Lirim Greicevci: Unfortunately, the voice of
the youth is not heard the way it should, but I hope that these young people
will be the successors of current governors in the near future, and this makes
me believe that the future of the region will be different from its past.
Ivan Zlatic: The most important thing is that
on both sides people think it is high time problems were solved politically in
Kosovo and that there should be talks, since the current situation is tense and
that it does not serve anybody. We need to show some good will to enter
political talks about the final solution of the problem, to overcome what
happened in the past and to move towards real integration.
A joint letter sent to the upcoming
EU Summit in Thessalonica emphasized that the future of the region has to be
based on the values of peace and democracy.
Participants agreed that defining the future of Kosovo was key to
regional integration.
But according to Marko Mandic, the president of Democratic
Youth, Serbia, the time is not yet ripe for final status talks, though it is
inevitable.
Marko Mandic: It is absolutely clear that
this will be on the agenda one day, but until then, the stance of the Serbian
government, our democratic party and the international community is the return
of IDPs, privatization, security, and the respect of human rights. So if the
have the same values about entering Europe, it is important to start the
process and start respecting those common values.
The
point is, says Lulezim Zeneli, head of the LDK Youth Forum, that
participants could discuss the issue of Kosovo’s future, even if not all agreed
on the timing.
Lulezim Zeneli: it is important
that the independence for Kosovo is not a taboo topic, At the end of the day,
the journey of Kosovo toward independence is an ongoing process, and it was an
element discussed all the time during the meeting.
For Ivan Zlatic of the Social Democratic Union, the writing
has been on the wall for a long time - the will of the majority in Kosovo is
clear, he says, nothing less than independence.
Ivan Zlatic: When you call yourself democratic,
I do not see how you can be against respecting the will of people in Kosovo.
Perhaps the aim of the letter was also to make politicians from our political
parties a bit more serious to simply realize, that if they are democratic
parties, there is nothing unacceptable about the solution supported by the
majority in Kosovo, and the solution that satisfies the rights of minorities.
The meeting in Vienna did go a long way in breaking
barriers and fostering new ties, and above all the determination to continue
such meetings in the future. Lirim Greivceci of the Democratic Youth of Kosovo
Lirim Greivceci: I believe that the future of the
region will be safe only then when these young people, this new mentality, this
new way of thinking dominate and govern, I am also convinced that only through
political dialogue and dialogue among youth and good willing people, the
problems that still burden our region can be solved.
It is now up to the politicians to take a leaf out of these
young people’s book – and make that difference.
That does it for this edition of UNMIK ON AIR> Thanks for listening.