PETKOVIĆ CALLS ON SERBS TO VOTE FOR THE SERB LIST

BELGRADE, JUNE 6 /SRNA/ – Petar Petković, Director of the Serbia’s parliamentary Office for Kosovo and Metohija, today called on internally displaced Serbs living in central Serbia, as well as those residing in Kosovo and Metohija, to participate in tomorrow's elections and vote for the Serb List, which would fight for the people in Kosovo and Metohija.

Petković stressed that an electoral victory for the Serb List would represent a victory for Serb national interests in Kosovo and Metohija. "Here we are defending our very survival. We are defending the Serb people’s right to exist and to preserve Serb healthcare and educational institutions, which, together with the Serbian Orthodox Church, constitute the three pillars of the Serb people's survival in Kosovo and Metohija," Petković said. He stated that all 10 seats reserved for Serb representatives in the parliament in Priština should go to the Serb List because, according to him, the party enjoys broad support in Serb communities throughout Kosovo and Metohija. He emphasized that the Serb List guarantees the continuation of all assistance provided by the state of Serbia to the Serb population in Kosovo and Metohija and that it enjoys the full support of official Belgrade and Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić. He further claimed that Albin Kurti seeks to prevent representatives of the Serb List from effectively participating in the elections by reducing the number of members of polling station committees and by not allowing any Serb to serve as president of municipal election commissions in the northern part of Kosovo, report Belgrade-baded media. Petković added that he is in constant communication with Peter Sørensen, the European Union's mediator for the Belgrade-Priština dialogue, and that he has continually informed international representatives about pressure on Serbs, particularly during the election campaign. "I specifically emphasized to Sørensen, as well as to other international representatives, that their personnel must be present at the crossings tomorrow in order to ensure the unhindered movement of people traveling to Kosovo and Metohija," Petković said.