Dacic warns Albanians in south "not to play with fire"

Ivica Dacic has warned ethnic Albanians from the south "not to compare the ZSO with the formation of an association of municipalities with Albanian majority."
Source: Beta Friday, September 11, 2015 | 09:41

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(Tanjug, file)

The Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) should be formed in Kosovo under the Brussels agreement, while local Albanian leaders on Thursday announced they would set up their own "the association of municipalities" in the southern part of central Serbia.
Commenting on these announcements during a rally in Medvedja ahead of early local elections there, Dacic - who is Serbia's foreign minister and first deputy prime minister, and leader of the SPS party - said that Albanians in Serbia must not be discriminated against, but that they must respect the Constitution.

"We are warning them not to make any parallels on Saturday in Preseveo with the Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija, we are warning them not to play with fire and to respect the Constitution and order of the Republic of Serbia. The fact that Serbia is in favor of dialogue does not mean it is weak, on the contrary, it is strong, the strongest it has been in the last 20, 30 years," the minister said.

He added it was a lie that Serbia had "recognized Kosovo's independence" by negotiating with Pristina in Brussels.

"Today I heard that the Albanian prime minister say that Serbia recognized Kosovo and Metohija by conducting negotiations in Brussels. That's a lie. I want to tell Albania and Albanians that Serbia wants good relations in the region and guarantees equality to the Albanian national minority, but Serbia will not allow anyone to humiliate it and endanger its territorial integrity," said Dacic.

According to him, the Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija and the signing of the Brussels agreement have been "the biggest success of the ruling Serbian coalition."

"Serbia will use all its strength, political and diplomatic skills and other means, to protect the interests of the Serb people in Kosovo," said the minister.

He added that "Serbia is now respected and valued in the world, while only representatives of the opposition speak badly about it."

"They are not the opposition to the ruling coalition, they are in opposition to their country," Dacic said.

Commenting on the demands of opposition leaders for early parliamentary elections, the Socialist leader said that these came "from a marginal group that calls itself the opposition."

"It makes me sick when Pajtic, Tadic, and Ceda Jovanovic demand elections. They are demanding elections, and praying to God that it does not happen, because they would experience a disaster (in elections). When I hear them talk, I want to ask for early elections myself, just to give them this treatment, to cure their complexes, of which they are not aware. The people passed their judgment on them two or three years ago. There is no return," Dacic said.

In addition to the president of the SPS, the election rally in Medvedja was also addressed by leaders of the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia Milan Krkobabic and United Serbia Dragan Markovic Palma, as well as vice president of the SNS party and Minister of Justice Nikola Selakovic