In North Mitrovica, a peaceful protest was held by business owners due to the ban on the import of Serbian goods

In North Mitrovica, at the monument to Prince Lazar, a peaceful protest by business owners who have signed a civic petition to allow the import of goods produced in Serbia was held at noon today.

The signing of the civic petition, which demands all relevant authorities to once again and unhindered allow the import of all types of goods produced in Serbia, followed six months after the Government of Kosovo banned the import of Serbian products.

The protest was attended by several hundred citizens of North Mitrovica.

One of the businessmen, Dusan Gasic, stated that businessmen from the north of Kosovo had initiated the gathering, but that this was primarily a gathering of citizens.

"Above all, we represent our families and our children here. In the 21st century, in a territory that is relatively free, or should be free, our children are told what they can eat and drink. We have frequent actions to confiscate goods, which started first at the crossings and around the crossings, then slowly entered the warehouses. We had a situation a few days ago where they entered a residential house, we had a situation where milk and yogurt were confiscated, not in large quantities and excisable goods. We had an action in the municipality of Zubin Potok where a guy who was going to his sister's patron saint celebration, and had two crates of beer confiscated, a sack of flour, some sugar, apples, and some oil. The value of the goods was around 150 euros, and all of it was confiscated and said to be returned to him. Whether it was returned or not, it doesn't matter at all", he emphasized.

He expressed fear about the uncertainty of the situation, questioning whether someone would open people's refrigerators at home tomorrow and confiscate food.

"We want these unilateral actions to stop and, as far as the import of Serbian goods is concerned, to return to the way it was, i.e., to the state before June when that regulation was adopted, and simply, people can eat and drink. It sounds a bit silly, but that's how it is, to eat and drink what they want. A big emphasis should also be placed on medicines; we have a ban on the import of medicines, and we know how important medicines are for everyone, young and old. We find ourselves in an incredible situation from which we don't see a way out", he reminded.

He said that this situation was not liked by the population south of the Ibar River because there were significant economic losses.

"We would like to address the international community, EULEX, and the OSCE through this channel, and ask them if they agree with this and if they think this is okay. People are bitter; we witness that shops are slowly closing, and many of them are close to closure. If that happens, it is a humanitarian disaster", he emphasized.

Gasic said that they would deliver the signed petition to officials in Pristina, and as he announced, there would be meetings with EU representatives and the US Embassy after the holidays when they would also present the petition to them.

"We will knock on every door. We want the world to see what is happening. People in Pristina talk about democracy, easing tensions, the Open Balkan, the EU, and they are dealing with things that exist only here and nowhere else in the world," Gasic said, recalling the reason the decision was made six months ago.

Entrepreneur Nenad Bozovic said that business conditions had become more difficult, and some were resorting to the gray economy because they were afraid for their business.

"We demand that legal imports of goods be approved", he stated.

During the protest, all shops in the entire city were closed for two hours.