Office for Kosovo and Metohija
Government of the Republic of Serbia

Serbia’s decisive response to the ROSU provocation

ROSU, the special forces of the so-called Kosovo Police, briefly occupied the Gazivode water dam and the lake, under the pretext of securing the visit of the President of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Priština, Hashim Thaci. Belgrade responded by raising to full alert the military and special police forces.

During the day, at the extraordinary press conferences held at the Government of Serbia, the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Marko Đurić spoke three time, pointing out, among other things, that the incursion of the ROSU unit is contrary to all international agreements and that these police units have no right to appear in the north of the Province.

“Thaci and his armed terrorists did all this so that Thaci could freely take a walk, take a few photos and have a boat ride on the Lake Gazivode. In order to secure that, they had to remove and arrest everyone in their way. People in the Center for Development of Ecology and Sport were tied up and detained. The objective was to intimidate every Serb in Kosovo," Đurić said.

He stressed that Serbia cautioned everyone in Priština and the international community that aggression or any form of violence against our people in the north of Kosovo and Metohija would not be tolerated.

“President Vučić met with and warned the international representatives that this kind of behavior is not acceptable, and that Serbia, in accordance with Resolution 1244, intends to protect its people," Đurić said.

Đurić emphasized that it was the third time in a short period of time, that it became clear that the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija could not count on the KFOR and NATO for protection.

Đurić also recalled President Vučić’s recent speech in Kosovska Mitrovica, reaffirming Serbia’s desire for peace and compromise, but that “no time would be wasted when it comes to protecting Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, in accordance with the international law.”

“Serbia will triumph over those who think that they can play this way,” Đurić said, adding that this is a genuine representation of the circumstances and motivation that the Serbian delegation in Brussels has to deal with. Đurić also commented that this proves that the President Vučić was right when he chose not to travel to New York.

He said that after today's developments, it would be “a little harder to have Vučić come to Brussels".

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, strongly condemned the statement made by the EU Spokesperson, Maja Kocijančič, who again appealed to both sides for restraint.

"It's as if Kocijančič means to say that the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija assaulted themselves, and that they did it again, and now both sides need to demonstrate restraint. I think this is the acme of insolence and frivolity in such difficult circumstances. It has reassured us once again that we should not expect anything from the EU representatives,” said Đurić.

After the ROSU pulled back from the north of Kosovo and Metohija Belgrade received apologies from certain Western embassies who had previously claimed that ROSU was not present in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, Đurić said.

“It only goes to show where certain local media outlets received their information that the ROSU unit were not present in the north,” Đurić said.

During the ROSU attack on Gazivode, Nemanja Milovanović, Milos Milić, both working at the Center for the Development of Ecology and Sport, as well as the construction workers, Nikola Đurović and Nenad Galjak, were detained in the premises of the Centre.

Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija: ROSA incursion is an attack on peace

Political representatives of the Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija warned today that the latest incursion of the armed Kosovar specialists in the northwest of the Province constitutes an attack on the peace and security of the Serbian people.

“This is an assault with far-reaching consequences on the lives of Serbs in the north of Kosovo and Metohija,” said the President of the Srbian List, Goran Rakić in a press statement, and stressed that this would no longer be allowed.

“We will not allow this anymore. If KFOR does not seem to want to prevent things like this, then as the President of the Serbian List, I call on the state of Serbia to protect the Serbian people and their property, and that our authorities intervene most urgently,” Rakić said.

He pointed out that it has been 19 years since the Serbian people have been living in fear and uncertainty, stressing that they will not be silent observers of the peace and the life of their children being placed at risk.

“Everyone should know that the Serbs will never again allow such an incursion like this to happen. We and our people shall defend our freedom and our property, because Gazivode belong to Serbia,” Rakić said.

The Mayor of Zubin Potok, Stevan Vulović, urged for an urgent reaction of the state of Serbia in light of the incursion of the ROSU and Hashim Thaci into that municipality and their occupation of the Lake Gazivode, calling what happened in the north of Kosovo and Metohija "a grave offense".

“Should anything similar ever happen again, we will not be able to keep the people under our control, and bad things will happen here,” Vulović said.

Vulović commented that there was no greater humiliation for Ibarski Kolašin than Hashim Thaci's entring into this territory.

“For us, he is an enemy of the Serbian people and a war criminal. A man like that passed through Zubin Potok without any consequences today. The next time he will surely receive the welcoming he deserves,” Vulović said.

Latest News