Terzic: Gazimestan arrests continuation of Kurti's anti-Serb policy

BELGRADE - Deputy head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Milos Terzic said on Thursday the experiences of Serbs arrested at Gazimestan on St Vitus's day were horrifying and disturbing and testified of brutal police violence.

"What we have heard from our people testifies of brutal police violence. We believe that this is a continuation of the anti-Serb policy Albin Kurti has been conducting for years now," Terzic told the RTS.

He said he himself had attended the Gazimestan commemorations and that there had been no incidents during that time.

"There were no provocations or national symbols. Last year, arrests were made over flags, while this year they were due to traditional Serbian songs," Terzic said.

Speaking about further steps, he said the Office for Kosovo-Metohija would continue to draw the position of Serbs in the province to the attention of international institutions.

"Medical documentation will be used in efforts to protect the rights of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija. We expect a more concrete reaction from the international community," Terzic said.

He noted that establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities would help to protect the Kosovo-Metohija Serbs' individual and collective rights.

Speaking about the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Terzic noted that current developments were making it even more difficult to continue the dialogue and that it was hard to talk about dialogue when people were getting arrested for singing traditional songs.

"Serbia remains committed to dialogue, but insists on the rights of the Serbs being protected and on implementation of reached agreements," he said.

The so-called "Kosovo Police" detained 36 Serbs at Gazimestan near Pristina, Kosovo-Metohija, on Sunday following a St Vitus's Day memorial service for the fallen Serbian heroes of the Battle of Kosovo against Ottoman Turkish invaders.

Gazimestan is the site of the battle, which took place on St Vitus's Day in 1389.

On Wednesday, a basic court in Pristina handed 700 euro fines to the detainees and ordered that those without documents issued by the interim institutions in Pristina be deported from Kosovo-Metohija and banned from entering the province again.

The arrestees have said they had been subjected to physical and psychological torture whilst being detained and questioned.