Serbian President urges Kosovo Serbs to protest peacefully

Speaking in Bosnia, Serbian President says he supports right to protest, but only by peaceful methods.

Serbs needed to take down their barricades in northern Kosovo, Serbia’s President, Boris Tadic, told Bosnian Serbs in the northwest city of Banja Luka.

The request was aimed not only at local people but at local political leaders too, Tadic underlined.

“There is only one policy that protects national and state interests and that’s a policy of protecting human lives,” he continued.

“Serb leaders [in Kosovo] cannot hide behind the people by saying that the decision [on the barricades] is up to the people, since those decisions are made by those whom citizens elect,” he said.

At the same time, the Serbian President urged NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo in KFOR not to use force to remove the Serb barricades, as this only increased tension and the danger of loss of life.