The Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo expresses profound sorrow in light of the recent violent incidents involving Serb protesters and KFOR personnel in Zvečan, North Kosovo today.
We stand firm in our belief that violence is never the solution, and our prayers are with all those injured, both soldiers of various nationalities - including Italians and Hungarians - and injured Serbs. We categorically condemn any provocations made against journalists from media outlets both Albanian or Serbian.
Our fervent appeal is that the ongoing issue involving Kosovo police's forceful occupation of Northern municipality buildings, initiated three days ago despite repeated international warnings, be addressed in a peaceful way. The use of incendiary language, whether from local political figures or propagated on social media platforms, only fuels the crisis rather than promoting constructive dialogue.
We advocate for the presence of civil authorities who would represent the population of Northern Kosovo, respectful of its demographic composition, along with the local police which would provide services to citizens without heavily armed police forces.
Peaceful collaboration of all parties under the international facilitation is crucial to restoring a sense of normalcy in the Northern Kosovo municipalities as well as for peaceful and safe life of all citizens in Kosovo.