Mayor of Mitrovica South, Agim Bahtiri, replied to the statements of the mayor of Mitrovica North, Goran Rakic, who said security criteria to open the Iber bridge are not fulfilled yet. Bahtiri said he does not know the date when the bridge will become functional, however opening will happen very soon. “The date will be set by the European Union,” Bahtiri said.
Bahtiri said Rakic’s claims are not reasonable and added that the security level in Mitrovica is high. According to him, this municipality is one of the most secure ones. “As far as security matter mentioned by Rakic is concerned, there is a complete security, in fact the security was never better, it is one the best in Kosovo municipalities and he does not have a single argument that allegedly there is no security to open the bridge. In the contrary, we are speaking about complete security of citizens, complete communication of citizens as well as free movement of vehicles. Bridges exist to connect people and not divide them. Every time that there is a division, bad things happen. The good thing is that citizens will be moving freely no matter which nationality they belong to,” Bahtiri said.
He added that Goran Rakic is not being reasonable with his arguments and noted that there are security mechanisms which are always ready to ensure a safe environment. “He cannot stick to that when we have Kosovo Police, EULEX and KFOR,” Bahtiri said.
According to him, incidents in Mitrovica municipality reduced significantly and this occurrence is not a concern any more.
The bridge on River Iber is expected to open in June.
