From the crowded gardens dotted on the main city square in Bujanovac, the rhythms of modern music are heard mixing with the carefree chatter of Albanian and Serbian youth, who seem not to mind that their city is the central media and diplomatic topic these days.
Bujanovac, a city in the south of Serbia along the border with Kosovo and Macedonia, in this everyday summer picture is no different from any other city in Serbia or the region: fashionably dressed young people with popular music sipping their drinks while discussing topics of interest to their peers around the world. , with the inevitable cell phones in hand. However, just a few tens of meters away, in the local government building, much more serious discussions are taking place.
Mayor Šaip Kamberi receives delegations from international institutions and embassies almost every day in his office, with whom he discusses the position of Albanians in Serbia, but also the increasingly frequent announcements coming from Belgrade and Pristina about the demarcation and annexation of the South Serbian municipalities of Bujanovac, Preševo and Medveđa to Kosovo. "We expect the statements of Belgrade and Pristina regarding the demarcation to be crystallized so that we have a clear view of what lies ahead," Kamberi told BIRN, after meetings with representatives of the OSCE and the US Embassy.
Although the story of the exchange of the territories of the south of Serbia for the north of Kosovo has often been emphasized in various political circles since 1999 and the NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, when Serbia lost de facto power in its province of Kosovo, it seems that this topic has never been more relevant than this summer in in the context of negotiations in Brussels by the representatives of Kosovo and Serbia. In February 2008, Kosovo declared its independence, which was not recognized by Serbia, but was recognized by most of the EU countries, as well as the United States of America. Kamberi and all other Albanian leaders openly support the idea of Kosovo President Hashim Thaci about annexing southern Serbia to Kosovo. On the other hand, the political representatives of the local Serbs in Bujanovac, as well as the citizens, do not believe that such a scenario can happen, mostly referring to the views of the leaders of the strongest EU members who are against border changes in the Balkans.
Šaip Kamberi reminds that on July 14, 2018, the Albanians of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa adopted a Political Declaration by which they asked all participants of the negotiations in Brussels to include the issue of the rights of the Albanians of this region in the final talks between Kosovo and Serbia. Kamberi, however, admits that he does not have enough information on whether this initiative will be accepted by anyone other than Kosovo President Hashim Thaci. "What, in my opinion, is most relevant is the position of the international community on this matter, which we still do not have." How this issue will be considered: as territorial or within the framework of rights, we do not have such details," says Kamberi. And when talking about the demarcation between Kosovo and Serbia, one of the models being speculated is the annexation of the neighboring municipality of Preševo and only parts of the municipality of Bujanovac to Kosovo.
Kamberi says that this idea is completely unacceptable for Albanians: "Certainly we will be against the delimitation that implies the annexation of only a few settlements to Kosovo, which is publicly advocated by some politicians in Serbia."
The first man of Preševo, Šćiprim Arifi, reacted in a similar tone. The media reports his statement that if all three municipalities do not join Kosovo, "then it is better to stay under Serbia". The border region of southern Serbia is still recovering from armed conflicts between state security forces and rebel Albanians gathered in the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac (OVPMB). The conflict lasted for six months, from November 2000 until the end of May 2001, and ended with the mediation of NATO and the international community. The ethnic Albanians who make up the majority of the population in the two border municipalities, Bujanovac and Preševo, as well as their political leaders, are not satisfied with their position in Serbia even 17 years after the conflict. First of all, they blame official Belgrade for slow integration into state institutions, problems with the realization of collective human rights and economic backwardness. "Sometimes I have the impression that Belgrade treats us as a foreign element, as if we are unwelcome in Serbia," said Šaip Kamberi.
In the context of the Brussels dialogue, the Albanians of southern Serbia increasingly refer to the referendum of March 1 and 2, 1992, when 98 percent of them declared for political and territorial autonomy with the right to join Kosovo. This statement was not recognized by Serbia at the time or the international community, but Kamberi has no doubt what the result would be if a similar referendum were to take place now: "In 1992, the Albanians expressed their plebiscite will for the right to join Kosovo." On the other hand, the policy of integration in Serbia, which we have been conducting since 2001, is not producing the desired results, so I believe that the Albanians would have the same opinion in case of a new referendum," Kamberi told BIRN.
