OSCE on the railway stations: Action on the first day of the campaign, consultations with local communities are necessary

In a written response to Kosovo Online, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo stated that it is closely monitoring developments at the railway stations in the municipalities of Zvecan and Leposavic and that such actions carry increased responsibility and require close consultations with the affected communities.

“The Mission believes that actions of this nature carry increased responsibility and that potential activities of this kind require close consultations with the affected communities. The Mission noted that yesterday’s events coincided with the first day of the official election campaign. All actors are encouraged to be mindful of the particular sensitivity of the issues this raises,” the OSCE stated.

When asked about the removal of Cyrillic signs from the stations, after which signs in the Latin script were installed, the Mission stated the following for our portal:

“The Mission also draws attention to the obligations under the Law on the Use of Languages and calls on the competent authorities to ensure full and immediate compliance,” the OSCE response states.

As a reminder, yesterday the Kosovo Police blocked access to the railway station in Zvecan with several special unit jeeps, and shortly afterward a Kosovo flag and a sign reading “Railway Infrastructure of Kosovo” were placed in front of the offices belonging to Serbian Railways. At almost the same time, members of “Infrakos” took over the railway station in the municipality of Leposavic, as well as the stations in Lesak and Ibarska Slatina.