Prishtina, 23 December, 2023
Today, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, held a press conference together with the Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla.
Below, the complete speech of Prime Minister Kurti:
Dear journalists,
Dear citizens,
The order for the terrorist and criminal attack in Banjska of Zveçan on September 24 of this year, planned and organized by the Serbian state, was announced a day earlier, that is exactly three months ago, in the premises of the “Novi Pazar Put” company. Vehicles, weapons and all the arsenal prepared and used in Banjska were concentrated in this location.
This company, which is on the sanctions list of the United States of America, is owned by the brothers Zvonko and Zharko Veselinoviç and Millan Radoiçic. While the director is a retired colonel of the Serbian army, Aleksandar Grbovic, nicknamed “Grba”. He participated in the wars of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. He was also the director of the Nis prison for five years, and the mayor of Pozhega municipality in 2008.
A month before the attack in Banjska, the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vuçic, had visited this company to inaugurate the construction of the 18 km Raskë-Novi Pazar road. During the visit, he praised the director’s work and referred to him as “the fastest man among all drivers”. He also congratulated the speed of the work, for the road which was inaugurated three months ahead of time in a hurry.
The President of Serbia, from there, declared that it is difficult to find a solution when he talks to the people from Pristina, thinking of me, who, according to him, are looking for reasons for conflicts and attacks on the Serbian population. He charged assault because he was preparing for assault, which happened on September 24.
After the terrorist and criminal attack, Millan Radoiçic was released by the Serbian court in record time. He is now continuing preparations for other attacks in our country together with some members of the “Civil Defense” terrorist organization. Radoiçic is holding regular meetings with senior officials of the Serbian secret service – BIA. The premises of the company “Jablanovica” in Raskë, similar to those of “Novi Pazar Put”, are being used for housing and storing vehicles and explosive devices for future attacks by Radoiçic and his group. But, in reality, this building houses some of the members of the “Civil Defense” terrorist group, which conducts surveillance in the territory of Kosovo, and whose instructor is Uglesha Jarediq. Radoiçic’s paramilitaries are sheltering in the facilities that he owns in this tourist park, and in addition to accommodation, the members of the terrorist group are paid about 2,000 euros per month. Until September of this year, they were used by tourists for rent. The “Center for Ecology and Sports Development”, located on the shores of Lake Ujman, and the “Rajska Banja” Hotel, located near the Banjska Monastery, are two other points used by Radoiçic, which were built with funds of the Government of Serbia. One was visited by the President of Serbia Aleksander Vuçic, the other by the Prime Minister Ana Brnabiq.
At the same time, a group of about 80 people, all left from Kosovo, continued the exercises at the “Zimovnik” range, near Rashka. In terms of size, this training ground ranks right after the one in “Pasuljanke Livade”, and there the Serbian army conducts various military exercises, including tank firing, due to the wide area around it. The trainings are led by retired Serbian soldiers, who have high ranks, such as general, colonel and lieutenant colonel, and who have very good knowledge of Kosovo, since they may have served in the army during the war in our country. The exercises are being conducted for the placement of anti-tank mines in winter conditions and for snipers. During the month of November 2023, there were plans to carry out an attack in the direction of the municipality of Zubin Potok, in order to “take” Radoicic’s villa on the shores of Lake Ujman, but these plans have been temporarily suspended, due to these elections in Serbia.
The preliminary plan for retaliatory attacks against the Kosovo Police, we found out that it has changed, after the intensification of joint patrolling between the Kosovo Police and KFOR members around the border with Serbia and other measures undertaken by us.
Meanwhile, in the training ground of the Serbian army in Peshter, which is located near Sijenica in the region of Sanjak, the exercises of a group of 60 members of the “Civil Defense” terrorist group, who were also participants in the terrorist attack in Banjska and are assessed as the most reliable persons of Radoiçic and the Serbian state. This group had planned attacks on our police after the elections in Serbia, in border locations connected to illegal alternative routes. For this purpose, it is reported that there have been movements by the army of Serbia, which has stationed its soldiers in several points near the border with Kosovo, in locations where these attacks were foreseen.
