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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

EULEX requested to present evidence for arrest of five Serbs

Belgrade, 23 September 2009

The Serbian Ministry for Kosovo-Metohija has stated that EULEX has been clearly requested to present evidence for the arrest of five Serbs this morning on suspicion of committing war crimes.

The arrested were named as Svetlana Stojanovic from Bostane, Dobrivoje Trajkovic, Slobodan and Srecko Martinovic from Plavica, and Srdjan Filic from Jasenovik.

Experience has shown that Serbs have been arrested in the past by the Kosovo police and international authorities on the basis of false information, with no real evidence, after which they were set free.

Such arrests can only heat up the situation for Serbs in Kosovo, creating even more fear and insecurity.

The Ministry highlighted the fact that not a single crime committed against Serbs and other non-Albanians since 1999 has been investigated or processed.

We still do not know who killed the Stolic family, the children in Gorazdevac, 14 harvesters in Staro Gracko or who put the bomb on a bus on the Podujevo-Pristina road, etc.

This leads us to the logical conclusion that justice in Kosovo is based solely on one’s ethnicity, the Ministry said.

Minister for Kosovo-Metohija Goran Bogdanovic stressed that this is why the Ministry is demanding that EULEX discontinues this practice and provides clear evidence of the reasons for the arrests.

He recalled that the Serbian government and the Ministry for Kosovo-Metohija have always advocated that all perpetrators of war crimes must answer for their actions and it will continue to do so.

On the other hand, there are doubts among Novo Brdo residents that today’s arrests herald new pressures to be exerted on Serbian communities, where according to the Ahtisaari plan, new municipalities will be established, the Minister noted.

He said that it is up to EULEX to take the necessary steps to protect the Serbian population in the southern province.

The Ministry for Kosovo-Metohija will monitor the situation and take the necessary steps in cooperation with other state organs. We would like to underline our commitment to the stance that all who are responsible for war crimes, whether they are of Serbian or Albanian nationality, must answer for them, Bogdanovic concluded.