a few seconds agoBlockades of masked Serbian persons, Stano reacts
Periskopi(2 years ago)
(2 years ago)Masked persons in Serbia placed barricades at border crossings with Kosovo, specifically preventing freedom of movement only to citizens of Albanian ethnicity. These actions, initially warned by some who were introduced as nongovernmental organisations, began Friday and ended Saturday. In Kosovo there were complaints of non-responsive [...]
EU spokesman Peter Stano has said it is neither a peaceful gathering nor a democratic right for masked persons to fear travelers, while reminding Serbia of the responsibility of dialogue agreements on freedom of movement.
The license of the peaceful gathering, by respecting the law, is absolutely essential in any democracy. However, masked persons in Serbia, near common crossing points, blocking traffic coming from Kosovo and scaring travellers, are not part of this category. The 2011 dialogue agreement on freedom of movement clearly defines the principle of free travel within or through the territory of the other side. It is the responsibility of each side to implement those provisions on its territory, in this case Serbia”, Stano has said.
Border crossings between Kosovo and Serbia returned to normality after masked persons in Serbia removed barricades. Even Kosovo freed the points it closed in response to racist selection by the protesters.
Interior Minister Jalal Svecla came out on Saturday afternoon with an announcement, while saying they want law and order in every corner of the country.
After receiving reports that blockades created by masked extremists that were located yesterday on Serbia's territory and seeing there is no obstacle to circulation from and towards border points of the Republic of Kosovo, we made the decision to open the Merdar and Brnjak border crossings. Order and law, peace and security, corner to corner and border of our Republic”
Foreign Minister Donika Grovalla had said Serbia's police became accomplices with masked persons since they were selecting who to pass, police had not intervened.
At the border checkpoint in Brnjak, within Serbia's territory, masked persons are also stopping cars with German registration, and after the findings they are Albanians are not letting them pass. The Serbian police vehicle only looks at and does not intervene to ensure the free movement of citizens, thus becoming an accomplice of this racist and fascist selection, which brings dark times to mind and as such cannot be tolerated”, Gervalla wrote on Friday.
The blockade organisers said on Friday they want Kosovo to withdraw police from majority Serb municipalities in the north, allow the use of Serbian dinar currency, which was banned earlier this year, and allow the work of parallel Serb municipalities.
They said they took these actions in response to the closure of Serbia's five parallel municipalities in northern municipalities.
Some of them have warned they will wait until the end of this month to see if these demands will be met by Kosovo on the contrary, there will be new border blockades.
