Petkovic: Authorities in Pristina arrested three members of Serbia’s Ministry of Interior and one retired police officer; Kurti wants new tensions

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, stated that the authorities in Pristina, acting on the direct orders of Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti, arrested three members of Serbia’s Ministry of Interior and one retired police officer last night and this morning at the administrative crossings, in what he described as completely unfounded and politically motivated retaliation against the Serbian people.

As Petkovic stated, last night at the Brnjak crossing, MUP officer N. V. (26) and M. S. (53), a retired police officer, were arrested. Today, M. M. (28), also a MUP officer, was detained at the Jarinje crossing, while A. M. (36), another MUP officer, was arrested at the Konculj crossing by Pristina authorities.

“All of them have been living peacefully with their families for years in Kosovo and Metohija and perform their duties within police departments in central Serbia. They are currently in detention, and the Office for Kosovo and Metohija will provide all of them with free legal aid. We will also inform all international representatives and dialogue facilitator Peter Sorensen through diplomatic channels about their unlawful detention. In addition, Kurti and Svecla have decided on the illegal expulsion of N. V., an unprecedented move and a dangerous precedent by Pristina. This new wave of repression will have serious and dangerous implications for the normalization of relations and was carried out with the aim of escalating and inflaming interethnic tensions,” Petkovic emphasized.

He also reminded that just yesterday, a politically motivated and fabricated indictment was filed against Slavko Simic, a member of the Presidency of the Serb List, as part of what he called an attempt to criminalize true advocates for the interests of the Serbian people and an attempt to ban the Serb List, which is a personal obsession of Albin Kurti.

“Slavko Simic, like all honorable Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, is a nuisance to the authorities in Pristina because he places the interests of the Serbian people above all else. He never has, nor ever will, submit to Kurti’s blackmail and his henchmen. An attack on him is an attack on every Serb with Serbian identity at heart. Through this series of unilateral actions, Kurti has resorted to further escalation in order to destabilize Kosovo and Metohija and provoke new tensions, directly defying the international community’s call for de-escalation. At the same time, Kurti is trying to regain his lost political credibility and strength, always at the expense of the Serbian people,” the Office's director stated.

Petkovic stressed that Belgrade expects a clear and unequivocal response from international representatives regarding this series of arbitrary arrests of Serbs and the persecution of political representatives of the Serb List.

“Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija must not be hostages of an irrational ruler in Pristina who tries to compensate for his obsessions and failures at the expense of the Serbian people, who only want to live in peace on their own land,” Petkovic concluded.