KURTI'S POLICE RAID RED CROSS FACILITY AT GAZIVODE LAKE

BELGRADE, 20 MAY /SRNA/ – Armed members of Kurti's so-called Kosovo police today raided the Dragiša Murganić Red Cross facility in Zubin Potok at Gazivode Lake, announced Petar Petković, Director of the Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija.

"By storming the Red Cross facility, /the self-proclaimed Prime Minister of Kosovo Aljbin/ Kurti strikes at the very foundation and basis of the Serbian people's survival in Kosovo and Metohija and endangers the work of this important international humanitarian organization, about which the Office for Kosovo and Metohija will inform all relevant international representatives," Petković emphasized. The facility in question was used exclusively for training children and Red Cross course participants, first aid and rescue training, various types of sports competitions, training sessions and lectures, as well as for accommodating tourists and athletes visiting this part of Kosovo and Metohija and the Gazivode Lake, and for organizing visits by officials. Petković stated that a large number of police officers entered the facility and are conducting a search, while the doorman and the security guard were not allowed to accompany them during the search, which leaves plenty of room for manipulation by Kurti's phalanx, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija reported. He noted that it is especially telling that Albanian media portals published extensive unsubstantiated and tendentious articles about this facility three days ago, attempting to compromise it and, in fact, lay media groundwork and justification for this violent and unlawful raid and takeover of the premises. Petković recalled that the Red Cross facility had for years been frequently visited by members of the KFOR mission, particularly the German contingent, in order to familiarize themselves with the operations of the Red Cross. Petković added that KFOR personnel regularly held meetings with the leadership of this international organization, and nothing regarding this facility was ever considered controversial—except Kurti's intent to seize the location by force.