Inhabitants of Sirinicka Zupa, all 10,500 of them, support the decision of the local authorities from the Strpce municipality led by its president Slavisa Redzic, to refuse to sign "a loyalty oath to the local administration of UNMiK" as was demanded by representatives of the UN civilian administration.
From the vice-president of the executive council of the Serb National Council for Kosovo and Metohija, Randel Nojkic, we found out that UNMiK planned to form municipal authorities with equal participation of Serbs and Albanians, although the Albanians make up only two percent of population in the Strpce municipality. An ethnic Albanian was supposed to be the head of these municipal authorities.
Serbs from Strpce do not support this proposal because it would lead to the emigration of the population, similar to the exodus from the neighboring Sredacka Zupa, Metohija and several towns in the Kosovo Valley. Instead, the inhabitants of Strpce expressed their loyalty to the U.N. Security Council resolution 1244 demonstrating that they support peaceful life and everything that was agreed on in Kumanovo and adopted by the U.N. Security Council.
The situation in this municipality is somewhat better than in other populated by Serbs. Inhabitants of the town of Strpce and villages of Drajkovac, Brezovica, Sevac, Berevac, Gotovusa and Vrbestica have been feeling more secure since Polish and Ukrainian troops arrived to the Strpce municipality. However, Serbs have problems in the ethnically mixed village of Vica. A few days ago, a Serb house was burned in that village. There are also provocations from the village of Jezerce in the Suva Reka municipality, but the Serbs from Strpce try to ignore them.
Sirinicka Zupa, on the Sara Mountain, has been a true Serb ghetto for six months. About 12,000 Serbs live surrounded by Albanians in that ghetto.
Vice-president of the Executive Council of the Serb National Council of Kosovo and Metohija, Randjel Nojkic, has recently visited the Strpce municipality, which includes the ski resort Brezovica, and says that people live there under very difficult conditions.
"In Brezovica, and the rest of the Strpce municipality, there are about 3,000 Serbs from the neighboring Sredacka Zupa, area around Prizren and Suva Reka. They have found accommodation in hotels "Narcis", "Breza" and "Junior", in holiday homes, a resort of the Electrical Utility Company of Serbia and even in the houses of the locals. They, as well as their hosts, live in very difficult conditions. Food reserves are running out, so that the people have to rely on humanitarian assistance. They have power cuts for ten days at the time, and the phones have been down for six months, ever since the bombardment, so that the only connection with this part of Kosmet is established via ham radio operators. Stores are empty, and when some goods arrive in convoys from Vranje and Bujanovac they quickly sell out. However, people are also running out of money. Pensioners have received money only some ten days ago and that was the first payment of pensions in Strpce and Drajkovac post offices after six months," says Nojkic.
Security situation in the Strpce municipality is stable at first glance, but since Sirinicka Zupa is surrounded by Albanians, danger lurks from daily provocations by the inhabitants of the village of Jezerce in the Suva Reka municipality.
KFOR soldiers from the Polish contingent, however, take good care of the safety of the inhabitants of Strpce and have established good relations with the locals.