Odalovic: The CSM is a priority in continuing dialogue; Brussels must prevent the terror against Serbs

The President of the Commission for Missing Persons, Veljko Odalovic, stated today that during a meeting with the EU Special Envoy for the Belgrade–Pristina Dialogue, Peter Sorensen, it was emphasized that the issue of the Community of Serb Municipalities CSM must be a priority in the continuation of the dialogue. He also said that Brussels has been called upon to use its authority to stop the terror being carried out by Albin Kurti against the Serbian people and Serbian institutions in Kosovo, RTV reports.

Odalovic, who attended yesterday’s meeting in Brussels, said that the EU is not conducting the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina effectively, but that he hopes that Sorensen will have the strength to bring in new quality and set new directions that will deliver results.

He noted that Sorensen had spoken the previous day in Brussels with the head of the Pristina delegation, Besnik Bislimi, to prepare for the upcoming trilateral meeting.

“The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, held two meetings with Sorensen, one of which was a one-on-one where they went through possible topics for alignment,” Odalovic told TV Prva.

He stressed that Belgrade’s core demand is for the Community of Serb Municipalities to be put on the negotiating table and that a clear stance must be taken on that issue, noting that Pristina had committed to forming the CSM as part of the Brussels agreements.

Odalovic said that the issue of missing persons was also discussed and added that he feels there has been some progress, and that he expects the Working Group on Missing Persons to resume meetings.

“We need to get back to where we were four years ago, to the process and path that had been yielding significant results, and start resolving many open issues,” Odalovic said.

As he said, Petkovic used the meeting to draw attention to events in Kosovo, particularly in the north, and demanded that Brussels use its authority and power to prevent the escalation of Albin Kurti’s terror against the Serbian people and Serbian institutions.

“If they don’t stop him, I don’t see where this ends. I see that Kurti’s prosecutors have started summoning people from the Serb List, that is, prominent figures in northern Kosovo and Metohija, invoking some of their laws and charges of undermining the constitutional order… This is a direct attack on Serb representatives and the Serb List,” Odalovic said.

He believes that Kurti’s goal is to neutralize and break up the Serb List, which unites the Serbian population and which received overwhelming support from Serbs in Kosovo in the last elections.

“His goal is likely to, ahead of the upcoming local elections this fall, try to exploit any fragmentation of Serb unity to create ‘cracks’ and use that as a mechanism to undermine the path toward establishing the CSM, because it is obvious that he has no intention of fulfilling that commitment, something he even openly stated during the election campaign,” Odalovic reminded.

Speaking about the attempt to forcibly evict internally displaced persons in Leposavic, Odalovic said that the eviction order affecting 17 Serbian families caused serious unrest, stressing that this represents yet another blow and form of pressure on Serbs in Kosovo.

“Kurti’s goal is to create insecurity within the Serbian community through such actions. In some places, he seizes cultural centers; in others, sports facilities, social services buildings, even post offices. He is trying to instill insecurity in every segment,” Odalovic said.