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SERB-SERB DIALOGUE IN SERB ENCLAVES
IN KOSOVO

The project encourages the Serbs in the enclaves south of the Ibar River that make 70 percent of the total Serbian population in Kosovo to fully exercise their human, minority, socio-economic and political rights through Kosovo institutions instead of remaining on the margins of Kosovo society and a window-dressing for the official Belgrade's territorial claims. At the same time, the proposal sensitizes general public in Serbia proper, as well as the Serbs in the solidly Serbian north of realistic needs, anxieties and interests of their compatriots living in self-isolation in the final stage of Kosovo's course to independence. To accomplish these objectives, the project on the one hand clarifies for the Serbs in enclaves both the realities and the avenues for economic prosperity and representation of their interests, and, on the other, encourages impartial media coverage of the problematic. For that purpose it brings together members of liberally oriented intelligentsia, i.e. people with knowledge and understanding of the realities, from Serbia proper and some of their Albanian counterparts on the one hand, and the people from inasmuch as possible Serb enclaves in Kosovo on the other for at least 16 informal, inter-active and thought-provoking meetings, and offers challenging opportunities for media professionals.

This six-month project is realized with the assistance of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

FORGOTTEN WORLD: KOSOVO ENCLAVES - Part II

A report on the first and the second missions to Serb enclaves in Kosovo
(May 31 - June 7, 2008)

July 2, 2008, HCHRS

In early 2008, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia launched the project "Serb-Serb Dialogue in Serb Enclaves in Kosovo." In late March 2008, the Helsinki Committee circulated a report on its first mission to Serb enclaves, out of 6 planned under the project. The major object of the two follow-up missions, the same as of the overall project, was to encourage the Serbs in the enclaves south of the Ibar River to fully exercise their human, minority, socio-economic and political rights through Kosovo institutions instead of remaining on the margins of Kosovo society and a window-dressing for the official Belgrade's territorial claims and unrealistic policies. Over the first exploratory missions the team made sure that residents were willing to engage in...