, the American initiative H.R. 6411 should be used as a new opportunity to place the problem within a serious international framework.

Concluding his position, Hyseni says that the Albanians of the Valley are no longer asking for pity, but for equality, justice and institutional guarantees. According to him, the demand is not for special treatment because of their Albanian identity, but for the implementation of standards that Serbia itself has accepted as a European state. He describes this as the strongest political and legal path.

According to Hyseni, Prime Minister Kurti’s statements can produce results only if they are followed by concrete policies. Similarly, Tirana’s reactions become meaningful when accompanied by active diplomacy. Nevertheless, the primary responsibility continues to lie with Serbia’s institutions and, above all, with the international community, which must demand the implementation of human rights standards.

Hyseni emphasizes that the Preshevo Valley is not only an Albanian issue, but also a test of democracy, minority protection and the credibility of European policy in the Balkans.

If Europe and the United States seek a stable Balkans, they must understand that a community that feels discriminated against, forgotten and unprotected represents not only a problem for itself, but also for the democratic stability of the entire region.

He concludes that the Albanians of the Valley are not seeking war, but the opportunity to live freely, equally and with dignity in their homeland. This demand, according to Hyseni, should no longer be heard only in Pristina, but must also reach Belgrade, Brussels, Washington, Strasbourg and New York.

Analyst and activist Shefqet Avdimetaj told “Bota sot” that the situation of Albanians in the Preshevo Valley can no longer be considered a peripheral Balkan issue, let alone an exclusively domestic problem of Serbia. When the rights of a community are violated, he says, the issue falls within the sphere of human rights and international responsibility.

Avdimetaj calls Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s meeting with political representatives of the Preshevo Valley important, as it brings renewed attention to a problem that has required serious treatment for years.

He agrees with the accusations Kurti directed at President Vučić and Serbian institutions, saying that they are supported by the reality that the Albanians of the Valley have faced for many years.

According to Avdimetaj, discrimination, the deactivation of residential addresses, underrepresentation in institutions and political pressure cannot be minimized or portrayed as ordinary features of Balkan politics.

However, he emphasizes that meetings and political statements should not mark the end of Pristina’s engagement. On the contrary, its political responsibility should begin precisely at this point.

Avdimetaj says that accusations against Vučić alone are not enough. They must be followed by concrete diplomacy, the recording of facts and international pressure.

According to him, the Albanians of the Valley need not only someone who speaks on their behalf, but a policy capable of producing concrete results.

Analyzing the role of international institutions, Avdimetaj recalls that established mechanisms exist for the protection of minorities and human rights. The European Convention on Human Rights prohibits discrimination, while the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities requires the preservation of identity, language and culture, as well as guarantees for minority participation in public life.

For Avdimetaj, the lack of documents and conventions is not the problem. The difficulty lies in their failure to be implemented and in the lack of sufficient political pressure on Belgrade.

He says the European Union cannot demand democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights from Serbia while the problems of Albanians in the Valley continue to remain outside the main focus of the European agenda.

If Serbia aims to move forward toward the European Union, respect for the rights of Albanians must become a measurable criterion of this process. According to Avdimetaj, double standards are unacceptable.

He also calls for political blackmail, threats and pressure against Albanians not to be interpreted as ordinary rhetoric. Any action that creates insecurity and fear or could encourage the displacement of a community must be documented, monitored and addressed by international institutions.

Avdimetaj calls on Kosovo and Albania to develop a common, coordinated and long-term approach toward the Albanians of the Valley. According to him, Kosovo should raise the issue in Brussels and Strasbourg, while Albania should use its diplomatic influence to keep it on the international agenda.

At the same time, he insists that the Albanians of the Valley must be active participants and protagonists of this policy. They should not be discussed without their presence and involvement.

Avdimetaj explains that the demands of the Albanians of Preshevo, Bujanoc and Medvegjë are not aimed at securing privileges, but at guaranteeing fundamental rights. They want to live freely in their own country, receive education in their mother tongue, have employment opportunities, be represented in public institutions and preserve their identity.

In his argument, Avdimetaj quotes the philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, who said that “The truth is the whole.” For the analyst, the truth about the Valley is that democracy, stability and European integration cannot be demanded in the region while tolerating the fact that Albanians there continue to struggle for their fundamental rights.

On this basis, he poses a direct question to Brussels, Strasbourg and Washington: if human rights apply universally, why are the Albanians of the Valley still being forced to fight for respect for them?

Avdimetaj believes that Albania and Kosovo should strongly support the Albanians of the Valley. At the same time, he calls on international institutions to clearly declare that the rights of this community are not bargaining chips, must not be used as a political tool and cannot be postponed indefinitely.

In conclusion, Shefqet Avdimetaj emphasizes that the demand of the Albanians of the Valley can be summed up as equality, dignity and freedom in their own country. According to him, this is not a nationalist demand, but a democratic and human one.