A delegation from the Council of Albanian Ambassadors lead by its President Mr. Besnik Mustafaj, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania, made a working visit to the Presheva Valley, Medvegje, Presheve and Bujanovc.
The delegation met and held talks with Mr. Shaip Kamberi, member of the Parliament of Serbia, as well as political representatives and leaders of local institutions of the Valley, Mrs. Ardita Sinani, Mr. Shqiperim Arifi, Mr. Ragmi Mustafa, the Chairman of the Albanian National Council of the Presheve Valley, Mr. Ragmi Mustafi, Mr. Arben Ferhati, etc.
Council of Albanian Ambassadors was informed by the hosts about the very difficult challenges and problems that the Albanians of the Valley are going through, starting with the absurd and discriminatory implementation of the law on the passivation of addresses, the non-recognition of Kosovo’s diplomas and the countless bureaucracies for the recognition of those of Albania, discrimination in employment in state institutions in favor of Serbs, lack of attention and state investments, relocation of the court from Presheva, etc.
All of these have brought racial or ethnic discrimination and violence, especially towards the Albanian minority living in their own lands, unprecedented even for Serbia, and a modern ethnic cleansing, as evidenced by the latest report of the American State Department and in the reports and studies of the Helsinki Committee of Serbia.
The representatives of the Valley presented a series of requests and remarks to the governments of the Republic of Albania and Kosovo. They asked for more attention, awareness of their situation, reciprocal treatment of their rights with those of the Serbs in Kosovo, the inclusion of the issue of the Albanians of the Valley in the Kosovo-Serbia talks, the creation of a national solidarity fund of the governments of Albania and Kosovo for investments in the Valley, the opening of an Albanian consulate in Bujanovc.
The Council of Albanian Ambassadors expressed that it approved and understood the description of the situation and the demands of the representatives of the Valley, that the difficult situation was clearly observed on the ground, and promised that it will engage all its capacities to sensitize the western offices and most important centers of decision-making, but also the governments of the Republic of Albania and that of Kosovo for more attention in the direction of respecting human rights, the rights of the Albanians of the Presheva Valley, for the increase of investments that would stop the hemorrhaging of the well planned emptying of Albanians from the Valley, or as Department of State has assessed the “modern ethnic cleansing” of the Valley by Albanians.
The Council of Albanian Ambassadors takes the opportunity to thank Dr. Dergut Aliun and Mr. Marco Salihu, members of the Advisory Board from the Presheva Valley, as well as Mr. Fadil Selmani, Chairman of the League of United Associations of Presevo, Bujanovc and Medvegje in Switzerland, for their precious help in the successful realization of this visit.
