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Kosovo's Serb minister dismissed over improper comments

Xinhua, February 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

A Serb minister in the Kosovo government was dismissed on Tuesday over his alleged cursing.

The dismiss of Aleksandar Jablanovic, the Serb Minister for Return and Communities, would put at risk the ruling coalition which groups two major Albanian parties and a Serb party.

"I can say that as of today Minister Jablanovic is not any more a member of the government of Kosovo," said Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa during an extraordinary evening press conference.

Though he didn't reveal the details behind the decision, it is obvious that Mustafa dismissed him because of the comments Jablanovic made in early January.

In January, a bus with about 40 displaced Serbs was stoned during a protest of Albanian mothers of missing persons in front of an Orthodox Church in the town of Gjakova (Djakovica) on the Orthodox Christmas Eve.

Jablanovic called the women protesters "beasts" for preventing Serbs from visiting their burnt out houses. Two weeks later he apologized but it showed to be insufficient for preventing protests.

Subsequently, at least 20 protests took place all over Kosovo with two big violent ones in Pristina, demanding Jablanovic's dismissal.

The dismissed minister said he was surprised with the decision and indicated that his party will reconsider its position in the ruling coalition. Enditem