Mayoral candidates for Mitrovica North and Zvecan municipalities, Oliver Ivanovic and Dragisa Milovic, criticized yesterday a call of the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo Director, Marko Djuric to the Kosovo Serbs to support Srpska Lista in the local elections, scheduled for 22 October, Kontakt plus radio reported.

They said that divisions Djuric is talking about are dangerous and warned it is the Brussels agreement that breaks the links with Serbia and not citizens wishing to support some other parties or lists.

Ivanovic said that anyone who does not have party’s interest above the national interest, realizes it is extremely dangerous to divide Kosovo Serbs based on whether he/she would vote for Srpska Lista or not.

Ivanovic further said that he: “Understands the need to win Mitrovica as strategically important place, the symbol of resistance to the violence and extremisms and the symbol of the Serbs survival,” but it has to be clear “that victory in elections is won by votes of citizens, and not by pressures, dismissals and punishment”.

Ivanovic also added, he is disappointed with the Office for Kosovo and Djuric’s statement, however, he is not surprised to hear it, Kontakt plus radio reported.

Meanwhile, Dragisa Milovic said it is inappropriate for the state officials such as Marko Djuric is, to divide the tiny number of Serbs who remained in Kosovo and have Serbia above everything.

Milovic, also reminded that he “for days and nights bleed with his compatriots to preserve the institutions of Serbia in Kosovo,” while Djuric was the one who gave it one by one in Brussels to Pristina.

He added that such pressure of the authorities and Djuric against anyone thinking differently is unthinkable.

“Brussels agreement breaks the links with Serbia, and not us,” Milovic said, adding that authorities in Belgrade did all they could to integrate the north, appointed people based on political lines and are now afraid of the elections, it could not call themselves, Kontakt plus radio reported.