Serbian List makes conference: The parallel institutions offered legal services, did not violate the law

Kosovo authorities have confirmed that five people from the five Serb parallel institutions will be interviewed, which closed in late August. The people who have been sent these calls for interviews are officials of the Serbian List, the largest party of Serbs in Kosovo, who enjoy Belgrade's support.

At the media conference, Igor Singleness, speaking on behalf of the people who have received these invitations for interview, said they view them as “political persecution” not only of individuals who have led parallel institutions who have been invited for interviews.

He said this decision is “the execution of the Serbian people”, as according to him, the closed institutions offered services to citizens.

“It is not the question of how Igor Simiqi, Ivan Zaporozian, will act tomorrow, but how do people who served as we were at the helm [of parallel institutions]. As for these institutions, Kosovo authorities have always known their existence. It is nothing new that these institutions have existed in this city and that they have been discussed at the international level, and it has been negotiated in Brussels how these institutions will operate in the future”, Sibiu said.

On August 30th, Kosovo authorities closed five parallel Serb institutions in northern Kosovo, which have operated according to Serbia's system.

According to state officials in Kosovo, those institutions have violated the constitutionality and laws of the Republic of Kosovo”.

Institutions closed on August 30th were: Kosovo's Mitrovica district, Mitrovica's parallel municipality, the Zvecan parallel municipality, the parallel municipality of Zubin Potok and the Leposaviqi parallel municipality.

As enemies, these institutions have offered legal services to all citizens, and “have not violated any law”.

During the conference, Singh, who had earlier been deputy of the Serbian List in the Kosovo Assembly, also spoke about the issue of opening the main bridge over the Iber River for vehicle flow.

The Kosovo government has expressed its intention to open this bridge, but has faced opposition to internationals who have argued that, due to security reasons, the bridge should not be opened now.

The enemy said this is the moment the international community shows its face”.

We'll see if they'll do anything”, he added.

The United States, the European Union, France, the United Kingdom and Germany have criticised the Kosovo Police action for closing Serbian institutions. The West has described this as unilateral action of Kosovo institutions.

In Kosovo, there are municipalities, companies and public companies, nursery, elementary school, high school and public universities that are directly financed by the Government of Serbia, and which are found in the towns and settlements where the Serb community lives.

Those institutions under the laws in Kosovo are illegal.

In 2013, Kosovo and Serbia in the dialogue on normalisation of the reports in Brussels had reached an agreement to eliminate parallel institutions, but still this agreement has not been fully implemented. / REL/