The members of the terrorist groups who have fled from the north have also gathered in another place called Goç, a mountain near Kraleva, where one of the largest bases of the Serbian gendarmerie in the region is located.
Also, there are members of terrorist groups armed and uniformed with the same clothes they had during the attack in Banjska, who are standing near the “Banja (spa) of Novi Pazar” location, about 10 km near the border with Kosovo, and openly patrol the surrounding areas. They possess weapons, including anti-tank, four-wheel tractors and other means of transport.
An arsenal of weapons appears to be hiding in a hotel in Banjë in Novi Pazar, about 25 km away from the border point in Jarinje. This space is believed to be owned by the terrorist group that participated in the Banjska attack. Similar weapons that were used during the terrorist attack in Banjska are hidden there.
The Government of Serbia has recently ordered illegal Serbian structures to employ the wives of the terrorist group participating in the Banjska attack, whose families live in Kosovo. This is so that they don’t make any critical noise about what happened to them.
It is now clear that no plan or attack can be carried out without the order of the leaders of Serbia. They cause these attacks which are prepared by them and which they set the time and order to take security measures, according to the interests of their plans and maybe also of Russia.
Plans for attacks are aimed at destabilizing the situation. The institutions of Kosovo, in close cooperation with the relevant international factors, with our partners and allies, are intensively committed to providing security for all citizens without distinction.
Serbia, instead of imposing sanctions on Russia, is helping Russia avoid them. Instead of being sanctioned and obliged to hand over the terrorists, it is using them for political purposes and other threats against Kosovo.
Of course, all these plans are destined to fail. Terrorism is a challenge for us, but it is unlikely to triumph in a democratic state such as our Republic of Kosovo.
When you hear this story, of course it seems gloomy, but such is the reality of our northern neighbor, which also poses a threat to us, besides having caused the greatest dissatisfaction ever in recent times even among its own people.
Finally, before I pass the floor to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, I want to say, dear journalists and dear citizens, that the Prosecution Council of Kosovo, the Chief State Prosecutor’s Office, three months after the terrorist attack in Banjska of Zveçan, they still did not file indictments nor did they inform the public about the biggest orchestrated attack against our Republic, not only in 2023, not only against the Police, the rule of law, but also against the territorial integrity of the country and the citizens of the state. This passivity and lack of information is unfair and incomprehensible to us.
Thank you, after the presentation that the Minister of Internal Affairs will make, we will be able to answer your questions.
Questions and answers from the Conference
Question from RTK: It is mentioned that the Rajska Banja complex in Zveçan was used in the September 24 attack in Banjska. Now that it is under the management of the state of Kosovo, have you decided what this complex will be used for?
Minister Sveçla: The bathhouse in Banjska is the property of the AKP, that is, of the state of the Republic of Kosovo, it has been given under the management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the engineering department which deals with the management of state facilities. We are doing inventory and assessment of the potential of this object. At the moment when we will have a decision, the opinion will definitely be announced.
Question from KTV: Mr. Kurti, some investigations have been done on the case of Banjska on September 24, they are still not being published, we have had reports, in fact international sources, that they are not being published in fact due to the fact that the elections were held in Serbia and they were able to harm President Vuçic and we are already seeing these last details that you gave him. Do you know why these investigations of the Banjska case are not being published while other attacks are being planned, that is, against our state? While we also had your position on the draft of the Association’s statute, you said earlier, did you actually know earlier that it is an internal draft of the Republic of Kosovo? And how does your plan differ from that of the European Union? Meanwhile, for you, Minister Sveçla, we have actually seen in the northern part that we no longer have license plates, magnifiers are being confiscated, that is, the alarms which were used by Serbian groups; is it expected that the same will be confiscated in other municipalities as well? Thank you!
Prime Minister Kurti: There is no information from the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, from the state institutions regarding the terrorist and criminal attack in Banjska that has not been given to the State Prosecutor’s Office. Today, it has been 3 months since the order for the terrorist attack was announced, which killed the police sergeant, the hero of Kosovo, Afrim Bunjaku, the day after, on September 24. Today, it has been 3 months since the order was announced and this information is already at the Prosecutor’s Office.
