Djuric calls for dialogue instead of arrest warrants

BELGRADE - Head of the Serbian government office for Kosovo Marko Djuric has criticised EULEX for issuing arrest warrants against the current and former mayors of Zubin Potok, Stevan Vulovic and Slavisa Ristic, and he called for dialogue as the means to solve those problems.

Those warrants have caused great distress among the Serbs in northern Kosovo, so it is necessary to sit down and discuss a constructive solution to these cases as soon as possible, he stressed.

"We see this as pressure against our people's representatives and something that is not only unacceptable, but also a significant obstacle to all our efforts to bring relations back to normal... and that is why dialogue with EULEX is where we see a solution, or the way to deal with these issues," he noted.

Djuric says it is also very important for all those who make decisions regarding the judiciary in the current interregnum in northern Kosovo to do it responsibly.

Acting EULEX Chief Joelle Vachter stated on Sunday that warrants have been issued for the arrest of Zubin Potok Mayor Stevan Vulovic and former mayor Slavisa Ristic.

In an interview for the Mitrovica-based Kontakt Plus radio, Vachter said that Vulovic is suspected of organising escape of several arrestees, while Ristic is charged with endangering UN and accompanying staff and a grave murder.

The arrest warrants have been issues and if Vulovic and Ristic appear in Kosovo, it will be up to the prosecutor to decide whether to hold them in custody or not, since it is a decision for the judiciary and not for any kind of political authority, Vachter said.