Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gërvalla, emphasized Kosovo’s role as a strong and stable democracy with a Euro-Atlantic orientation at the UN Security Council.
However, Gërvalla voiced concern over Serbia’s continued destabilizing actions.
“Kosovo is a new and powerful democracy, striving to ensure peace and development for its citizens, aiming for EU and NATO membership. On the other hand, Serbia continues to attempt to destabilize this process, not only through words but also through concrete and violent actions that jeopardize stability in the region,” Gërvalla stated.
The minister focused on the September 24, 2023, attack in Banjska, which resulted in the death of police officer Afrim Bunjaku, describing it as a direct act of aggression by a paramilitary group supported and financed by Serbian authorities.
She criticized UNMIK’s reporting as biased and misrepresenting reality.
“The attack in Banjska was an open act of aggression against Kosovo, carried out by a paramilitary group that had training and logistical support provided by Serbia. To call this a ‘serious security incident,’ as the UNMIK report describes it, is a blatant distortion of reality. This was a pure act of aggression sponsored, armed, and supported by Serbia. It was state terrorism. It was an act of war. UNMIK is no longer damaging Kosovo, but it is damaging the credibility of the United Nations. Unlike other UN agencies that are true partners, UNMIK has become an obstacle to the truth,” Gërvalla declared.
The Deputy Prime Minister strongly called for justice, demanding that Serbia extradite Milan Radoi?i? and others involved in terrorist groups and cease state support for criminal structures in Kosovo.
Gërvalla concluded by asserting that Kosovo is a consolidated democracy that respects the rights of all communities and is a model of regional stability. However, she stressed that without full justice and accurate characterization of war crimes and terrorism, peace in the region will remain fragile.
“Peace will be fragile until there is justice and genuine efforts to punish crimes,” Gërvalla concluded.
