Kosovo government says Vucic’s statements incite attacks on Kosovo police

Kosovo’s caretaker government believes that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, by maintaining that Milan Radoicic is not a criminal, is encouraging attacks against Kosovo police officers.

In a statement to Radio Free Europe, government spokesperson Arlind Manxhuka said that “Vucic’s statement shows that he controls the justice system and that attacks on Kosovo police officers do not constitute crimes for Serbia and are therefore encouraged by the head of state there himself.”

Earlier this week, Vucic said that Radoicic, who has admitted responsibility for the 2023 attack on the Kosovo Police in Banjska and for whom an Interpol red notice has been issued, is not facing criminal prosecution for any criminal offense.

“You did not say why Milan Radoicic is on a red notice. It is not because of a crime, but because of Kosovo,” the Serbian leader said.

Although he has claimed responsibility for the September 24 attack in Banjska, in which a Kosovo police officer was killed, Radoicic remains free in Serbia and is listed with a registered address in Belgrade. Serbian authorities have not filed any indictment against him.

Meanwhile, there is an international arrest warrant against him issued by Interpol, at Kosovo’s request through the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

Manxhuka said Kosovo’s caretaker government expects the international community to condemn “this further degradation in the behavior of the Serbian state.”

He added that “Such statements prove that Serbia has not changed its stance toward the Republic of Kosovo and that this mindset poses a danger to peace in the region and beyond.”

According to the spokesperson, it has been clear to Kosovo that the sabotage and opposition to the rule of law in the Serb-majority north “is organized and directed by Serbia.”

“The fact that this group [which carried out the attack in Banjska, Zvecan] was organized, trained, prepared and ultimately sent from Serbia into Kosovo, and was also armed with official weapons of the Serbian state, as demonstrated and documented in the evidence found at the scene, clearly shows that Serbia was behind it and above it,” he said.

Kosovo describes the Banjska attack as terrorist and attributes responsibility to Serbia. Belgrade, however, denies any involvement.

Kosovo’s Special Prosecution has filed an indictment over the Banjska attack, and among the 45 defendants is Radoicic, described as the “leader of the terrorist group.”

Earlier this year, in this case, the Basic Court in Prishtina sentenced three people: two of them to life imprisonment and one to 30 years in prison.

The other defendants are on the run, and Kosovo has issued arrest warrants for them through Interpol. Kosovo continuously calls on Serbia to hand over Radoicic to face justice. At the time the Banjska attack took place, Radoicic held the post of vice president of the Serb List, the largest party of Kosovo Serbs backed by Belgrade.

The United States and the European Union, on the other hand, have called on Belgrade to prosecute those responsible for the Banjska attack.