Elek: Serbs unanimously said that abolishing the dinar would put them in an unbearable position

Zlatan Elek, President of the Serb List and Director of the Clinical Hospital Center in Kosovska Mitrovica, stated that Serbs had sent a clear message yesterday at the magnificent gathering in North Mitrovica that they were absolutely against the decision of the authorities in Pristina to abolish the dinar, as it would put them in an unbearable position.

Appearing on the Morning News program on RTS, Elek emphasized that the goal of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and his administration was to drive Serbs out of Kosovo and provoke a complete exodus of Serbs.

"Serbs' opinions on Kurti's decision were best demonstrated yesterday at this gathering, where between 6,000 and 7,000 Serbs from both the south and north of the Ibar River attended. All of Kurti's decisions are directly aimed against Serbs in these areas. Let me remind you of some: the ban on vaccination during the Covid pandemic, the prohibition of all sports events on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija involving any sports teams from Serbia, the prohibition of cultural events, the ban on importing daily and weekly newspapers from Serbia, the ban on importing textbooks for primary and secondary education as well as universities, the ban on importing Serbian food, forcing us to eat and import food from North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, and other countries, the ban on the construction of the University building, the ban on building housing for the socially most vulnerable categories and allocating apartments for them, the ban on building schools for Roma and other minorities in the northern part of Mitrovica, and finally, the ban or abolition of the dinar and monetary transactions," Elek listed.

He stated that Serbs expected a proper reaction from the international community, which was the guarantor of implementing all agreements from 2013 and 2015 signed in Brussels.

"We expect a much stronger reaction from the Quint countries and the international community. We hope that the authorities in Pristina will try to understand everything and abandon such a regulation they have enacted to enable us to live humanely in these areas," Elek emphasized.

He added that in Kosovo, where it was most difficult to be Serbian, especially in the times of suffering and trials for the Serbian people, the most important thing for everyone was to show unity, which they had done at the gathering yesterday. He highlighted that even though the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo endangered 80,000 people, they were encouraged by the statements of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who had clearly stated that there was enough money.

"Vucic said that the state would make an effort to find a solution through dialogue with the authorities in Pristina so that we receive all those incomes on time. I must remind you that in the past 12 years, there has been no delay in any income, salaries have often been increased, and we expect the international community to exert adequate pressure on the authorities in Pristina to resolve this issue through dialogue for the benefit of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija," the president of the Serb List stressed.

Asked if there is progress in the process of replacing mayors of municipalities in the north after the petitions, he said that there was still no response from the authorities.

"There is still no response to the successfully conducted petition where the people expressed their opinions and gathered many more signatures than required according to the alleged administrative instructions that came from Pristina. There is no response for local elections,  Kurti has broken everything he has said so far, the best example of which is the non-establishment of the CSM, which was signed in 2013 and 2015. He tramples on and does not respect his Constitution. To this day, the land has not been returned to the Visoki Decani Monastery near Djakovica. It is obvious that we are dealing with a man who absolutely has no understanding for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, who wants to reduce us to a minimal number and lead us to the brink of exodus and make the CSM meaningless, which, according to the Brussels Agreement, has authorities that are in favor of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija," Elek emphasized.

He concluded that Serbs in Kosovo today lived in a ghetto in a militarized zone, especially in the north, where there was a large number of police officers with long guns, who harassed citizens every day, entered healthcare institutions, institutions of Provisional Authorities, across Kosovo.

"In short, Serbs are disenfranchised in every way. In addition to the torture that Serbs endure daily, land is forcibly taken from them for military and police bases. Nowhere else in the world are there so many patrols in such a small territory as in northern Kosovo. Bunkers, machine gun nests, and checkpoints are being built on the regional road between Zvecan and Leposavic, where it is mandatory to stop and search all vehicles with Serbian plates. I think it's currently worse only in the Gaza Strip. I am especially concerned that all this is happening in front of the eyes of EULEX, KFOR, and UNMIK, who are the guarantors of peace and security here. We are concerned about the expulsion of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija. We are also concerned that there is almost no return after 25 years since 1999. All these mentioned forces, as well as the Quint countries, are a guarantee for the return of Serbs to their ancestral homes," Elek said.

He reminded that people without spiritual inspiration and identity did not have their history and that it was known what happened to such people.

"We are determined to stay here, and we will do it with our president, government, and the Office for Kosovo and Metohija," Elek concluded.