4 hours agoThe EU reacts to Serb police resignations: Condemning Pressure, Fear, Threat to Them
Periskopi(3 years ago)
(3 years ago)The European Union through a public statement Wednesday has voiced concern over the resignation of several Serb members from Kosovo Police, who were recently recruited by the institution. EU spokesman Peter Stano has said that Kosovo Police members should reflect and represent the society they serve [...]
EU spokesman Peter Stano has said that Kosovo Police members should reflect and represent the society they serve and protect.
Kosovo Police non-partisans have a role to play in contributing to the security of their community through community-oriented police. We condemn psychological pressure, intimidation and revenge threats against Serb members of the Kosovo Police, which are said to have motivated the resignation of the newly drafted officer”, Stano has declared.
He has since indicated that any kind of frightening or threatening behaviour against Kosovo Serb police officers, including the acts related to Serbia, is unacceptable and should be stopped immediately.
Any such intimidation is against the spirit of normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia. Kosovo institutions should be comprehensive and multiethnic, and the EU underlines that a sustainable solution to the Kosovo Serbs' return to institutions should be found within the framework of the dialogue facilitated by the EU”, Stano has said.
In the end, he stressed that “The EU remains committed to descale the situation in northern Kosovo, as highlighted in the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security's statement on behalf of 27 EU nations on 3 June”.
“Declara's statement showed both sides clear responsibilities for de-tradition with the aim of organising early, comprehensive local elections in all four municipalities as soon as possible with the participation of Kosovo Serbs without preconditions”, Stano has concluded.
Days ago, even internationally accredited diplomats in Kosovo have expressed their concern over the resignation of Kosovo Serb policemen.
Some 550 Serb police officers in the north HINA in northern Mitrovica municipalities Zvecan, Leposaviq and Zubin Potok had collectively resigned from Kosovo Police in November last year, as a sign of protest of the Kosovo Government's decision to register Serbian illegal license plates in the Kosovo Republic.
After the resignations, authorities in Kosovo had announced competitions for acceptance of new policemen, employing 74.
Of them, 46 were reported to have been from the Serb community.
