The NGO Center for Peace and Tolerance Priština, based in Gracanica, Miloša Obilića Street bb, issues this statement regarding the malicious and highly unacceptable political performance that took place yesterday at the Center for the Communities of remaining elderly Serbian residents in the center of Priština. The Center for Communities, the subject of discussion here, has existed for over twenty years and was established with the assistance and approval of the UNMIK administration, KFOR, Doctors Without Borders, and numerous other international organizations that supported the Center as the only secure place for the gathering of the few remaining Serbian, Roma, Turkish, Bosniak, and Gorani residents in Priština. The only accurate information from yesterday’s presentation is that occasionally, doctors from the enclave visited the Center to measure blood pressure, sugar, and cholesterol for the remaining elderly Serbs in Priština, but it was not mentioned that these services were also frequently used by police officers from the police station located immediately next to the Center.
For the purpose of accurate public information, we must state that this Center for Communities has been the subject of interest from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Kosovo Police on several occasions, with the sole intention of taking over the Center’s premises. We remind you that, according to information obtained from the cadastre of the Municipality of Priština in 2012, these premises do not belong to the Ministry of Internal Affairs but to the city of Priština, which granted its property to the Fire Station first and then to the Commercial Bank for use. In 2012, a decision was made to continue the Center’s operation until a better solution for relocating the Center for Communities in Priština was found. A solution has not been found to this day, but the Ministry’s desire for premises that do not belong to them persists. Since 2012, the NGO Center for Peace and Tolerance Priština has moved its headquarters to Gracanica, and the Center for Communities remains with a single function, which is to serve as a gathering place for the remaining Serbian and other minority communities in the city.
We remind you that our organization and its employees were attacked in 2020 when, wrongly, most Kosovo media and the public broadcaster RTK associated us with an organization of a similar name registered and existing in Belgrade. Even then, the collective of our organization was completely wrongly and maliciously connected to espionage activities, so these accusations from yesterday do not surprise us at all. We responded to those attacks with truth and evidences, but we have never received any apologies from the media that spread untruths about our organization and its employees.
The NGO Center for Peace and Tolerance Priština, based in Gračanica, is one of the oldest civil society organizations in Kosovo, consisting of citizens interested only in the well-being of all communities in Kosovo. Therefore, we believe that such statements in the media without consultations and verification, with the NGO Center for Peace and Tolerance Priština jeopardize the security of all our employees. At the same time, we warn the public that such inappropriate activities instill fear and unrest not only in us and our families but also in the entire Serbian community.
We emphasize, regarding Minister Sveçla’s accusations, that our organization does not provide any medical services, and his yesterday’s statement is absolutely untrue and based on unfounded claims.
In conclusion, we request a written apology from Minister Sveçla for everything he stated to the media and wrote on his social media platforms regarding NGO Center for Peace and Tolerance Priština.
Collective
NGO Center for Peace and Tolerance – Priština