Serbian Ministry for Kosovo: Security is seriously threatened

The ministry said that the steps should be such to prevent more attacks and make sure that perpetrators are found and punished.

The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) and other international factors were alerted in the ministry's statement that within 48 hours Serb returnee Ljubisa Stepanovic was attacked and the grave of a Serb woman in Gnjilane was dug out.

"The incidents show the true colors of the so-called Kosovo authorities and their concept of multiethnic society in which there is no place for returnees, and Serbs, dead or alive," the ministry said.

The statement added that instead of making plans for the integration of northern Kosovo, International Civilian Representative and EU Special Representative Pieter Feith should influence the temporary provincial institutions to secure basic human rights to Serbs and their right to live in peace and safely.

One of the ministry's state secretaries, Oliver Ivanovic, said in a separate statement that after the attack on Stepanovic, the general security situation in Kosovo has been seriously threatened, adding that this should also concern KFOR.

"The general security is seriously threatened now. I believe that the atmosphere should concern military commanders as well, given that KFOR is the only respectable force that is recognized by both sides," Ivanovic told news agency Tanjug.

He said that the Serb victim, Ljubisa Stepanovic, was a returnee to the village of Zac, "where the return of five families has obviously upset someone".

"Their land has been ploughed by ethnic Albanians since 1999 until today. The return of several other families to the village was announced. Given the incident and taking into consideration that the villages of Zac and Srbobran have not had the electricity supply since yesterday, although they pay their bills, it can be said that a very tense atmosphere has been created," Ivanovic said.

He added that the reduction in the number of KFOR soldiers in a situation like this is absolutely wrong, adding that the Serbian authorities have alerted NATO representatives in view of the issue in their contacts so far.

Regarding the incident in Gnjilane, where the grave of a Serb woman who was buried was dug up during the night, Kosovsko-Pomoravski District chief Dragan Nikolic told reporters that the family found an open grave next morning, with the casket open and items removed from it.

After that, the family laid the body to rest again in a different cemetery, in the village of Koretiste.

"The deceased's last wish was to be buried in the upper part of the Gnjilane cemetery. This was the first burial in this cemetery since 1999. The digging up of her grave is a clear message to Serbs that they cannot even bury their dead in Gnjilane," said Nikolic.

The town has a majority ethnic Albanian population.