Todic: It is not easy to live as a Serb in Kosovo

For more than 24 years, the Serbian people who remained living in Kosovo have been facing incidents and difficulties on a daily basis, Leposavic Mayor in resignation Zoran Todic said today.

"It is not easy to live as a Serb in Kosovo and Metohija. We count the days when there are no incidents," he emphasized for Pink TV.

Regarding the case of the beating of two Serbian young men by members of the Kosovo Police's special unit, Todic said that the situation is tense, difficult, and painful.

"They hit where it hurts the most, which is the children," he said.

"The question is how long the Serbian people will be able to endure. I spoke with the parents of two beaten young men and saw despair, anger, and suffering. This is just one in a series of incidents that happened. Blood was also shed on Christmas Eve. Not so long ago, we had a shooting in the back on the Bistrica Bridge. I'm afraid the situation will explode at some point," Todic explained.

He pointed out that there had been real militarization in northern Kosovo for a year and a half, with the creation of bases for special police units, and the establishment of a checkpoint on the Bistrica River.

"We have daily harassment. Special units conduct routine checks here and patrol the villages with long guns. I understand that they intend to fight against criminals and smuggling. We are all in the service to fight crime. But you can't do that by using combat vehicles equipped with heavy machine guns on the ground You can only harass and repress people this way. They exert control by pointing long guns at people," he said.

Todic stated that the time had come to stand in the way of the behavior of irresponsible people in Pristina and the Kosovo police.

"The issue is if get into a situation where someone takes justice into their own hands and tries to protect the family on their own in some way that can lead us in a direction that no one needs," he warned.

Todic said Pristina was stealing Serbian property to build military and police bases.

None of the Leposavic residents has asked for an increased presence of the special units, he added, because the municipality only has one base where KFOR is located.

"The construction of bases for the special unit has nothing to do with preventing the smuggling of goods, but only with intimidating the Serbian people, and it is directed against the territory where Serbian unity exists," Todic stated.