Serb assemblies: Kosovo army would be open threat

"We see this as an act of open threat to security in the region and the safety of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija", North Mitrovica mayor Goran Rakic said at the assemblies' joint session in Zvecan.Forming a Kosovo army "is unacceptable and contrary to UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which envisions no army in the province whatsoever", Rakic warned."It is an UN-administered territory and there can be only one armed force there - Kfor," Rakic explained."We want to inform all international representatives in Kosovo that we want a fair and just relationship, but that we are not ready to act as mediators if the people take to the streets of our municipalities, because we will be with our people in that situation," Rakic noted.The members of the four municipal assemblies demanded that all recently arrested Serbs be released pending trial.The leader of the Citizens' Initiative Serbia, Democracy, Justice, Oliver Ivanovic was arrested in northern Kosovska Mitrovica in late January on suspicion of alleged war crimes.For reasons that remain unknown, five other Serbs - four of whom serve in the Kosovo police - were also arrested in the Strpce area on March 4.The chairperson of the North Mitrovica municipal assembly Ksenija Bozovic demanded that Pristina and the international community immediately end their campaign of arrests, intimidation and constant escalation of tensions in Serb-populated areas in Kosovo.The assembly members demanded from representatives of the international community and the Pristina authorities that all Belgrade officials, in particular Minister for Kosovo-Metohija Aleksandar Vulin, be allowed to enter the province in line with the Brussels Agreement, which guarantees freedom of movement to anyone.They announced that the Serb municipalities will be forced to break their cooperation with the EU office in Pristina and Eulex unless international structures in the province meet these minimal conditions."The Serbian government and the state of Serbia are our only allies and collaborators. We will speak to everyone, the international community and the interim institutions in Pristina. Whether we will have cooperation shall depend on the extent to which our positions are accepted by those we will be speaking to," Rakic said.