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Gentlemen Ceka, Imami, Njgjela, Serbia has mocked you

Zotërinj Ceka, Imami, Njgjela Serbia ështe tallur me Ju

Signori Ceka, Imami, Njgjela, la Serbia si è presa gioco di voi

Original newspaper scan

Original newspaper scan

Five Albanians, who are part of the Serbian police forces, were singled out today in the Serbian capital by Serbian President Milošević. This latest case shows how ridiculous the Serbian authorities’ stance is on the Kosovo issue. By honoring the state and its administration, they are in effect condemning a part of the police force that, by law and profession, is itself one of the state’s structures. People should know that Sarajevo, some years ago, had been branded by Serbian politics as a “dangerous” city full of criminals and bandits, while the young Bosnian men who dared to defend their city were called “terrorists.” The next day, they were massacred by Serbian military ordnance. Serbian politics has acted the same way in Croatia and in Bosnia. Today they are preparing to do the same in Kosovo. Less than a month after the order was issued to form a Serbian police force in Kosovo, some of its “recruits” have become intoxicated, obstructing their service in this role. This is happening at a time when the need for forces to serve power and maintain order in the service of “peace and democracy” is considered more important than ever. Does Milošević need to send Albanian police officers to Kosovo when there are more than enough Serbian police forces available? In answering this question, Serbian politicians are in fact answering for themselves and making one of their most ridiculous efforts of this period. Why? There is nothing logical about this. The order to set up the Serbian police in Kosovo has been chosen only to create a grim service that places the Albanian police in a useful position, so as never to dismiss them. By acting this way, they hope to create a false image of Serb-Albanian “coexistence,” while in reality they are trying to do what they have always done: exclude Albanians from every important structure of power. At the same time, this serves to keep the Albanian population in Kosovo under control and terrorized. Moreover, the very fact that these Albanian youths are being brought to the Serbian capital to be rewarded with police appointments shows that the government in Belgrade is using this as a propaganda tool. It will present to the international public the idea that Albanians are included in law-enforcement institutions, while in fact they remain marginalized and with no real power. This is yet another form of mocking them. If there were a different policy, these people would have a place in society as equal citizens and not as political decoration. But Serbia does not seek equality; it seeks submission. Why? One cannot build such a police force on exclusion and hatred. And a state that calls defenders of their own homes terrorists is in fact laying the groundwork for new violence.