How the Serbian List deceived the Serbs in 54 seconds and swore to independent Kosovo

In just two weeks, Srpska Lista managed to pull off a truly Copernican coup worthy of a drama by the world’s best directors. In just two weeks, from 5 to 17 November, the members of the Serbian List from the north of Kosovo went from appearing in front of the cameras as police officers took off their uniforms in a show of defiance, to taking the oath of office in the Kosovo Assembly, where on Thursday the credentials of the new Serbian List deputies were verified.

There was something fake, something staged, in the fact that the police decided to take off their uniforms and say ‘enough is enough’ loudly in front of the television cameras. They were tired of being disrespected, of being oppressed, of being told that the Serbs were being oppressed, and the representatives of Kosovo were steadfastly refusing all their demands.

With the tacit support of Belgrade, which also promised financial support for such a decision, Srpska Lista announced that it would leave all institutions, including the executive, the police and the judiciary, and return to the situation before the Brussels Agreement was initialled in 2013.

They left the institutions with the promise not to return until Pristina starts to respect the agreements reached, which means until it withdraws the decisions on the re-registration of vehicles and until the Association of Serbian Municipalities is formed in line with the Brussels Agreement.

In a matter of days, we have gone back 10 years, a radical move worthy of the attention of the world’s media, but also of the interest of the European Union and the United States. Citizens felt that this was a major political upheaval with far-reaching consequences, but what can we say about the period from 5 to 17 November.

In less than two weeks since we said a historic ‘no’ to Kurti, we have returned proud heads to the swearing-in of the most important institution in Kosovo. That is how long the patriotism of the Serbian List lasted. In fact, this patriotism, that is to say, this principled patriotism, was destroyed in the scant 54 seconds that it took the representatives of the Serbian List to take the oath of office.

“I, a Member of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, swear to perform my duty with honour and devotion, to represent the people with dignity, to act in the interest of Kosovo and all its citizens, to work to protect and uphold the constitutionality and the rule of law, to protect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and institutional integrity of Kosovo, to ensure human rights and freedoms, in accordance with the laws of the country,” reads the text of the oath of the Serbian List MPs.

Former Minister of Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic told Nova.rs that people are disappointed with the latest decision of the Serbian List to return to the Kosovo Parliament, where they were sworn in on Thursday.

“What they have done with the oath is to return to the institutions, that’s the only real word. For the 22 years that the crisis has lasted since 1999, this is the biggest blunder of our politics. If you have decided to leave the institutions and you have the support of 99% of the people in the north of Kosovo, I do not know why this move. The reasons they have given are also ridiculous. The Serbian community cannot be represented in such a way,” Bogdanovic explains to Nova.

Our interlocutor notes that Srpska Lista has put Serbian citizens in danger, although he says he himself supported this decision.

“It is possible that they know something that we do not know, and that is that Belgrade proposed this decision to them. Everything that happens in Kosovo happens with the consent of Belgrade, this must always be apostrophised. This is where the Serbian List’s sincere intentions are now being questioned”, Bogdanovic concludes.

Now everyone is questioning the intentions of the Serbian List, because how do you maintain credibility if you change your mind 180 degrees in two weeks. This doubt has now been awakened among citizens who are being laid off from their jobs, while Belgrade is offering them a handout in exchange for this decision. While they wait for the handout and watch their uncertain future, they are watching the Serbian list being returned to the institutions, little by little.

According to Srpska Lista, in a statement issued immediately after the decision, the mandates were only technically checked in order to “keep them in safe hands”.

“Today, in the Assembly in Pristina, nine Serbian List MPs technically verified their credentials, thus keeping them in safe hands, and immediately left the Assembly. “Today’s strategic decision has most directly prevented the implementation of the plan of Albin Kurti and his fellow Serbs to amend the Constitution and the laws guaranteeing the rights of the Serbian people in Kosovo,” the Serbian List said.

They also took the opportunity to attack Rada Trajkovic.

“We want to stress that our goal is to protect our people, peace and security, but also not to allow Kurti and Rada Trajkovic to decide for Serbian people”, they wrote in their reply.

Rada Trajkovic stressed that the Serbian List had taken on new mandates in order to prevent its entry into the Assembly.

“So as soon as they heard that I could get into the Parliament, they ran back to make sure that this would not happen. So I knocked out this Vučić, he was completely defeated. Vučić is a rag,” Trajković said in a statement to Nova.

In the end, it left a bitter taste, a taste full of deceit and false promises that enough was enough. Apparently, no one had enough. That performance on 5 November was just a small break. And during that break we need to think about where we are going and how to move forward. And maybe we can get somewhere with such representatives./Nova.rs/