Nov. 5 () –
The Kosovar Serbs have resigned this Saturday en bloc from their positions as deputies, mayors and officials from all areas in a coordinated protest initiative to express their rejection of the imposition of Kosovar license plates in the north of Kosovo with a Serb majority.
Kosovo Serbs in the country’s four Serb-majority municipalities consider that the Kosovar authorities have breached the agreements signed with Serbia and the European Union.
The resignations are the result of a meeting held in the town of Zvecan and called by the Serbian List party (Srpska Lista), according to the Balkan Insight news portal.
Srpska Lista has explained that mayors, councilors, deputies, judges, prosecutors, judicial officials and police officers have resigned from their posts.
The policemen gathered in Zvecan have handed over their uniforms to the applause of the attendees. “Our will to respect International Law and defend the Brussels Agreement is the reason why we abandon all political institutions, the Assembly, the government and the four municipalities in northern Kosovo,” said the leader of Srpska Lista, Goran Rakic. . The measure will remain in force until Kosovo “begins to respect the agreed agreements.”
Thus, he referred to Pristina’s intention to impose Kosovar license plates and invalidate Serb ones and defended the need to create the Association of Serb Municipalities to represent the interests of Kosovo Serbs.
Last Thursday, the regional director of the Kosovoar Police for the north of the Serb majority, Nenad Djuric, was dismissed for suspicion of defending the resistance. Djuric assured then that the Sebo-Kosovar Police would not apply the fines established by the Kosovar authorities for those who do not use Kosovar license plates.
Pristina has announced a progressive implementation of license plates until April 21 after postponing its introduction initially scheduled for November 1.
A senior Kosovar police officer, Vjosa Osmani, has denounced that “Serbia is forcing and inciting Kosovo Serbs to abandon their posts in Kosovo institutions.” “Serbia has unilaterally failed to comply with all the Brussels agreements on the dismantling of all its illegal structures in Kosovo,” he added, although he has defended the need for all Kosovar institutions to be multi-ethnic.
After the measure, the EU has warned that the achievements and work of years are being “jeopardized” and has urged both parties to “avoid any unilateral action that could cause an increase in tension” and return to dialogue.
“The withdrawal of the Kosovo Serbs from the Kosovo institutions is not the solution to the current disputes. It could lead to an escalation of tension,” Brussels said in a statement from the Foreign Action Service. For this reason, it asks the Kosovar Serbs “to return to the institutions of Kosovo to fulfill their functions, including the Police, the Judiciary and local administrations.”
Brussels also asks Kosovo to “respect its own obligations without delay” by extending the deadline for the implementation of Kosovar license plates and suspending sanctions on those who use Serbian license plates. It also urges Pristina to move towards the creation of the Association of Serbian Municipalities, “a binding legal obligation for Kosovo.”
