The transmitters were shut down by Kosovo Telephony Agency employees, escorted by Kosovo Police Special Units.
Ilija Ivanovic, technical coordinator of Kosovo's Serbian operator Telekom Srbije, told BETA that both the fixed and mobile telephony work only in Serbian-populated northern Kosovo. Gracanica, a Serbian enclave in central Kosovo, has got fixed lines but no mobile telephony and the surrounding villages have neither, he indicated.
The removal of Telekom's stations was condemned by the Serbian government as well as by Serb representatives in Kosovo, the Serbian Orthodox Church and some political parties.
Goran Bogdanovic, Serbia's minister for Kosovo, called on the international community in Kosovo not to obstruct Serbian providers and to prevent the temporary Kosovo institutions from using violence against them.
Oliver Ivanovic, state secretary at the Ministry, said representatives of "some countries in Pristina" supported the decision to shut down the transmitters, and that Albanians are "not conducting this action alone".
The president of the Serbian National Council of northern Kosovo, Milan Ivanovic, called on the Serbian authorities to retaliate by shutting down all telephone lines in Kosovo, which are operated by Serbian telecoms companies.
Hans Christian Klassing, a spokesman for the European Union's EULEX mission in Kosovo, told BETA that the transmitter shutdown is not in EULEX's jurisdiction and that he could not comment on the issues. Generally, EULEX's stance is that "commercial issues should not be politicised," he said, however, appealing to all sides to make sure that the lives of ordinary citizens are not disturbed.
Off the record, BETA learned that Telekom is to warn potential investors and investment banks not to buy Poste and Telekom Kosova, as their ownership is disputed after they were seized from Telekom Srbije.
Wrong signal?
Surprisingly, the move by the authorities in Pristina comes against a background of rapprochement between Serbia and Kosovo.
Serbian President Boris Tadić stated in New York on Thursday (23 September) that dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina will begin soon, but that the two sides should resolve technical issues beforehand.
Tadić, who was speaking after a meeting with EU foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton, said they had both agreed on important elements of the dialogue, who would chair it and in which way. He said it was too early to speak about the participants in the dialogue, but that "there is no dilemma that the negotiating teams will consist of experts".
He also announced that the EU would form its own team to participate in the talks and help to overcome contested issues.
The Serbian president said Belgrade had proposed that the talks start with those issues that are the easiest to solve, in order for the entire dialogue to be conducted in a good atmosphere.
Tadić said Ashton had assured him that the EU would work very intensely during October on pushing forward Serbia's EU membership candidacy.