WHICH VILLAGES DO WE GIVE FOR THE NORTH?: In the villages around Bujanovac along the Kosovo border inhabited exclusively by ethnic Albanians, news about a possible exchange of territories is being followed very carefully. In the center of the village of Lucana on the main road leading to Kosovo, where in 2001 the fiercest fighting between Albanian rebels and Serbian security forces took place, today there are new buildings and a mosque. In the park, which was built with the self-contribution of wealthy locals, the monument to the martyred members of the OVPMB dominates, above which the Albanian flag flies. Until the 60s and 70s of the last century, half of the inhabitants here were Albanians and Serbs, who then began to sell their property and move. Izvesni Spira and Obrad are the last Serbs who left Lučani in the early 90s, so now around 1300 Albanians live here: "Of that number, half of them are abroad," explains Nedžat Behljulji, a businessman who lives in this village. Behlulji, who is also the owner of the Albanian-language television, says that the situation is similar in other villages along the Kosovo border: "Young people are leaving en masse to Western Europe, primarily to Germany." Currently, 50 of them from Lucan are waiting for a call from the German embassy. It's mostly about drivers, car mechanics, bricklayers... They first get a visa for six months and then return with 10.000 euros in savings, which is money they can't earn in Serbia," Behlulji told BIRN, adding that local companies therefore, they cannot hire qualified workers.
In front of a local store, we talk to a middle-aged man who shows us two loaves of bread that he has just bought: "Until a few years ago, I bought at least five loaves of bread a day, but since the children have left, now two are enough for us, so that's all that's left," our interlocutor said vividly. who does not want to introduce himself. He says that he closely follows the Brussels dialogue and that he has a clear position on the possibility of his village being annexed to Kosovo: "The patriot in me is looking forward to that possibility." However, when I wake up in the morning, I think about how I'm going to live, where I'm going to receive my pension," explains the interlocutor. However, he admits that he has no trust in politicians, not even in the presidents of Kosovo and Serbia, Hashim Thaci and Aleksandar Vučić.
Nedzat Behlulji does not hide that the dream of every Albanian in the south of Serbia is to join Kosovo: "However, young people first look to go to the West, that is their primary goal, in which they are also supported by their parents, who are looking at how to save their children."
Veliki Trnovac, the largest Albanian village in Serbia, according to the 2002 census, has close to 7000 inhabitants, exclusively ethnic Albanians. According to the estimates of the locals themselves, at least 40 percent of them live and work in Western European countries. Serbs once lived here, as in Lucan, but also in Mali Trnovac, five kilometers away on the border with Kosovo, as evidenced by the Orthodox Church of St. Jelena and Emperor Constantine. In the center of the village, across from the school, dominates the Monument to Commander Leši, one of the leaders of the OVPMB who is a native of Veliko Trnovac. Ridvan Ćazimi in civilian life before the start of the conflict, died in May 2001, during the retreat at the end of the conflict in the south of Serbia. Among Albanians, especially in Veliki Trnovac, he has his own museum, but also a cult status, so there is almost no bar or house without his picture, and the Municipality of Bujanovac organizes a multi-day cultural, artistic and sports event in his honor every year.
Veliki Trnovac has a stereotype, which is often reinforced by the Belgrade media without any evidence, that it is the biggest drug center in the Balkans. On the hill above the village, the villagers erected a memorial plaque in memory of April 23, 1999, when the Yugoslav Army brought all the villagers to this place to search their houses: "They thought that there were drug production plants and large stocks in the village, but of course they didn't find anything," remembers a local taxi driver who introduces himself as Agim. Like him, the others who live here explain that they survive like everyone else in Serbia. "We also have people who deal in drug trafficking, just like there are in Belgrade, Vranje or Niš," says a taxi driver who is waiting for customers five kilometers away in Bujanovac.
