The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Madam Atifete Jahjaga, expressed her concern about the violent action of the Police of the Republic of Serbia in the Presheva Valley, inhabited by Albanian vast majority and the arrestment of several young Albanians accused of war crimes.
The Office of the President of the Republic of Kosovo considers that the action has purely political motives and is designed to cause uncertainty among the Albanian population by promoting its displacement from their lands, in this part of the state of Serbia and by denying its legitimate rights.
The Albanians of the Presheva Valley must be treated as equal citizens with all the other citizens of the Republic of Serbia and to enjoy their rights and freedoms without fear of police persecution.
The statements of the officials of the Republic of Serbia do not contribute to peace and stability in the region and hinder the construction of good interstate relations between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The position of the Serb community in Kosovo and that of the Albanian community in Serbia must play an important role in the relations between our two countries and in the Euro-Atlantic integration path.
The Office of the President of the Republic of Kosovo urges the international community and Serbian authorities to fully implement the Konçul Agreement, to release all the detainees immediately and to secure to the Albanians of the Presheva Valley all the civil and national rights, as all democratic countries do and as the Republic of Kosovo does with all the ethnic communities.
The Office of the President of the Republic of Kosovo invites the Albanians of the Presheva Valley that by respecting the national laws and in accordance with the international conventions, to participate all in the elections in the municipalities of Medvegja, Bujanoc and Presevo and to elect its legal and legitimate representatives, to have the power in these lands, in order to decide for their own future. As always they will have the support of the Republic of Kosovo and the entire international community.
The Office of the President of Kosovo