The matter of the mass removal of ethnic Albanians from voting lists in the southern-Serbian Presevo Valley will be discussed by the United Nations (UN) following a meeting between Albanian political representatives and Albania’s ambassador to the UN.
In 2020, Exit became the first media to publicise the issue of the ‘mass passsivization’ when it published research by Flora Ferati-Sachsenmaier who has spent many years looking at the issue. Over the years, over 6000 Albanians have been removed from voter lists illegally and cannot vote, send their children to school, work, or buy property.
The Helsinki Commission referred to it as “administrative ethnic cleansing.”
Commission ‘Monitoring’ Removal of Ethnic Albanians from Voter Lists Ahead of Serbian Elections
Despite the efforts of civil society in the region and Exit, the European Commission did little to intervene in the issue prior to the recent Serbian elections which saw ethnic Albanians lose all parliamentary representation.
The news that the matter of Presevo Valley will be on the agenda of the UN comes following a meeting in New York between the Mayor of Bujanovac Nagip Arifi, the Party of Democratic Action leader, Saip Kamberi, the party’s senior official, Ardita Sinani, president of the Democratic Party of Albanians, Ragmi Mustafa, and Albania’s Ambassador to the UN Ferit Hoxha.
Ethnic Albanians Removed from Voter Lists ahead of Serbian Elections
Last week Albania took over the U.N. Security Council’s rotating Presidency for one month.
“The Preševo Valley matter will be brought before the United Nations. Involving the region in the most comprehensive international organization is extremely important for unveiling the genuine situation and status of the Albanians living in the Valley,” said Sinani, a former mayor of Presevo.