A man drinking tea in a small bar in the center of the village agrees to talk about the exchange of territories, but on the condition that we do not mention his name: "We would all like to join Kosovo, it is our age-old dream to live in the same country." But the question is how realistic it is, primarily because there are no longer any ethnic states in Europe. Not everyone is German in Germany, Belgians in Belgium." His friend joins the conversation: "We would like this to be Kosovo, but we don't ask. Everything will be decided by Vučić and Thaci. However, I don't believe either of them, and I think that the stories about the exchange of territories serve to distract people's attention because no one knows what they are talking about in Brussels, except for the two of them.
LIFE AND DIVISIONS: Veliki Trnovac and Breznica
From Veliki Trnovac, the road leads us to Breznica and Mali Trnovac, mountain villages on the very border with Kosovo, where the beautiful landscape is surrounded by wild landfills. There are a few houses left in Mali Trnovac because everyone who could has left: "A few years ago, we got an asphalt road, but it's not enough." Young people mostly go to live in Kosovo, because what is life like here, there is no telephone network, no internet," the only resident who agreed to an interview told us. When asked if he would like his village to belong to Kosovo, he points his hand in the direction of the surrounding hills and says: "Well, we already live in Kosovo." Breznica is the last major village along the Kosovo border. According to the 2002 census, there are 800 inhabitants, but even here they say that half went to Kosovo or Western Europe. In the center of the village, sheep are sold in several small trucks ahead of Kurban Bayram, a Muslim holiday celebrated by the Albanians of southern Serbia. "We don't get involved in politics," says the seller when asked about a possible exchange of territories. From Breznica, the road leads to several more border villages, which are almost deserted. Muhovac, Čar, Zarbince, Ravno Bučje and several other settlements are almost without inhabitants.
POLITIKA, SOCIOLOGY, DIVISION: Nejat Behlulji, the owner of the television, says that people started leaving here after 2000, in search of a better life. "Albanians in the south of Serbia have lost confidence in the state and its institutions, so everyone who can is leaving," says Behlulji.
On the other hand, local Serbs do not believe in the possibility of Bujanovac becoming part of Kosovo. Miodrag Milković, director of the Veterinary Station in Bujanovac, which is considered one of the five best in Serbia, accuses local Albanian politicians of unnecessarily raising tensions with stories about joining Kosovo: "I have only one thought in my head: local Albanian politicians and the Serbs who are with them in power, 17 years after the conflict, the only thing in their interest is raising tensions, while they are not interested in the fact that the people are living hard." Milković recalls the bad economic situation in Bujanovac and adds that the local government does nothing to fix it, but deals with global problems that he cannot influence: "They are not interested in economic development, but in creating tensions in order to stay in power." Milković does not believe in the possibility of exchanging territories and changing borders, and reminds that this is also the position of the international community: "Any movement of the borders would lead to conflict, and I think that everyone here has had enough of unrest." Here, both Albanians and Serbs are plagued by life problems that will not be solved by redrawing the borders."
Nenad Mitrović, member of parliament of the Serbian Progressive Party from Bujanovac, calls on the local Serbs to be calm: "Albanian leaders fuel the stories about the exchange of territories for the sake of their personal promotion, although they know very well that Bujanovac and Preševo have nothing to do with the negotiations on Kosovo." They know very well that there is no connection and that they do not have the support of the international factor for that." He stated that the Serbs from Bujanovac are not afraid because the Albanians are again raising the issue of joining Kosovo, and that the Albanian parties should work on an honest process of reconciliation in order to created stability without which economic development is not possible.
Despite the soothing tones of politicians, local Serbs retain a dose of doubt because, as they emphasize, "who knows what politicians can think of." The interlocutor, employed in the local self-government, is most worried about the fact that there are no official confirmations about the stories about the demarcation and exchange of territories: "Who knows what will come out of it, because the Serbian public only knows what the politicians serve to them through the media." He adds that he would not have I would not mind if the villages along the Kosovo border where Albanians live were annexed to Kosovo.
