Albanians decide to set up association of municipalities in Serbia

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Sunday 13 Sep 2015 - 11:24 Makkah mean time-29-11-1436 Sarajevo (IINA) – Albanians living in Serbia decided Saturday to set up an association of Albanian majority municipalities in south of the country, weeks after Kosovo and Serbia agreed to establish an association of Serbian majority municipalities in Kosovo, Anadolu Agency reported. The decision was taken by Albanian council members of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac municipalities in southern Serbia. “This initiative represents nothing else but reciprocity in rights for Albanians in Presovo Valley as those given to Serbians in Kosovo,” Presevo Mayor Ragmi Mustafa said. “Following the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels, we came to the conclusion that we, Albanians in the valley, also must adopt a document which would take us to a better direction, toward a better life,” mayor of Bujanovac municipality Nagip Arifi said, speaking in favor of more rights for Albanian community in Serbia. The document adopted on Saturday tasks the secretaries with drafting the statute of the association, which will have the same juridical powers as the association of Serbian majority municipalities in Kosovo. However, earlier this week Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic was quoted by Serbian TV B92 as warning Albanians “not to play with fire”. "We are warning them not to make any parallels on Saturday in Presevo with the Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija; we are warning them not to play with fire and to respect the Constitution and order of the Republic of Serbia,” Dacic said during a rally in Medvedja. On August 25, Kosovo and Serbian PMs agreed in Brussels to establish an Association of Serbian majority municipalities in Albanian majority Kosovo. The decision to form the association, which will enjoy powers over welfare, health and education, was strongly opposed by opposition political parties in Kosovo, which fear that this would led to what they call the “Bosnization” of Kosovo, creating a dysfunctional country. AB/IINA