Igor Simic speaks in Gracanica: Politically motivated arrests of Serbs, pressure on education and healthcare

PHOTO TANJUG/ ZORAN ZESTIC

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Deputy leader of the Serb List Igor Simic said today that the arrest and the 30-day detention of a number of Serbs, directors of healthcare and education institutions from the area of the Serb enclave of Gracanica in Kosovo and Metohija, is a disgraceful, politically motivated and unfounded move, meant to put pressure on the healthcare and education system which are the pillars on which the Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija rely.

"I am here (in Gracanica) as someone who is part of the Serb List, but also as a friend and brother of Mirjana and Sasa, as well as Nebojsa, Ljubisa and all the other unjustly arrested people, to repeat that this is politically motivated, that these are honorable people, who treated, educated and helped the Serb people, but also everyone else and as you can see even during the protest services are provided to everyone regardless of nationality, in an absolutely professional and responsible manner," Simic said.

Together with another vice-president of the Serb List, Srdjan Popovic, Simic joined the Pristina-Gracanica clinic employees, who held a peaceful protest in support of their arrested colleagues.

Simic pointed out that healthcare and education workers do not agree with the disgraceful, politically motivated and unfounded decision to detain the leaders of healthcare and education institutions for up to 30 days for doing something that is absolutely allowed under the labor law, rather than being any criminal offense.

Simic stated that he was informed by the workers that these protests organized in support of the arrested Serbs will continue in other institutions as well, until they are released.

He supported the employees in the healthcare and education sectors who, even in difficult conditions, continue to work for the people.

"Just so all those - above all the regime of Albin Kurti, but also the lapdog Rasic - know, if they thought that they would intimidate these people, that they would stop working, providing medical treatment and educating people in these areas, they are seriously mistaken," Simic stressed.

He added that rallies are being held today in other healthcare and educational institutions throughout Kosovo and Metohija and that this kind of support will be demonstrated until all those unjustly arrested have been released.

Simic said that the Serb List had meetings with representatives of the international community and requested that those arrested be immediately released pending the outcome of the proceedings.

"Let the proceedings continue, and that will prove their innocence, because they are honorable Serbs and they are in custody solely because they are Serbs and because they are part of the Serbian education and health system," Simic said.

He added that those who targeted these people and wanted to attack the health and education system at any cost in this way they showed that they are serving the interests of Pristina, not of the Serb people.

"This is a politically motivated persecution of prominent persons, honorable, honest Serb men and women who did not bow their heads and did not want to serve Albin Kurti", emphasized Simic.

The Basic Court of the provisional institutions in Pristina on Thursday ordered the seven arrested directors of Serbian educational and healthcare institutions from the Gracanica municipality to be kept in detention for 30 day.

They were detained on Tuesday because they allegedly committed the crime of "violation the free choice of voters", and the prosecution of the Pristina institutions announced that they were detained based on the claims made by Minister of Communities and Return Nenad Rasic, who said they allegedly threatened voters ahead of the June 7 elections in Kosovo and Metohija.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)