Kosovo commenced its much-delayed population census on Friday, marking the first time the country will address the damages caused by the late 90s war in its history. The census, which will document the population, households, and residential properties until May 17, has been met with a call for boycott from the political leaders of the Kosovo Serb community, as reported by the newspaper “Danas”.
Despite Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s call for all residents to participate in the census, the Serbian List, the largest Kosovo Serb party supported by Belgrade, declared that Serbs would not take part in a “fictitious census” aimed at “ethnic cleansing of everything that is Serbian.”
Furthermore, Ana Brnabić, Speaker of the Serbian Parliament and former Prime Minister, criticized Kurti’s policies on Friday, stating they aim for the “ethnic cleansing of Serbs and other non-Albanians.”
The Executive Director of the Kosovo Statistical Agency, Avni Kastrati, announced that penalties for those refusing to participate in the census would increase to EUR 2,000, exacerbating already high tensions.
Boycott ramifications
“The boycott will have negative consequences for the Serbian community. The distribution of the budget at the municipal level is based on the number of residents. Therefore, if Serbs do not participate in the census, they will be deprived of investments,” Professor Nejmedin Spahiu from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Pristina told the Serbian edition of the BBC.
The last census in 2011 counted approximately 1.8 million people residing in Kosovo, with over 1.6 million identifying as Albanians and around 25,000 as Serbs, constituting 3.4% of the population. Many members of the Serbian community boycotted the census organized by Pristina at that time.
This year’s census aims to document “economic damages, the amount of destroyed property, as well as killed, missing, injured, or imprisoned family members” from February 28, 1998, to June 12, 1999, according to Kosovo’s prime minister, as quoted by the Kossev portal.
The Statistical Agency of Kosovo explained that this “record of war damages” is crucial for negotiations with Serbia and the process of integrating into the European Union.
Furthermore, Ana Brnabić, Speaker of the Serbian Parliament and former Prime Minister, criticized Kurti’s policies on Friday, stating they aim for the “ethnic cleansing of Serbs and other non-Albanians.”
The Executive Director of the Kosovo Statistical Agency, Avni Kastrati, announced that penalties for those refusing to participate in the census would increase to EUR 2,000, exacerbating already high tensions.
Boycott ramifications
“The boycott will have negative consequences for the Serbian community. The distribution of the budget at the municipal level is based on the number of residents. Therefore, if Serbs do not participate in the census, they will be deprived of investments,” Professor Nejmedin Spahiu from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Pristina told the Serbian edition of the BBC.
The last census in 2011 counted approximately 1.8 million people residing in Kosovo, with over 1.6 million identifying as Albanians and around 25,000 as Serbs, constituting 3.4% of the population. Many members of the Serbian community boycotted the census organized by Pristina at that time.
This year’s census aims to document “economic damages, the amount of destroyed property, as well as killed, missing, injured, or imprisoned family members” from February 28, 1998, to June 12, 1999, according to Kosovo’s prime minister, as quoted by the Kossev portal.
The Statistical Agency of Kosovo explained that this “record of war damages” is crucial for negotiations with Serbia and the process of integrating into the European Union.
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