The opposition party in Serbia, the Party of Freedom and Justice (PSG), has called on police and prosecutors to urgently determine who is behind the production and posting of posters in the city of Kruševac, in central Serbia, urging citizens not to buy from Albanians.
In its statement, PSG warned that it is particularly concerning that the poster was placed in front of a bakery owned by an Albanian, stressing that this exposes individuals to pressure, persecution, and potential violence.
RFE contacted Serbia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and the prosecutor’s office in Kruševac for comment, but no immediate responses were available.
According to PSG, the poster reportedly calls on citizens to remember Gazimestan and not to buy from Albanians, while referring to Albanians using the derogatory term “Šiptari.”
“This message is not a political stance or protest, but an open targeting of people solely because of their nationality and an attempt to move hatred from social networks into the streets,” PSG stated.
The party stressed that individuals, not entire peoples, are responsible for criminal acts, and that policies of “reciprocal measures” against Albanians living and working in Serbia must be publicly rejected and stopped.
PSG also called on police and prosecutors to immediately identify those responsible for producing and posting the materials and to investigate potential incitement of ethnic hatred and intolerance.
The party added that it will not remain silent in the face of attempts to turn Albanian citizens into targets due to political conflicts, war propaganda, and nationalist revanchism.
Meanwhile, on June 28, during Vidovdan commemorations at Gazimestan, Kosovo Police arrested 37 individuals, with 36 later processed before the courts, mostly from Serbia and the region.
Those individuals were issued deportation measures and bans on entering Kosovo for three years, along with fines, for chanting “Kosovo is Serbia” and displaying the three-finger salute.
Meanwhile, allegations have emerged that those detained at Gazimestan were subjected to psychological and physical mistreatment by police.
RFE has not independently verified these claims, while the Kosovo Police Inspectorate stated that it will investigate them ex officio, even though no formal complaints have been filed regarding the incidents at Gazimestan.
