"Serbs will ignore Tadić and ask for parliament to meet"

Serbs in northern Kosovo will likely ask for parliament to convene and declare itself "on the change of the state policy announced by Boris Tadic". This is according to an article in the Thursday edition of the Belgrade-based daily Danas. "Serbs will ignore Tadic and ask for parliament to meet" Before this request is made, assemblies of the four Serb municipalities in the north will convene and take a stand on Tadic's call, made on Tuesday, urging Serbs to abandon their barricades. The Zvecan municipality already voted on Wednesday to unanimously reject Tadic's appeal, while the Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija Municipalities has announced that Belgrade's negotiator in the ongoing Kosovo dialogue, Borislav Stefanovic, will face a criminal complaint "as soon as the content of Wednesday's negotiations in Brussels has been revealed". The newspaper also claims that in case the government introduces "temporary measures" in reaction to the disobedience of the four municipalities, the Serbs there are getting ready to implement "an alternative organization" of their roadblocks. At the same time in the field - the daily is citing unnamed sources, -Tadic's Democrats (DS) "are sending out unofficial signals that Tadic had to call for the removal of the barricades finding himself under pressure, but that Serbs should not abandon them". President of the Serb National Council of Northern Kosovo and Metohija and Zvecan councilor Milan Ivanovic told Danas that this municipality's assembly found that Tadic's call was endangering vital Serb interests, and was "accepting Kosovo's independence". "Kosovo and Metohija is the price for the EU candidate status and his survival in power. We are asking for the Serbian parliament to take a stance on all this. We are inviting Tadic to visit the barricades, and personally convince the people to accept his messages, because we do not understand this u-turn in Belgrade's policy," said Ivanovic. This Serb representative also stated that Tadic's appeal "nullified the parliamentary declaration adopted on July 30", and warned that his reference to "extremists" additionally jeopardized the position of the Serbs on the barricades. "The issue of barricade removal is a huge issue with serious consequences, for which the municipal presidents cannot take responsibility. The municipal assemblies will make that decision. We find the parliamentary declaration of July 30 binding, because Serbia is a parliamentary democracy where the national assembly holds the highest legislative powers," Kosovska Mitrovica Mayor Krstimir Patic told the newspaper. Pantic also stated that councilors of all four towns - including Leposavic, where the DS is in power - are unanimous in their position to reject the ethnic Albanian institutions in the north of Kosovo. Asked whether Serbs could become "easier target of KFOR and Pristina due to their disobedience", Pantic said he did not view the current situation in that way, and that Tadic was "forced to say, under pressure, what he deep down does not think". The mayor said that the Serbian president behaved in this way in order for Serbia to become a candidate for EU membership - which would provide the current government with its only trump card in the forthcoming elections. "Serbs should not hurry," said Kosovska Mitrovica councilor and Deputy Chairman of the Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija Municipalities Marko Jaksic. "It is up to the Serbian parliament to examine the president's political position that runs contrary to the parliamentary declaration that called for the situation (in northern Kosovo) to return to what it was before July 25, and for the dialogue with Pristina to be postponed until the issue of Jarinje and Brnjak had been solved. After that, we'll see how we'll proceed." Serbs are seen on Wednesday at the barricade in Jagnjenica, with German and Austrian KFOR troops in the background (Beta)

"Serbs will ignore Tadić and ask for parliament to meet"

Before this request is made, assemblies of the four Serb municipalities in the north will convene and take a stand on Tadić's call, made on Tuesday, urging Serbs to abandon their barricades.

The Zvečan municipality already voted on Wednesday to unanimously reject Tadić's appeal, while the Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija Municipalities has announced that Belgrade's negotiator in the ongoing Kosovo dialogue, Borislav Stefanović, will face a criminal complaint "as soon as the content of Wednesday's negotiations in Brussels has been revealed".

The newspaper also claims that in case the government introduces "temporary measures" in reaction to the disobedience of the four municipalities, the Serbs there are getting ready to implement "an alternative organization" of their roadblocks.

At the same time in the field - the daily is citing unnamed sources, -Tadić's Democrats (DS) "are sending out unofficial signals that Tadić had to call for the removal of the barricades finding himself under pressure, but that Serbs should not abandon them".

President of the Serb National Council of Northern Kosovo and Metohija and Zvečan councilor Milan Ivanović told Danas that this municipality's assembly found that Tadić's call was endangering vital Serb interests, and was "accepting Kosovo's independence".

"Kosovo and Metohija is the price for the EU candidate status and his survival in power. We are asking for the Serbian parliament to take a stance on all this. We are inviting Tadić to visit the barricades, and personally convince the people to accept his messages, because we do not understand this u-turn in Belgrade's policy," said Ivanović.

This Serb representative also stated that Tadić's appeal "nullified the parliamentary declaration adopted on July 30", and warned that his reference to "extremists" additionally jeopardized the position of the Serbs on the barricades.

"The issue of barricade removal is a huge issue with serious consequences, for which the municipal presidents cannot take responsibility. The municipal assemblies will make that decision. We find the parliamentary declaration of July 30 binding, because Serbia is a parliamentary democracy where the national assembly holds the highest legislative powers," Kosovska Mitrovica Mayor Krstimir Patić told the newspaper.

Pantić also stated that councilors of all four towns - including Leposavić, where the DS is in power - are unanimous in their position to reject the ethnic Albanian institutions in the north of Kosovo. Asked whether Serbs could become "easier target of KFOR and Priština due to their disobedience", Pantić said he did not view the current situation in that way, and that Tadić was "forced to say, under pressure, what he deep down does not think".

The mayor said that the Serbian president behaved in this way in order for Serbia to become a candidate for EU membership - which would provide the current government with its only trump card in the forthcoming elections.

"Serbs should not hurry," said Kosovska Mitrovica councilor and Deputy Chairman of the Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija Municipalities Marko Jakšić. "It is up to the Serbian parliament to examine the president's political position that runs contrary to the parliamentary declaration that called for the situation (in northern Kosovo) to return to what it was before July 25, and for the dialogue with Priština to be postponed until the issue of Jarinje and Brnjak had been solved. After that, we'll see how we'll proceed."