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Serbia again criticized for failing to protect Albanian community

 
Report criticizes Serbian Government’s ‘inadequate’ response to attacks on Albanians and other minority groups following Kosovo’s declaration of independence · Authorities failed to take ‘preventative measures’ to stop violence and ‘have made little effort’ to bring perpetrators to justice · Most of the violence is said to have taken place in the autonomous province of Vojvodina.

NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has just published a report on "Hostages of Tension: Intimidation and Harassment of Ethnic Albanians in Serbia after Kosovo's Declaration of Independence" [available here], in which the Serbian Government is criticized for failing to protect the homes and businesses of ethnic Albanians in Serbia after Kosovo's declaration of independence on February 17, 2008. The report also accuses the government of failing to identify those responsible for the attacks.

HRW has urged the European Union to "press Belgrade to bring perpetrators to justice" and observes that "violence against minorities is not new in Serbia," citing previous cases of attacks on Muslims, Roma and ethnic Albanians. Wanda Troszczynska-van Genderen, an analyst at HRW, places Serbia's lack of progress in minority rights in the context of closer integration with the European Union: "Serbia cannot hope to move closer toward the European Union unless it shows it won't tolerate the violence," she said.

Since Kosovo, a former province of Serbia with a majority Albanian population of over 90%, declared independence, there have been numerous protests in Serbia against the country's secession, which in some cases resulted in minority communities, mainly Albanian businesses and homes, being attacked. The report cites over 200 incidents and observes that there have only been 10 prosecutions, despite the fact that police officers and CCTV cameras witnessed the crimes being committed in a number of cases.

HRW issues its report a matter of days before the European Commission is due to publish its own annual report on the progress of the Balkan countries towards meeting criteria for closer integration with the European Union. This document (available at BalkanInsight.com) refers to the incidents that occurred in the wake of Kosovo's independence declaration and also mentions Serbia's lack of anti-discrimination legislation. The report also says Serbian politics has been dominated by the Kosovo question and that there is growing instability within the new government.

Photo: "Kosovo is Serbia," the slogan used by protestors. Source: government website (www.srbija.gov.rs)

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