Simic after meeting with Quint representatives: Time to react to the persecution of everything Serbian

Following a meeting with the ambassadors of Quint countries and the EU, Serb List Presidency member Igor Simic stated that he had conveyed to his interlocutors that it is high time for the Quint states to prevent the expulsion of everything Serbian.

Simic recalled that representatives of Serb List requested this meeting after the violent raids on Serbian institutions in northern Kosovo on May 20, and noted that the discussion focused on the challenges facing the Serbian people, particularly in the north, as well as the escalating actions taken by the regime in Pristina aimed, as he said, at persecuting everything Serbian.

“We asked for concrete answers about what the Quint embassies will do to prevent the expulsion of everything Serbian and whether they will do more than just issue statements, which we’ve heard before. We also addressed the seizure of sports halls, Red Cross premises, water supply facilities, and the arbitrary arrests and detentions of our citizens across Kosovo and Metohija without any evidence of wrongdoing. What we heard from them, which we’ve heard several times before, is that they do not support actions that strip the Serbian people of their rights and social benefits in the newly affected areas. Unfortunately, there was little in terms of concrete measures,” Simic said.

He emphasized that Serb List insisted it was high time to react and that all open issues should be resolved through dialogue, not by the use of force to impose unilateral solutions that are making life increasingly difficult for Serbs in the region.

Simic confirmed that he, along with Zlatan Elek and Slavko Simic, received summonses to be questioned as suspects for allegedly undermining Kosovo’s constitutional order and other criminal offenses related to the protests in December 2022.

“We are part of a group of more than 40 Serbs, to our knowledge, who received the same or similar summonses related to the peaceful protests that took place in northern Kosovo and Metohija in December 2022. I want to make clear that these summonses have not intimidated us, even though we know the aim is to frighten the entire Serbian population. More than 40 families are under this pressure, not just us,” Simic explained.

He stressed that this also represents political pressure on Serb List and its elected representatives, both in relation to the failure to form the assembly in Pristina by Albin Kurti’s party, and in light of the upcoming local elections.

Kurti, he reminded, publicly admitted that he regrets not being able to ban Serb List or prevent its candidates from running.

Simic said he has no doubt that Kurti will continue with such actions as the local elections approach.

He stated that he will respond to the summons—not because he believes in the fairness or legality of the process—but because he believes in his own innocence.

“We were then, as we are now, and will always be with our people—always calling for peace and restraint so as not to give Albin Kurti a pretext to use force against our unarmed citizens,” Simic emphasized.

He added that this was also discussed with the Quint embassy representatives, who said they would monitor the proceedings and demand that everything be in accordance with the law.

“We reminded them of the guarantees they gave to all Serbs in December 2022 when the protests took place—protests in which, I must emphasize, not a single incident occurred, and no one was harmed in any way by the peaceful Serbian demonstrators. In that context, we demanded that the commitments publicly made at the time by the EU and the U.S. be upheld today as well. We will respond to the summonses—Elek, Slavko Simic, and I. I repeat—not because we believe it’s a fair or legal process, but because we believe in our innocence and want to send a clear message that the actions of Albin Kurti’s regime will not intimidate us or drive us away from this region,” Simic concluded.