Southern Kosovo Serbs "inexplicably passive"

Ministry for Kosovo State Secretary Oliver Ivanovic has criticized Serbs south of the Ibar River for their “inexplicable passivity“. According to him, Serbs south of the Ibar River need to show the international community and Albanians that they “are not ok” with Kosovo’s independence. Southern Kosovo Serbs "inexplicably passive" “It is very important that they come out loud and clear, that they say what they think, just like it is important for them to understand that their existence will also be uncertain if the north falls,” the state secretary told Novi Sad-based daily Dnevnik. He pointed out on Sunday that Kosovo Serbs saw deployment of Kosovo customs officers to the Jarinje and Brnjak checkpoints as “formal separation” of northern Kosovo from central Serbia. “Readiness to hand them over to Pristina lightly actually only undermines positions. Their vital interest is to maintain strong ties both with the north and with Belgrade. Otherwise they will be spent, played and I am afraid that most of them will be forced to leave,” Ivanovic was quoted as saying. He stressed that Serbia and Kosovo and EULEX had understood the agreement on customs stamp differently, adding that the Brnjak and Jarinje administrative crossings “should not even be turned into customs checkpoints” because they are “only checkpoints at the administrative line”. “It is unacceptable to Serbia in any way to have Kosovo policemen and customs officers at those administrative crossings because their ‘monitoring’ is in fact a political goal. Besides, what is there to monitor,” the state secretary pointed out. He assessed that the current situation with barricades in northern Kosovo was “useful” because it would force all sides to quickly sit down and find a solution for the burning issue. “In any case, it is better than only us being blocked,” Ivanovic told Dnevnik. He explained that the bad situation that everybody in Kosovo was in could make all sides be “creative and efficient”. The administrative line with Kosovo (Tanjug)

Southern Kosovo Serbs "inexplicably passive"

“It is very important that they come out loud and clear, that they say what they think, just like it is important for them to understand that their existence will also be uncertain if the north falls,” the state secretary told Novi Sad-based daily Dnevnik.

He pointed out on Sunday that Kosovo Serbs saw deployment of Kosovo customs officers to the Jarinje and Brnjak checkpoints as “formal separation” of northern Kosovo from central Serbia.

“Readiness to hand them over to Priština lightly actually only undermines positions. Their vital interest is to maintain strong ties both with the north and with Belgrade. Otherwise they will be spent, played and I am afraid that most of them will be forced to leave,” Ivanović was quoted as saying.

He stressed that Serbia and Kosovo and EULEX had understood the agreement on customs stamp differently, adding that the Brnjak and Jarinje administrative crossings “should not even be turned into customs checkpoints” because they are “only checkpoints at the administrative line”.

“It is unacceptable to Serbia in any way to have Kosovo policemen and customs officers at those administrative crossings because their ‘monitoring’ is in fact a political goal. Besides, what is there to monitor,” the state secretary pointed out.

He assessed that the current situation with barricades in northern Kosovo was “useful” because it would force all sides to quickly sit down and find a solution for the burning issue.

“In any case, it is better than only us being blocked,” Ivanović told Dnevnik.

He explained that the bad situation that everybody in Kosovo was in could make all sides be “creative and efficient”.