On 21 November 2012, the municipality council of Preševo erected a stele in the center of the town honouring members of the former UÇPMB, who died during the Preševo Valley Conflict from 1999 to 2001, causing a public outcry throughout Serbia. The Prime Minister of Serbia, Ivica Dačić, said about this incident: "It's best that they remove it themselves, because this is a needless provocation, nowhere else in Europe can a memorial plaque be erected to those who are members of terrorist organizations and those who were directly involved in the murders of police officers and soldiers".