“I will protect the interests of the oppressed and discriminated Albanians!” This has been the motto of the electoral platform of Shaip Kamberi, who won a seat in the Serbian Parliament after the fifth round of repeat elections in the village of Ternovc on June 30.   
“Our election battle for dignified parliamentary representation lasted three months and the elections were repeated five times in one polling station as a result of our direct fight with the Socialist Party of Ivica Dacic, who was also assisted by the Serbian Progressive Party of Aleksandar Vucic, for a deputy mandate,” Kamberi told Albanian Daily News in an exclusive interview.    
Kamberi succeeded to get 698 votes out of 711 altogether in Ternovc. In Serbia’s elections of April 3, 2022, Albanians of the Valley competed with two lists - "Coalition of Albanians of the Valley", led by Shaip Kamberi, and "Alternative for Change - Albanian Democratic Alternative", led by Shqiprim Arifi, and the projection was to get three deputies.   
“There are several reasons why we are left with only one seat in parliament. Unlike the great commitment of Pristina and Prime Minister (Albin) Kurti to build an Albanian list, we could not achieve this alternative. So we came up with two competing lists for the same electorate in the parliamentary elections of April 3, 2022,” revealed Kamberi.    
Further he said that like in the previous mandate, he will continue to raise his voice against the many injustices that are done to the Albanians of the Presevo Valley, but also other problems that hinder the construction of liberal democracy, dealing with the past and democratization in Serbia.   
Kamberi announced that together with two Bosnian MPs of the SDA of Sandzak and two MPs from Vojvodina, they have created the parliamentary group "Regions of Europe, Vojvodina, Sandzak and Presevo Valley". 
After his victory Kamberi paid visits to Tirana and Pristina and he expressed the following opinion: “Although we have recently noticed positive movements from Tirana and Pristina to support the Albanians of the Presevo Valley, I think we have a long way to go until the institutionalization of the concrete aid that Tirana and Pristina should provide jointly or separately to Presevo Valley.”       
Asked if the process of eventual membership of Serbia in the EU would have a positive impact on the democratic values and rights of Albanians in Presevo Valley and across Serbia, the Albanian MP had a positive opinion. “I believe that yes! If Serbia finally takes the side of the West and starts to make the membership process more intensive, it will be forced to fulfill all the criteria that originate from the various chapters. For us, it is important that it respects the conditions stemming from Chapters 23 and 24,” said the Albanian MP in the Serbian Parliament, Shaip Kamberi in the following interview:   
Albanian Daily News: In the first place Albanian Daily News extends its congratulations for your elections as deputy in the Serbian Parliament, the sole one in a second mandate representing Albanians in the Presevo Valley. Having followed closely the election procedures, your case turned into a real ordeal as elections were held five times. Please, at the beginning of this conversation, would you say some words on that three-month ‘struggle’ of you and your supporters, with the Serbian authorities?    
Albanian MP in Serbian Parliament Shaip Kamberi: Our election battle for dignified parliamentary representation lasted three months and the elections were repeated five times in one polling station as a result of our direct fight with the Socialist Party of Ivica Dacic, who was also assisted by the Serbian Progressive Party of Aleksandar Vucic, for a deputy mandate. 
We were in the race to win the only mandate, while SPS of Dacic aimed for the 32nd mandate. Of course, our confrontation with the two parties that govern Serbia, a battle between unequals in terms of political power, was a difficult process, but justice and the persistence of our electorate for support, which increased after each round of repetitions, was on our side.      
Fortunately, thanks to our commitment and that of our partners, and especially thanks to the support of the voters of unit 6 in Tërnoc, we managed not only to triumph by securing a representation parliamentary mandate, but, on top of all, to make it impossible for Ivica Dacic’s SPS to manipulate the Albanian vote.       
- Which are some of the reasons that Albanians won only one seat in this parliamentary legislature taking into consideration the fact that a higher number of deputies could have been an opportunity to use Parliament as tribune to denounce Serb discrimination of Albanian people and ask for equal rights with the people of Serbia? 
- There are several reasons why we are left with only one seat in parliament. Unlike the great commitment of Pristina and Prime Minister (Albin) Kurti to build an Albanian list, we could not achieve this alternative. So we came up with two competing lists for the same electorate in the parliamentary elections of April 3, 2022.  On the other hand, there was an extremely large turnout of voters in Serbia, which influenced the increase in the number of necessary votes for a deputy from the minority lists - more than 14,000 votes were needed for one seat. In addition, this time the parliamentary elections were not held together with the local elections, something which brings about the largest participation of Albanian voters in the electoral process. So these elements, among others, were the causes why we are represented by only one deputy this time. 
- Mr. Kamberi, this is your second mandate in the Serbian Parliament. First, please, how would you evaluate your first experience in a parliament dominated overwhelmingly by Serbs, and I mean how much was your voice heard in it? And secondly, which are some of the objectives, i.e. your platform, during the second mandate?  
