Velebit: The increasing number of police stations in the north is the result of Kurti's destabilizing policy

Vuk Velebit, Executive Director of the Pupin Initiative, stated to Kosovo Online that the growing number of police stations and bases in northern Kosovo was a result of Albin Kurti’s destabilizing policies aimed at provoking new tensions and intimidating the Serbian population.

"Kurti's extremist, anti-Western, and destabilizing policies are specifically designed to continually raise tensions and create unlivable conditions for the Serbian community. If you look at it, these bases are often built through the expropriation of land owned by Serbs living in Kosovo and Metohija, directly targeting one people and one ethnic group,” Velebit said.

Additionally, he says, the special bases in the north are intended to intimidate ordinary citizens.

"I recently had the opportunity to visit the northern part of Kosovo and saw how these bases look. I saw the Kosovo Police heavily armed, controlling traffic. Without any justification and in violation of both international agreements and coordination with the international community, Kurti continues to escalate tensions. I expect him to continue this in the coming months as the elections in Kosovo approach and as we enter the final stages of the US elections," Velebit added.

He sees the solution in greater readiness by the international community, particularly the EU and the US, to sanction Kurti’s "extremist policies," which, according to him, are "directly opposed to the interests of both the EU and the US."

He believes that the increasing number of police stations and bases in the north is both a symbolic and direct message to Serbs that they should feel even less safe.

"I think it is indeed a symbolic message to Serbs, but also a very concrete action designed to make Serbs feel even more insecure. When Serbs see the Kosovo Police on the streets, they feel unsafe, which is not normal. When you see the police, you should feel a sense of security, that they are there to protect you and maintain public order and peace. But when you see the heavily armed Kosovo Police, you can only feel fear, and it seems like the police are there for you, not to protect you, but to make you feel unsafe and uncertain about what their actions will be," Velebit emphasized.

He also mentions that he heard from the Serbian community that the police in the north not only use excessive force and unjustifiably detain citizens, but also verbally insult them.

"What we have heard from the Serbian community in Kosovo is that the police verbally insult members of the Serbian people, use excessive force, and often act outside the law, even outside Kosovo’s laws. There are Serbs who have been arrested and are in detention without any charges. This selective application of the law and the actions of the Kosovo Police have only one goal, and that is to intimidate the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija," Velebit concluded.