The French humanitarian, Arnaud Gouillon, who lives in Serbia and supports the Serb population in Kosovo, was detained on Monday at Merdare followed by the issuing of a ban on further entry to Kosovo for an indefinite period of time. The news was confirmed by Gouillon on the same night.
He claimed that he was stopped, searched, and detained before being prohibited from visiting Kosovo for an indefinite time without explanation. Gouillon, furthermore, was interrogated by Kosovo intelligence on his humanitarian operations in Kosovo, and also about a Figaro-published article while accusing him of damaging Kosovo’s image internationally. Finally, Gouillon claimed that his reputation and that of his family were threatened as well.
„By denying me access to Kosovo and Metohija, they want to stop humanitarian aid been delivered to Serbs who live in enclaves and to who we have been providing help for 14 years. By threatening my integrity, they want me to give up on my commitment for the West to hear the truth about the violation of the human rights of Serbs, Roma, Gorani and other national minorities in Kosovo. Humanitarian work and the truth about the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, which I have devoted half of my life to (14 years), they tried to tear this down in just a few hours today. I am very worried and I do not know how things will go onward, but what is certain is that I will stay calm until I light a candle in Visoki Decani where I was baptized, and until I kiss again the Icon of the Holy Virgin in the Gracanica Monastery where I proposed to my wife and until I can see my godfathers again, friends in Novo Brdo, Banje, Crkolez, Strpce and all the villages of Kosovo and Metohija,“ wrote Gouillon.
The Kosovo police have not provided details yet, however, they briefly confirmed for RTK2 that Gouillon was detained on Monday.
Gouillon was supposed to attend the opening of a livestock farm launched within the complex of a soup kitchen in the village of Prekovce near Novo Brdo.
The attempt by Gouillon to travel to Kosovo took place just one day after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic visited the north of Kosovo, which was followed by an incident in the Drenica/Srbica region where KLA veterans blocked the road, opposing Vucic’s visit to the Serbian village of Banje.
Due to humanitarian work in Kosovo Serb areas, as well as a commitment in France to change the image of Serbia, Frenchman, Arnaud Gouillon has been awarded by Serbia.
Gouillon’s NGO, „Solidarity for Kosovo“, have organised humanitarian campaigns in Kosovo for years. Special attention is paid to the education of Serbian children in Metohija, as well as the economic empowerment of Serbs in enclaves, which has included the reconstruction of schools, summer holiday camps and assistance for the construction of production facilities are frequent actions within the support of this organization.
Earlier this year, Arnaud Gouillon came across a different type of media attention in Serbia after an interview with N1 television opened his earlier political engagement connected to the French Identitarian Movement.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
