Petkovic: Signs on Clinics in Suvo Grlo and Banje installed without the consent of Serbs

The signs placed on clinics in the villages of Suvo Grlo and Banje, which were forcibly closed several days ago, were installed today unlawfully and without the consent of the Serbian population, stated the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, calling for the issue of healthcare to be returned to the framework of the EU-facilitated proposal.

“On Serbian clinics in the villages of Suvo Grlo and Banje, which were forcibly closed a few days ago, new signs bearing the insignia of Pristina’s institutions have today been installed unlawfully and unilaterally, contrary to all previously reached agreements and the EU framework. To be absolutely clear, as confirmed to us by local residents, Serbian doctors will not work under these insignia, nor will Serbian patients seek treatment under these conditions, as they have trust solely and exclusively in the Serbian healthcare system,” Petkovic stated in a press release.

He added that, just as the clinics were forcibly and unlawfully closed ahead of Easter, the signs have likewise been installed unilaterally and without any consent from the Serbian population, in violation of all previously agreed arrangements.

“The issue of Serbian healthcare institutions can be resolved only through dialogue, and not through unilateral measures such as those we are witnessing today. We have immediately informed the dialogue facilitator, Peter Sørensen, who had presented and guaranteed that Serbian healthcare institutions would continue to function without obstruction. We demand that the resolution of this issue be immediately returned to the framework of the EU proposal, as the basic rights of Serbs in this enclave to treatment and primary healthcare are being violated,” Petkovic emphasized.

He further stressed that it is evident that Pristina is once again violating all previously reached agreements and continuing both institutional and other forms of infringement of the rights of the Serbian population.

“Healthcare is one of the pillars of the survival of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, and the Serbian people will never accept that their children be treated elsewhere,” Petkovic underlined.

Four days after the inspection of the municipality of Srbica, with police assistance, closed the clinics in the villages of Banje and Suvo Grlo that had been operating within the Serbian system, a new sign reading “Banje Clinic” was today installed on the facility in the village of Banje, Radio Gorazdevac reported.

The new sign displays the coat of arms of Kosovo on the right-hand side and the coat of arms of the municipality of Srbica on the left.