Djuric: Tahiri will not demolish the "Peace Park"; it stays (Kontakt Plus radio)
Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said today that "Peace Park" in Mitrovica remains and that Serbs have no reason to be concerned.
Djuric said from Mitrovica that no one in the city, and especially Deputy Prime minister Edita Tahiri, will demolish anything and it should be discussed at the table on how to build better future for Serbs and Albanians.
Djuric visited construction works on the future Tsar Lazar square, located near the main Ibar/Iber river bridge where Serb have built "Peace Park" after they removed barricades.
"I want to say to citizens of Serbia and people of Serbian nationality here in KiM that they have no reason to worry over threats of Pristina that we could hear these last few days from Mrs Edita Tahiri – treats of demolishing the "Peace Park" ", said Djuric.
Djuric said "the Peace Park is of a permanent category which will remain here", and that Serbia wants all problems and issues to solve through the dialogue and threats and a message of demolishing can contribute to nothing.
"I want to send a message from here that no one and especially Edita Tahiri can demolish anything here in Kosovska Mitrovica and instead we should seat at the table and discuss about how we should build a better future for Serbs and Albanians. Better future cannot be built with threats," said Djuric.
Director of the Office for Kosovo said that he wishes better quality of life for citizens in Mitrovica and Tahiri will not decide what will be built, what will be sown and what will be harvested in northern Mitrovica, and those parts which in accordance with the law govern the representatives of the Serbian people in Kosovo.
"Such statements and behaviour are contrary to the spirit of normalization of relations and the spirit of what we tried to achieve in the past 20 months and can take us nowhere," warned Djuric.
Djuric said he was convinced that the majority of citizens, and Albanians too in Kosovo are aware that we need a peaceful co-existence and to build the future in an agreement.
"No one can prohibit our people to regulate their affairs and their city in a way that they find it appropriate. Serbia stands and will stand here by the Serbian people in full and there is no reason for inflammatory statements that we have heard in recent days, and to poison the atmosphere in Kosovo where there are already enough tensions on the eve of the formation of provincial government," said Djuric.
Instead of calling for the demolition, which is destructive, it would be better for Edita Tahiri to think about how to do something and build for her own people, who also live in poor economic conditions and are under the weight of organized crime and corruption that affects all segments of society in Kosovo, concluded Djuric.
Tahiri two days ago said that Brussels assured her that the "Peace Park" in Mitrovica will be removed.