Pristina's police search Serbs in quest for Serbian flags - Serbian gov't office

BELGRADE, - The Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija said on Monday so-called Kosovo Police units deployed at the entrance to the Serb-populated Gornje Kusce village had searched Serbs and their cars in a quest for Serbian flags on Orthodox Christmas Eve, using force to seize one flag.

"On one of the most important Serbian religious holidays, (Pristina PM Albin) Kurti's phalanxes purposefully tried to cause an incident and intimidate the Serbs to prevent them from celebrating Christmas," the office said in a statement, noting that the Serbian Orthodox Yule log ritual included the carrying of the national flag.

As a rule, Kurti and his regime in Pristina use the especially prominent Serbian holidays to spark inter-ethnic tensions and send the Serbs a message that they will never have peace in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija and never even be able to celebrate Christmas in peace and without worries, it said.

The Serbian tricolour flag is no threat to anyone - on the contrary, and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are holidays the Serbs celebrate with their loved ones, which by no means suits the Pristina regime, it also said.

"Kurti will not prevent the Serbs from celebrating Christmas as they should or from carrying Serbian tricolour flags because, always and forever, the Serbian identity is borne in the heart," the Office said.