There are countless facts, material evidence which are more than enough to file charges for the attack in Banjska of Zveçan. Overall, last year was a year of paramilitary barricades and trenches.
This year was the year of terrorist and paramilitary criminal attacks, but there is a huge disparity between information, facts, and testimonies, arguments on the one hand and indictments and court proceedings on the other. As a result of the people who are behind bars. It is a minor number. And this gap cannot be filled by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, it belongs to the State Prosecutor’s Office, so the question should be for them. I’m here to help, but they’re there to work, I can’t help someone who doesn’t work, I can only help someone who works. I’m there to help, they’re there to work.
In the text that I published yesterday, I believe you noticed that only the fifth point has to do with the draft of the Association’s statute. The first point is security, the second point is security again, the third point is the sanctions for Serbia, the fourth point is the lifting of sanctions against Kosovo, then the draft statute of the Association.
So, government policy, the democratic state has priorities.
In the talks in Brussels, it has been repeatedly said that for a draft statute there should be an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, it has been repeatedly brought up in the process of talks at the dialogue table. And I have been very constructive and creative, and dedicated. Do you even remember how on May 2, I patiently listened to the former SNS MP, Danijela Vujiçic. Leader of the so-called, Management Team, elaborating how the Serbian Republic in Kosovo should look like. I listened to him for half an hour in Brussels.
At that time, there will be a lot of pressure on our Government, and in the following weeks and months, for us to propose a draft. Meanwhile, her draft was not completely invalidated politically and not at all legally as it should have been by the mediator.
Therefore, we have considered that it is not the time for this, or in advance, when it was raised by the president of Serbia, the issue of the Association and such a thing, such a raising of the topic was considered legitimate by the mediators, I had offered on March 18, so a month and a half before May 2 that in three principles the constitutionality, the judgment of the Constitutional Court, the letter of Mogherin, and the text of Chollet and Escobar present the principles on which I write the draft. It was said that it is unacceptable for Serbia, therefore the issue was stalled.
Now, if the draft statute of the Association is said by the mediator to be an internal issue of Kosovo, this is a different register of things. In other words, we have wasted no time every time the Association of Municipalities with a Serbian majority has been brought to the dialogue table in Brussels. But I never raised it, who else did. This is due to the fact that the time in Brussels for the draft of the Association’s statute during these two years that is being talked about was unnecessary as a topic, therefore wasted as time. This is the reason why I said, if it is an issue exclusively for Kosovo, I completely agree, then Kosovo for internal issues not only has a Government, but also relevant ministers who deal with this work.
And I have not said that I will write the draft, I have said that I can write it, and I have indicated who my ministers are, with whom I consult when it comes to this topic. So, Nenad Rashiq and Elbert Krasniqi.
Minister Sveçla: Now, it is a fact that there are no illegal license plates in circulation in the Republic of Kosovo. I take the opportunity to thank all the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who have been extremely responsible in fulfilling all their duties so that this process can be completed successfully. Also, you have now also seen the recordings of the removal of illegal alarms from North Mitrovica, the same process will happen anywhere within the territory of the Republic of Kosovo where we come across devices that serve for mobilization or activation, related to illegal activities. There is no doubt in this, the moment they are identified, the Kosovo Police and other structures will act.
Question from Telegrafi: Hello Prime Minister and Minister, after all the chronology you told us about the north, as well as the statements when you said that there is still a risk of an attack on Kosovo, as the Government, how secure are our borders? What are you doing to prevent this risk?
Prime Minister Kurti: The border with Serbia is the longest, 381 kilometers, it is longer than the border with North Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro together. In addition, it is hilly – mountainous terrain in a significant part. What we are doing, and which seems to have repelled the attack plans, is joint patrolling with KFOR soldiers, and this is already happening. Our policemen, together with KFOR soldiers, patrol along the border. On the other hand, we have a very successful intelligence of Kosovo, the work of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency is unprecedented, in the double sense of the word, because it is unprecedented because it is a secret matter of intelligence, but also because of these results are unprecedented in the history of this agency, for which I thank the members of KIA and its director.
