UPON ERECTION OF THE MONUMENT TO TERRORISTS IN SOUTH SERBIA, PRIME MINISTER DACIC REACTED

22. November 2012.

Source: Večernje Novosti / The erection of a monument to the fallen soldiers of the Liberation Army of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja (LAPBM) in front of the local government building in central Presevo provoked strong reactions of the public.

“If we are going to put up memorial plaques because of the respect for those who killed police officers and soldiers in South Serbia, then let’s say that it isn’t part of Serbia. We don’t have a dilemma about whether Presevo and Medvedja are parts of Serbia, and if the international community has it, it should say so. Let’s not have an excessive use of force tomorrow, because the putting down of the memorial plaque might lead to certain security problems. They’d better remove it themselves, since it is an unnecessary provocation, especially if you put in the context of the National Flag Day, which is on November 28, and of Haradinaj’s verdict, which is expected to be reached on November 29, "said Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic on the occasion of erection of the memorial plaque.

Representatives of Serbs in Presevo are aware that they can’t cope alone with the decisions of Albanians who make up absolute power in the municipality.

“I believe that the state must react because this isn’t a provocation directed towards all the citizens, but towards the state," said Dragoljub Filipovic, Secretary of the Municipal Committee of the SPS (Socialist Party of Serbia) in Presevo.