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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