Germany urges Serbs to remove Kosovo barricades

BERLIN

Germany on Wednesday called on Serbs in Kosovo to remove barricades set up after Kosovar authorities blocked Serbian Patriarch Porfirije from entering the country ahead of Orthodox Christmas celebrations.

“We are very concerned about these tensions in northern Kosovo. The barricades erected illegally by Kosovo Serbs must be dismantled as soon as possible,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger told journalists in Berlin.

The new barricades – near Kosovo’s Bosniak Quarter in northern Mitrovica and in Zvecan, a multiethnic area home to Serbs, Albanians, Bosniaks, and Turks – were reportedly set up in response to demands for the release of a former Serbian police officer, as well an association of municipalities in Kosovo that are majority Serb.

Burger called on Serbia to use its influence to help de-escalate the political crisis in northern Kosovo.

“Nationalist rhetoric in particular, such as we have heard from Serbia in recent weeks, is completely unacceptable, and the increase in military presence near the Serbian border with Kosovo sends the completely wrong signal. That is why we expect a constructive approach from Serbia,” he said.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has vowed to take all necessary measures to protect ethnic Serbs living in northern Kosovo, near the border with his country.

“We are doing all in our power to preserve peace and stability. Unfortunately, they did not want to listen to us, or they were not very interested in hearing us, but they will continue to talk about the Serb barricades, which are a sign of discontent and of the Serb people’s struggle to be where they belong,” Vucic said on social media.

Burger expressed support for diplomatic efforts by the EU special envoy on Kosovo to help “de-escalate very quickly" in a bid "to finally normalize" Kosovo-Serbian relations.

Kosovo, predominantly inhabited by Albanians, broke from Serbia in 1999 and declared independence in 2008. However, Serbia has not recognized the move and sees its former province as part of its territory.

Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have escalated since the Dec. 10 detention of former Serbian police officer Dejan Pantic on suspicion of attacking election officials.

Protesting Pantic’s arrest, Kosovo Serbs have been standing guard at barricades they set up at border crossings since Dec. 10.

The EU, NATO, and the US have called for de-escalation and the removal of barricades in northern Kosovo, while Serbia has requested to deploy its army and police based on a UN resolution.