"People from most of the villages went to Kosovo, they live there, but they regularly come to vote in the elections, so the Albanian parties have a majority in the parliament. If the Albanian villages were to join Kosovo, the Serbs would get power," a local Serb told us.
When asked what he would do if the whole of Bujanovac belonged to Kosovo, this interlocutor just shrugs his shoulders helplessly: "I wouldn't stay living in Kosovo at any cost." I would try to sell my house and go somewhere towards Belgrade," he says, and his attitude is shared by the vast majority of Bujanovac Serbs.
While 95 percent of the population in Preševo are Albanians, Bujanovac is a multi-ethnic municipality in the true sense of the word, but it is territorially divided so that only Albanians live in the settlements that gravitate towards Kosovo. According to the data from the 2002 census, close to 12.000 people live in the city itself, which is the seat of the municipality, of which 4329 (36,04 percent) are Serbs, 3859 (32,12 percent) are Roma, and 3859 (29,88 percent) are Albanians. ). According to data from 2002, 43.302 inhabitants live on the territory of the entire municipality: 29.588 (54,7 percent) were Albanians and 14.660 (34,14 percent) Serbs. The number of Roma is the same because they live exclusively in the city. The next census in 2011 was boycotted by Albanians in the south of Serbia, but experts from the OSCE, the US and Great Britain embassies and the Republic Institute of Statistics made a joint assessment in June 2015 that is almost identical to the results from 2002. According to this assessment, in the municipality of Bujanovac, which has 58 inhabited places, there are 14.782 Serbs (34,14 percent) and 23.681 Albanians (54,69 percent).
Since the local elections in 2002, Albanian parties have won the majority in Bujanovac, which later formed a government that included representatives of Serbs.
The backbone of the government after the 2016 elections is the Party for Democratic Action (PDD) of Šaip Kamberi, but also two civic groups of Serbs. Bujanovac is one of the five local governments in Serbia where the Serbian Progressive Party of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is in opposition.
Bujanovac is the center of the municipality and has 58 inhabited places. In the city itself there are several stable businesses, mostly privately owned. This area used to be known for its good craftsmen, primarily woodworkers, but now that is no longer the case, but that's why cafes and restaurants are opening that, in terms of offer and interior, do not differ from similar establishments in larger cities in Serbia. Albanians in the surrounding villages towards Kosovo admit that their main source of income is the money that their family sends them from abroad, because there is almost no house from which at least one member is not somewhere in Western Europe. In mountain villages, people are engaged in animal husbandry because there are no conditions for farming, but it is done mainly for personal needs. In the most remote villages such as Zarbince, Čar or Suharno, those who are left to live can be counted on the fingers.
A few years ago, the road to Breznica, the largest village on the border itself, was paved. This village is located in the middle of the border in the municipality of Bujanovac. There are several shops in the village, and people here are also engaged in animal husbandry. All of them admit that until a few years ago, the main smuggling route of cigarettes and chicken meat from Kosovo passed through Breznica, but now hardly anyone dares to deal with this business because of the control carried out by the Serbian and Kosovo security forces on both sides of the border line.
Breznica is also the last village to which there is local traffic, if necessary, people are transported by regular taxi, and from these most remote villages, if they want to go down to the city, they have to find their way on their own. All of them were sent to the Health Center in Bujanovac and the regional hospital in Vranje, but many Albanians from this region receive private treatment in Kosovo. However, the vast majority of Albanians have Vranje as their place of birth, which is also the center of the Pčinj district, to which Bujanovac also belongs. About 230.000 inhabitants live in the district, of which Albanians make up 25 percent. Albanians are also the owners of several very powerful companies, and the strongest is certainly Saba Belca, which deals with construction and asphalting of roads, and at any moment employs around 200 workers, both Serbs and Albanians.
