Incident in the north, Serbia issues arrest warrant for Kosovo police officer

Serbian authorities issued an arrest warrant on Saturday for a member of the Kosovo Police, in connection with an incident with high school graduates the day before in the Serb-majority northern part of Kosovo.

The news was announced by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dacic.

Dacic said in a statement that "Kosovo policeman Dylot Brahimi will be arrested as soon as he is accessible to the Serbian police, without a prescription, whenever possible."

Serbia has no jurisdiction in Kosovo, as Kosovo declared its independence in 2008 and is recognized by over 100 countries around the world.

The incident in North Mitrovica on May 23 caused widespread reactions, mainly due to the way a member of the Kosovo Police who was nearby responded to it.

The police officer has been criticized for acting “selectively” and using “excessive force” when he stopped a Kosovo Serb high school graduate during a graduation party in North Mitrovica because, as it is said, he had provoked people in a nearby cafe.

Kosovo Police for the northern region announced on May 23 that the parade of Serbian high school graduates in the center of North Mitrovica ended "peacefully and without any problems," but added that the Police had to intervene during the celebrations due to some provocations, and that the situation calmed down and the celebration continued.

The police statement does not specify who was provoking whom and in what way.

In footage circulating on social media, a high school senior is seen during the parade pointing his middle finger towards a cafe, while a customer from there is said to be making the double-headed eagle symbol with his hands - which is a symbol on the Albanian national flag.

The head of the EU rule of law mission (EULEX), Giovanni Pietro Barbano, reacted to the incident by saying he felt "deeply shocked" and condemned the "excessive use of force by the Kosovo police against the young man in North Mitrovica".

On the other hand, the acting Minister of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, Xhelal Sveçla, stressed that the police had acted in a "professional" manner and that the intervention was intended to stop the escalation after provocations by some high school graduates, who, according to him, used nationalist symbols and chauvinistic chants such as "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia."

Sveçla published a video on Facebook in which high school graduates can be heard singing the song "Vidovdan" and shouting "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia" near the main bridge over the Ibar River in North Mitrovica.

Serbia's Ministry of Justice has requested an international investigation into the May 23 incident in North Mitrovica.

"Direct involvement of international representatives in protecting the rights of the Serbian people, suspension of political and logistical support for the Kosovo Police until accountability and respect for the fundamental rights of Serbs are established," the Serbian Ministry said on Saturday.

The leader of the Freedom, Justice and Survival party, Nenad Rashic, condemned the incident, saying that "the possible use of force against young people is a serious blow to fundamental democratic values," and added that this contributes to the deterioration of relations in northern Kosovo.

Rašić is Minister for Communities and Returns in the Kosovo Government, and his party also won a seat in the Kosovo Assembly elections in February.

He asked Minister Sveçla to take all possible measures so that such cases do not repeat, and announced that they will also request an investigation from the Kosovo Police Inspectorate.

The Serbian List - the largest party of Kosovo Serbs, which enjoys the support of official Belgrade - called the incident "completely unacceptable" and claimed that the institutions that are supposed to ensure peace "are being used to spread fear and ethnically motivated pressure."

"We demand an immediate investigation of this case, the determination of responsibility and the punishment of the police officers who abused their powers," the statement said.

The Serbian People's Movement and Serbian Democracy also called for an investigation and called the incident "institutional violence against Serbian children by the Kosovo Police."/ REL