Petkovic: Kurti continues the terror against the Serbs; we only demand neutrality from KFOR and EULEX

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, pointed out that the terror of Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti against the Serbs was intensifying day by day because he was emboldened to attack the Serbs due to the lack of reaction from the international community.

Petkovic, during a press conference, reminded that yesterday, while the Serbs from northern Kosovo had been bidding farewell to the killed Serbs, Kurti had continued his terror.

"Yesterday, while especially the Serbs from northern Kosovo and Metohija were bidding farewell to their fallen compatriots Stefan, Igor, and Bojan, Kurti continued his terror. Lazar Janicijevic was arrested, who was also on his way to the funeral in a convoy with other Serbs to say goodbye to his school friend Stefan, who was buried in Vrnjacka Banja. He was stopped at the Jarinje crossing, brutally arrested, taken out of the car, and driven towards Pristina," Petkovic said.

Petkovic added that just a day before, "Kurti harassed three Serbs" in Gornje Varage, simply because they dared to go to their forests, to their property, and cut down trees there.

"And on Friday, Kurti's police stormed the Kosovo Clinical Hospital Centre in Kosovska Mitrovica and mistreated patients, breaking everything while searching for Milan Radoicic's apartment. They went a bit too far, even reaching a kindergarten, intimidating students who were walking on the street at the time when Kurti's police were taking revenge on the Serbs. Kurti's terror is intensifying day by day," Petkovic emphasized.

He pointed out that Kurti was further emboldened to attack the Serbs because there was no adequate reaction from the international community, primarily the organizations in Kosovo.

"We are not asking KFOR and EULEX to take the Serbian side, the expelled Serbs, who are suffering terror. We just ask them to be objective and neutral," Petkovic stated.

He emphasized that the key question for EULEX was why they had been denied participation in the investigation of the events in Banjska.

"We still have no answers as to why EULEX was denied. It's been seven days. If someone thinks that time will erase our question, they are mistaken. We will insist on it. It is clear why it was denied, to cover up, first and foremost, that Bojan and Igor were cold-bloodedly killed because the police do not want to be found out how they were killed. To prevent it from being established that there were paid killers within the ranks of the Kosovo Police who came from terrorist camps with the aim of killing all Serbs," Petkovic said.

Was the autopsy of the killed Serbs performed on September 25 or 26?

As Petkovic stated, with a letter dated September 29, clear questions had been raised, including the request to provide the name and qualifications of the EULEX person who had attended the autopsy, as EULEX had previously stated in an "inarticulate statement" that the autopsy had been completed and that their representative had been present.

Answers were sought to the questions of how many doctors performed the autopsy, whether a CT scan was conducted, and whether the regulations were followed...

Petkovic pointed out that in response to his initial letter, EULEX stated that the autopsy had been performed on September 26, while the death certificate indicated that it had been done on September 25.

"Whether the autopsy was on September 26 or the day before, in the late evening, as I emphasized at the previous press conference - we have information that the autopsy was conducted almost secretly, in the late afternoon, and then during the morning we find out that it was not actually performed," Petkovic said.

All of this, he noted, confirmed that "someone is seriously lying - either EULEX or Pristina."

"It is therefore crucial that we see the EULEX report on the autopsy, all the photos, for all three bodies," Petkovic stated.

Petkovic noted that there had been many lies from Pristina, Kurti, and Svecla.

"They lied about the number of the Serbs in Banjska, saying 30, 40, 50, and now they say it's 90. They also claimed that an Albanian police officer died in the crossfire, but now they are saying what we have known from the first day, that he died from an explosion," Petkovic pointed out.

Petkovic pointed out that there were many inconsistencies, which suggested that Pristina was fabricating facts, and it was becoming clear why EULEX had been refused to attend the investigation on September 24 and later.

As of today, he emphasized, there had been no response from EULEX to his second letter in which he had requested specific answers to questions related to the autopsy.

"The issue of the autopsy is crucial when it comes to Bojan and Igor, about the way they were killed. Last night, you could hear the statement of a protected witness who said that he had seen the moment when Bojan had been executed. I have a photo of the killed Bojan, and we have received consent from his family to publish it. Based on the photo, our pathologists told us, since EULEX and the Kosovo Police banned us from attending the autopsy itself, that there is an entry wound in the area of the left eyelid and an exit wound on the right side of the head. This clearly indicates that he was killed while lying on his back. The execution was carried out face to face," Petkovic emphasized.

He pointed out that the right leg was in an irregular position, indicating that he had been first wounded, being hit in the legs, he had fallen, and then when the Kosovo Police had approached and executed him.

"I am not asking Pristina for answers because it is clear that it is fabricating both facts and data, which is why I asked for them from the head of EULEX," Petkovic added.

Eleven percent of the Serbs from the north of Kosovo have already left

Petkovic emphasized that it was clear from all this that, by such behavior and the harassment of the Serbs, Kurti wanted to carry out ethnic cleansing of the Serbs.

"According to data from our four municipalities, around 11 percent of the Serbs from the north of Kosovo have already left and gone to central Serbia. These are data known to the embassies in Pristina, as well as in Belgrade. So, the expulsion and ethnic cleansing of the Serbs by Albin Kurti is underway," Petkovic stressed.

That is why, he says, it is important for EULEX to take on its duty and act in accordance with its mandate, rather than respond that it has no executive powers, while the Kosovo Police prevent them from participating in the investigation.

He added that Serbs who had left the Kosovo region had done so out of fear for their families because no one could tolerate Kurti's terror anymore.

"When they stormed hospitals with long guns, mistreated people, for days after September 24, they entered houses in Banjska, looking for people. Kurti said he had brought bread, and pâté to the Serbs... The Serbs who had to accept that later threw it away because they don't need anything from Kurti; they need freedom," Petkovic said.

He stated that Serbia would continue to fight to preserve freedom, but above all, peace.

"Without it, the emigration of the Serbs will continue, Kurti will achieve his goal, and we do not want that to happen," Petkovic said.

He added that he expected a reaction from the international community, not to take the side of the Serbs but to be objective, and if they acted that way, he is convinced the situation would be different.

"But that is missing, and Kurti is becoming more brutal," Petkovic concluded.