Shaip Kamberi, a member of the Serbian Parliament, has strongly criticized the proposal to appoint Demo Beriša as Minister for Human Rights and Minorities. Kamberi described the nomination as a severe blow to every Albanian who has suffered, resisted, and sacrificed for their rights in Serbia. He stated that this appointment is politically unacceptable and morally shameful, given that Demo Beriša is not a representative of human rights, but rather a symbol of the denial of the national and political identity of Albanians in Kosovo and the Presevo Valley.
Kamberi highlighted that Beriša, an ex-officer in the Serbian army and involved in war crimes during the Kosovo conflict, publicly denies the existence of the Republic of Kosovo and promotes a Serbian narrative of the war. He further emphasized that Beriša is the founder of a Serbian organization, “Matica Albanaca Srbije,” which defends the legacy of collaborators with Serbia from darker periods in history. Kamberi drew a parallel between Beriša and Faik Jašari, a figure involved in Serbia’s delegations at the Rambouillet talks and a symbol of past failed policies that have no place in the future.
Kamberi argued that Beriša’s ideologies promote the idea that Kosovo is part of Serbia, and that Albanians should submit to this reality. His appointment, Kamberi warned, would be a propaganda tool to legitimize the idea that Albanians are integrated and content in Serbia as long as they deny Kosovo and obey Belgrade.
The deputy called for international, regional, and local responses to this nomination, noting that silence on this matter would be considered complicity in perpetuating the erasure of Albanian identity in the region.
