In the north of Kosovo, posters have appeared with the photo of the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, accompanied by the message “Supreme commander, we are waiting for you”.
Such posters have been found in North Mitrovica, Leposaviq, Zveçan and Zubin Potok – the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo, inhabited by a majority of Serbs.
The deputy director of the Kosovo Police for the North region, Veton Elshani, confirmed that the authorities have opened a case for “inciting hatred”.
“In some locations in the four municipalities in the north of the country, pamphlets with the photo of the president of Serbia have been distributed. After consultation with the State Prosecutor, the case for incitement to hatred was opened”, said Elshani.
Currently, according to Elshan, there are no suspects for placing these posters, but “the police are working to shed light on the case”.
Meanwhile, as for the security situation in the north, Elshani said that it is good.
The Minister of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, Xhelal Sveçla, reacted regarding the placement of posters in the north of Kosovo, dedicated to President Vucic. He said that if the Serbian leader enters Kosovo without obtaining permission from the country’s institutions, he will be imprisoned.
“If he left without a request to our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, we are also waiting for him to come and then you can visit him in prison, where he already has some friends,” Sveçla wrote on Facebook.
“Sinjali newspaper” has asked the Ministry of Interior, whether the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic, has made a request to visit the Republic of Kosovo.
“We inform you that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not received any request for a visit by any Serbian official to the Republic of Kosovo in the last few days”, says the response of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ media office to Sinjali Newspaper.
The appearance of these posters in the north occurs at a time when tensions between Kosovo and Serbia continue to be high since May of last year, when the new Albanian mayors in the four municipalities in the north began their mandate.
Tensions rose further in September, when a group of armed Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police in Banjska, killing a sergeant.
Millan Radoicic, former vice-president of Lista Serbe, the main party of Serbs in Kosovo that enjoys the support of Belgrade, took responsibility for the attack.
Pristina has asked Belgrade to hand over Radoicic and his group to the judicial authorities of Kosovo. The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, made this request during the last round of dialogue – which is mediated by the European Union – on June 26.
The EU said that this was one of the three conditions that Kosovo has set for its engagement in the process of normalizing relations with Serbia.
