Democratic Party MP and chairwoman of the European Affairs Committee, Jorida Tabaku, has reacted after media reports that the Albanian government is paving the way for the establishment of a Serbian consulate in Shkodra.
Through a post on social media, Tabaku demands full transparency from the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, while opposing the presentation of this initiative as a reciprocal relationship with the possibility of opening an Albanian consulate in Bujanovac.
"Is there reciprocity between 54 Serbs and 61,000 Albanians?" asks the Democratic MP.
Tabaku refers to the 2023 Census data, according to which only 54 residents declared to be of Serbian ethnicity were registered in the Shkodra district, while in all of Albania their number is 584.
On the other hand, the official 2022 census in Serbia counts 61,687 Albanians, mainly concentrated in Preševo, Medvedja and Bujanovac.
According to Tabaku, this data shows that the Albanian community in Serbia is over 105 times larger than the total number of Serbs in Albania and over 1,140 times larger than the Serbian community in the Shkodra region.
"Therefore, an equal sign cannot be established between Serbia's readiness to respond positively to the Albanian request for a consulate in Bujanovac and the opening of a Serbian consulate in Shkodra. Readiness is not an open and functional consulate," she states.
The DP MP emphasizes that the Albanian government has not made public any assessment documenting the concrete need for new Serbian consular services in Shkodra. At the same time, she brings to attention the ongoing concerns of Albanians in the Presevo Valley regarding the passivation of addresses, insufficient representation in state institutions and the use of the Albanian language.
"Reciprocity is not proclaimed with declarations. It is proven with equal rights and concrete measures," Tabaku underlines.
She also links this development to the statement of Serbian Minister Snežana Paunović, who, according to reports cited in the reaction, stated that if she had been in Slobodan Milošević's place, she would have "ethnically cleansed Kosovo" in 1998.
Tabaku calls this language unacceptable and warns that a government that claims to move towards Europe cannot normalize such statements.
"Albania must build bridges of cooperation with its neighbors, but bridges based on transparency, equality, respect for victims and real reciprocity, not on vague symbolism, petty bargaining or personal interests," she says.
In conclusion, Tabaku requests that the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs publish the decision, the legal basis, the type of consulate, the candidacy for consul, and the concrete state interest that justifies its opening in Shkodra.
"Albanian diplomacy is not the Prime Minister's personal court. It must serve the national interest and the Albanian citizens," concludes the Democratic MP.
