Roadblocks in Kosovo: Serbian police officer released

The government in Pristina has already closed the third border crossing because of roadblocks by Serbian demonstrators. Now Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic wants to smooth things over.

The Jarinje border crossing has been closed for weeks. Now the Kosovar government was forced to close its largest border crossing due to roadblocks.

Marjan Vucetic/AP

(Reuters)/cov. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has called on ethnic Serbs in Kosovo to end their anti-government protests in Pristina. This was announced by Petar Petkovic, head of the Serbian government office for Kosovo, in a press conference on Wednesday. Vucic and representatives of Kosovo Serbs will meet near the border with Kosovo on Wednesday evening and announce whether the barricades will be removed, Petkovic said. In addition, Vucic assured the protesters that they were protected from prosecution.

Kosovo had to close its largest border crossing to Serbia on Wednesday. The blockade of the Merdare border crossing by Serbian protesters is preventing thousands of Kosovars working in Europe from returning home for the holidays. With two other border crossings closed due to similar protests, only three border crossings between the two countries remain open.

“If you have already entered Serbia, you will have to use other border crossings…or drive through North Macedonia,” the Kosovan Foreign Ministry said on its Facebook page when it announced the official closure of the Merdare border crossing from midnight. Serbs had previously erected a roadblock using a truck and several tractors to support anti-government protests in Pristina by their ethnic relatives in Kosovo, already blocking passage. The latest protest came hours after Serbia said it had put its army on high alert after weeks of escalating tensions between Belgrade and Pristina.

Former police officer under house arrest

Also on Wednesday, a Pristina court spokesman said that former Serbian police officer Dejan Pantic, whose arrest fueled tensions between Pristina and Belgrade, will be released from custody and placed under house arrest.

Pantic was arrested on December 10 on charges of assaulting police officers at a previous demonstration. After the arrest, Serbs in northern Kosovo exchanged fire with the police and set up more than 10 roadblocks in and around Mitrovica.

Vucic will drive to the border

The entry ban for the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo had also led to a visit to the Pec Monastery, one of the most important places in his church, which was also explosive. Patriarch Porfirije commented on the conflict in a press conference with Vucic in Belgrade on Tuesday. While the priest struck up conciliatory tones, Vucic said in the direction of Pristina: “Shame on you all, you bunch of lies!”

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (right) and Patriarch Porfirije during Tuesday's press conference in Belgrade.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (right) and Patriarch Porfirije during Tuesday’s press conference in Belgrade.

Andrej Cukic / EP

Serbs do not recognize Kosovo’s independence

Around 50,000 Serbs living in ethnically divided northern Kosovo refuse to recognize the government in Pristina or Kosovo’s independence from Serbia. You have the support of many Serbs in Serbia and its government.

Kosovo, which is majority Albanian, declared its independence from Serbia in 2008 with support from the West. This was preceded by a war from 1998 to 1999, in which NATO intervened to protect the Albanian population. The government in Pristina has asked the NATO peacekeeping force for the country, KFOR, to clear the barricades. However, KFOR is not authorized to operate on Serbian soil.

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