Just three days after acting Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti laid the foundation stones for two new bridges connecting North and South Mitrovica, and nearly a month after the announcement of the project, the Kosovo Serb political party Srpska Lista has launched a petition opposing the initiative.
On Monday morning, hundreds of residents gathered in front of the Srpska Lista headquarters on the main promenade in North Mitrovica to sign the petition. The party claims the planned bridges are politically motivated and serve as pressure tools in Kurti’s campaign.
Simić: “Bridges Are Political Projects Meant to Pressure Serbs”
Srpska Lista Vice President Igor Simić described the construction of the bridges across the Ibar River as “purely political objects,” intended to exert pressure on the local Serb population.
“These bridges are politically constructed objects, meant to impose yet another form of pressure on the Serbian people who simply want to live in peace on their ancestral lands,” Simić stated.
He emphasized that the citizens were expressing their will peacefully and democratically.
“With pen and signature, they are saying they do not want to be expelled,” he said. “This is the best response to claims from Pristina that citizens support what Kurti is doing.”
Simić stressed that there are already sufficient bridges connecting the northern and southern parts of the city.
“Several bridges currently link North and South Mitrovica and they are more than enough for the normal movement of people,” he said.
He accused the government in Pristina of using the bridge project to alter the ethnic balance in the North.
“This is about pressuring the Serb population, just as hundreds of Albanians have been brought to the North in recent months to walk around and create a new ethnic image of Kosovo and Metohija,” he added.
Calling on citizens to show unity, Simić urged them to sign the petition over the next two days between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. in front of the party office.
“This is a direct appeal to oppose Kurti’s policies,” Simić said, noting the petition would not be submitted to the “illegal and illegitimate” mayor of North Mitrovica but instead to international actors.
He concluded that the ultimate goal is preserving peace for all communities in Kosovo:
“We are doing this to protect peace — peace for everyone, both Serbs and Albanians.”
Elek: Unity is Our Strongest Weapon
Ahead of the petition drive, Srpska Lista President Zlatan Elek also issued a statement, calling for a “clear and unified message” from the Serb community against what he described as unilateral decisions imposed by Pristina.
“Our strongest weapon against the persecution of Serbs is unity and solidarity,” Elek said.
He warned that if the international community fails to respond, it risks becoming complicit in the alleged persecution and exodus of Serbs from Kosovo.
“This bridge construction is not about connection, but about division,” Elek argued.
He reiterated that the project is being implemented without the consent or consultation of the local Serbian population and referred to the plan as being “entirely detrimental to the Serbian community.”
Background: Joint Committee and Bridge Plans
In June, the municipalities of North and South Mitrovica formed a joint committee, after which an inter-municipal memorandum on the construction of two new bridges was signed — one near the North Mitrovica municipality building, and another pedestrian bridge near the “Three Towers” neighborhood. The plans were accompanied by a visit from acting Prime Minister Kurti.
In late June, the European Union conducted load testing on the existing main bridge on the Ibar — the focal point of previous tensions — as part of a 2016 Brussels Agreement plan for reopening the bridge to traffic. The EU confirmed the testing, contradicting claims from Kosovo government officials that they were not informed.
Critics have accused the government of diverting attention from internal crises by pushing forward with infrastructure projects like these, especially after earlier attempts to open the main bridge last year were reportedly blocked by NATO.
Currently, five bridges connect North and South Mitrovica.
Critics of the new plan argue that these are sufficient and that the new bridges are being built for political rather than practical reasons. Construction is reportedly proceeding even on weekends.
Kurti to Lay Foundation Stones for Two New Bridges in Divided Mitrovica Amid EU Warnings
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