- I think that in the capacity of the head of the only opposition parliamentary group among the 250 deputies in the Parliament of Serbia, I managed to disclose firmly the many problems related to the discrimination of Albanians, the lack of freedom of speech, the confrontation with the past in whose framework there are two important elements - the acceptance of the war crimes committed throughout the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in the name of a Serbian ideology, as well as the fight against the glorification of convicted war criminals and the acceptance of the genocide in Srebrenica and other crimes committed in Kosovo, as well as the need for more democracy in a country like Serbia, which is a candidate for EU membership. 
Of course, in such circumstances, where my parliamentary group had only six of the 250 deputies of the majority, my speeches were not well received either by the parliamentary majority or the head of the Serbian state (Aleksandar Vucic), and especially not by the pro-government media. 
So my fight in the parliament was about sensitizing the public opinion to the many problems that prevent Serbia from turning into a liberal democratic state and becoming a member of the EU.   
Even in this mandate, I will continue to raise my voice against the many injustices that are done to the Albanians of the Presevo Valley, but also other problems that hinder the construction of liberal democracy, dealing with the past, democratization, etc. 
- Touching upon parliamentary life, how do you see the opportunities to be part of any parliamentary group in order to join forces with any opposition force sharing common values and goals?  
- Together with two Bosnian MPs of the SDA of Sandzak and two MPs from Vojvodina, we have created the parliamentary group "Regions of Europe, Vojvodina, Sandzak and Presevo Valley". We will act again as an opposition group consisting of Albanian, Croatian and Bosnian deputies in face of a parliamentary majority of SNS and SPS but also of another aggressive part of a right-wing and ultra-nationalist opposition, whose role will be to present A. Vucic and his power as "fair-minded".      
- Among your first activities after the election were visits to Albania and Kosovo. Please, Mr. Deputy, could you give some more details on the significance of these visits and which were the main topics of the discussions in Tirana and Pristina? In general, are you satisfied by the support of the Albanian government and Prime Minister Edi Rama as it is known that he is a close friend of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic? 
- Immediately after the confirmation of the mandate, and the meeting I had with the President of Serbia on July 14, to whom I submitted the demands of the "Coalition of Albanians of the Valley", I had meetings in Tirana and Pristina to sensitize the national factor to our right demands for justice and equality. I have asked from both the authorities in Tirana and those in Pristina for open support to the Albanians of Presevo Valley, who, today, are facing the most serious situation after the conflict in 2001.   
At the same time, I had a meeting with the US Ambassador in Belgrade, Christopher Hill and with the head of the OSCE Mission in Belgrade, Ambassador Jan Brathau. I have also informed these diplomats of the demands which were submitted to the president of Serbia on behalf of the Albanians, seeking support from them as well. 
Although we have recently noticed positive movements from Tirana and Pristina to support the Albanians of the Presevo Valley, I think we have a long way to go until the institutionalization of the concrete aid that Tirana and Pristina should provide jointly or separately to Presevo Valley.     
- As a follow up, the Open Balkan Initiative launched by Vucic and Rama and joined by Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia so far, aims, as its promoters claim, at stability, peace and closer friendly relations among the regional people. Has its limited implementation had any impact on the behavior of Serb authorities towards the Albanian people in the Presevo Valley, and what do you think of such an initiative versus EU integration and Berlin Process? 
- Cooperation should be the future of the peoples in the Balkans. An initiative like this should include all the states of the Western Balkans with equal status. In the meantime, we are waiting for some concrete results of this initiative as well as of the growing relationship between Albania and Serbia. We are expecting that better relations with Albania will force Serbia to have a fairer approach towards the Albanians of the Presevo Valley.         
- Your mandate in the Parliament of Serbia has a specific significance regarding Kosovo because you are the only deputy recognizing the independence of this country. How efficient could your power be as a lawmaker to influence as much as possible on Serbian authorities to give up their hostile stance against Kosovo which they do not recognize? Do you think Serbia has become more aggressive against the background of the Russian aggression on Ukraine, and how do you assess the warning of PM Albin Kurti that the region is at the brink of war?   
- I am not the only deputy who recognizes the independence of Kosovo, because my colleagues in the parliamentary group also recognize it. The recent geopolitical situation and the war in Ukraine, I believe, will finally force Serbia to stop its game of balance between the great powers.     
As a candidate country to the EU on which its economy also depends, Serbia will eventually have to align its foreign policy with the policy of the EU and the USA towards Ukraine, but also in the context of reaching the agreement with Kosovo. It is very clear that Serbia does not change course voluntarily. It will depend on the pressure the West will put on it to finally force it to take the right side.    
- To conclude, Mr. Kamberi, do you think that the strategic allies of the Albanian people, the US and the EU could be more supportive to the people in Presevo Valley, and will the process of membership of Serbia in the EU have a positive impact on the democratic values and rights of Albanians across Serbia? 
- I believe that yes! If Serbia finally takes the side of the West and starts to make the membership process more intensive, it will be forced to fulfill all the criteria that originate from the various chapters. For us, it is important that it respects the conditions stemming from Chapters 23 and 24. Firstly, fair inclusion for minorities should be offered along with the improvement of their well-being within the framework of these chapters. However, this would depend on the pressure that the EU and the US will exert on Serbia so that, first of all, it gives up the game of the so-called neutrality, which means aligning with the EU, with Russia and with China. / ADN