Ragmi Mustafi: Deactivation of Addresses in Bujanoc Aims to Weaken Albanians Politically

Ragmi Mustafi, former president of the Albanian National Council in the Preševo Valley and political adviser for Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanoc, has responded to statements by the director of the Coordination Body Service, accusing him of confirming the direct impact that address deactivation has on the political weight of Albanians in Bujanoc.

In a Facebook post, Mustafi said the Serbian official’s remarks had, in his view, highlighted two elements of the address deactivation policy.

“With this response, Mr. Mitrovic, you, as director of the Coordination Body Service, revealed two truths that Serbia’s institutions have tried to conceal for years,” he wrote.

According to Mustafi, the practice cannot be viewed simply as an administrative procedure, as it is also directly linked to the number of Albanian voters in Bujanoc.

“First, address deactivation is not merely about ‘regulating’ administrative records, but about reducing the electoral weight of Albanians in a municipality where they make up around 62% of the population,” he said.

He claimed that deactivation does not occur randomly but is a process directed by Serbia’s state institutions.

“Second, this mechanism does not take place randomly or by itself but is directed, generated and implemented directly by state institutions,” Mustafi wrote.

The former head of the Albanian National Council questioned the official’s focus on the number of voters, interpreting it as evidence that the main issue is not addresses, but the impact of the Albanian vote.

“You spoke about the number of voters. So, you showed yourselves that the concern is not the address. The concern is the Albanian vote,” he stressed.

Mustafi described the address deactivation policy as “an anti-Albanian and inhumane approach.” According to him, it aims to affect administrative records, voter lists and the political representation of Albanians in Bujanoc.

“Addresses do not deactivate themselves. Institutions initiate the procedures. The police carry out the checks. The state issues the decisions. Albanians bear the consequences,” he said.

Concluding his response, Mustafi called for an end to address deactivation and for the restoration of addresses that, according to him, were unfairly removed.

“You have read the reports: stop the deactivation and restore the addresses that were unfairly deleted. We have denounced this practice of administrative cleansing from Washington to Brussels,” Mustafi wrote.