Jugosllav Gashiq: Student List will not cooperate with Serb List

Jugosllav Gashiq, a Student List candidate from Kosovo, said on November 7 that cooperation with the Serb List was out of the question. He said there could be no cooperation with those he considers primarily responsible for the situation of Serbs throughout this period.

The Student List emerged from anti-government protests in Serbia. It won the snap parliamentary elections held in late October, ending the 14-year rule of former Serbian President Aleksandar Vuçiq and the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

For more than a decade, the political representation of Serbs in Kosovo has been dominated by the Serb List, the community’s largest party. It was established with the support of the SNS and Vuçiq, with whose backing it has operated in Kosovo until now.

The Serb List holds nine of the ten seats reserved for the Serb community in Kosovo’s Assembly. It also governs all Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo.

Gashiq reiterated the position he had expressed to Kosovo’s local Radio Kim in late October: that the Serb List had implemented SNS policies in Kosovo. He said the Student List wanted neither contact nor cooperation with it.

Speaking to Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), Gashiq said the Serb List holds institutional positions over which they have no influence. However, he said, these positions do not rule out potential criminal liability for actions taken. He added that various mechanisms exist and that, most importantly, its representatives would be kept in check.

He said those responsible for the situation of the Serbian people have no moral right to tell others what to do.

Gashiq urged Serbs to remain calm, assuring them that no financial assistance would be cut off.

He called on Serbs in Kosovo not to believe rumors that he said were being spread by the Serb List during the transition period, before the Student List effectively takes power. Gashiq cited claims that they would be left without salaries or welfare payments, as well as claims that the Student List would betray Kosovo.

Commenting on the outgoing government in Belgrade’s stance toward Kosovo Serbs, Gashiq said the SNS authorities had claimed to have looked after them. In reality, he said, that government had betrayed Serbs’ national interests.

Gashiq also discussed the European Union-mediated Kosovo–Serbia dialogue. He said representatives of Serbia’s new government would review all agreements reached between the parties through the Brussels Agreement.

Regarding the continuation of dialogue on normalizing relations, the leader of the Student List, Ilija Srdanoviq, had previously told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that dialogue on the “issue of Kosovo and Metohija” was part of its plan.

Gashiq said other international agreements would also be reviewed, with the aim of enabling the new authorities to rectify any negative aspects that could be corrected.

Gashiq said the Student List was fully aware of how the previous government in Belgrade had treated the people of Kosovo and Metohija. He said their dignity had been undermined and they had faced pressure, political coercion and blackmail through their jobs. He said he expected the first results to include people being free to express their opinions and regain their lost dignity.

In the October 25 elections, the Student List secured 52.54 percent of the vote, compared with 39.29 percent for Vuçiq’s SNS.

Serbian electoral authorities announced the final results earlier in the week, paving the way for the formation of new institutions.

The Student List is expected to form Serbia’s new government on its own. It has yet to announce whom it will nominate for prime minister and has not presented a clear political platform.

Following the elections, the Serb List said it “accepts” the results of Serbia’s parliamentary elections and remains “committed” to institutional ties with Belgrade.