Serb officials in message to local KPS

18 January 2011 | 15:44 | Source: Beta, Tanjug

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA -- Serbian officials in northern Kosovo have called on members of the Kosovo police, KPS, not to carry out "warped decisions of the Kosovo (Albanian) government". They were also asked to "decide to which nation and which state they belong". The appeal is related to the controversy that broke out after the government in Priština said it had banned the movement of vehicles with new Serbian license plates. The north of Kosovo is predominantly inhabited by Serbs who do not recognize the authority of the Kosovo Albanian government. The head of the Kosovska Mitrovica District Radenko Nedeljković and Zvečan Mayor Dragiša Milović said in a statement for TV Most today that citizens must have confidence in their leaders who will "solve all problems in a peaceful, democratic manner and using political means". They also asserted that the license plates decision had the goal of bringing unease among the Serbs. Nedeljković said the move was "just that drop that spilled the glass over the brim" while the suspended KPS member Nenad Đurić "did not refuse to implement the order from Priština - he appraised that he could not implement it in Zvečan, which is inhabited by Serbs". The district chief expressed hope that Đurić would receive support from his colleagues in other northern Kosovo towns, and that they would not carry out Priština's political decisions, but instead stay withing the boundaries of their policing duties. "Captain Nenad Đurić is still the commander of the police station, as far as we, the leadership and residents of Zvečan are concerned, and no other will be accepted by the people," said Mayor Milović. According to him, the local self-government in the north previously adopted conclusions that specified that decisions coming from Priština were not acceptable in this region, which recognizes only those made by the state and the government of Serbia. "At a time when negotiations are expected to start between Belgrade and Priština, they are trying to impose solutions through unilateral moves. We have identified that, and will not accept that," concluded Milović. Both officials also rejected the possibility that Serbs might accept to have test plates on their cars in order to replace those the MUP issues for the towns in Kosovo. "Our position is clear: if members of the KPS confiscate another pair of Serb license plates in northern Kosmet (Kosovo and Metohija), we will end our cooperation with them," warned Nedeljković. He also called on EULEX to take a stand on this issue and demonstrate that it is a status-neutral mission - "something it has not been thus far".  Belgrade wants issue "solved" Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanović said Tuesday the government would continue its dialogue with the EU and was willing to address the registration plate issue in Kosovo, because it wanted to help the Serb community there and avoid creating any tension. Serbia is issuing new plates in central Serbia and Kosovo, but the Kosovo authorities took advantage of the political vacuum in the territory and decided to ban the plates, which is unacceptable for the Serbs there, Bogdanović stated. That is why the Serbs are frustrated, because they simply cannot agree to such ultimatums, he told a Belgrade television outlet on Tuesday. According to Bogdanović, the EU Mission in Kosovo has taken a neutral stand on the issue. He noted it had been agreed with Priština that no side should make any one-sided actions for the time being. Serbia has fulfilled its part in all agreements with the EU, but Priština is trying to prove Kosovo's supposed independence by forcing Serbs to accept their registration plates, he stated. Kosovo's predominantly Serb populated north is in the focus of the international community and the Kosovo authorities, Bogdanović remarked. The Kosovo Albanians are once again trying to accuse Serbs of being the bad guys and wanting to destabilize Kosovo, as well as of not wanting to negotiate, which is not true, he asserted.