Petkovic wrote to international representatives: Act to stop the terror against the Serbian people

Petar Petkovic, Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, has sent a letter to international representatives after the Kosovo Police detained four young Serbs in North Mitrovica yesterday as they attempted to repaint a mural depicting Patriarch Pavle and Metropolitan Amfilohije. In the letter, seen by Kosovo Online, Petkovic appealed to international representatives not to remain silent, but to react in a timely manner to stop what he described as terror and demonstrate that the values promoted by the international presence also apply to the Serbian people in Kosovo.

In the letter, addressed to the Quint countries, EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Peter Sorensen, the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, and numerous other international representatives, Petkovic strongly condemned what he described as another escalatory move by the "so-called Pristina police," which, he said, directly and unequivocally targeted the foundations of Serbian religious, cultural, and national identity.

"Police officers in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica stopped and identified four young Serbs during the day and then detained them solely because they attempted to restore a mural dedicated to the late Patriarch Pavle. We remind you that these murals were painted over in 2025 by order of the previous illegitimately elected municipal authorities headed by Erden Atiq, with the sole intention of provoking the Serbian population and triggering a rash reaction in an already extremely fragile security environment," Petkovic said.

Noting that the young men were released after being held for several hours and subjected to verbal harassment, while one of them was fined for vandalism, Petkovic stressed that such conduct represents not only a blatant abuse of power but also a continuation of a policy aimed at intimidating the Serbian people and erasing every trace of their identity.

"Particularly concerning is the fact that, according to the so-called deputy commander of the Pristina police for the North region, Veton Elshani, it is the so-called minister of local government who decides even on murals painted on residential buildings in predominantly Serbian communities in Kosovo and Metohija. This openly usurps the powers of local self-government and confirms the intention of the authorities in Pristina to control even the most basic aspects of life in Serbian communities," Petkovic noted.

He also pointed out that this case is not an isolated incident, stressing that the ongoing effort to erase all Serbian symbols that had adorned North Mitrovica for decades, the only urban area where Serbs managed to remain after 1999, has also been reflected in the renaming of streets and the unlawful construction of two bridges over the Ibar River.

"The claim that the authorities in Pristina promote multiculturalism and religious tolerance is nothing more than an empty political slogan, as evidenced by the fact that since Albin Kurti came to head the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Pristina, as many as 129 attacks have been recorded against churches, monasteries, and other religious sites of the Serbian Orthodox Church and its believers," Petkovic stated.

He stressed that despite increasing pressure and intimidation, the Serbian people would not succumb to provocations or abandon the preservation of their identity and their right to a dignified life.

"We therefore appeal to you not to remain silent, but to react in a timely manner to stop this terror and demonstrate that the values proclaimed by the international presence also apply to the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija. In the interest of full transparency, we inform you that we will also notify the relevant international organizations and representatives of other relevant actors about all of the above," Petkovic added in the letter.

Yesterday, the Kosovo Police detained artist Stefan Stojanovic Sles and issued him a misdemeanor citation after he attempted to repaint the mural depicting Patriarch Pavle and Metropolitan Amfilohije, which had previously been painted over.

Stojanovic told Kosovo Online that he had obtained a municipal permit to repaint the mural of Patriarch Pavle at that location, but that the police refused to recognize it before detaining him.

"We started by placing a sketch that would later serve as the basis for mapping out the mural I was going to paint, dedicated to Patriarch Pavle. It was a mural we had painted several years ago while we were students in Kosovska Mitrovica, but it had since been painted over. We wanted to restore it to that wall. We had all the necessary permits, but the police refused to accept them. They came twice. The first time everything was fine, but then they returned with several more officers, detained us, and issued a citation for damaging a public surface," Stojanovic said. In addition to him, the police also detained several young men who were accompanying him and happened to be at the scene.

North Mitrovica Mayor Milan Radojevic also reacted to the incident, stating that the Kosovo Police's conduct showed that the municipality was not governed by the rule of law like other places, but by the law of force and the police boot.

In August last year, graffiti and murals featuring Serbian national symbols that had stood on the walls of several buildings in North Mitrovica for years were painted over with the assistance of the Kosovo Police, following an order by the Municipality of North Mitrovica, which at the time was led by Albanian mayor Erden Atiq from the Self-Determination Movement.

During the same period when the murals depicting Serbian figures were painted over, a mural dedicated to members of the KLA was painted in Decani.

Kosovo Online's interlocutors believe that symbols associated with Serbian identity have for some time been unwelcome in public spaces for the authorities in Pristina, and that covering the marks of history with layers of paint may ultimately produce the opposite effect from what was intended.