Petkovic informs UN's Krois of Pristina's unilateral, illegal moves

BELGRADE - The head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic on Thursday informed the Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Office in Belgrade Dominika Krois of Pristina’s unilateral and illegal moves and its violations of fundamental human rights in Kosovo-Metohija.

By tearing down Serb-owned weekend homes near Lake Gazivode without any court decision, Pristina has shown that it is "consciously violating its own regulations only in order to oppress and terrorise Serbs, especially in the north of the province," Petkovic said.

"While disenfranchising the Serbs on a daily basis, Pristina is, at the same time, seeking to expel the Serbs through escalatory moves and create impossible living conditions for them," Petkovic noted.

"He particularly pointed out the arbitrary and politically motivated arrests of Serbs that Pristina uses as a mechanism for intimidation and expulsion of our people, as demonstrated by the brutal arrest of 36 Serbs at Gazimestan," a government statement said.

"During all this time, Pristina has persistently sought to destroy all the achievements of the dialogue in Brussels and has been refusing for 13 years to form the Community of Serb Municipalities, which is a guarantor of respect for the collective and individual rights of Serbs," Petkovic was also quoted as saying.

"Belgrade will continue to advocate peace, stability, normalisation of relations on the ground and consistent respect for UNSCR 1244," he concluded.