President of the Republic of Kosovo, Mrs. Atifete Jahjaga, is following with distress the developments in the city of Mitrovica and calls upon the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo to show maturity and restraint and provide help to the law enforcement bodies in fulfilment of their duties.
President Jahjaga emphasizes that any attempt to find solutions through use of violence will exacerbate the situation and will hinder all processes for establishment of normality in the city of Mitrovica and in the municipalities in the north of the territory of the Republic of Kosovo.
Madam President points out that freedom of movement of the citizens is a fundamental right also ingrained into the Constitution of the country and is a primary principle of democracy and therefore, any obstruction placed in any part of the country hinders the endeavours towards establishment of rule of law and order and it damages the processes which lead towards the integration of every citizen of the country into the society and institutions of Kosovo.
President Jahjaga, during the latest meetings with the international and local security mechanisms, has pointed out that re-erection of the barricade on the Iber River Bridge is unacceptable and does not contribute to the peace and stability in the country.
President Jahjaga calls upon the European Union to, through concrete engagements, finds a solution for the removal of the barricade on the Iber River bridge, which has escalated the situation not only in Mitrovica but also all around Kosovo, and which damages the processes conducted in Brussels and the agreements achieved on the normalisation of relations between the two countries.
President Jahjaga requests that the citizens of Mitrovica as well as all citizens of the Republic of Kosovo to help in overcoming of the situations and not to allow any escalations and at the same time requests that law enforcement bodies re-establish the peace in the city of Mitrovica.