Tesic: Pristina is trying to prevent the mass arrival of Serbs through entry bans, but it will trigger the opposite reaction

Slavko Tesic, the Mayor of the municipality of Pelagicevo in the Republic of Srpska, who was banned from entering Kosovo ahead of Vidovdan, said that Pristina is trying to prevent the mass arrival of Serbs through such decisions, but believes it will instead provoke an even greater turnout of Serbs in Kosovo.

Speaking to RTS, Tesic said that on Friday, when he was supposed to enter Kosovo, he sensed a certain level of hostility at the Merdare crossing while handing his documents to Kosovo Police officers.

"Shortly afterward, they asked us to pull over to the side, and within five or ten minutes they came out with an explanation that I had been banned from entering, without providing any proper explanation. I even thought that the so-called police officer was a bit confused because he could not justify the decision. They said they would return my documents once I signed a paper containing something vaguely worded," Tesic said.

He believes these bans are part of Pristina's attempt to prevent the mass arrival of Serbs in Kosovo by any means.

"If elected representatives from central Serbia, the Republic of Srpska, and Montenegro are being prevented from coming to Gazimestan for Vidovdan, then they are trying to stop the mass arrival of our people. We have witnessed in recent years that Serbs from the Republic of Srpska have been traveling to Kosovo in large numbers on pilgrimages, and I am certain that this move will not prevent our people from coming to Kosovo and Metohija. On the contrary, it will only provoke an even stronger response," Tesic said.

He added that the entry ban is valid for 30 to 60 days, and that he already plans to return to Kosovo on the 61st day.

"I plan to travel to Kosovo and Metohija on the 61st day. Our sister municipality is Lipljan, and I have excellent relations with the mayor of Gracanica. I plan to visit the southern Serbian province again as soon as possible," Tesic added.

In addition to Tesic, Niksic Mayor Marko Kovacevic and Berane Municipal Assembly President Vida Ivanovic were also banned from entering Kosovo on Friday.