Kurti: Albanians in the Valley will receive political, material and financial support

Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that the Government of Kosovo would continue supporting Albanians in Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac at the political level, as well as through material and financial assistance.

Following the conclusion of the Assembly session, Kurti praised the unification of Albanian political entities in the snap elections to be held in Serbia. According to him, Albanians will run through a joint list called the “Albanian Coalition.”

“Our support for Albanians in Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac is twofold: political and material-financial. We aim to ensure that their national, civic and human rights are respected, while maintaining regular contact with their representatives. We welcome the fact that they will run in Serbia’s elections as a joint entity, the ‘Albanian Coalition,’ and wish them success, as discrimination against Albanians is extraordinary,” Kurti said.

The prime minister also cited examples of the low representation of Albanians in the institutions of the Valley. He said that not a single new Albanian police officer had been hired during the past decade, while at the Vranje Hospital, of more than 1,300 employees, only 2 are Albanian doctors.

“Since 2016, for 10 years, not a single new Albanian police officer has been hired in Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac. Meanwhile, of the more than 1,300 employees at Vranje Hospital, only 2 doctors are Albanian. Much work is needed there to correct these injustices and guarantee Albanians the rights to which they are entitled,” Kurti said.

Support for the Preševo Valley aims to fund projects and programs that improve the position of Albanians, as well as preserve the Albanian language, culture and identity in Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa.

The decision is based on the memorandum of cooperation signed between the Government of Kosovo and the Albanian National Council.