Kosovar authorities took control on Tuesday of a building near Lake Ujman in the northern part of the country, prompting a reaction from Serbia, which claimed the building was used by the Red Cross.
The Deputy Director of Kosovo Police for the north, Veton Elshani, told Radio Free Europe (RFE) that police assisted in the operation to take control of the facility.
Tuesday’s decision is the latest in a series of moves by Kosovo authorities to shut down parallel Serbian institutions operating on Kosovo territory.
Days earlier, authorities had taken over the building of the National Employment Service in North Mitrovica and closed the premises of the local sports hall, the city museum, the Institute for Culture, Youth, Sports and Specialized Services, as well as the cultural and artistic association Kosovski Božur.
The Director of Serbia’s Office for Kosovo, Petar Petković, and the Serb List – the largest party of Kosovo Serbs – condemned the move, claiming it had shut down “one of the oldest and most important humanitarian organizations in the world.”
Petković said the facility had been used “exclusively for training children and participants in Red Cross courses, including first aid and rescue training, sports competitions, courses and lectures, and accommodation for tourists and athletes staying in this part of Kosovo.”
“The brutal intervention of Kosovo police units in the building at Lake Gazivoda, which belongs to the Red Cross of Kosovo and Metohija, under the order of Albin Kurti… constitutes a serious violation of all relevant international conventions,” the Serb List said in a statement.
It added that the Red Cross of Kosovo and Metohija “has over the years united all communities and provided aid to members of all communities – Serb, Albanian, Roma, Bosniak, and others – without exception.”
Days earlier, the European Union reacted by stating that the actions of Kosovo authorities in the north risk escalating tensions on the ground and negatively impact the daily lives of local communities as well as Kosovo’s international image.
Source: Radio Free Europe
