„If these and similar actions continue, they will be followed by a decisive response from the Serbian people on June 1st. We will defend the right of Serbs to stay and survive in their hearth and home with all means,“ Srpska Lista announced in an impromptu press conference today. The party did not specify the precise nature of this response. On the other hand, on the eve of the announced swearing-in of the newly elected mayors in the north, they stressed that they would not „look kindly on anyone invading buildings owned by the Republic of Serbia.“
Erden Atic is the first ethnic Albanian mayor of North Mitrovica. He took the oath of office at a ceremony today in the North Mitrovica municipality assembly shortly after 11:00 AM.
In the presence of 13 city councilors, almost all of them ethnic Albanians, and a large number of media crews, Atic underlined that he will perform his duties as defined by the Law on Self-Government and „for the benefit of all communities“.
„I won’t pay attention to the statements of any officials, but I will work for the benefit of all communities,“ he said. Katarina Adjancic, who previously worked at the Kosovo Tax Administration, was chosen as Atic’s deputy.
Immediately after the ceremony, Srpska Lista held an impromptu press conference just a few hundred meters from the municipal building where the Kosovo flag was displayed today.
The Vice-President of Srpska Lista, Igor Simic, said in a statement that: „The repression carried out by Albin Kurti’s regime is something we cannot stand. The deadline of June 1st was given once again as a space primarily for Albin Kurti and Pristina, but also for representatives of Quint and the international community.“
„With this event, the occupation of the north of Kosovo has officially begun. But it has a beginning and an end. It will end when the Serbs deal with it,“ said Simic.
According to Simic, people’s “patience finally ran out”.
„Our people can no longer endure the persecution of Kurti’s regime, which has been going on for months, even years,“ he alerted, reiterating that Kurti has until June 1st to stop the repression of Serbs.
„To stop seizing Serb land, which he is bringing under false expropriation, arresting, harassing Serb citizens, revealing some kind of false indictments against Serbs, to stop persecuting and intimidating Serbs, to stop detaining Serbs because even today casemates on the territory of Kosovo are filled with Serbs without any proof of guilt,“ said Simic.
He underlined that elementary rights should not be denied to Serbs, including the right to education, health care, the right to vote and be elected.
In his words, if that doesn’t happen – on June 1st, a „decisive response from the Serbian people“ will follow. The right to survival of the Serbs will be „defended by all means,“ he added.
Simic, however, did not specify as to what those means would be, that is, what kind of resistance, instead, he only repeated that repression is being carried out against Serbs and that it must stop.
On the other hand, he said that Serbs today have no problem with the Albanian people:
„But with the anti-Serb regime of Albin Kurti, which tries daily to resolve political failures by gaining cheap political points by harassing the Serbian people.“
The SL official alleged they made superhuman efforts, especially today, to preserve peace:
„Thanks to the superhuman efforts made in the previous days, and especially today, we managed to preserve the peace and restrain the people from reacting to the provocations coming from the anti-Serb regime of Albin Kurti.“
On behalf of SL, but also of the Serbian people, Simic claimed they are the ones committed to peace – which they showed on “fake election” day on April 23rd.
It was in these elections, organized after the local Serbs from the north left the Kosovo institutions in early November, which were boycotted by SL and the Serbs, that four Albanian mayors from the ranks of Self-Determination and PDK were elected in North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Leposavic and Zubin Potok.
„Peace was preserved solely by the self-restraint of the Serb people who responded to the call of President Aleksandar Vucic and Srpska Lista to preserve peace, and we succeeded in that,“ Simic claimed.
On the other hand, he alleged that Pristina does not share the same view, that is, that they „threaten peace for the sake of cheap political points“.
He also accused the Kosovo authorities of violating the agreement, without specifying which one – the Brussels Agreement or the recently reached Agreement on the path to normalization between Kosovo and Serbia.
Speaking of the swearing-in ceremonies of the other newly elected mayors in the north of Kosovo, he says that Srpska Lista cannot speculate on what would happen if they were to attempt to enter the institutions.
This party will not „look kindly on anyone invading buildings owned by the Republic of Serbia and provide services to all citizens,“ Simic said.
With the exception of North Mitrovica, where there is a separate municipal building, in the remaining three municipalities, the two municipal leaderships – in the Kosovo and Serbian systems, were located in the same building until the Serbs left the institutions.
Simic avoided directly answering our journalist’s questions about whether Srpska Lista will launch an initiative for a referendum to replace the new mayor of North Mitrovica.
He did, however, recall the position of this party – that the elections held in April are invalid and illegitimate.
„In no way will we give legitimacy to those people who were elected with a hundred votes. This is supported by the fact that only 11 out of 43,000 registered Serbs voted,“ concluded Simic.
Read more:
Erden Atic after taking oath of office: My cabinet started holding meetings today
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