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Enrico Vigna (EV): The situation in Kosovo Metohija is considered perhaps the most difficult since the bombings of 1999. What is your opinion/assessment. What concrete and realistic steps could be to find a “right” way out?

Zivadin Jovanovic (ZJ): It is a month now since the situation in Kosovo and Metohija started to escalate.

It was triggered by the forceful occupation of the Mayor’s offices in four Serbian majority districts by Albanian mayors elected at the local election participated by about les than 5 percent of the electorate. Serbs had boycotted these elections protesting militarization of  the area, confiscation of their private land for erection of special Albanian forces’ (Rosu) bases, insecurity, daily attacks and arbitrary imprisonment of Serbs, noncompliance with 2013 and 2015 Brussels Agreements on establishment of the Serb Districts Community.

To avoid the worse, the causes must be addressed.

The principle cause is that Albanian leaders in Pristina have no interest in anything else but mere recognition of the so called “Kosovo Republic” by Serbia.

While the Province is still under UN mandate, Albanian leadership does not comply with UN SC Resolution 1244 (1999), with any previously signed agreements, keeps continuously provoking Serbs, violating their basic human rights such as personal security, freedom of movement, private property. About 130.000 of Serbs in the Provinces are treated as hostages in ghettos, while another 250.000 were expelled from the Province more than 20 years ago, still are not permitted to return to their houses and lands.

Unfortunately, western countries, primarily the USA, Great Britain and Germany keep disregarding such disturbing realities.

Seemingly, they are not ready to undertake concrete steps to oblige the Albanian leadership to comply with UN SC resolution 1244, the Brussels Agreements and basic human rights towards Serbs. Their double standards policy appears now as punishing Serbia and Serbs by proxy, for not recognizing unilateral illegal secession of Kosovo and Metohija, for remaining military neutral and not adopting sanctions against Russia.

EV: In many parts both in KosMet and outside, there is talk of a possible war. What is your point of view.

ZJ: All what I can say now is that Serbia and Serbs are definitely for peace, peaceful solution based on the universal principles of International Law and UN SC resolution 1244.

Nobody should expect that Serbia will recognize robbery of its sovereignty and teritorial integrity. It is extremely dangerous that those who imposed the aggression in 1999 and recognition of criminal secession in 2008, are trying now to compel Serbia to legalize all that, thus making their record moral, peaceloving, clear of expansionism and hegemony.

Therefore, provocations of Pristine, whoever is behind them, must be ceased, human rights of Serbs respected, signed Brussels Agreements implemented and the dialogue on normalization resumed.

EV: Demonstrations by some political forces against the government continue in Serbia. Are there attempts at a “color revolution”?

ZJ: Weekly demonstrations started some days after May tragic events in one Belgrade school and in the town of Mladenovac, under moto “Stop violence”.

After Belgrade, now about 10 other cities hold simultaneous peaceful demonstrations demanding resignition of the Minister of Interior and Director of Security Agency (BIA), replacement of members of Board of the Regulatory Agency for licensing Radio and TV, replacement of management of the public TV RTS.

No doubt that the oposition political forces behind the demonstrations aim at the change of the whole government. They insist on installing an interim government, first, and holding elections later. The Government seems to be ready to holding premature elections but refuses the idea about interim government.

All this coincides with the growing pressures by the leading western powers on Serbian leadership to recognize the unilateral illegal secession of the Province of Kosovo and Metohija, to abandon the policy of military neutrality and to introduce sanctions against Russia.

EV: I receive daily from the Kosovo and Metohija province many criticisms, doubts, perplexities and even attacks on the work of the Serbian President A. Vucic. What do you think?

ZJ: I agree that there are reasons to criticize policy of the present government. For example, I think there is the need for Serbia’s leadership to be explicit in demanding full implementation and respect of the UN SC resolution 1244 binding every UN member, including EU and NATO members, to respect the territorial integrity of Serbia.

The government should be much more engaged in international fora with a view to guarantee real security and freedom for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. In parallel, there is the need for persistant initiative to guarantee the right to free and safe return of about 250.000 of Serbs and other non-Albanians to their homes and their lands in the Province.

It should be noted, however, that only a year ago Aleksandar Vucic was elected President of the Republic in the first round, for the second time, in turn. His Party (SNS) also easely won all elections from 2012  to the present.

We should be careful and draw lessons from history. While trying to solve real socioeconomic problems, to improve living standards and democratize governance, we must not repeat mistakes overlooking dubious positions of some opposition forces about the future status of Kosovo and Metohija, membership to NATO, or sanctions against Russia.

I believe that Serbia should continue to balance political, economic and cultural  relations with all countries and integrations which accept her as equal partner, persistently defend own legitimate interest based on universal principles and international law and stay neutral.

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Živadin Jovanović is President of the Belgrade Forum for a World of Equals. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.