Elek: Abolishing the dinar - Kurti's "Operation Storm" for the Serbs without a shot fired

President of the Serb List, Zlatan Elek, today described the decision of the Government in Pristina to abolish the dinar as a payment means in Kosovo as catastrophic, stating that it was Kurti's "Operation Storm" for the Serbs without a shot fired and in plain view of the international community.

"The abolition of payment transactions means a problem for all Serbs in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija. Everyone who receives any income from the Republic of Serbia is endangered," Elek said at a press conference.

He stated that around 100,000 Serbs living in Kosovo would be directly affected.

"The abolition of payment transactions means putting the Serbs in an unfavorable position, and it is an introduction to the total exodus of the Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija, they knew this in advance," Elek said.

He added that they had had a meeting with everyone from the international community and warned that this was a preparation for the exodus of the Serbs.

"We explained to the US Ambassador that this decision was unacceptable, and there had been discussions about the unjustified arrests of our fellow citizens, the raids on institutions, and we received understanding from Ambassador Hovenier, and you have seen the reaction of the State Department," he said.

Vice President of the Serb List, Dragisa Milovic, stated that officials from Pristina claimed that Kosovo was the "most democratic country in the region".

"And we Serbs live every day under political and police pressure. Our citizens feel like second-class citizens. With Hovenier, we talked about the return of Serbs because since 1999, there has been no talk of the return of Serbs, and the latest unilateral moves led to the departure of the remaining Serbs. Everything points to ethnic cleansing because all actions prevent normal life for our fellow citizens. The armed intrusion into the premises of temporary authorities clearly indicates that the Serbs have no perspective, and everything indicates that they are leaving," he said.

He added that they had informed the UNMIK chief, Caroline Ziadeh, and the EU Ambassador, Tomas Szunyog, about all the problems, difficulties, and fears of the citizens.

"Everyone agrees that a solution must be reached through dialogue. The morning attack on the post office in Uglare makes us wonder how are they not entering the municipality of Leposavic because some are now using drugs there, there is suspicion that it is cocaine, and they are drinking and gambling there, and there is no police intervention even though it is known what is happening there. Everyone we talked to says they want the survival of the Serbs on the ground, but we want concrete results and actions from them. Abolishing the dinar is another persecution that leads to the trivialization of the CSM, because for ten years, the signed document that the EU also signed has not been implemented, and someone is using the empty run to further trivialize the CSM. I hope it will not come to that," Milovic said.

He emphasized that all these consequences were a part of Kurti's policy.

"We call on President Vucic to defend the right to survival and to do everything in talks with the international community to prevent the suffering of the Serbs. We welcome the call for an urgent session of the Security Council, where the world needs to open its eyes and see what is happening to the Serbs in Kosovo," Milovic emphasized.

Responding to journalists' questions, Elek said that while the Serb List was a part of the Kosovo Assembly, more than 200 amendments proposed by them had been rejected during the Government of Albin Kurti, and that sufficiently demonstrated how much was being done for the rights of the Serbs.