Petkovic receives Ziadeh

BELGRADE - The director of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic received UNMIK head Caroline Ziadeh on Thursday to discuss the political and security situation in Kosovo-Metohija in light of the recent tragic events in the Banjska village in the north of the province.

Petkovic said that, countless times in over a year, Belgrade had warned the international community that Albin Kurti's daily violence and terror against Serbs in the north of Kosovo-Metohija could lead to tragedy and unforeseeable consequences, which unfortunately happened in the night between September 23 and 24, the Office for Kosovo-Metohija said in a statement.

Even though Pristina is doggedly striving to blame Belgrade for the Banjska events by relying on fabricated information and a campaign of lies, Belgrade has always consistently advocated peace and stability in the province, Petkovic said.

The Serbian side did not need any incidents and full responsibility for the recent developments rests upon Pristina, he said.

He said greater Kfor and Eulex presence must be ensured in the north of Kosovo-Metohija and noted that the move would boost the safety of the Serb population.

He noted that the so-called Kosovo Police must be withdrawn from the north of Kosovo-Metohija as it had no permission to be there under the Brussels Agreement and was seen by local residents exclusively as an occupation force.

That is being demonstrated on a daily basis through the violence and terror it is wreaking, he said.

The recent developments have unequivocally shown that Kosovo-Metohija Serbs must be enabled to form a Community of Serb Municipalities as soon as possible to ensure the collective and individual rights of Serbs as envisioned by the Brussels Agreement, which the Pristina authorities have been refusing to implement for over ten years now, Petkovic also said.

Petkovic told Ziadeh Belgrade expected UNMIK to take a balanced and objective approach in its assessment of the recent tragic events and their presentation in her next report on the mission's work.