When we add to this the cooperation we have with our partners and allies, we are very prepared for any attacks that anyone can think of, to repel them successfully. Even the barricades last year turned out to be in vain, and these attacks, temporary damage, but in vain. 93 KFOR soldiers were injured, Afrim Bunjaku was killed, 3 Serb members of Milan Radoiçic’s group were killed, and two of them were children during the war in Kosovo ‘98 /99. Because it is clear to me, someone in Belgrade wants the conflict to be passed on to the next generation. I am a politician who wants no more war. And you young generations should never find out what war is, let this work be done with Xhelal and me, let it be done with our generation. Let it also be done with Vuçics generation, which is approximately the same age as the Minister of the Interior. But don’t let the conflict, the war, the bloodshed be carried over to the new generation.
Now with these three terrorists who were killed, you can clearly see that there is an attempt, an orchestration, for the conflict, the war, between Kosovo and Serbia from the past to be carried over to the future generation, to those who were either children, or minors, or not born in 98/99. And this is worrying for me in a socio-historical aspect let’s say. Because if young people begin to die, who do not know what the 98/99 war was, then this is preparation for the future generations to experience the tragedies that we also had.
Therefore, it is extremely important to stop this now and move towards the normalization of relations and European integration. This is our intention, but it is not tin at all because we are dealing with a continuous aggressive and hostile behavior which, as I showed today, is not only related to the speech of the president of Serbia, in the General Assembly of the United Nations with September 21. So, on September 21, that speech warned of an attack, but it is also related to the orders given in the premises of Novi Pazar – Put, the enterprise in Sanxhak.
So, September 21 is the speech at the General Assembly, September 23 exactly three months ago is the order given to this enterprise, September 24 Afrim Bunjaku is killed and then three terrorists.
Now, as long as the terrorists are free, all they know how to do is crime and terror, and the chances of them attacking are high, because they are free. If they were arrested, there would still be a chance of someone else being inspired, but if those who carried out the attack are at large, that made the chances high. And these are not people we don’t know before, Milan Radoiçic didn’t become famous on September 24. We know about it for every month of 2023, and for every month of previous years, it has been well known in Kosovo for 10 years. Organized crime wants to make this a political cause. Therefore, it is very important for the Prosecutor’s Office to act, because the action of the Prosecutor’s Office is not only to facilitate justice but also to prevent crimes in the future and this is my appeal today.
Question from Top Channel: If you can minister or even prime minister tell us an exact number of suspects and are they the same ones you presented, or are there others who are suspects for the terrorist attack in Banjska, and who is cooperation with the international investigative institutions in this case regarding the investigation of the Banjska event, as well as any cooperation with Interpol, considering that there are reports that there is a ‘Red Notice’ for Milan Radoiçic. We want to know if there are also other suspects in this case, if only the institutions of Kosovo have cooperation with Interpol. The other question is also related to the exercises that you mentioned, prime minister that are being held at several different points across the border. Is it true that considering that Kraleva and the part of Rashka were also mentioned, is it true that the territory of their training is expanding, and considering that you are mentioning a continuous attack from the Serbian side, and is it possible should we expect attacks in other parts of Kosovo by these groups? Even if I can quickly talk about the association, what was different about the association you want to write about from the current one of the European Union?
Minister Sveçla: Yes, today’s presentation is only part of the evidence that the Kosovo Police, Kosovo institutions have. The number of terrorists, either identified or those whose identification is being worked on, is greater. I emphasized that it is not just about a group that was actively involved in the attack in Banjska. We already know that there was a second group which was waiting to enter the territory of the Republic of Kosovo. We, the Kosovo Police, the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, the Prosecutor’s Office, are doing everything to identify everyone, which means the number is greater, but the fact that the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo are cooperating through available channels is already public also with Interpol, and now some of these terrorists are on the so-called ‘Red Notice’ of Interpol for the terrorist attack in Banjska… I don’t know exactly which one is on the Red Notice, but I’m telling you it’s not this one everything we know about this terrorist group.
