The village clinic “Sveti Nikola”, operating within Serbia’s healthcare system in the village of Banje, in the Srbica/Skenderaj municipality, was shut down today – on Good Friday. Residents also report that the clinic in the village of Suvo Grlo was closed as well.
A yellow tape was placed on the clinic building in Banje, stating that the facility had been closed by order of the Inspection Directorate of the Skenderaj/Srbica municipality.
At the same time, according to local residents, the sign at the entrance of the “Milun Jakšić” Elementary School in Banje was removed. The sign had contained the inscription “AP Kosovo and Metohija.”
This was also confirmed to Radio Goraždevac by the village representative, Vasilije Tomašević.
“The sign was literally torn out of the wall and taken away. This is additional pressure on the population in these villages,” he said.
A similar situation unfolded in the village of Suvo Grlo.
Nurse Gordana Tomašević, who was on duty at the time, confirmed to Radio Goraždevac that following the action in Banje, the clinic in Suvo Grlo was also shut down.
“We were at work. They came from Srbica together with inspectors from Pristina, entered the clinic, saw the documents bearing the seals of the Republic of Serbia and told us that we could no longer work. They asked for the stamp, and I told them I did not have it and that we operate under the Health Center in Mitrovica,” she said.
According to her, an inspection had already been carried out at this clinic two days earlier, and the inspectors returned today and, as she stated, closed it.
KoSSev and Radio Goraždevac reached out to South Mitrovica region police spokesperson Avni Zahiti, asking why the clinics had been shut down and whether this was a temporary suspension of work, but no response had been received by the time of publication.
The closures come just one day after the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade–Pristina dialogue, Peter Sorensen, visited Belgrade.
Serbian List reacts
In a statement issued this afternoon, Serbian List said that today’s action, carried out by representatives of the Ministry of Health in Pristina and the Srbica municipality, directly endangers the right to healthcare of the Serbian population and all citizens who had used the services of these institutions.
The party said it had informed representatives of the European Union, the United States, the Quint countries, as well as the OSCE, EULEX, KFOR and UNMIK, requesting an urgent reaction.
Serbian List also recalled that international representatives – “above all EU Special Representative Peter Sorensen and the Embassy of the United States in Kosovo” – had clearly indicated that there should be no interruption in the provision of healthcare and education services to citizens, and that the functioning of institutions in these sectors should be resolved exclusively through dialogue, on the basis of existing agreements and in consultation with the Serbian community.
The party further described the closures as a politically motivated move detrimental to ordinary people, noting that the clinics had for years provided services to all citizens without discrimination.
It demanded that the clinics be allowed to resume work without delay and that citizens’ right to healthcare be ensured.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
