Ivanovic: State leaders send clear message
Oliver Ivanovic, a former state secretary with the Serbian Ministry for Kosovo, says the message Serbia's top officials sent to the Serbs in northern Kosovo on Wednesday is clear, but loses in clarity when relayed to the people by the four northern Kosovo mayors.
(kosovocompromisestuff) Friday, August 16, 2013
"This message is very clear, but the majority of the population is not getting a clear message from the four mayors, because they do not fully relay the positions of the Serbian government. I think the government keeps making the same mistake by inviting the same four people to every meeting, who will, objectively speaking, never change their views no matter what the state leaders tell them," Ivanovic told The press.Serbia's top officials on Wednesday tried to impress upon Kosovo Serbs that voting in a status-neutral local election is the best way to fight for Serbian citizens and national interests in the southern province, while Serb representatives said they would make the decision in the next few days.Ivanovic said the Serbian government needs to widen the list of people it talks to.He noted, however, that he does not support a single Serb candidate list at the November 3 local election in Serb-majority communities.The four municipalities in northern Kosovo have a Serb majority which rules out the possibility of vote splitting, believes Ivanovic, who adds that a single Serb list is a good option for the municipalities where Serbs have a narrow majority.
