Petkovic: No dialogue with Pristina until Popovic is released

BELGRADE - The head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic said on Monday a decision by Pristina to place his deputy, Igor Popovic, in 30-day custody indicated a sheer misuse of Pristina's judiciary for Albin Kurti's political purposes, and noted that dialogue on normalisation of relations with Pristina would not be continued until Popovic was released.

In a statement to Tanjug, Petkovic said the decision had once again demonstrated a collapse of the so-called legal system in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija and that there was absolutely no rule of law in the province.

"When we learned of Igor Popovic's kidnapping, we reacted and quickly got into contact with all representatives of the international community, representatives of the Quint, Brussels and EU member states and international missions in Kosovo-Metohija, requesting Igor Popovic's immediate release," Petkovic said.

Petkovic said he had told the EU special representative for the dialogue, Peter Sorensen, and all international representatives that there would be no dialogue until Popovic was released because he had said nothing that was not true.

"Popovic was arrested and handcuffed like the biggest criminal just because he spoke the truth about the suffering of Serbs in Orahovac," Petkovic explained.

"He spoke the truth, and we will be repeating that truth until all those responsible for the kidnappings, arrests and killings of Serbs in 1998 and 1999 are found," he noted.

Popovic was arrested at the Brnjak administrative crossing on Friday and placed in custody on Sunday.

Popovic, who is in charge of legal affairs at the Office, had visited Orahovac, Kosovo-Metohija, for a commemoration of the killing of 47 Serbs and Roma and the kidnappings of more than a hundred innocent people by the criminal "Kosovo Liberation Army" in July 1998.