Serb Associations in Kosovo Back Student Memorandum on Kosovo, Serbian Opposition Party Voices Objections

Kosovo and Metohija

The associations of the Serbs living in Kosovo and Metohija backed on May 18 the Memorandum on Kosovo and Metohija, published by the students leading the university blockades, in which Kosovo was defined as an “inalienable and integral part of Serbia”.

The associations supported the students’ insistence that the Kosovo issue be resolved only  within the framework of the Serbian Constitution and international law, their “rejection of policies based on imposed and unilateral solutions”, as well as their call for social dialogue, institutional renewal and the inclusion of young people in decision-making processes. The statement was signed by the Serb National Forum in Gracanica, the Serbian National Council of Kosovo and Metohija and the Homeland Movement of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.

The New Democratic Party of Serbia said on May 18 that the student memorandum on Kosovo contained positive elements but also serious shortcomings, as it made no mention of the Brussels Agreement or the French-German agreement. The Party’s vice president Zoran Sandic said it was a “major delusion to claim that nobody is asking us to recognize the secession of our southern province”. “We must stop misleading citizens into believing that a policy supporting  both Europe and Kosovo is possible, as many political actors have been doing since 2009,” Sandic cautioned.

The students published the Memorandum on Kosovo and Metohija on May 17, describing it as an expression of a unified will. The document states that Kosovo is an “inalienable and integral part” of Serbia, a “component of Serbian national identity” and a “historical and moral imperative not subject to negotiation”. The students said their goal was a model that, through consistent respect for international law, would ensure peace, security and full protection of the rights of the people living in the territory.