DASH: Pressure on Serbian policemen in the north of Kosovo, unacceptable

2023-08-24 08:28:59, Kosova & Bota CNA

The US State Department (Dash) has expressed "deeply" concern with the recent resignations of newly appointed Serbian policemen in northern Kosovo as a result of pressure, and said that it is unacceptable that "anyone, including actors connected to Serbia, to exert political pressure on individuals who want to join the Kosovo Police.

"The Kosovo Police provides vital services to all communities and citizens of Kosovo. We condemn any attempt to undermine diversity within its ranks,” a State Department spokesperson told RFE/RL on August 23.

The State Department called on Kosovo and Serbia to return to dialogue for the normalization of relations.

At least seven Serbian police officers have resigned from the Kosovo Police since last week, for which the Kosovo authorities blamed the official Belgrade.

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, stated on August 18 that "there is already confirmed information that threats and blackmail come directly from Serbia".

Official Belgrade has not commented on these accusations.

Forty-six young Serbian police officers started work in northern Kosovo at the end of July, but they immediately faced online threats on social networks, which Kosovo officials and the international community have strongly condemned.

About 550 Serbian policemen in the north - in the municipalities of North Mitrovica, Zveçan, Leposaviq and Zubin Potok - resigned collectively from the Kosovo Police in November of last year, as a sign of protest against the decision of the Government of Kosovo to register cars with license plates. Serbian illegal in RKS - Republic of Kosovo.

After the resignations, the authorities in Kosovo announced a competition for new police officers, hiring 74 of them. Of them, 46 were reported to be from the Serbian community.

The integration of Serbs into the Kosovo Police is foreseen by an agreement reached between Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels in 2013, with the aim of normalizing relations between the two countries.

The two countries are part of the dialogue mediated by the EU, for the normalization of relations, since 2011.

The parties have signed many agreements, but not all of them have been implemented./ REL