ZVEČAN — Aleksandar Vulin says a Kosovo police operation in the Serb enclave of Štrpce on Tuesday was “aimed at intimidating Serbs and forcing them to flee.”
“The latest show of force in Štrpce by Priština’s interim authorities is an attempt to intimidate and scare Serbs once again,” the Serbian minister without portfolio in charge of Kosovo told the Zvečan-based broadcaster Most.
“It is no coincidence that this is happening in the area where Serbs constitute a majority and where they live in a tight community,” Vulin said.
“Incidents occur repeatedly, ranging from the fact that I have been banned from coming to Štrpce seven or eight times, to this incident when they stormed the building of our court, seized papers, documents, entered premises by force, broke file cabinets open, and arrested four Serbs who have worked in police for quite a long time,” Vulin said.
“Our Ministry of Justice sent a protest note and we expect a response,” Vulin said, urging Štrpce’s citizens to stay calm.
Vulin said that the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, which he heads, “will immediately ensure legal assistance for all the arrestees.”
ROSU members stormed the court building in Štrpce, which is part of the Serbian justice system, and left it after one hour.
Members of the Kosovo police special unit ROSU unlawfully stormed the building of the court unit belonging to the Basic Court in Kosovska Mitrovica that is located in Štrpce, TV Most learned rom Nikola Kabašić, the acting president of the High Court in northern Kosovska Mitrovica.
They threw court employees out of the building, got hold of three men and then began the unlawful search of the court, Kabašić said.
After the search, ROSU members took away certain amount of court archives and documents.
During the day, we expect to have a full report of the scope of damage that was caused in the court building and a detailed list of court documents that were unlawfully seized, he said.
The Serbian Ministry of Justice and Ministry responsible for Kosovo and Metohija have been informed about the incident, Kabašić said.
ROSU members searched the premises of the Serb directorate for construction and fund for health insurance in Štrpce.
The same police unit arrested local members of Kosovo police in Štrpce and nearby villages , and took them to Uroševac for a police interview, members of the interim municipal council of Štrpce told RTS.
