Petkovic: Kurti is becoming increasingly reckless, he wants to get rid of the Serbs in Kosovo

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, stated today that the recent incursion of the Kosovo Police into Serbian institutions in northern Kosovo was yet another unilateral and violent move by Albin Kurti aimed at expelling Serbs and represented a direct attack on the dialogue, the agreement on the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM), and the entire process of normalizing relations.

"Kurti is becoming increasingly reckless, his anti-Serb policy has reached a boiling point, especially in the north. We have seen the reaction of the Serb List and the clear determination and intention of the Serbs not to tolerate this situation, which leads to the creation of unbearable living conditions, and is a prelude to ethnic cleansing," Petkovic said for RTS.

He noted that the emergency situation for Serbs in Kosovo has particularly intensified since Kurti came to power and that it is clear to everyone that by shutting down Serbian institutions, Kurti wants to permanently eliminate the Serbian people in Kosovo.

As he emphasized, the institutions into which Kosovo special forces entered yesterday are not "parallel institutions" but completely legal state and local institutions of Serbia in Kosovo.

"The only illegal and illegitimate institutions are the municipalities in the north run by Albanian gauleiters, who, with 300 or 400 Albanian votes, have taken over Serbian municipalities and buildings," Petkovic said.

He also pointed out that it is not true that the police had only entered the buildings of temporary bodies, as they had also entered the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund, the premises of the Center for Social Work, the Institute for the Serbian Language, the Clinical Hospital Center in Kosovska Mitrovica, the Youth Office in Leposavic...

"This is a unilateral, violent move by Albin Kurti aimed at expelling Serbs, bringing the Serbian people to a fait accompli. Instead of moving toward de-escalation, which has been the demand of the international community since June last year, we have seen more than 30 escalatory moves by the authorities in Pristina," Petkovic stressed.

Pristina nervous about Macron’s visit to Serbia

He added that the authorities in Pristina had waited yesterday until the end of the workday when no one had been in the premises except for guards, but as he said, it is very likely that they were also waiting for the end of French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Belgrade, which, as he said, made them very nervous.

"They are very nervous about that visit, which was cordial and friendly, with signed agreements, including the acquisition of Rafale fighter jets. When you see the statements of Kurti, Pristina's politicians, and analysts, it is clear how much they dislike Serbia's further positioning on the international stage. Especially since Macron clearly stated in the middle of Belgrade that he condemns Kurti's unilateral actions, that he is closely monitoring the difficult position of Serbs in Kosovo, and that the CSM must be formed. This nervousness led to this action," Petkovic said.

He said that since yesterday, he has been in contact with representatives of the international community, to whom he conveyed what is happening, as well as the position that this is a direct attack on the dialogue, on the agreement to form the CSM, and on everything that has been achieved in the process of normalization in recent years.

It is clear, he added, that Albin Kurti does not want dialogue.

"Of course, we must call on the international community, we must react toward KFOR, the Quint countries, to stop Kurti's madness," Petkovic said.

You can't "wash your hands" of Kurti's actions with statements

Petkovic pointed out that in the previous period, regarding Pristina's unilateral moves, there had been statements from the Americans, the EU, and the Quint countries – sometimes stronger, sometimes milder – but there had never been any reaction or concrete measures following such actions.

"You cannot 'wash your hands' of what Kurti is doing with mere statements. With actions like these, Kurti is changing the reality on the ground. What is there to talk about in Brussels? About Kurti's unilateral actions, which he does not change? They say – it happened. Well, it happened because you allowed it and did not react properly when you should have," Petkovic said, adding that in this situation, it is better to have some reactions than none at all.

It is clear, he said, that Kosovo is the "child of the West," that the international community will only say that Kurti is stubborn and refuses to listen, that they are "turning a blind eye" while Serbs suffer, Serbian institutions are being shut down, and everyone just shrugs.

"We are taking care to preserve peace and stability and to protect the Serbian people. I want to reassure the Serbs, despite the closure of institutions where thousands of Serbs work and tens of thousands of Serbs depend on the payments they receive through them, that as the state of Serbia, we will continue to take care of our people, to make the necessary payments, as we have done so far. This is, above all, a demand toward the government of President Aleksandar Vucic," Petkovic said.

He added that Serbia is determined to maintain peace and resolve the Kosovo issue exclusively through dialogue, while Kurti is a militant who is implementing violence and wants war and conflicts in northern Kosovo because he is uncomfortable with Serbia's current position on the international stage.

"With actions like these, he is trying to provoke a Serbian reaction, and that is why I am asking the Serbs to remain restrained and to express their protest in a democratic, peaceful manner," Petkovic added.

He also reiterated that such actions by Kurti will have lasting consequences because Serbian institutions in Kosovo are the backbone for the formation of the CSM.

"Everyone has said that the issue of Serbian institutions should be resolved through dialogue. It is clear that our institutions are the foundation for the CSM, but Kurti wants to claim that there are no Serbs, no Serbian institutions in Kosovo, and therefore no need to form the CSM. This is dangerous," Petkovic concluded.