Belgrade 9/25/2023

PUBLIC STATEMENT

What After Banjska

Forum for Security and Democracy, while in the strongest possible terms condemning the appearance of as of yet unidentified paramilitary formations, expresses it’s deepest concern regarding their skirmish with the Kosovo police forces in northern Kosovo that stands as the biggest and most direct threat to the successful conclusion of the dialogue in Brussels, the implementation of the French-German plan and the entire security of the region to date.

FSD is of the view that Serbia must use all of it’s intelligence and diplomatic capacities in order to uncover the answers to the question Who was involved and How in inciting local Serbs into organizing paramilitary groups in northern Kosovo and goading them into armed skirmishes which have resulted in yesterday’s events around the village of Banjsk – lest its commitment to the processes in Brussels is brought into question.

FSD underscores that such findings and answers are important for the maintaining of current good relations and understanding between Serbia and the EU with regards to the significance of the Brussels agreement and dialogue as well as the keeping and strengthening of internal democratic and security capacities which the events and methods similar to those we have witnessed yesterday in northern Kosovo could significantly endanger.

FSD in that regard expects that the Council for National Security and the government authorities will make publicly available all the information pertaining to the events in Banjska village and reexamine their intelligence activities and reactions in that sense.

FSD, also, expects their full cooperation with the missions of KFOR and EULEX in uncovering and processing of all individuals responsible for the events in Banjska village, as well as the attack and wounding of KFOR soldiers several months ago, in incidents that also took place in northern Kosovo.

FSD emphasizes that the actualization of the return of Kosovo Serbs back into Kosovo institutions, especially the police forces, now entails and is dependent on the conclusion of these investigations.

FSD is confident that is still possible, even now, especially with the application of experiences from previous conflicts in southern Serbia and the rehabilitation of past multiethnic police projects paramount to the preservation of peace and the building of mutual trust.