Serbs in Kosovo do not support the formation of an army in Kosovo, and it will not be formed, Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin has said.
Vulin in this way commented on Kosovo PM Ramush Haradinaj’s announcement that an army would be formed in Kosovo this year – and that he “has the support of Serbs for that.”
“They will not form it, and of course they won’t have the Serbs’ support. They tried, but that (Kosovo) is not a state, they don’t even have a military academy,” Vulin said, and added that Haradinaj would be “better off fighting with old women – because that’s all he’s good at.”
This was an apparent reference to the incident that took place during the marking of the 140th anniversary of the Prizren League, set up in 1848 with the goal of establishing a Greater Albania.
Speaking on Monday for TV Pink, Vulin also commented on Haradinaj saying that Kosovo “had a war with Serbia.”
“They did not have a war with Serbia – instead, Serbia had a war with 19 NATO countries. Albanians from Kosovo and Metohija didn’t fly those planes – they can’t fly them to this day,” Vulin said.
“They were killing soldiers, police officers, civilians, both Serbs and Albanians who didn’t support the KLA (“Kosovo Liberation Army”), who didn’t want to be terrorists. That’s what you were doing as killers and terrorists, which is what you remain to this day. I am sorry that you are unpunished killers and terrorists,” Vulin said, and stressed that the reason Haradinaj is free today is not his innocence, “but all the witnesses getting murdered.”
Now, Vulin continued, Pristina is trying to find some Serbs – “two, three Serbs” – to send to school in Macedonia, and in that way demonstrate that “Serbs support the Kosovo army.”
“Even according to what they refer to as laws, they can’t form an army without the Serb List votes, and the Serb List will not vote,” the defense minister continued.
He then turned to EU representative Nataliya Apostolova, who said that Serbs “deserve what is happening to them.” Referring to one of the recent incidents targeting Serbs in Kosovo, Vulin asked whether Serbs “asked to have six-month old baby burned with pepper spray – do they deserve that?”
“Imagine her saying such a thing about any other nation in the world, let alone an EU member. She would have been recalled from the post along with sever public condemnation, and she would never again be able to hold public office. But when you say something so ugly about Serbs, there is no condemnation,” Vulin said.
He pointed out that the EU must at last say whether the same rules apply to Serbs and the rest of the world and whether we are considered to be human beings. “If we are, let them treat us as human beings, a people who deserve respect. I learned from Europe that there is no such thing as collective guilt. So demonstrate this in practice, tell me that there are criminals in the Serb nation who have a name and a last name, as there in the Albanian nation,” he said.
Speaking about the Serbian Army, the defense minister said it had been undermined for decades in a planned and systematic manner – but was now finally being rebuilt, while the policy of the state and President Aleksandar Vucic is to strengthen the military.
“Of course we will be the strongest in the region. Serbia is the most important country in the region, and its army must be likewise. The stronger our army, we will have (more) peace, be safe from anyone attacking us, either us (Serbia) or Serbs no matter where they live. It is our duty to protect Serbia and Serbs wherever they live,” said Vulin.
The minister announced his meeting in Paris on Monday with his French counterpart, and said he would use this opportunity as well to emphasize that creating an army in Kosovo is unacceptable, that “no sort of military force” can cross into the North without the four mayors from the North agreeing to it, and that no (armed) force will emerge in Kosovo and Metohija while UN Security Council Resolution 1244 stands – “and will stand for a long time.”
Vulin added that he would thank the French troops who, while deployed in Kosovo as part of KFOR, helped and contributed to the security of Serbs in the southern province.
See at:https://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2018&mm=06&dd=11&nav_id=104368
