Pristina Summer University Participants Discriminated

Youth Initiative for Human Rights

The Youth Initiative for Human Rights demands from the organizers of the Pristina Summer University to apologize to the participants and the general public for its discriminatory practices.

In the greeting letter sent to the participants by the organizers, signed by Enver Hasani, the Chancellor of Pristina University, there is a note that �participants from the region that speak Slavic mother tongues, and in particular those that speak Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian language, are invited to avoid using their mother tongue in public places�.

�To ask somebody not to use his mother tongue in Kosovo, in this day and age, is totally unacceptable, since it is one of the basic human rights of each individual�, comments Sarah Maliqi, Director of YIHR.

�Such appeals, as well as the segregation of students from Serbia and Montenegro from the other participants, instigate fear and insecurity and in no way they represent a step towards creation of civic society in which all individuals will be entitled to live free and to speak any language they want�, adds Maliqi.

YIHR reminds that the Summer University, instead of discriminating, should actually promote the regional opening and networking of Kosovo. It should provide the 400 participants from all parts of the world (50 of them are from the region) with opportunity to acquire new knowledge and to get to know each other.

The Youth Initiative demands from the organizers, the Dutch organization SPARK (formerly Academic Training Association) and the University of Pristina, to apologize and explain their actions in public.