Nikolic: Provocations and attacks on children have become routine in North Mitrovica

Chairwoman of the Committee for Kosovo and Metohija, Danijela Nikolic, strongly condemned the attack by the Kosovo Police on a Serbian high school graduate in North Mitrovica and emphasized that continuous provocations and even attacks on children have become a daily reality.

In a statement, Nikolic pointed out that several Kosovo Police officers targeted the student while he was participating in a traditional graduation walk with his classmates and teachers.

"While one police officer was grabbing him by the neck, teachers were literally trying to pull him out of the police’s grip, as Albanians sitting in nearby cafés provoked with jeers. Continuous provocations and attacks, even against children, have become an everyday occurrence in Kosovska Mitrovica. This speaks volumes about the disregard shown by the international community and the provisional institutions in Pristina, who are solely focused on discrimination and stripping all freedoms from Serbs in the province. This is a fascist-style crackdown on the individual and his rights, with the aim of spreading fear across the community—sending it a message of intimidation. That gives this case an even deeper dimension," she stated.

Nikolic stressed that the attack on a young man who was supposed to be celebrating a major life milestone today is a message meant to drive the Serbian population out.

"To make the irony worse, on the very day when the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is visiting Kosovska Mitrovica, a young Serbian man is assaulted and grabbed by the neck by Kosovo Police officers, for no reason other than being Serbian. Will someone from the international community once again claim they don’t know what really happened, just because the Kosovo Police say there’s 'no case'? Or will they go so far as to blame the Serbian children, despite the fact that a large number of Albanians were gathered in cafés along the promenade, clearly intending to provoke the Serbian graduates?" she asked.

Nikolic concluded that the image of a Serbian graduate being grabbed by the neck by Kosovo Police reflects the broader reality of Serb life in Kosovo—a noose around the neck under Kurti’s reign of terror.