Todic: The international community is silently watching the quiet exodus of Serbs from Kosovo

Former mayor of Leposavic, Zoran Todic, said that the Serbian people are facing daily pressure systematically implemented by the regime in Pristina, and that today it is not easy at all to be a Serb in Kosovo.

Todic noted that after the Kosovo Police raided the Sports Hall and the Sports and Tourism Organization (STO) premises in Leposavic, children and athletes are now facing the inability to freely engage in sports activities.

"Three days ago, in the presence of Kosovo Police, the STO premises, located within the Sports Hall in Leposavic and built after the 1999 conflict with funds from the Government of the Republic of Serbia, were taken and unlawfully seized. Unfortunately, even this morning, the gates of the sports hall were closed, preventing employees from accessing their workplaces in the STO. This also prevents many of our children, those involved in sports, from using the hall. Additionally, students of the Faculty of Physical Education, who had daily classes and exams there, are also denied access. Currently, only the police are present around the sports hall," Todic told RTS.

He emphasized that this is yet another blow to everything Serbian.

"This time, once again, our youngest residents are the target, students. Even before this, our young athletes faced problems. Five years ago, the authorities in Pristina banned any sports matches for our clubs in our municipality, on our sports grounds, under the excuse that they do not allow clubs that are members of Serbian sports associations, like football clubs registered with Serbia’s football federation, or basketball clubs with Serbia’s basketball federation. Simply put, we do not have a single sports club in the municipality of Leposavic that is registered in the system of Pristina. This is yet another attack on everything Serbian," he added.

Todic said efforts will continue to ensure children can carry out their planned sports activities.

"They will conduct their sports activities in alternative locations, on school sports grounds, in school gyms. We will find a way, even though the conditions we can offer as alternatives to our youth are nowhere near what we had before the sports hall was seized. This was done illegally, without any official documentation. I was the head of the municipality until a few years ago, and I can responsibly say that the municipality of Leposavic, which operates under the Kosovo system, has no legal grounds for such an action. This again shows that everything the authorities in Pristina are doing, locally and with the use of police force, is illegal," Todic added.

He said that it has never been easy to be a Serb in Kosovo, and still isn't.

"Unfortunately, it has never been easy to be a Serb in Kosovo and Metohija, not even before the 1999 conflict, and especially not after, when a large number of Serbs left the region. But there has simply been no return. Today, it is even harder to be a Serb. We have never had an easy or pleasant situation here, but in the last four years, we have faced immense pressure. Pristina is in a serious offensive, operating systematically. As you mentioned, we recently witnessed unprofessional conduct by the Kosovo Police on the promenade in Mitrovica, an image that deeply affected us all and reflects the situation of the Serbian people. I still maintain that it is harder to be a Serb south of the Ibar River, but in the last three years, the main focus of the Pristina authorities has been, as they often say, to 'bring under control' these four northern municipalities. We have experienced tremendous pressure, with many institutions being shut down. We also face a situation involving displaced persons who have been living in collective centers for 30 years, in apartments built by the Serbian government, and are now being asked by municipal authorities to return the keys," Todic said.

Todic pointed out that, unfortunately, as many times before, the international community has failed to respond.

"Unfortunately, aside from vague statements, once again, like many times before, we have witnessed the hypocrisy of the international missions present in Kosovo. We know that mechanisms exist, we have the KFOR and EULEX missions, which are mandated to care for all communities. The actions of both international missions and embassies are incomprehensible. They are silently watching the quiet exodus of the Serbian people from Kosovo and Metohija. The already difficult situation of the Serbian people is being further worsened by the discontinuation of the dinar, which forces people to travel far and wait at administrative crossings just to collect their income," he added.

Todic stated that the time for an international response has long passed, as we are all aware of the limited capabilities of "our country, Serbia, which, unfortunately, apart from financial aid, is currently unable to protect its people in any other way."