Vulin: Foreign missions to help Kosovo census

Head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo Aleksandar Vulin, who announced several days ago that a census would be held to determine the exact number of Serbs living in the southern province, said in an interview for the daily Politika that he expected the international community to take an active part.

(KosovoComrpomiseStuff) Friday, September 14, 2012

Vulin said that the fact is being dismissed it is important for Serbia to determine how many Serbs live in the province, "how they live, what their property is, rather the intention to hold a census is immediately being tied to political motives."
"Above all, my census idea is about enabling more efficient distribution of everything the Serbian state sets aside for its people in Kosovo," he added.

Asked whether a census could help resolve property issues, Vulin said a whole series of things were connected.
"We have over 33,000 requests for compensation or return of Serb-owned homes which were taken, destroyed or damaged," said Vulin.

"It would be very useful to know whether these Serbs are alive, where they are living, to know whether they perhaps live in these homes or whether they live nearby, looking at their own property that they cannot get back. Or maybe they have moved to central Serbia or across the world. I expect the international community to find their interest in this and for us to find a common solution how to make this happen," concluded Vulin.