Driton Hyseni: Milosevic's Serbia is alive and threatening the Balkans yet again

We see a potential risk coming from Russia through Serbia that could threaten the security of the Western Balkans, especially in northern Kosovo, but also in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries in the region.

This is what Driton Hyseni, a member of the Kosovo Parliament from the Self-Determination Movement and head of Kosovo's delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, told BGNES in an interview.
We talk to him about the threats that the geopolitical project 'Serbian World' brings to the Balkans, whether there is a risk of open Serbian aggression against neighbouring countries and whether the Western world underestimates the danger of a repeat of the crimes of the 1990s.

"The international community should have a clear idea that Serbia has not changed, there is no change in the way of thinking about the future. With this political establishment in Belgrade, we cannot talk about sharing common values or promoting NATO and European Union values together. In this respect Serbia puts the most serious brake on the region", Hyseni warned.

"We see a potential risk coming from Russia through Serbia that could threaten the security of the Western Balkans, especially in North Kosovo, but also in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries in the region. When we discuss the issues between Kosovo and Serbia with EU political representatives or international law officials, we explain the situation to them and ask them to be very attentive to the Serbian position and the Serbian approach," he added.

The Kosovo lawmaker emphasized that Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic and the new Serbian government are thinking the same way about politics in the region as in the 1990s when Vucic was minister of information in the cabinet of dictator Slobodan Milosevic.

"They are still seeking to settle Serbia in the territories it occupied in the past. We, for example, were occupied by Serbia for four decades," Husseini added.

He noted the worrying escalation over the past year - attacks on the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR), Kosovo police and journalists in May after the Serbian population boycotted local elections and demanded to expel Albanian mayors. The second case was the terrorist attack in September in the village of Banjska, northern Kosovo, carried out by a Serbian armed group which killed the Kosovo police officer Afrim Bunjaku.

"In May last year we had several demonstrations by criminal gangs that came from Belgrade and Serbia. These events have to be taken into account, as well as the fact that part of the new Serbian government is on the 'blacklist' of the US, the UK and some European countries," the MP said.

Driton Hyseni uses the opportunity provided by the three-day spring session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Sofia to discuss these issues with his colleagues and is pleased that they are beginning to understand the problem.

"The good thing is that almost all delegations here have the same approach, the same feeling that the international community, especially NATO, should take care of the situation in the Western Balkans", the politician underlined.
Hyseni explained that Kosovo's ambassador to Bulgaria Haxhi Bajraktari is in constant contact with the Bulgarian government.
"I am very pleased with the good relations we have with Bulgaria. I expressed my gratitude to Defence Minister Atanas Zaprianov and Chief of General Staff Emil Eftimov for Bulgaria's contribution to the NATO Peacekeeping Mission in Kosovo (KFOR)," he specified.

Asked by BGNES what Sofia and Pristina should do together to prevent the  of copy of the "Russian World" in the Balkans - "Serbian World", Hyseni replied:

"One way is to increase Bulgaria's support in KFOR. This is the key aspect of our joint efforts to avoid Russia's influence in the region and to counter Serbia's approach to Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries in the region."

The Kosovo MP also commented on the decision of the Council of Europe ministerial meeting in Strasbourg (16-17 May) not to vote on the issue of Pristina's accession to the organisation.

"The idea of the Strasbourg meeting was to move forward the draft status of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in North Kosovo. But we cannot implement something that is not in line with our constitution and laws. We cannot take forward a statute that gives executive power to this association in part of the territory of Kosovo. We as a state fulfil all the requirements of the Council of Europe. The accession did not happen on May 17, but we hope that we will be able to achieve it soon and Kosovo will become part of the Council of Europe," Hyseni said.

Regarding the role of Bulgarians in Kosovo and the preservation of their culture, the Kosovo MP said his country has a "very substantial law" regarding minorities. "The government is very focused on meeting all the needs of all minorities. This is what we will do in the future. Since we have very good relations, any issue that might concern Bulgarians can be brought to the government and we can solve it in the best way, as good partners and countries that share the same values in terms of building good bilateral relations and mutual support," Driton Hyseni said in conclusion. /BGNES