Strpce: Citizens sent messages of support to the Serbs from the north of Kosovo

About 1,000 inhabitants of the municipality of Strpce gathered today at a rally in support of the Serbs in the north of Kosovo and told them that they stood in solidarity with them and their problems.

The gathered citizens were first addressed by Huanita Racicevic, the wife of Dimitrije Racicevic from Strpce, who was arrested on December 21, 2021, and is still in custody. She pointed out that they best understood the suffering of the families of those they arrested in the north of Kosovo.

"Is there at least a little bit of humanity in every person? I wonder every time I see them violating basic human rights, how they hit the innocent, and when they hit, they hit the soul, the soul of each one of us. I ask myself whenever a figure crosses my mind, how much time our husbands, our brothers, and our fathers are in detention without any evidence because if anyone understands the suffering of the families of those arrested in the north, it is us. Are these human rights; is it normal in these crazy times to feel fear that someone will steal what is mine, what is yours, what is ours? Let them steal, but we don't give them," Racicevic said.

The mayor of Strpce, Dalibor Jevtic, also addressed the crowd. His call was followed by thunderous applause in support of the Serbs in the north of Kosovo. Jevtic said that the institutional violence carried out by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti was something that had brought the Serbs together since he had come to power.

"He says Kosovo is the most democratic country in the region. And what is democratic about it? Is it democratic that he said yesterday that Serbs should be sent either to Serbia or to prison? What is the message, and how should we understand it? I ask the question, not to him, but to the representatives of international institutions, who need to react more decisively not only to that message but to all the actions that the Government of Kosovo has towards the Serbs both south and north of the Ibar. The question we are still asking today is why you banned the people in the Provisional Authority of the

Strpce municipality from working, why can't they make a living from their work? Is that democracy" Jevtic asked and pointed out that he was still waiting for an answer, not from Kurti, but from representatives of the international community.

Jevtic also said that the Serbs would continue to fight democratically and peacefully for their rights, the right to survive, and the right to live in these areas.

"We are witnesses ourselves on January 6, when they shot Stefan and Miloc. We are also witnesses to the fact that, even though the Constitutional Court of Kosovo says that someone is being detained illegally, they still do not release him from that detention, both him and the rest of our fellow citizens. We are also witnesses of what happened two nights ago, the desecration of the monument to fascist victims, among whom were 12 children. Who does that? Only a fascist can do that," Jevtic said.

Jevtic pointed out that from Strpce they provided full support to compatriots from the north of Kosovo, who were determined in their intentions to stay in those areas and called on them to protest peacefully and not attack KFOR representatives in any way. He thanked the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, for everything he did for the Serbs, and called on him to continue fighting for peace.

The gathered people supported the Serbs in the north of Kosovo. One of them is Mita Veljkovic, who pointed out that the Serbs only wanted peace.

"We are only asking for peace, and to be left to fend for ourselves. We support our brothers from the north who are also fighting for us, and now we are supporting them and trying to fight alongside them," Veljkovic said.

Danica Redjic pointed out that they were here to tell the people in the north that they were with them.

"I think the time has come to say stop to a man who, starting in the south on December 21, 2021, is terrorizing the whole of Kosovo," Redjic said.

Boban Janicevic came to the rally with his son, draped in the Serbian flag.

"We came to support our people in the north, and to give them support, and to let them know that we are with them," Janicevic said.

The gathered citizens carried banners that read "Support to our brothers from the north", "Stop violence against the Serbs", and "Freedom for our brothers".