Belgrade taking over one competence after another

[Crvena zvezda]

Belgrade taking over one competence after another

Author: Željka Jevtić | 04.03.2008 - 06:00



‘Serbia Railways’ yesterday took over from UNMIK the control over the railway in the northern, Serbian part of Kosovo. As ‘Blic’ was told at Serbia Government, the employed Serbs working for the UNMIK until so far are as of now on the ‘Serbia Railways’ payroll. In the meantime the international mission in Pristina yesterday did not want to comment on Belgrade’s moves only pointing out to consider the railway infrastructure in the north as an integral part of the UNMIK railways.

During the last nine years UNMIK managed the railways in Kosovo.

UNMIK: Matter for the highest level
Branislav Ristivojevic, the PM advisor and also president of ‘Serbia Railways’ management board was yesterday the only one who spoke in the name of Serbia Government about takeover of the railway.
As of today ‘Serbia Railways’ undertakes the railway tracks and stations in the north of Kosovo. This takeover also includes 50 employees of the Serbian nationality who as of today are the employees of ‘Serbia Railways. UNMIK has not managed the rail in this part well and according to our standards’, Ristivojevic said.
UNMIK points out not to have received any official explanation from Serbia Government on this matter.
‘We still consider it as a part of UNMIK railways since those municipalities and that part of the railway are a part of Kosovo’, one UNMIK’s spokesperson said. According to that spokesperson the issue shall be debated at the highest level and the contacts have been already established.
‘Other trains are expected to be introduced on Kosovska Mitrovica-Belgrade relation so that the communication between Kosovo and Metohija and Serbia becomes much better and more rapid than it has been until so far’, Zoran Bogavac, representative of the ‘Railways’ workers said.
It cannot be said what concrete moves the international authority in Kosovo is going to make in response to the ‘railway takeover’.
Until so far the authorities in Belgrade have reacted on several occasions to unilateral proclamation of independence and sending of the EU mission to Kosovo without approval by the UN SC. The first considered the police. Until so far over 200 Serbian policemen have been suspended because they returned the weapons and badges. These are policemen in Kosovsko Pomoravlje and central Kosovo. The policemen from Gorazdevac yesterday did the same. The Serb police officers in Strpce are still negotiating with UNMIK. ‘We do not want to return the weapons because if we do that the Serbs in Sirinicka and Sredacka zupa would be at risk’, they say.
Serbia Government announced to also take over the employees in the judicial system and the customs.

Feith: Serbia to stop paying Kosovo’s debt
The EU special representative in Kosovo Pieter Feith said yesterday in his interview with the ‘Contact Plus’ radio of Kosovska Mitrovica that Serbia should stop paying Kosovo’s foreign debt so that the institutions in Pristina could undertake the responsibility in the economy.