Drecun: Pristina laying groundwork for further escalation

BELGRADE - The head of the Serbian parliamentary committee on Kosovo-Metohija Milovan Drecun said on Tuesday the Pristina interim authorities were laying the groundwork for further escalation in Kosovo-Metohija and that their ultimate goal was to make it impossible for Serbs to survive in the territory and to complete an ethnic cleansing of Serbs.

Speaking to Pink TV, Drecun said a full de-escalation would be thwarted by Pristina's PM Albin Kurti's policy and added that the fact a spell of arrests had stopped did not mean there would be no more arrests in the period to come.

"The groundwork is being laid for further escalation, I do not see at all that they are ready to make some moves... Kurti should not be expected to form a Community of Serb Municipalities or fully withdraw special parapolice troops from the north (of Kosovo-Metohija), or stop arresting Serbs, because he has created the conditions for all that to continue," Drecun said.

He said Pristina was also avoiding holding new elections in the north and was making decisions detrimental to the interests, survival and life of Kosovo-Metohija Serbs.

"Those are decisions such as halting the construction of social housing and schools for underprivileged children and renovations of the university building. Decisions are also being made with regards to the main bridge across the Ibar River. All those decisions are contrary to the interests of the Serbs and some people have been arrested - some of them have been released, but some have not," Drecun said.

He said the acquisition of arms and equipment by the so-called Kosovo Security Force was a part of a broader process aimed at "completing the unilaterally declared independence - the statehood of self-declared Kosovo," and at giving it full capacity in terms of international law.

"It is in Washington's and Brussels's interest to finish the job. (US special Western Balkans envoy Gabriel) Escobar speaks about that very openly - recently, he even issued a very harsh warning to Belgrade by saying that it must reconcile to the fact the false state of Kosovo will become a member of transatlantic organisations, including NATO, and that it will become a UN member state," Drecun said.