Kosovo police bans Marko Djuric from entering Kosovo

LEPOSAVIC – The Kosovo police banned Director of the Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo-Metohija (KiM) Marko Djuric from entering the territory of the province at the Jarinje crossing Tuesday.

Djuric said that it was a flagrant violation of the agreement on freedom of movement and of all the principles that had been agreed in relation to the matter.

“I am afraid it will not remain without consequences. Quite certainly, this will not prevent Serbia's institutions from operating normally, but on the other hand, I am afraid that it is a bad signal when it comes to the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina,” Djuric told reporters at Jarinje.

“Therefore,” he added, “I urge the international community to help in overcoming the problem. Our desire is not to create additional tension, but rather to solve problems through dialogue.”

“Nobody will prevent or stop us in the normal performance of our job,” stressed Djuric, and when asked about the reason for his being stopped at Jarinje, he answered that he had received “a shameful excuse” from the police that the ban order had arrived from Pristina.

After a short stay at the crossing, situated near the town of Raska in south-central Serbia, Djuric returned to central Serbia.

Djuric was supposed to lay the foundation stone for a 41-square meter building with 12 residential units, a project funded by the Office for KiM, in the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo today.

Djuric was also to visit Zvecan and the Trepca mining complex in the town, where he was supposed to meet with its management and talk with representatives of Serbs from northern Kosovo at the end of his visit.