Serbian List Must Be Questioned, Favored or Forced

The Serbian list, the Kosovo Serb leading party, has confirmed on June 9th that its top officials have rejected Kosovo's Special Prosecutor's invitation to questioning.

Radio Free Europe has been addressed to this prosecutor with the question of what the procedures and legal steps are, following cases where her invitation to the interview is denied, but until the publication of this text, there is no response. The prosecution has not even come out on its own with any notice of alleged interview invitations.

Speaking of REL, former prosecutor Hoxha explains:

If the invitation is refused, then the order is issued for him [the guest person] to behave violently. Right away. Only the term is set when the prosecution has time to deal with the party, given how it lists interviews and questioning people. There is no other”.

The rejection could bring little delay, a few problems, but certainly [the interview of the individual by the prosecution] will be executed”, Hoxha says.

Serbian List Chairman Goran Rakic has stated in April that anti- “citizens, businessmen, mayors of municipalities, MPs and political representatives” in northern Kosovo have been undertaken procedures “for assaulting Kosovo constitutional order”.

The world, he has said, allegedly the Special Prosecutor is prosecuting more than 70 Serbs for participating in last year's protests, but has not specified which protests.

Rakiq, on June 9th, has confirmed that the invitation for an interview by the prosecution has also come to Serbian List Deputy Chairman Igor Sibiu, and the member of the party's leadership, Slavko Sini.

Rakiq is minister for the Communists and Kthim in the Government of Kosovo, which is led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, while Slavko Sibiu is also deputy head of the Kosovo Assembly. Igor Simuni, meanwhile, is deputy of the Kosovo Assembly.

Rakiq has said a day earlier that no one on the lists allegedly interviewed by the Kosovo Prosecutor will answer. If arrested, according to him, <x0-proposses with all democratic and undemocratic means and, even civil disobedience” will follow.

Maliqi: Serbs' withdrawal from institutions not ruled out

Kosovo's political process recogniser Agon Maliqi says that unless there is any charges announced by the Special Prosecutor against specific Serbian List officials, their refusal to be interviewed could be regarded as <x0); ..for police to take steps”.

Maliqi says that, despite the fact that no one should be above the law, the prosecution should take into account general security implications and find ways to manage the case, possibly without producing broader security effects.

“Threats for boycotting institutions or escalating civil disobedience have been continuing from the [Kosovo's] Serb-run north, but have not materialised so far. Whether it will go on like this remains unclear. Belgrade's position in relation to these developments remains unclear. But the materialisation of this threat is not ruled out by the withdrawal of Serbs from 48x1> institutions, Maliqi says of Radio Free Europe.

According to him, this situation can be used by Belgrade ʹ which supports the Serbian List for “victimisation and profit of political points at the International Plain”, as well as “narration feeding that Serbs are persecuting”.

Petroniq: Wrong access to Kosovo institutions

Verolub Petroniq, executive director of the non-governmental Humanitarian Centre, headquartered in Mitrovica, which also deals with security issues, says Kosovo Special Prosecutorship has had to come up with precise details about the processes to some “”.

As he estimates, only in that way can possible escalation of the situation be avoided.

In the current situation, Petroniq says, different dezinforms circulate, and the people “are scared”. He says that through the Viber telephone app, various lists are circulated with the names of people from the ranks of the Serb community from the north of Kosovo.

This is how fear spreads to citizens, which can destabilize the situation even unstable. The very fact that someone knows that it's on a list, not knowing whether that list is correct or not...”, Petronic says of Radio Free Europe.

“Provocation” for institutions?

According to him, it is evident that the eventual arrests will spur citizens' protests.
“

According to Maliqi, the rejection of prosecutorial invitations by Serbian List officials, who are part of Kosovo's central and local institutions, speaks of the full non-recognition of judicial order in Kosovo”.

Furthermore, this rejection, Maliqi adds, reflects their interest in having a response.

<x0ndodin, it's only about an interview, that's a procedural administrative co-operation with the state of Kosovo for an ongoing investigation. Disobedience to such an invitation, I read it as an act with elements of provocation to institutions, to scale the situation, so that this can be used as a political instrument”, Maliqi says.

Reaction from Serbia

On June 9th, the director of the Office for Kosovo in Serbia's Government, Petar Petkov, has written in his Twitter account that he has informed the European Union's special envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, about, as said, “the execution of Serbian List leaders” on the part of the Government of Kosovo. There was no reaction from the EU.

Petkov has said that anyone who thinks he will scare Serbs in Kosovo is deceived.

This did not make it even the strongest, nor would Kurt, who would want to destroy bridges of cooperation and peace. Serbs will remain united in defending legitimate rights”, Petkovic wrote on Twitter. There was no reaction from the Kosovo government.

When was there a protest?

Members of the Serbian community have protested in October last year, following a Kosovo Police action to fight smuggling goods in the Pristina, Peja, South Mitrovica and North Mitrovica regions.

Kosovo police have indicated that several alternative routes that have been used for smuggling of goods have been confiscated in that action.

Local Serbs in northern Kosovo have protested in September last year, for two weeks, blocking two border points -- Jarinje and Brnjak. This, after the Kosovo government has imposed several measures for Serbia's license plates. At those crossings, with the Serb citizens' group also being representatives of the Serbian List.