The Director of the Serbian Government’s Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region, Arnaud Gouillon, said that it was good that the Republic of Srpska and Serbia had the same ideas and projects aimed at the diaspora – a great demographic potential.

‘It is important that we enable Serbs who were born elsewhere in the world not to forget their language, origin and roots because this is a condition for their deciding to return one day. This is a great demographic potential for us. I think many want to return and we should facilitate it for them’, Gouillon said, stressing that they should be encouraged to maintain the trend of returning.

Speaking about the recent meeting with the President of the Republic of Srpska, Milorad Dodik, in Banja Luka, Gouillon said that they had discussed the projects of the Directorate to be implemented in the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of BiH /FBiH/ in the coming period.

Gouillon noted that the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, had granted the Directorate a tripled budget for Serbs in the region, thus demonstrating Serbia’s care for this population and great trust in the Directorate for the implementation of government policy in that area.

He added that with Dodik he had spoken also about the position of the Serb diaspora in the world, and noted that it was good for Srpska and Serbia to cooperate in that area, to show that they have the same ideas and projects aimed at the diaspora.

Gouillon appealed again to the Serbs having property in the Federation of BiH, where the harmonization of land registers and cadaster was underway, to apply because in that complicated process they might lose their ownership right unless they applied.

‘We know that we have about 400,000 property right holders originating from FBiH who live today in the world or in Srpska or Serbia, and who have not been informed about it’, Gouillon said.

He said that the Directorate had launched an information campaign about that procedure, that people had been instructed to contact the legal aid offices established by the Republic of Srpska, and that more than 10,000 people had established contact so far.

‘Those families will be able to retain their property, which covers about 60,000 hectares’, Gouillon added.

Speaking about Kosovo and Metohija, Gouillon noted that Priština’s conduct of not respecting the signed agreements was dangerous not only for the population of the north of Kosovo, but also for peace in the entire region.

Gouillon, who has been heading a humanitarian organization for 18 years and has been banned from entering Kosovo for four years, points out that in Priština they do not respect basic democratic principles, which aggravates Serbia’s position, while the President of Serbia and the Government lead a principled policy, they respect all agreements, as a proper, legal and sovereign state should.

According to him, Priština’s conduct depends on how they wake up in the morning and what comes to their mind that day, and if they see that they can receive support of at least one Western country, then they go all the way in their intentions, which is extremely dangerous.

‘It is dangerous for Serbs primarily, for Gorani and Roma who live in enclaves in Kosmet, for all residents of the north of Kosovo, which has been criminalized for several months, and it is obvious that they are preparing some action because they would like to adopt that north. This is really dangerous not only for the residents of the north of Kosovo, but also for peace in the entire region’, Gouillon said.

He emphasized that the goal of Serbia and all people of good will wanting peace in the region was to preserve the people and to have their basic rights and freedoms respected.

‘Unfortunately, today in Kosovo and Metohija, many people are not free’, Gouillon said and emphasized that Serbian Government was doing everything in its power to help its citizens in Kosovo.

Source: Glas Srpske-Srna

Photo: Arnaud Gouillon