The Serbian authorities have stepped up their pressure on the Kosovo Serbs, telling them to vote for the Belgrade-backed Serb List at the parliamentary elections in Kosovo on October 6, Kosovo Serb politicians told Radio Free Europe.

The officials from the Sloboda (freedom in Serbian) coalition, the Party of Kosovo Serbs and Independent Liberal Party told the station that pressure in various forms is being exerted on their activists and sympathizers.  

The Sloboda Coalition’s Rada Trajkovic said that the pressure includes threats of job loss. “Unfortunately, the greatest pressure at present is coming from Belgrade, from some unofficial centers and we have information that a group of men close to the Mafia or who are themselves part of the Mafia, I don’t know, are at the Ecology Center at the Gazivode Lake. Serbs in the north (of Kosovo) say that those men are there to intimidate them,” Trajkovic said.  

Party of Kosovo Serbs leader Aleksandar Jablanovic said the pressure on Serbian citizens was always there and was increased when the elections were called. “As a party, we are under great and terrible pressure here in the north from Serbian government institutions and certain criminal structures which are well know to the Kosovo police and international diplomats. There is great fear her as the result of constant threats and violence by Serbs against Serbs,” he said.  

Independent Liberal Party leader Slobodan Petrovic said people were already being fired from their jobs. “We have several facts. A man was fired in Strpce and he is the head of our local party branch there. He was a health care worker and his superiors fired him for refusing to disband the part branch and not supporting the Serb List,” he said.   Four Kosovo Serb political parties and coalitions have registered for the October 6 elections, competing for the 10 parliament seats guaranteed to the Serb community. The Kosovo parliament has 120 seats.