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American senator: Radoicic should be arrested for the attack in Banjska

2024-02-18 16:15:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

US Senator, Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, said that Millan Radoicic should be arrested and face justice for the September events in Banjska i Zvecani.

Shaheen, who is participating in the Security Conference in Munich, said that he met separately with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, stressing that as far as Radoicic is concerned, the parties must cooperate.

"I think they should arrest Radoicic and take him to prison. He has admitted his involvement and what happened on September 24, the murders [of a Kosovo policeman and three Serb attackers], now he must be held responsible for these actions. Kosovo and Serbia should cooperate on this issue", she said during a panel that focused on the situation in the Balkans.

Radoicic, former vice president of Lista Serbe, the main party of Serbs in Kosovo that enjoys the support of official Belgrade, has claimed responsibility for the attack in Banjska, when a group of armed Serbs attacked the Kosovo police, killing a sergeant. During the clashes that followed in this village of Zveçan, three Serbian attackers were also killed.

Kosovo has blamed Serbia for the attack, which it considers terrorist, but Belgrade has denied having a hand in it. Prishtina has also demanded that Serbia hand over Radoicic.

A few days ago, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, Xhelal Sveçla, announced that all the suspects for carrying out the attack in Banjska in the north of Kosovo in September last year, have been entered into the international INTERPOL system for arrest warrants.

After the events in Banjska, Serbia released Radoici?, but on the condition that he not travel to Kosovo.

"This is an important step and as such it has its full effect when Serbia, which is harboring and accommodating these terrorists, hands them over to our authorities to answer to justice," Sveçla declared on February 16.

A few days after the attack, Sweden told Radio Free Europe that over "80 terrorists" had been involved.

During the panel discussion in Munich, Democratic Senator Shaheen, who in the past has visited countries in the Western Balkans region, including Kosovo and Serbia, said it is important for the US and the European Union to focus on what is happening in Western Balkans, whether in the relations between Kosovo and Serbia, in the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina or in the EU enlargement process.

Regarding the last topic, she said that countries that undertake difficult decisions and make reforms should be rewarded on their way to European integrations.

"We are building a coalition in the Senate for the need that we should support the efforts in the Western Balkans", she said.

Shaheen added that he will continue to push the administration of US President Joe Biden to support peace efforts in the Western Balkans.

"I want to emphasize that these diplomatic efforts are public and private. "So there are things that happen behind the scenes that help 'move the ball' so that things that are said publicly move," Shaheen said.

Kosovo considers the USA its greatest ally. But, recently, the relations between Pristina and Washington have been strained after Kosovo started implementing a regulation for cash payments, which excludes the use of Serbian dinar for payments - the currency used by the Serbian population in Kosovo. American officials have stated that the disregard of their request for the postponement of the implementation of the regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo has affected the quality of the relations between the USA and Kosovo.

The US has argued that the regulation was approved without prior consultation and without considering the negative impacts it could have on the Serbian population in Kosovo.

Serbia has strongly criticized the CBK regulation, interpreting it as the goal of the Government of Kosovo to deport Serbs.

The Serbian state allocates millions of euros to the Serbs in Kosovo after paying them - through a parallel system - salaries, pensions and additional assistance./ Rel