Citizens of North Mitrovica on the possible opening of the Bridge: There will be no safety for Serbs

The citizens of North Mitrovica are apprehensive about the decision to open the main bridge on the Ibar for vehicular traffic, admitting they feel unsafe. They fear that the opening of the bridge could be exploited.

Stevica Jovic emphasizes that the bridge should never be opened.

"When the bridge opens, there will be no freedom for the Serbian people, no happiness or safety. We can somehow live as long as the bridge exists, separated, like the Great Wall of China. It's some sort of salvation for the Serbian people in northern Kosovo. As long as this Pristina government and this kind of European policy exist, there is no happiness in Kosovo and Metohija, just as there is none in Ukraine, Israel, and Palestine. The global terrorists, the USA and Europe, terrorize small nations, exploit and blackmail them; there is no democracy, happiness, progress, safety, or life. We can somehow endure while the bridge is closed. It should never be opened," says Jovic for Kosovo Online.

An elderly Mitrovica resident says that the intention behind opening the bridge is to reach Jarinje.

"They want to cross to this side, but it’s 50 kilometers to Jarinje," he notes.

Plana Antovic says she is against opening the bridge on the Ibar.

"I’m against it. Why do we need it?" she asks.

Her fellow resident mentions that she is indifferent about the issue.

"Honestly, I don't care anymore. I still go to the southern part when needed. It’s up to those responsible to decide," she said.

Another local resident states that the decisions made by politicians must be accepted.

"They make agreements, so let them decide. What do we have to say? We will accept either way. Whatever they agree on, we have to accept," he emphasizes.

Another Mitrovica resident is worried about how everything will function if the bridge opens.

"I haven't felt particularly threatened so far. But anything can happen. There will be more traffic both ways. How will it all work? If we behave civilly and disciplined, it will be fine. If someone abuses it, it can be abused every day," he points out.

Another resident of North Mitrovica states that there will be no safety for Serbs if the bridge opens.

"What can I say? It’s not safe, plain and simple. There will be no safety for Serbs," he says.

An elderly Albanian told our reporters that he supports opening the bridge because coexistence between Serbs and Albanians should exist.

"I don’t need to love you. But if I hate you, that’s a curse on me. To hate one person is terrible. In the end, we are all flesh and blood. If we don’t love each other, we need to live together. I don’t know who did what. If someone did you wrong, go complain there. If one Serb kills an Albanian, you didn’t kill him, my brother," he says.

A resident of Suvi Do mentions that opening the bridge is a bad idea.

"Bad things happen, as we know and see. I’m from Suvi Do, and I don't feel safe when I go up there. What can we say? We have constant provocations. As you know, they’ve broken into the clinic and church in Suvi Do several times. The situation is not good, it’s bad," he says.