Prime Minister Kurti: First, it is evident that there are no exercises and preparations in only one place. Secondly, it is evident that all these places where the exercises take place are connected either to the Serbian army or to the Serbian gendarmerie, so the state is inside. The state is above, behind, and inside. And third, for criminals, conflict is freedom. When there is conflict, criminals gain freedom. As long as there is peace, criminals feel threatened, so they have no interest in peace, they have an interest in conflict. That is why we are worried, but by no means afraid, but still excited. I don’t want others to die, I want there to be no attacks, if there are attacks we will defend ourselves, but there is no need for attacks. Why destabilize Kosovo? People are living, working, there is economic growth, social redistribution, there is a market where Albanians and Serbs work and exchange. Why destabilize this, who cares? Therefore, we are also raising the alarm so that the international factors and our prosecutor’s office make the information public as soon as possible, and punitive measures are imposed. In the text that I posted, I am once again emphasizing, the key word is safety. After security there is security again, the surrender of Radoiçic’s group, and after that there are the sanctions of Serbia, the lifting of the sanctions of Kosovo. However, regarding this draft of the association, I emphasize a more important step: the signing of the Basic Agreement. The Basic Agreement has been violated every week by Serbia this year and the climax was the letter of Prime Minister Bërnabiq. I need on the part of Brussels as a mediator to create legal, political, diplomatic security of the agreement made and the process as a whole, and the signature is this guarantee. The signature would cancel past violations and prevent future violations. We need an address from Brussels for the continuous violations that culminated in Prime Minister Bërnabiq’s letter. It’s useless to talk about the draft status when you have that letter from Brënabiq. She is saying that she accepted the independence of Kosovo, has no seat in the UN and did not respect the so-called territorial integrity. Do you know what it means when the prime minister of the neighboring country says she did not respect the so-called territorial integrity? This is a warning of aggression, this is the point. Of course, one can endlessly engage with each other for draft status. The draft statute is not current here, it is Brënabiq’s letter. She is saying she did not respect territorial integrity. For this, Brussels needs to take a security measure, and I continue to believe that there is no better security measure, apart from the normal one in the principle of international relations and international agreements, than signing. That is why I said in point 6 that at the next European Council Summit on March 21 and 22, we would be able to sign the Basic Agreement. This is the essence, the normalization of relations has this as a key. And I have offered on March 18 to draft the statute with three principles. This was rejected. On October 26, he told me it was urgent: “Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has not ended, the war in the Middle East has also begun, let’s do something.” I said we are making the package. Kosovo wins the status of a candidate country, the partnership for peace – we can get these from the internationals; we have the Basic Agreement and we also have the Implementation Annex; a draft statute, I have given the remarks on it. But if it’s urgent tonight I’m doing it. This was also rejected, what should I do? What can I do more than that? It was rejected. On October 26, the president of Serbia has shown that he is not interested in association. He got his chance that night. If he was at all interested in the association, he would say: “Very well we are signing him because my priority is the association.” When I said let’s make the package and we are getting along with Chancellor Scholz, President Macron, Prime Minister Meloni, Charles Michel, Josep Borrel and Miroslav Lajcak, he took two steps back and said I should send an additional letter where I say that he did not respect the territorial integrity of Kosovo. So, the moment you take one step closer, three steps away. How to normalize relations? But once again I emphasize, safety is above all now. There are many criminals around the border of Kosovo and we must protect territorial integrity, state sovereignty, national security, life, rights and well-being of citizens.
Question from Euronews: I have a few questions if possible. The first question for the Prime Minister:
Prime Minister, I asked you when the ban on the import of Serbian goods in Kosovo was imposed, you told me then that these were not economic measures but security measures. I understood what it was about, but after that the import of raw materials was allowed, I pass by often, I see trucks with grain and various raw materials coming. What and how you interpret it now, how now the finished products are a safety issue and the raw materials are not, I think you have to admit, that is a bit illogical.
Second question:
Can you explain to me, if I understood you correctly, all the dangerous terrorist groups inside Kosovo, you are saying that they have been neutralized, if it is true then why is the presence of the Kosovo Police necessary in the municipal facilities, in the facilities themselves, not I am talking about the municipalities, nor the territory of the municipalities, but only the facilities, and if I may, the third question: a contract was signed between KEDS and Elektrosever, which is practically kept in complete secrecy. I understand that you can tell me that it is a commercial contract and that it has nothing to do with the government, but if you have any information about this, other than the electricity payments to the citizens of the north, which I think is logical – what exactly does that mean? , what are the responsibilities of KEDS and Elektrosever, because I remember the position of your government, namely yours, which you were against electricity payment being made through Elektrosever, but through KEDS.
