The United States Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, has said that the recent actions of the Kosovo Government regarding the Serbian dinar and the closure of parallel Serbian municipalities are unnecessarily escalating ethnic tensions and as a result, limiting the United States\u2019 ability to support Kosovo in the international arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe United States is deeply concerned about the recent actions of the authorities of the Government of Kosovo, which have a direct and negative impact on members of the Serbian minority and other minorities in Kosovo,\u201d Hovenier said in a statement released late Saturday.<\/p>\n
In recent weeks, Kosovar authorities closed four parallel Serbian municipalities in Dragash, Peja, Istog, and Klina.<\/p>\n
Kosovo\u2019s Interior Minister, Xhelal Sve\u00e7la, said on February 2 after their closure that \u201cthe time of lawlessness is over, and Serbia\u2019s only institution within the Republic of Kosovo will be its embassy in Pristina\u201d.<\/p>\n
In late January, Sve\u00e7la also announced the raiding of a Serbian non-governmental organization located in an annex of the Police Station Center in Pristina for what he described as illegal activities and endangerment of Kosovo\u2019s security.<\/p>\n
In Kosovo, there are municipalities, public companies, and enterprises, kindergartens, primary, secondary, and public universities financed directly by the Government of Serbia, which are located in cities and settlements where the Serbian community lives.<\/p>\n
These institutions are illegal according to Kosovo laws. In 2013, Kosovo and Serbia reached an agreement to abolish parallel institutions, in the Brussels dialogue for the normalization of relations, but this agreement has not yet been fully implemented.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hovenier urged Kosovo again to postpone the implementation of a regulation by the Central Bank of Kosovo banning the use of the Serbian dinar in cash transactions until a satisfactory procedure is established in line with European standards and until people are well informed about how to benefit from it.<\/p>\n
The regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo came into force on February 1, despite significant pressure from the international community to delay its implementation.<\/p>\n
Hovenier expressed his concern about the \u201cconfiscation of Serbian dinars and a vehicle transporting them from Serbia for social payments\u201d by the Kosovo Police on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope that the Kosovo authorities ensure that those payments reach the individuals for whom they were intended without delay,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Government of Kosovo says that the implementation of the regulation on cash transactions will be through an easy transition and that there will be no fines for the possession of currencies of other countries.<\/p>\n
The leader of the Serb List, the largest party of Serbs in Kosovo, Zlatan Elek, said on Saturday that the ban on the use of the dinar \u201cimplies the expulsion of Serbs and all Serbian institutions\u201d from the territory of Kosovo.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a media conference in North Mitrovica, Elek emphasized that all those who receive income from Serbia are at risk and that about 100,000 Serbs in Kosovo will be directly affected by the decision of the Kosovo authorities to stop the use of the Serbian dinar.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis applies to all institutions operating in the Serbian system, pensioners, recipients of social benefits, students, scholarship holders. So, the entire Serbian population,\u201d Elek said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. ambassador reiterated the call for Kosovo to resolve issues related to structures supported by Serbia in talks with Serbia in the dialogue mediated by the European Union.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The United States Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, has said that the recent actions of the Kosovo Government regarding the Serbian dinar and the closure of parallel Serbian municipalities are unnecessarily escalating ethnic tensions and as a result, limiting the United States\u2019 ability to support Kosovo in the international arena. \u201cThe United States is deeply […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":65531,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[163],"tags":[2480,300,150,243,151,301,5926,1239,490],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n