"Another form of manipulation" - this is how Nenad Rashic, leader of the Kosovo Party for Freedom, Justice and Survival, sees the formation of the "Movement for the People and the State".
This movement was initiated by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and was also supported by the Serbian List - the largest Serbian party in Kosovo, which enjoys the support of Belgrade.
Rašić, a minister in the government of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, tells Radio Free Europe that the current government in Serbia has, so far, "targeted" all those who think differently, including Serbs from Kosovo, and that the new movement will not bring anything new.
"The wolf changes its fur, but it never forgets its habit," he says.
For Kosovo Serb opposition politician Millija Biševac, the formation of the Movement for the People and the State is "a baton in the hands of the conductor - President Aleksandar Vučić."
"This is just an instrument to deceive the people into thinking that a new history is beginning," he tells Radio Free Europe.
On March 23, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić held the first meeting of the initiating commission for the establishment of the Movement for the People and the State, declaring that "it is time to unite all wisdom and patriotism."
Across Serbia, on the other hand, protests have been taking place for four months now.
Organized by students, protesters are demanding accountability for the deaths of 16 people in the collapse of a shelter at the Novi Sad Railway Station on November 1st of last year.
Authorities describe the protests as a "color revolution" and an "attempt to overthrow the state."
Serbian List: Movement for the People and the State - home for all of us
"On behalf of the Serbian people of Kosovo and Metohija," the Serbian List said it supports the establishment of the Movement for the People and the State.
"The Movement for the People and the State should be a home for all of us who love Serbia and a shield that should protect the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija," a statement from the Serbian List states.
This party, which was founded with the support of Vučić and the ruling Serbian Progressive Party in Serbia, called on all "honorable Serbian patriots and citizens of Serbia to be part of the movement and participate in shaping the future."
"Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija, with their centuries-old experience in protecting Serbian names and surnames, welcome the establishment of the Movement for the People and the State - convinced that this movement will give the best answer to all those who wish to see Serbia on its knees," the Serbian List statement said.
"The Serbian List should not speak on behalf of the Serbian people"
Rašić says that the Serbian List cannot speak on behalf of all the Serbian people in Kosovo. This, according to him, is also shown by the results of the last parliamentary elections in Kosovo, which were held on February 9.
"No matter how irregular the elections were - in the sense that they [Serbian List] used various methods of manipulation - they should not forget that about 22 percent of voters voted against them, or for other political parties. Despite this, they [Serbian List] dare to support Vučić on behalf of all Serbs in Kosovo," Rašić tells Radio Free Europe.
Based on the results of the Kosovo Central Election Commission, the Serbian List won nine of the ten seats guaranteed for the Serbian community in the Kosovo Assembly, while Rašić's party won one parliamentary mandate.
Serbian List - "a stick in Vučić's hands"
Biševac believes that the Serbian List is “a stick in the hands of the conductor Aleksandar Vučić” and that the Movement for the People and the State “cannot bring any change.”
"We all know that the Serbian List is only an implementer of the policy of official Belgrade. The Serbian List has never had any authority in decision-making, it has only listened to everything that Belgrade has told it, and has implemented a very bad policy for the Serbs of Kosovo and Metohija," he says.
Biševac emphasizes that he and his Serbian People's Movement always support an "authentic" policy for Serbs from Kosovo, in order to make decisions that would improve the lives of people on the ground.
The Serbian List, he adds, will be "melted" into the new Movement for the People and the State, without the majority of Serbs from Kosovo being included in it.
"The president announced that there will be new people, new experts. As far as I know, he has never invited people from Kosovo who do not think like the Serbian List to any conversation, let alone engage them in any form of political action. We do not see Belgrade as our enemy, but they, obviously, only seek their own instruments," says Biševac.
"The Serbian List automatically supports Vučić"
Miodrag Marinkovic, from the non-governmental organization "Center for Affirmative Social Action" in northern Kosovo, believes that the Movement for the People and the State has no connection to Kosovo and that the Serbian List has only supported it as a "puppet political entity."
"They automatically support everything the boss in Belgrade does, and I'm sure this movement has nothing to do with Kosovo. There are many questions: what does this movement offer, who does it unite, what is its goal? The goal is perhaps clearer: the survival of the current political regime in Belgrade and the survival of political entities that support this type of governance," Marinković tells Radio Free Europe.
He adds that the formation of the Movement for the People and the State can also be seen as a "response to the general rebellion of the people in Serbia."
"The narrative used for this purpose is extremely populist. They call themselves the Movement for the People and the State, and we have the people in the streets," says Marinković.
He also believes that this movement will be supported by those over whom the government in Serbia "has control", including the Serbian List.
"This is not a political stance, it is an act of loyalty by the Serbian List. It will do whatever Belgrade asks of it," Marinkovic concludes.
What is known about the Movement for the People and the State?
Not much is known about the Movement for the People and the State.
Serbian President Vučić announced its establishment about two years ago.
The focus of the movement, as Vučić has said on several occasions, should be the future of Serbia.
The last time he spoke about the founding of this movement was in January of this year, at a rally in Jagodina of the Serbian Progressive Party, of which he himself is the founder.
“You are all welcome in the movement, in the movement of great changes,” Vučić said at the time, but he did not specify what those “great changes” were.
After the meeting of the initiating committee for the establishment of this movement on March 23, Vučić said that "a great work has begun."
"Let us offer hope, stability, security and a future for Serbia and our children," he said.
Vučić added that the movement calls on all "honest citizens to contribute to Serbia, with their skills and knowledge," and "help it become the most successful in its history."/ REL (A2 Televizion)
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