Serb protesters should be imprisoned in Kosovo or sent back to Serbia, Kosovo’s “Prime Minister” Albin Kurti said at a GLOBSEC security summit in Bratislava, broadcast on YouTube.
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“We need two ways: the first is to solve the crisis in the north, which means respecting the rule of law. The protesting crowds must either be sent back to Serbia or put in prisons in Kosovo,” he said.
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Kurti added that he welcomed more frequent Kosovo-Serbian dialogue meetings and advocated close engagement with Kosovo’s Serbian municipalities. Those responsible for attacks on KFOR forces should also be jailed, the “prime minister” said.
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Thousands of Kosovo Serbs gathered in front of local government buildings in the north of Kosovo and Metohija on May 29 to demand the withdrawal of the Kosovo police and the recall of the Kosovo Albanian mayors. Soldiers of the NATO KFOR contingent with means to disperse demonstrations were distributed near the buildings of the municipalities of Zvecan, Leposavich and Zubin Potok. Behind them were a large Kosovo police force that prevented the Kosovo Serbs from approaching the buildings. In the evening clashes broke out between the protesters and the security forces. Tear gas was used, dozens of stun grenades were thrown, and there was shooting.
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According to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, 52 Serbs were affected. According to Serbian authorities, 41 KFOR fighters were also injured, most of them Hungarians and Italians.
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Serbs also rallied Wednesday morning in front of the municipalities of Zvecan and Leposavić in northern Kosovo, and organizers are calling for the protests to go peacefully. As a result of clashes between local residents and security forces on Monday, 52 Serbs and at least 30 military personnel of the North Atlantic Alliance were injured. The NATO KFOR contingent surrounded the self-government buildings with rows of barbed wire in advance, behind them were heavily equipped fighters of the Kosovo Albanian police with armored vehicles.
