Drecun: Kurti again trying to deceive public by arresting Serbs

BELGRADE - The chairman of the Serbian parliamentary committee on defence and internal security Milovan Drecun said on Tuesday an April 6 arrest of 16 Serbs who had been visiting Serbian Orthodox monasteries in Kosovo-Metohija was another attempt by Pristina's PM Albin Kurti to deceive the public and convince the international community Pristina was being targeted by "aggressive plans by Belgrade."

Serbs usually get arrested in Kosovo-Metohija when they try to reclaim their property that has been usurped and taken away from them, and then they get accused of alleged war crimes to legalise the seizure of property, Drecun said.

"This is another attempt of a publicity spin, to convince the international community that Pristina is being targeted by some kind of aggressive plans by Belgrade. It is an ongoing narrative that many are not buying into anymore. They (Pristina) make up conspiracies, but they, and especially Kurti, need that because of the local public," Drecun said.

He noted that the Serbian Orthodox Church had been targeted by Pristina for a long time now for two reasons: to take away as much of its property as possible, and to turn it into Albanian cultural heritage and get the faithful to stop visiting Serbian holy sites.

Commenting on an announcement that an Albanian Orthodox metropolitanate would be formed around Easter, Drecun said this was an attempt to set up a parallel Orthodox church and to get the Serbian Orthodox Church as far from Kosovo-Metohija as possible.

"They have a problem with the Serbian Orthodox Church because it is the guardian of the national identity, culture and tradition of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija. It is the fundamental pillar of the survival of the Serbs, so they want to compromise it as an alleged destabilising factor. That is the beginning of a path to a ban or restrictive measures when it comes to activities and stays by members of the clergy in Serbian Orthodox Church buildings," Drecun said.

Speaking about the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, he said the problem was that the EU and its officials failed to see where the problem was and why there was no agreement.

An agreement proposed by France and Germany, under which Serbia's southern province is treated as a state, is doggedly being imposed, which is unacceptable to Belgrade, he said.

"Kurti saw that as a chance and made the resumption of any agreement in the dialogue conditional upon a recognition by Belgrade, de facto as well as de iure, and then he will discuss other things. However much the EU may insist on this, Kurti will be encouraged to blackmail Belgrade. I hope the Trump administration will realise that this is a problem," Drecun concluded.