Serbs plan to block all roads on the territory of Serbia leading to border crossings with Kosovo today, reported "Koha ditore" newspaper, quoted by BTA.
The president of the Society for Kosovo of the citizens of Mitrovica district, Raša Rojević, informed that from today, a “multi-day blockade of the border points to Kosovo– Merdare, Yarine and Brniak“.
The blockade is due to start tomorrow (today) at 18:00 (19:00 Bulgarian time) and will continue until the withdrawal of the Kosovo Police Force from the northern part of Kosovo. We also want (NATO peacekeeping forces in Kosovo) KeyFOR to take control of the northern part of Kosovo, Rojevic said yesterday, as quoted by Telegrafi.
In the blockade information cited by “Koha ditore“, it is reported that Serbian citizens from Serbia, Montenegro and the Bosnian Republika Srpska will protest to oppose the presence of the Kosovo Police in Northern Kosovo and its actions on closing Serbian institutions there. The Kosovo Serbs from Northern Kosovo have not said whether they will take part in this protest, the publication notes.
Due to the planned blockade, the Kosovo authorities have warned their citizens to avoid transit through these points, as well as the only point between Kosovo and Montenegro – Tower.
Kosovo's foreign minister said at a press conference in Pristina today that the Serbs' threats to close border crossings is “further proof of Serbia's hegemonic goals and destabilizing actions.
Serbia and the Kosovo Serbs do not recognize the independence of Kosovo declared in 2008. Belgrade and Pristina are conducting a dialogue to normalize their relations under the auspices of the EU.
On August 30, the Kosovo police closed five sites of the Serbian parallel municipalities of Leposavich, Severna Mitrovica, Zvecan and Zubin Potok in northern Kosovo, where mostly Kosovo Serbs live, because of suspicion that they issued forged documents.
The Kosovo government said that the closed institutions in northern Kosovo were operating under the direction of Serbia, affecting the “constitutionality and laws of the Republic of Kosovo”.
The sites closed last Friday are the four parallel municipalities operating within the Serbian system.
In Kosovo, there are municipalities, public companies and enterprises, kindergartens, primary, secondary schools and public universities, which are directly financed by the Government of Serbia and which are located in the cities and towns where the Serbian community lives.