And for the minister, sorry to be late. Can you tell us the purpose of all this that you told us here now and the possible new attacks in Kosovo, and the opening of some kind of istikam after the Bistrica bridge, we have seen it there, and the road from Suvo Doli to the village Banovdo if you know what I’m talking about, because city… order? Vitomiriqi-yes, because the citizens told us that they were told that it is being done for the needs of the police, and thirdly, please: Invitation for interrogation by the Kosovo Police for a group of people from the north of Kosovo, in those invitations.. I have seen an invitation, it says that it is for participation in the barricades, are you bringing those people maybe, if it is not a secret, I mean secret because of the investigation, do you connect those people with the attack in Banjska? Thank you and sorry for being late.
Prime Minister Kurti: Thank you very much. First of all, madam, these measures are not trade measures, they are only security measures, now to be honest with you about the details of how they are actually implemented, I am not the one who knows best, but I think that these border policemen on the one hand and the customs officers are those who know best. This year we have confiscated – three times – a large amount of weapons and ammunition. The first time was June 23, then September 5 and September 24. The last time, when Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku was killed, we confiscated weapons worth over 5 million euros. So that amount could not be exceeded at once. They have brought weapons on several occasions. Now when I’m publishing what we know, I’m publishing what we know and we can’t act, because we don’t have jurisdiction around the borders of our country, but someone has to do something, mostly the international community. We know what is being prepared and we say it publicly. And whenever we receive such information inside Kosovo, we act, but many of them happen outside Kosovo. There may be various activities and such criminal developments for the preparation of future attacks even these days, but we still don’t know and it is possible and believe me the police are also worried because they are being targeted, and therefore you may have a greater police presence, which we would not want, but because of the policemen themselves, not only because of the buildings, but also because of the policemen themselves, it is necessary. For example, on Sunday morning, September 24, when Afrim Bunjaku was killed, they were surrounded by dozens of paramilitaries, who shot at them, they knew the terrain much better than they did, they were lucky not to be killed 9- to. That’s why you see the police a little more prepared, because they had to wait an hour for the special units to come to Banjska. There is so much concern among the police about that event.
Now, electricity in Kosovo is free. I think it should be paid. I invite all citizens of Serbian ethnicity in the north of Kosovo to start paying for electricity. Now it is that commercial contract between KEDS and Elektrosever, you know very well that 10 years ago I not only protested but was also arrested due to the privatization of KEK’s distribution, this is the legacy that we have as a government and it is good that they have that agreement, that contract, let it start from January 1 and pay for the electricity as soon as possible. We are here to provide the cheapest electricity for both households and businesses, but also to have a stable supply because now it is winter and our capacities are not sufficient for consumption throughout Kosovo, including the northern part of Kosovo.
Regarding the security situation, I have to say that this year we have more experience and we have been lucky, but tensions have increased. Last year in the north of Kosovo, exactly one year ago, we had 3 weeks with 16 barricades. Those barricades and those istikams were paramilitary barricades. There were no barricades like the Paris students in ’68, this year we had paramilitary attacks. I think this has nothing to do with the population, with ordinary people. It has to do with certain structures. I am optimistic for our region, for Kosovo, for relations with Serbia and for the entire Balkans, because I have to say that unlike 3 decades ago – today in Kosovo, nor in Serbia, nor anywhere in the Balkans, there is no longer any nationalism of the masses which is like fuel for the dictator’s war machine. It’s not like that anymore. If you try to hand out Kalashnikovs to the citizens, they won’t take them. 30 years ago they would have taken them to Knin, Krajina, Republika Srpska, but the people don’t want them anymore, the people don’t want weapons. But there are different criminals who want guns. Criminals do not want peace, peace is full of anxiety for criminals. They love conflict, conflict becomes freedom and has nothing to do with ethnicity or nationality. These elements of organized crime would like to have some kind of political packaging for their criminal activities and for that they need politicians. Otherwise, their main motive is profit, without profit they do not work, and when they do, they are crimes. Now we are in a situation where we have to spend resources and time, nerves and energy somewhere we did not want, it would be much better to spend all this time and money on education, health, employment, etc., but what do we do when we have such groups, we must fight them. I think they are wasting precious time of me, you and everyone, but in the end they will.
