Kosovo Internal Affairs Minister says Serbs are citizens with equal rights

Dželjalj Svečlja
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Kosovo Internal Affairs Minister Xhelal Svecla said on Monday that Serbs are equal citizens and enjoy the same rights as all other communities in Kosovo.

The minister said in a Facebook post the he made sure he is at the disposal of every citizen of Kosovo, the KoSSev news portal said. “We will be with them along with institutions, regardless of ethnic and political affiliation,” he said after Sunday’s visit to the north of Kosovo where the majority of the Serb community lives.

Svecla did not specify who he met with during his visit but said that he “stressed the importance of cooperation with our institutions” during the meeting. “I am calling you to cooperate with the bodies implementing the law and providing security,” he said.

The minister said that he also visited majority-Albanian villages in the north which he said got no support from the Kosovo authorities for 20 years. “Those people are determined to stay there and work hard to secure livelihoods for themselves and their children and we will surely be there for them,” he said.

The Internal Affairs Minister said that he saw commitment and unprecedented discipline among the police personnel he met in the north.