Shaip Kamberi, the sole Albanian deputy in the Serbian Parliament, has reported that Serbian authorities are intensifying pressure on the Albanian population ahead of the “For Identity and Dignity” protest scheduled for Monday at 11:00 AM in Bujanovac Square.
He stated that Albanians in the Preševo Valley are facing a new wave of pressure from the police and law enforcement agencies in Bujanovac and Vranje.
“According to reports, a citizen was arrested due to a comment related to the upcoming protest on the Facebook profile of the local portal ‘Bujanovačke’ for the criminal offense of ‘incitement to interethnic hatred,’ and the case has been handed over to the prosecutor’s office in Vranje,” Kamberi wrote.
Kamberi emphasized that in Serbia, every day, hundreds of anti-Albanian comments are encountered on the profiles of various media, and Albanophobia has become commonplace.
“When high-ranking officials, such as Aleksandar Vulin (whose case in the High Court in Belgrade led to his exoneration from the Albanian National Council’s lawsuit for ‘incitement to anti-Albanian hatred,’ a decision that legalized the offensive term ‘Shiptar’), participate in this campaign of anti-Albanian hatred, the arrest of an ordinary citizen just days before the public protest in Bujanovac is nothing but an attempt to intimidate those organizing and those wishing to participate in this protest,” Kamberi stressed.
He also noted that some Albanian citizens have been subjected to “informative conversations about jihadism,” and that Serbia is attempting to divert attention from the legal and legitimate protest aimed at securing fundamental rights for Albanians.
“This is an open attempt to suppress popular reaction and silence the voices of Albanians. To distract attention and demonize both the protest and our legitimate demands, which Serbia has formally acknowledged by signing three agreements with Albanian representatives (2001, 2009, and 2013). Despite these intimidation attempts, we will remain determined and resolute in our pursuit of rights, equality, and freedom. The demand for democratic values, our rights, freedom of expression, and our dignity cannot be silenced by intimidation campaigns,” he concluded.
