The competitions for the admission of employees to health institutions in the territory of the municipality of Gracanica, near Pristina, were canceled on the evening of April 5, after several days of protest by dissatisfied local residents, arguing that the jobs were inviting "suitable persons" close to the Serbian List.
The Serbian List is the largest Serb party in Kosovo and this entity enjoys the support of official Belgrade.
However, the decision published on the official website of the Family Medicine Center in Graçanica states that the job openings have been canceled "due to the expiration of the 30-day deadline for making a decision on the selection of candidates."
Health institutions in Serb-majority areas of Kosovo operate according to the Serbian system, and vacancies for new positions were announced by the Serbian Ministry of Health in late January. The recruitment of new employees in the health sector coincided with the pre-election campaign for the parliamentary elections in Kosovo, held on February 9, in which the Serbian List also competed.
The leader of this party, Zlatan Elek, stated during the election campaign that "in the past period, the state of Serbia has provided a large number of jobs and that this is one of the ways to survive [in Kosovo]."
Elek is also the director of the Hospital Clinical Center in North Mitrovica, one of the four municipalities in northern Kosovo inhabited by an ethnic Albanian majority.
Dozens of residents, who have protested in front of the Family Medicine Centers in Gracanica, Uglar and Lower Gushterica in recent days, have stated that only people close to the Serbian List have been hired to work in these health institutions, and that some of those who have been hired do not even live in Kosovo at all.
Petar Djordjevic from Gracanica stressed that pressure was exerted on the people who protested, while calling on everyone to "document the threats."
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty also reached out to the Serbian List on April 4 to comment on citizens' accusations regarding party hiring and pressure on them, but this political entity has not responded. The Serbian Ministry of Health, which is responsible for institutions in Serbian areas of Kosovo, which operate according to the Serbian system, has not responded to the protesters' accusations regarding the competitions either./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