Minister Svecla: In my speech, I mentioned that since 2021, that is, since our arrival in the government until now, we have had 114 attacks on the Kosovo Police in the north. The prime minister also mentioned the exercises, preparations, mobilization of these terrorist groups near the Republic of Kosovo in the territory of Serbia, which indicates a dangerous situation especially for the institutions that are obliged to provide security. The Kosovo Police is continuously performing its legal duties and has and will have my unreserved support. They decide in a professional, legal way how to prepare in order to face all the dangerous situations that not only this terrorist group but various extremists bring to Kosovo. As for the mentioned road, this is an infrastructure project led by the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning. I believe that any investment in any part of the Republic of Kosovo is welcome and should be supported, supported and welcomed by everyone. Therefore, I believe that the correct address for this question is the Kosovo Police and the Prosecutor’s Office.
Question from Kosovo Online: Mr. Kurti, I have only two questions. So: you are talking about the preparation of attacks in Kosovo, do you have evidence for such claims and the next question, will you continue with the confiscation of facilities owned by the Republic of Serbia in the north, such as Rajska Banja, and what is the purpose and legal basis of these actions?
Prime Minister Kurti: Thank you for the question. I will convey to you my speech in Serbian, translated into Serbian, so that you can see all the evidence that I have presented about the various preparations in the circumstances in which Radojiçic is free and practicing in various fields either of the Serbian army or the gendarmerie, with other paramilitary members of his terrorist organization and there you have enough evidence. I communicated this because I cannot act there, but I hope the international community will tell official Belgrade to arrest Radojiçic and extradite him to our security and order authorities.
Now, the first thing I said today is that exactly 3 months ago, on September 23 of this year, Serbia issued an order to the premises of the “Novi Pazar Put” enterprise for what happened the next day. Sunday morning, when our sergeant Afrim Bunjaku was killed. I started with this. You will receive three pages of text in Serbian where you have these facts about what is happening around our border. On the one hand, it is Belgrade’s policy that destabilizes the region, sometimes even Bosnia, then Montenegro and then Kosovo, looking for something somewhere because they are not satisfied with the violent disintegration of the former Yugoslavia that they themselves caused. I think the crux of the problem is that official Belgrade is now sorry that Yugoslavia broke up, even though they were the main cause of it. We cannot go back to the 80s or 90s. There is no time machine. We must look forward, not back, but forward. And before us is the EU. This is my main message, but I have to say something else about the north, and you know better than I do.
It is not only a nationalist ideology that has a kind of negative essence in the sense that there is more hatred than love, more hatred for others than love for oneself, but it is also from a sociological point of view. Problematic things happened there in these years. Namely, a bandit culture, those people who roam the streets of North Mitrovica, Zveçan and Zubin Potok and beat others and everyone is afraid of them. And they enjoy being scared of someone. Even in various sports clubs – but without a ball, you know the usual kickboxing. And this bullying culture is coming to an end. There is no more bandit culture, there will be no individual or group in the state of Kosovo stronger than the state. If you want to be a decent citizen, I will help you at all costs. If you want to be a bully, there will be no compromise. So the problem is not only the chauvinistic aspect of nationalism as an ideology, but also the problem of a kind of social dynamic in the northern part of Kosovo, where various thugs – who some think are in Scorsese’s film “Good Fellas” and some they think they are in some action movie where some young paramilitary, strong rule and this is the law of the day! There will be no such thing. I think this is where all these destabilization attempts come from, on the one hand you have a nationalist ideology with much more hate than love and on the other hand this sociological aspect – drugs, crime, mafia and thugs. This has to end and I think we are close to the end, the situation is much better, but they are probably becoming even more dangerous and even more nervous.
Thank you very much.
Last modified: December 27, 2023