What began as a joyful celebration for high school seniors in North Mitrovica took a troubling turn when the traditional graduation parade ended in an interethnic incident.
Students from local high schools, accompanied by trumpeters, had been parading through the town’s main promenade, celebrating the end of their secondary education. The event, a customary and festive affair, was disrupted near the end of the promenade, where a confrontation broke out near a café owned by ethnic Albanians.
The incident, captured on video and widely circulated on social media, shows a group of Serbian graduates walking past the café as a man from the establishment makes a two-headed eagle gesture – a nationalist Albanian symbol – toward the students. The students reportedly responded with middle fingers, prompting an immediate reaction from nearby police officers.
One video clip shows a young police officer grabbing a student by the neck, sparking a scuffle. Other officers joined in, pushing and pulling the student.
Red markings on the student’s neck, initially suspected to be blood, were later explained by classmates as part of graduation body art, where students signed each other’s skin with markers.
A teacher intervened, attempting to de-escalate the situation by identifying the student as part of the school group. The officer, however, replied in Albanian, accusing them provoking the situation.
Students Speak Out: “They Provoked Us”
In interviews with KoSSev, several students involved insisted they did not initiate the altercation. One graduate described the moment:
“We were walking peacefully with the trumpeters. As we passed the cafés, some guests started showing nationalist and vulgar signs. We instinctively responded with a middle finger. That’s when the police officer grabbed me by the neck and accused me of provoking.”
He said the interaction left him feeling unjustly treated: “I felt like the culprit, even though they started it. It was like a setup.”
Another student, identified as L.Č., echoed the claim:
“We reached the end of our promenade, where their shops are now located. We were there with a brass band, minding our own business. Then, from the garden area, they started making gestures at us, trying to provoke us and everything. Unfortunately, without thinking about the consequences — considering their police — we reacted by returning the same gestures, even milder ones. They showed us their eagles, nationalist eagles, and middle fingers. We responded in our own way. I started walking uphill when I heard noise and saw that they had taken my friend aside — they had singled him out. One of them even grabbed him by the neck. I’d say it was aggressive, because it was definitely not normal. When I saw him being grabbed by the neck, I reacted because he’s my friend. After some time of mistreatment, they let him go“.
Deputy Police Commander Confirms Incident in North Mitrovica, Disputes Students’ Claims
The Deputy Commander for the North Region, Veton Elshani, confirmed that an incident occurred during a high school graduation celebration in North Mitrovica — but offered a narrative that contrasts with the students’ version of events.
Elshani acknowledged that the graduates had properly registered their gathering with the police. However, he stated that an incident took place near the end of the Mitrovica promenade when, according to him, some of the students allegedly made remarks toward patrons — mostly of Albanian ethnicity — who were sitting in cafes and restaurants owned by Albanians.
According to Elshani, police intervened by approaching the students and “politely asking them” to refrain from such behavior.
He did not clarify how the situation escalated into physical contact between officers and students. Asked whether an officer exceeded his authority by grabbing a student by the neck, Elshani responded: “I don’t think that was excessive force.”
He further stated that there are no grounds to initiate an internal investigation or legal case.
Responding to additional questions from KoSSev about why police did not react to Albanian nationalist gestures — such as the display of the „double-headed eagle“ — and instead physically restrained a student, Elshani, who was declared an “honorary citizen of North Mitrovica” earlier today, explained:
“When an incident occurs, the police approach the larger group in order to de-escalate the situation. The police responded in the best way possible under the circumstances — to stop the incident.”
Meanwhile, Albanian-language media have placed blame on the Serb students, reporting that police were forced to intervene in response to alleged provocations.
Contrasting Narratives in Albanian Media
Albanian-language outlets offered a different version of events. Gazeta 10 reported that “a group of young Serbs” had staged a protest in northern Kosovo and had “provoked others in various ways,” adding that police intervention had prevented a larger conflict between the youths of different ethnic backgrounds.
Parent Reacts to Viral Video of Police Incident Involving Son
The father of high school senior (L.P.) – D.P. says he first learned of the incident involving his son through a video shared by his older child, showing what appears to be a police officer grabbing the younger boy by the neck. The footage, which quickly circulated on Telegram and other social media platforms, sparked concern and outrage among local residents.
“I felt sick when I saw the video. I’m still trying to understand what actually happened,” the father told KoSSev. “His homeroom teacher called me and said my son ended up in the middle of the incident completely innocent — that he didn’t provoke anyone. She told me the officer grabbed him simply because he was the smallest in the group.”
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
