Drecun: Opening of Mitrovica bridge would pave way for expulsion of Serbs

BELGRADE - The head of the Serbian parliamentary committee on Kosovo-Metohija Milovan Drecun said on Monday Pristina was using institutional violence and that last week's local elections in the north of Kosovo-Metohija were a "simulation."

"In fact, this is institutional violence that Pristina is carrying out against the people in the north by forming alleged municipal assemblies and appointing mayors," Drecun told the RTS.

Commenting on Pristina's decision to open to traffic a bridge on the Ibar River that separates the northern and the southern part of ethnically divided Kosovska Mitrovica, Drecun said there were several other crossable bridges on the river but that, to Pristina and ethnic Albanians, the Kosovska Mitrovica bridge was the most important one.

"Let's look at events since the arrival of international forces. All attempts by ethnic Albanians to break into the north of Kosovo-Metohija, to literally take control of it and expel the Serbs, have gone across that bridge. Do you remember mass protests by thousands and thousands of ethnic Albanians - including many extremists - who opened fire at Serbs from automatic firearms? They fired shots from sniper rifles from the south of Kosovska Mitrovica in an attempt to get across that bridge," Drecun said.

He said the bridge had been discussed on several occasions as part of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and that some solutions had been offered and some agreements reached.

But, all of a sudden, we now have a situation where Pristina wants to open that bridge to traffic, which would be an immediate threat to the survival of Serbs in the north of Kosovo-Metohija, he said.

"It is good that the KFOR command has said the issue must be resolved through dialogue, rather than by such unilateral attempts by ethnic Albanians. Secondly, Belgrade is trying to calm the situation with Pristina through talks," Drecun said.

He said Tuesday's high-level meeting in Brussels would be very important and enable discussions on other political issues.

"I assume that this newly-arisen situation could be discussed as well," Drecun said.

Opening of the Ibar bridge would pave the way for a mass incursion by ethnic Albanians that would be aimed at expelling local Serbs and destabilising the situation, he said.