Strasbourg, 16/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Serbs in northern Kosovo have almost unanimously rejected Kosovo's independence and the concessions made by Serbia, which they believe have been made under pressure from the European Union. According to the results from the referendum on 14-15 February, 99.74% of voters said “no” to the question “do you accept the institutions from the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo based in Pristina?” According to the electoral commission, only 69 voters said they accepted these institutions. Of the 35,000 Serbs in the North who were eligible to vote 75% did so.
The mayor of the Serbian part of Kosovska Mitrovica, Krstimir Pantic, predicted on Wednesday before the results: “After this referendum, it will be totally clear for the Albanian Kosovans, the international community and the politicians in Belgrade that all Serbians in the North do not want to obey the institutions in Pristina.” The Serbian president, Boris Tadic, was opposed to this referendum and affirmed that it would “be damaging to the interests of the Serbian state” and that the Kosovan parliament had adopted a declaration describing this referendum as a “violation of the constitutional order of the Republic of Kosovo”. (CG/transl.fl)