The director of the Serbian Government’s Public Information Office Milivoje Mihajlovic stated today that Pogrom on 17 March 2004 was an instrument of ethnic cleansing, but that 11 years later Serbia has the biggest influence in Kosovo as of 1999, and that Kosovo Serbs are now more safe than they were at that time.

At this moment Serbia has the biggest influence in Kosovo from 1999 until today, what is reflected in the Brussels dialogue, said Mihajlovic to Serbian public broadcaster Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS). He assessed that political pressure will last long, but with the lower intensity. He went on to say that reality is now different because Kosovo Serbs, who participated in local and central elections, have entered into institutions of Kosovo and Metohija and have certain power.

“It doesn’t come to a mind of any Serb to agree on political pressure to live in so called independent republic of Kosovo,” said Mihajlovic and added that Kosovo Serbs are citizens of Serbia. Mihajlovic stressed that ‘nothing in Kosovo and Metohija can be settled without the international community.”

He further said that Albanians are now also targeted by extremists who expelled Serbs, because around 150.000 Albanians migrated from Kosovo in last couple months.

Mihajlovic pointed out that Pogrom, which was directed by Albanian extremists, was a continuation of violence from 1999 and that 11 years later considerable number of people did not return to their homes. He reminded that 19 people died in Pogrom and 900 were injured, 412 left their houses and 39 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries were destroyed.

Mihajlovic stressed that there was no adequate reaction of local authorities and that there were five trials at court in Pristina out of which four verdicts were acquittals. Mihajlovic added that sentences rendered by the courts were estimated by the OSCE as  mild ones, and that reaction of the international community was poor, whereas than Serbian Government responded on Pogrom with a prayer, what was also inappropriate.