Protest in the north after the arrest of two Serbian politicians

Serbs employed in Serbian public institutions in North Mitrovica are protesting in front of the police station in this municipality, after the arrest of two Serbian politicians on August 8.

Among the protesters are also leaders of the Serbian List, the main party of the Serbs that enjoys the support of Belgrade.

Alleksandar Arsenijević and Stefan Vellković from the Serbian Democracy party were arrested in North Mitrovica, to the regret of the officials who were painting the wall near the main bridge over the Iber.

"Arsenijević was arrested for obstructing an official while performing his duty and for disobeying police orders. We have received the information in the south, the prosecutor is there and says he will receive their statement, the normal procedure will be followed and they will are released until 18:00", said the deputy director of the Kosovo Police for the northern region, Veton Elshani, to journalists in North Mitrovica.

Regarding the arrest of Serbian politicians, the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government reacted. This office said they were arrested after they refused to "desecrate Serbian symbols".

"Their brutal arrest proves that the Serbs have the right to be very worried about their safety and existence in Kosovo, especially in light of the intention to open the bridge over the Ibar, which was shown today with the brutal arrest and revenge, right next to the bridge" , said in response.

The arrest of Arsenijević and Velković was made on the day when a debate was held in North Mitrovica about the opening of the bridge over the river Ibër.

Before the start of the debate, members of Arsenijević's party went to the municipality of North Mitrovica, who asked Elshani to explain why the two members of this party were arrested.

The debate was attended by representatives of the Government of Kosovo, of the municipality of North Mitrovica, as the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, had called on the Serbs to participate in it to "express their concerns which will be addressed by our representatives institutional and institutions of the country".

Kurti's government announced in mid-July that it intends to open the main bridge over the Ibër River in Mitrovica for traffic.

However, the QUINT countries – the US, UK, Germany, France and Italy – declared on August 2 that they do not support the opening of the bridge at this time.

NATO's peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, declared that any decision on the opening of the main bridge over the Iber River should be taken within the framework of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

This mission has reiterated that it will not hesitate to take "all the necessary measures" to combat developments that may threaten regional security and stability.

Italian soldiers as part of the KFOR mission are on the bridge over the Ibër river, while members of the Kosovo Police are also nearby.

In the post-war period, the bridge over the Iber River was a symbol of the riots and barricades erected by Kosovo Serbs to oppose Kosovo's efforts to establish authority in the north.

The bridge is currently only open for pedestrians, although in the framework of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia it has been agreed that it should also be opened for vehicle traffic./ REL