Shaip Kamberi, an Albanian MP in Serbia’s Parliament, has denounced the pressure and discrimination that, according to him, is being directed at Albanian members of the Serbian Police in Bujanovac and Preševo.

In a statement published on Facebook, he said that Albanians were facing systematic discrimination within the institution, while pointing out that not a single Albanian had been recruited into the police for more than a decade.

Kamberi said that Albanian police officers were facing pressure not only from the authorities in Belgrade. According to him, attacks against them have recently also come from certain opposition representatives.

“Therefore, what is bringing the authorities and part of the opposition in Belgrade together is a common approach: pressure and discrimination against Albanians,” he wrote.

The Albanian MP rejected the language used and the accusations made against Albanian members of the police, recalling that the inclusion of Albanians in the institution began in 2001, following a political agreement mediated by the OSCE.

According to him, the agreement was intended to ensure fair representation and equal opportunities for Albanians in security institutions.

However, Kamberi stressed that Albanian representation in the police had not expanded and become consolidated, but had instead suffered a continual decline.

He called on the responsible institutions in Serbia to explain why Albanians had not been recruited into the police for more than a decade and why their number in the institution was continuing to decrease.

“Because Albanians will not accept their institutional representation becoming the subject of political bargaining in Belgrade,” Kamberi declared.

At the conclusion of his statement, he asked whether the authorities and part of the opposition in Belgrade still considered the small number of Albanian police officers remaining in Bujanovac and Preševo to be too large.

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The mayor of the Municipality of Preševo, Ardita Sinani, has reacted following Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s stay in the municipality, calling for all residents to be treated equally.

According to Sinani, Preševo should not be remembered only when central institutions need it, while she considers any investment that contributes to improving residents’ living conditions welcome.

“Preševo cannot have two standards,” Sinani declared.

She highlighted investments carried out by the Municipality of Preševo in Maminçë, Strezoc, Svinjishtë and other settlements, stressing that the local government does not discriminate between citizens based on their ethnic affiliation.

The mayor of Preševo said that citizens expect to see the same principle of equality that, according to her, is applied by the municipality reflected in the actions of Serbia’s central institutions as well.

“We have officially requested investments for the ‘Prof. Ibrahim Kelmendi’ School, the school in Maminçë, the ‘8 March’ kindergarten and other projects directly related to the lives of our citizens,” she wrote.

Referring to the projects made public during Vučić’s visit, Sinani asked why Albanian citizens, according to her, should have to wait for years for responses, investments and the implementation of projects by central institutions.

“We are not asking for something to be taken from one person to give to another. We are asking that it not be taken from Albanians to be given to others,” Sinani declared.

She recalled that Albanians, Serbs, Roma and members of other communities live in Preševo, and that all of them should have the opportunity to build a better life.

Nevertheless, Sinani assessed that the progress of one community cannot serve as a justification for discriminating against another community.

According to her, the Municipality of Preševo remains ready to cooperate with Serbia’s institutions, but will not remain silent in the face of inequalities.

“We are not asking for privileges. We are asking for equality. We are not asking for more than others. We are asking not to receive less,” the mayor wrote.

Sinani announced that she would continue to raise this issue in Preševo, Belgrade, Pristina and Tirana.

“The Albanians of Preševo are here. They are citizens. They have needs. They have rights. And we will not accept being treated as second-class citizens or as if we do not exist at all,” she concluded.

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