Serbs in north seek to render crossings "nonfunctional"

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA Serbs in northern Kosovo say they will use all democratic means at their disposal to oppose implementation of agreements reached in the Kosovo dialogue. Belgrade-based daily Danas is reporting that their leaders also said the locals would boycott official crossings on the administrative line between Kosovo and central Serbia. Serbs in north seek to render crossings "nonfunctional" Serbs, a majority population north of the Ibar River, reject the authority of the Kosovo Albanian institutions in Pristina, as well as their unilateral declaration of independence made in February 2008. The newspaper writes on Monday that a pilot project on integrated management of administrative crossings should be implemented in mid-December, but that given the opposition of the Serbs, "there is danger of new unrest and obstruction of agreements reached between Belgrade and Pristina". Government Kosovo Office chief Aleksandar Vulin was quoted as saying that the EU mission, EULEX, " will guarantee status-neutrality" at the crossings, by having "an executive role so that there are tax administration officers instead of customs officers there". Serb National Council (SNV) of Northern Kosovo leader Milan Ivanovic, however, reiterates that "Serbs do not want Albanian institutions": "What this means is that we do not want to have Kosovo customs and police on the administrative crossings either, because those crossings would then represent a border within the state of Serbia, which would be unconstitutional. I can tell you now that there will be plenty of resistance in northern Kosovo and Metohija to the implementation of the agreement that Borislav Stefanovic, that is, Boris Tadic, reached with the Kosovo side." Asked what the Serbs in the region "could do", Ivanovic said they would "first use all democratic means to render the administrative crossings nonfunctional", while at the same time using the so-called alternative roads to transport passengers and goods. "There's plenty of room to achieve our legitimate rights," he observed. Another local leader, Marko Jaksic - who serves as MP from the ranks of the opposition DSS party - also criticized the announced pilot project. "Our own country is stabbing us in the back. They have moved to make a border between central Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija, and in order to keep us quiet, made a deal with EULEX and Pristina that would be best if Serbian Gendarmerie were to arrest our sons, so that our rage would not be directed toward the EU and KFOR," he asserted, and accused the Serbian authorities of continuing the policy of former President Boris Tadic. Jaksic also accused the ruling Progressives (SNS) and their official, Vulin, of bringing up the country's international obligations as an excuse: "There may be obligations, but they are of one political party. It is clear that the SNS chose the EU over Kosovo and de facto recognized Kosovo as a separate state. The truth is brutal, but that's what it is." Jaksic added that the space would be narrowed for the activities of the Serbs, as he predicted that alternative roads would be guarded by KFOR "using all available means". Danas

Serbs in north seek to render crossings "nonfunctional"

Serbs, a majority population north of the Ibar River, reject the authority of the Kosovo Albanian institutions in Priština, as well as their unilateral declaration of independence made in February 2008.

The newspaper writes on Monday that a pilot project on integrated management of administrative crossings should be implemented in mid-December, but that given the opposition of the Serbs, "there is danger of new unrest and obstruction of agreements reached between Belgrade and Priština".

Government Kosovo Office chief Aleksandar Vulin was quoted as saying that the EU mission, EULEX, " will guarantee status-neutrality" at the crossings, by having "an executive role so that there are tax administration officers instead of customs officers there". Serb National Council (SNV) of Northern Kosovo leader Milan Ivanović, however, reiterates that "Serbs do not want Albanian institutions":

"What this means is that we do not want to have Kosovo customs and police on the administrative crossings either, because those crossings would then represent a border within the state of Serbia, which would be unconstitutional. I can tell you now that there will be plenty of resistance in northern Kosovo and Metohija to the implementation of the agreement that Borislav Stefanović, that is, Boris Tadić, reached with the Kosovo side."

Asked what the Serbs in the region "could do", Ivanović said they would "first use all democratic means to render the administrative crossings nonfunctional", while at the same time using the so-called alternative roads to transport passengers and goods.

"There's plenty of room to achieve our legitimate rights," he observed.

Another local leader, Marko Jakšić - who serves as MP from the ranks of the opposition DSS party - also criticized the announced pilot project.

"Our own country is stabbing us in the back. They have moved to make a border between central Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija, and in order to keep us quiet, made a deal with EULEX and Priština that would be best if Serbian Gendarmerie were to arrest our sons, so that our rage would not be directed toward the EU and KFOR," he asserted, and accused the Serbian authorities of continuing the policy of former President Boris Tadić.

Jakšić also accused the ruling Progressives (SNS) and their official, Vulin, of bringing up the country's international obligations as an excuse:

"There may be obligations, but they are of one political party. It is clear that the SNS chose the EU over Kosovo and de facto recognized Kosovo as a separate state. The truth is brutal, but that's what it is."

Jakšić added that the space would be narrowed for the activities of the Serbs, as he predicted that alternative roads would be guarded by KFOR "using all available means".