26.12.2022.
Minister Vučević: Serbian Armed Forces on high alert
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević has said that the President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, as Supreme Commander, gave orders for the Serbian Armed Forces to be put on high alert tonight. He called on all citizens of Serbia to stay calm and composed and not to believe any false news or malicious comments, but rather to show dignity, national solidarity and political maturity as citizens and as a nation.
- Taking into account everything that happened in Kosovo and Metohija today, i.e. tonight, first of all, the fact that the Albanian authorities, i.e. Albin Kurti’s so-called government of Kosovo, are still preparing for an attack on the Serbs and a forceful removal of barricades, failure to solve the problems that have led the Serbs to stage that form of democratic protest, the silence of the international community or its neutral statements that do not lead to a political solution, taking into account the fact that Serbia's appeals for finding a solution to the problems through dialogue, i.e., for the return to political dialogue instead of conflicts, have been dismissed with neutral and rather irritating calls for both sides to show restraint, and once again dealing with the consequences and not the causes, and taking into account intelligence that Serbia has obtained, the President of the Republic of Serbia, as Supreme Commander, has given orders for the Serbian Armed Forces to be on high alert as of tonight, i.e. to be ready for the engagement of military force to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia and all citizens of Serbia, preventing the pogrom and terror against the Serbs wherever they may live – said Minister Vučević.Minister Vučević said that there was no reason to panic, but there were reasons for concern.
- I repeat, it seems that Serbia is the only side interested in talking, in making political arrangements, in holding a thousand meetings until an agreement or a solution is found, whereas the other side constantly makes risky, unilateral moves, heightens tensions and leads towards a further escalation with a clear goal of performing ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and Metohija and removing the few remaining Serbs from our centuries-old territory. I repeat, for us, the lukewarm response from the international community, i.e. its reluctance to engage into political dialogue about the causes, not the consequences, about the reasons which have led the democratic, Serbian community in the north of Kosovo and Metohija to this type of political struggle, is worrying. There is no talk of the Community of Serb Municipalities anymore. The illegally detained Serbs, who are being kept in containers without the right to a defence, without the rights set forth in the European Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms, are not being released - nobody even mentions that anymore, not even NGOs - Minister Vučević said.
According to Minister Vučević, there is no talk of IDs and license plates anymore, there is a new request now - municipal electoral commissions, removal of barricades, Gazivode, the production of wine and brandy.
- Every day a new reason is invented for the patriarch not to go to the Patriarchate of Peć. Serbs are the only nation in Europe that does not have the right to freedom and the right to keep their centuries-old homes. Hoping that these problems will be addressed through a political dialogue, Serbia remains committed to dialogue and working towards an agreement. It must make sure to protect its national interests, and therefore the Serbian Armed Forces are at the highest level of combat readiness as of tonight. I think that Minister Gašić will soon announce the positions of the Ministry of the Interior and that is what we can do at this moment. We call on all citizens of Serbia to remain calm and composed, and not to believe any false news or malicious comments, but rather to show dignity and, above all, to show national solidarity and political maturity as citizens and as a nation - Minister Vučević said.
