The first public positions taken by Serbia’s Student List on Kosovo offer little indication of a genuine shift in Belgrade’s policy towards Pristina. Despite the change in political leadership, the same nationalist and expansionist agenda appears to remain intact, according to professor Ibrahim Shala and lawyer Emrush Kastrati.
Speaking on TV Dukagjini’s Five programme, Shala said the list’s initial statements demonstrate that its representatives have yet to distance themselves from Serbia’s nationalist, chauvinist and expansionist approach towards Kosovo.
He identified Serbia’s constitutional preamble, which claims Kosovo as part of Serbian territory, as one of the key tests of whether the country’s new political leadership is genuinely prepared to change course.
“As we can see, the first signs and initial statements show that they cannot break away from the tracks of that nationalist, chauvinist and expansionist policy towards Kosovo. They have said that Kosovo will be our internal issue. And nobody from this party has yet declared that the constitutional preamble’s position on Kosovo will be removed,” Shala said.
He argued that the Student List’s statements should be treated with caution until its representatives take power and demonstrate their actual policy towards Kosovo.
“As long as this preamble, which treats Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia, remains unchanged, there is little point in making demagogic statements to please the West. We must wait until they take power and see what position they actually adopt,” he stressed.
Lawyer Emrush Kastrati also expressed scepticism about the possibility of Serbia changing its approach towards Kosovo following the Student List’s election victory.
Speaking on Five, he recalled an earlier meeting with representatives of the list, claiming that their positions on Kosovo had been even harsher than those of outgoing Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
“I remember a meeting with representatives of the Student List, and their positions towards Kosovo were even harsher than Vučić’s policies. I do not expect anything positive from Serbia’s policy towards Kosovo. We will have to see how they act now that they are taking power,” Kastrati said.
The Student List won Serbia’s parliamentary elections on October 25, bringing an end to Aleksandar Vučić’s 14-year rule. However, its representatives have declared that they will address the Kosovo issue in accordance with Serbia’s Constitution, which continues to claim Kosovo as part of its territory.
Over the weekend, several candidates from the list visited Kosovo, where they met representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church at the Gracanica Monastery.
