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 ODBRANA MOSTA FROM KOSOVSKA MITROVICA SEIZES
TWO VEHICLES FROM HUMANITARIAN LAW CENTER
20 January 2000
On January 11, members of an
organization called Odbrana Mosta ("The Defence of the Bridge"), which is a part
of the Serbian National Council, seized two vehicles, a photo-copier, an UPS for
computers, a cellular telephone, two traffic licenses for passenger vehicles and a
driver's license from two employees of the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC).
At 6.30 pm that day, the driver of the HLC's Suzuki Swift
vehicle, which was parked by the bridge, near the Dolce Vita coffee bar in the Serbian
section of Mitrovica, was approached by people in civilian clothes and carrying
walkie-talkies, who asked him who he was waiting for. They introduced themselves as
members of Odbrana Mosta, whose head is Mr. Oliver Ivanovic, president of the Serbian
National Council. The driver was stripped of the car keys and his traffic and driver's
licenses and taken to Dolce Vita for questioning. Meanwhile, the HLC's lawyer from Kosovo,
after leaving HLC executive director Natasa Kandic in the Serbian section of Mitrovica,
drove on in the HLC's Jeep Wrangler 2.5 Sport with the intent of crossing the bridge and
returning to Pristina. He spotted an HLC vehicle parked in front of Dolce vita, pulled up
and called the driver to tell him that the executive director wanted him to drive her back
to Belgrade. He was then approached by people from Odbrana Mosta, who took his car keys
and his traffic and driver's licenses from him and brought him to the coffee bar for
questioning. There he saw the HLC driver, who was already being questioned by Odbrana
Mosta. The members of Odbrana Mosta insulted the HLC's lawyer and driver, claiming that
the HLC and its director "are working for the Albanians and against the Serbs".
One of the members of Odbrana Mosta told the HLC lawyer, a Kosovo Albanian, that from now
on he would go on foot because the jeep would be driven by "my uncle, who has to
climb down the hill on foot". They released the Albanian lawyer after half an hour,
telling him that they would not harm him even though, as an Albanian, he found himself on
Serb territory. They held the HLC driver for two hours and then took him to a taxi that
drove him to Belgrade. The group that seized the HLC vehicles was headed by a man named
"Pagi", who declared himself as being a member of the Serbian National Council.
On January 12, the HLC executive director spoke with Mr.
Oliver Ivanovic at Serbian National Council headquarters in Mitrovica, pointing out that
the vehicles had been commandeered by members of Odbrana Mosta, including a member of the
Serbian National Council. Mr. Ivanovic denied Serbian National Council involvement in the
seizure of the vehicles, pointing out that the vehicles may have been taken because of
Natasa Kandics "poor image among the Mitrovica Serbs". According to Ivanovic,
"working for the Albanians" was Kandic's big political mistake. As for the
seized vehicles, he promised he would try to "track the thieves down".
Natasa Kandic |
