FLASH NEWS
Kosovo takes action in the north of the country, closes down parallel Serbian institutions again
2025-04-23 15:50:12 / KOSOVA
Kosovo authorities have closed the offices of the Pension and Disability Fund (PIO Fund), the National Employment Service and the Republican Health Insurance Fund in Leposaviq, in northern Kosovo, as well as the Public Municipal Enterprise in Shtërpcë, a Serb-majority municipality in southern Kosovo.
All of these institutions functioned under Serbia's system, which Kosovo considers illegal and parallel.
The Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police for the northern region, Veton Elshani, told Radio Free Europe that the police have assisted the municipal authorities in Leposavic to reclaim their premises, and that "illegal activities" were discovered during the action.
"We have consulted with the prosecutor on the issue of the National Employment Service and a case has been opened for falsification of documents. We will interview a person in connection with this case. As for the Health Insurance Fund, as far as I know, the municipality has given them a deadline of one week to vacate the premises," said Elshani.
Earlier, the acting Minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanolli, announced that the Public Municipal Enterprise in Shtërpcë has been closed.
"No parallel institution of Serbia has a place in the Republic of Kosovo. There will be no parallelism of our institutions and no submission to directives from Belgrade on the territory of our state," she wrote in a post on her Facebook account.
Institutions under the Serbian system have operated after 1999 in areas where Serbs live. Kosovo has considered them illegal, but they have nevertheless been tolerated. However, the Kosovo Government, led by Albin Kurti, has begun closing them since the beginning of 2024.
So far, temporary municipal bodies, social work centers, the Post of Serbia, the Postal Savings Bank, and public enterprises have been closed.
"I thank the Kosovo Police for their support and at the same time I ask them and the Prosecution to urgently investigate the damages and benefits caused by the illegal activity of this parallel structure of Serbia," Rizvanolli added.
On the other hand, the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia announced that the Kosovo authorities are "illegally closing even the few Serbian institutions that remain in Kosovo."
"All this is happening in the presence of the international community, which is silently observing the terror against Serbs and the further persecution of our people," Serbia's statement said, with a call for a reaction from the international community, especially from the European Union, under whose mediation the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade is taking place to normalize relations.
The Serbian List, the largest Serb party in Kosovo, which has the support of Belgrade, has announced that the Kosovo authorities, by closing Serbian institutions in Leposavic and Strpce, are trying "through pressure, provocations and institutional violence to make the lives of the Serbian people in Kosovo even more difficult."
This party has stated that the action to close Serbian institutions is "a direct violation of all agreements, including the Brussels Agreement."
"Interventions in the buildings will not prevent the state of Serbia from being close to all employees and users of the services that these institutions offer to all citizens, regardless of nationality," the announcement states.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić declared in mid-September last year that he would not abolish the institutions for Kosovo, and announced the opening of "modern offices" on the Serbian side near border crossings.
He had promised that all workers of closed institutions would continue to receive their salaries and that he would offer them every kind of support.
The closure of institutions that operate under the Serbian system is facing opposition from the Serbian community, but also criticism from the international community, with the reasoning that "unilateral and uncoordinated actions" could increase tensions on the ground.
The EU also stated earlier this year that the status of the structures supported by Serbia is expected to be resolved through dialogue./ REL
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