Speaker: Monument to terrorists unacceptable

BELGRADE Serbian Parliament Speaker Nebojsa Stefanovic said on Wednesday that it was unacceptable to have a monument dedicated to a terrorist organization. "Those who killed Serbian citizens in the territory of Serbia" should not be honored in this way, according to him. Speaker: Monument to terrorists unacceptable The speaker also voiced his expectation that legal measures would be taken. "That would be unacceptable in any other normal country, regardless of whether that would be Chechen terrorists who would set up a monument in Moscow, of Al-Qaeda that would erect a monument somewhere in America or Europe," Stefanovic said. The monument dedicated to former members of the ethnic Albanian so-called Liberation Army of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja (UCPMB; OVPBM), who took part in the armed rebellion in 2000, was put up by the local authorities of the Albanian national minority in southern Serbia. "What we have here is not a case of ethnic dispute between Serbs and Albanians, but rather the monument that glorifies those who were killing Serbian citizens," Stefanovic said in a live broadcast on Belgrade-based TV Pink. When asked what is expected to happen on Wednesday, taking into account that the deadline expired for local authorities to remove the monument, Stefanovic voiced expectation that certain legal measures would be taken. “I expect certain legal measures which are imposed after the monument has not been removed, there are regulations as to how the communal police should react,” Stefanovic said. “If there is someone who would oppose that- that is another story. The matter should certainly be discussed with representatives of the Albanians, and it should be made clear to them that it is unacceptable to have in Serbia a monument dedicated to the organization which Americans also labelled as terrorist; not to mention what we think about that,” he said. The deadline given to the local authorities in Presevo to remove the monument expired at midnight. Minister of Justice and State Administration Nikola Selakovic said on Tuesday evening that if the monument in Presevo were not removed, the ministry's administrative inspection would submit a request for instituting offense proceedings against the head of the Presevo municipal administration. (Tanjug, file) Tanjug Pink TV

Speaker: Monument to terrorists unacceptable

The speaker also voiced his expectation that legal measures would be taken.

"That would be unacceptable in any other normal country, regardless of whether that would be Chechen terrorists who would set up a monument in Moscow, of Al-Qaeda that would erect a monument somewhere in America or Europe," Stefanović said.

The monument dedicated to former members of the ethnic Albanian so-called Liberation Army of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa (UCPMB; OVPBM), who took part in the armed rebellion in 2000, was put up by the local authorities of the Albanian national minority in southern Serbia.

"What we have here is not a case of ethnic dispute between Serbs and Albanians, but rather the monument that glorifies those who were killing Serbian citizens," Stefanović said in a live broadcast on Belgrade-based TV Pink.

When asked what is expected to happen on Wednesday, taking into account that the deadline expired for local authorities to remove the monument, Stefanović voiced expectation that certain legal measures would be taken.

“I expect certain legal measures which are imposed after the monument has not been removed, there are regulations as to how the communal police should react,” Stefanović said.

“If there is someone who would oppose that- that is another story. The matter should certainly be discussed with representatives of the Albanians, and it should be made clear to them that it is unacceptable to have in Serbia a monument dedicated to the organization which Americans also labelled as terrorist; not to mention what we think about that,” he said.

The deadline given to the local authorities in Preševo to remove the monument expired at midnight.

Minister of Justice and State Administration Nikola Selaković said on Tuesday evening that if the monument in Preševo were not removed, the ministry's administrative inspection would submit a request for instituting offense proceedings against the head of the Preševo municipal administration.