After the results of these elections were known, the minority Kosovo Serbs opposed the inclusion of Kosovar Albanian mayors in four northern municipalities and protested daily outside local town halls.
In Belgrade, the Director of the Kosovo Government Office, Petar Petkovic, accused Pristina of disinformation and fraud to continue with daily provocations to foment conflict and “trample any possibility of dialogue and normalization”.
As Petkovic said at a press conference, with the increasing concentration of special police officers in the north, Pristina wants to create pretexts for new arbitrary arrests and intimidate the population.
He also called Kosovar Prime Minister, nationalist Albin Kurti, “a madman who wants to set fire not only to the north but also to the region” and accused him of making fun of the European Union (EU), which called for an immediate de-escalation last Thursday.
For his part, Kosovar Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla assured that on Friday in the town of Zvecani (north), where Serbs make up the majority population, police found a car with numerous weapons, explosives and ammunition, allegedly intended for armed actions against Kosovar institutions .
According to the RTK portal, Svecla accused Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic of attempts to destabilize the region, while the director of the government office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, accused Pristina of “misinformation and deception in order to cause conflict and trample on everyone”. Possibility of dialogue and normalization”.
Last week the Belgrade government ordered the arrest of three Kosovo police officers, arrests Pristina viewed as “kidnappings”.
Since then, the Kosovan executive has banned the import of Serbian goods into the territory.
In this regard, the EU is demanding from Pristina that the mayors keep their positions in other buildings until new elections are held, in which the Serbs participate unconditionally.
She also demands the withdrawal of the Kosovar special police from the town halls and the surrounding areas and the simultaneous withdrawal of the Serb demonstrators. Meanwhile, it is demanding that Serbia release the three Kosovan police officers.
The EU has so far tried unsuccessfully to mediate in a difficult normalization dialogue between Serbia and its former province, which proclaimed its independence in 2008, without this being recognized by Belgrade or part of the international community.
rgh/ehl