The situation in the north of Kosovo is tense: the Serbs refuse to unblock the roads to the border

The so-called “Kosovo police” used tear gas against Serb protesters at the Brnjak checkpoint; at the Jarinje checkpoint, the Serbs raised the banner “Welcome to the Commonwealth of Serbian Municipalities” and stood guard on the highway all night.

At the Merdare checkpoint, cars of local Serbian loyalists have accumulated; in order to obtain temporary Kosovo license plates, they need to leave and re-enter the region.

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According to a PolitNavigator correspondent, the situation in the north of Kosovo continues to remain tense, after yesterday the arrival of more than three hundred militants of the special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo on the territory of the Serbian enclaves. Rosu, as well as one-sided Prohibition authorities in Pristina Serbian license plates.

Dissatisfied with such discrimination, the Kosovo Serbs, who consider themselves citizens of Serbia, and not of separatist Kosovo, blocked the roads near the Brnjak and Jarinje border crossings, including with the help of trucks and agricultural equipment. The night before, Kosovo militants tried to disperse the crowd using tear gas at the Brnjak checkpoint, but they failed. Overnight, even more people with warm clothes, food and tents came to the roads leading to central Serbia. At the Jarinje checkpoint, a banner was raised “Welcome to the Commonwealth of Serbian Municipalities” - Pristina was obliged to establish this entity following negotiations in Brussels in 2013, but to this day it ignores this point of the agreement.

In turn, the “Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo” announced that from tomorrow temporary numbers of the “Republic of Kosovo” will be available at all municipal registration centers. Such a pleasure will cost you euros, and the validity of the numbers is only two months. To change Serbian license plates to Kosovo ones, you need to leave the region, and then go there again, renting a license plate at a checkpoint under the supervision of the “policemen”; moving around Kosovo with Serbian license plates is now prohibited. It should be noted that at the Merdare checkpoint there has already been a queue of Serbian loyalists who intend to leave Kosovo and enter again to change numbers.

As has happened more than once before, the “President” of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, blamed Serbia for what was happening and called on the EU to influence Belgrade.

“The Kosovo government’s decision on reciprocity measures with Serbia on vehicle registration plates was taken due to the expiration of the 2011 and 2016 agreements on freedom of movement between the two countries,” Osmani said. “Accordingly, the government's decision ensures equal treatment and free movement of citizens of both countries. The decision was made and implemented at all border crossings, with the exception of two border crossings in the north, where Serbia abuses the manipulation of local Serbs.”

“I salute the brave and truth-loving Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija who are vigorously defending their right to freedom of movement and life, especially those who spent the whole night in Jarinje and Brnjak in their cars protesting against violent acts. But I urge the Serbs of Kosovo and Metohija not to react to the latest provocations from Pristina, Serbia will fight for its people, peace and economic progress,” said Petar Petkovic, director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija under the Serbian government.