Mufti: Regime creating new Kosovo

Islamic Community in Serbia Chief Mufti Muamer Zukorlic says that Belgrade regime could make a “new Kosovo” out of Sandzak thanks to its ignorant behavior. He said that it was very hard to establish stability if the government did not believe them. Mufti: Regime creating new Kosovo “And there is a much greater chance that Sandzak will become new Kosovo with this behavior. Everything is the same as Milosevic did in Kosovo,” he told Novi Sad-based daily Dnevnik. He stressed that the Bosniak Cultural Community (BKZ), that he led in the elections for the Bosniak National Council, had expanded its requests from cultural-educational autonomy to full autonomy of Sandzak because of the behavior of the Belgrade authorities. He also added that the autonomy had both historical and constitutional stronghold. “We’re only asking a gradual authority solely within the Constitution, because I’ll remind you that Serbia’s highest legal act envisages possibility to establish new autonomies,” Zukorlic explained. He pointed out that he had decided to turn to international institutions and the public because the Serbian authorities were not allowing him to solve the problems in domestic institutions and in accordance with the existing laws. “In that sense it is true that we are actively involved in the field of internationalization of the Bosniak and Sandzak issue in Serbia,” the mufti was quoted as saying. He stated that he was ready to stop such activities if the state showed good will to resolve the open issues through a dialogue. Zukorlic stressed that the BKZ would accept new elections for the Bosniak National Council only if the entire election process, which also included control of the electoral rolls, was organized by the OSCE headquarters in Vienna. He repeated the accusations against Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Dimitrios Kypreos, pointing out that he had been partial during the affair regarding the Bosniak National Council elections. The chief mufti also added that he had nothing against the OSCE, which, as he said, had showed its credibility and objectivity during the past decades, but that Kypreos “is an individual who is acting completely contrary to OSCE principles”. Zukorlic said that “it hasn’t even crossed his mind” to be a leader of a political party, but stressed that his spiritual and educational role among the Bosniak people did not prevent him from having a political opinion and openly expressing it. Muamer Zukorlic (Tanjug, file)

Mufti: Regime creating new Kosovo

“And there is a much greater chance that Sandžak will become new Kosovo with this behavior. Everything is the same as Milošević did in Kosovo,” he told Novi Sad-based daily Dnevnik.

He stressed that the Bosniak Cultural Community (BKZ), that he led in the elections for the Bosniak National Council, had expanded its requests from cultural-educational autonomy to full autonomy of Sandžak because of the behavior of the Belgrade authorities. He also added that the autonomy had both historical and constitutional stronghold.

“We’re only asking a gradual authority solely within the Constitution, because I’ll remind you that Serbia’s highest legal act envisages possibility to establish new autonomies,” Zukorlić explained.

He pointed out that he had decided to turn to international institutions and the public because the Serbian authorities were not allowing him to solve the problems in domestic institutions and in accordance with the existing laws.

“In that sense it is true that we are actively involved in the field of internationalization of the Bosniak and Sandžak issue in Serbia,” the mufti was quoted as saying.

He stated that he was ready to stop such activities if the state showed good will to resolve the open issues through a dialogue.

Zukorlić stressed that the BKZ would accept new elections for the Bosniak National Council only if the entire election process, which also included control of the electoral rolls, was organized by the OSCE headquarters in Vienna.

He repeated the accusations against Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Dimitrios Kypreos, pointing out that he had been partial during the affair regarding the Bosniak National Council elections.

The chief mufti also added that he had nothing against the OSCE, which, as he said, had showed its credibility and objectivity during the past decades, but that Kypreos “is an individual who is acting completely contrary to OSCE principles”.

Zukorlić said that “it hasn’t even crossed his mind” to be a leader of a political party, but stressed that his spiritual and educational role among the Bosniak people did not prevent him from having a political opinion and openly expressing it.