Kosovo: strong tensions in the Serbian sector in the north of the country
Audio 02:34
Kosovo Special Police officers stand guard as hundreds of Kosovo Serbs protest against the government's ban on entering vehicles with Serbian license plates, in Jarinje, Kosovo, September 27, 2021 REUTERS - LAURA HASANI
By: Jean-Arnault Dérens Follow
2 min
The country returns to the polls this Sunday, October 17 for municipal elections, the first political test for reformist Prime Minister Albin Kurti elected last February.
But the Serbian sector in the north of the country is sinking into a new cycle of violence.
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In September, the license plate dispute set the Serbian sector in northern Kosovo ablaze. Indeed, while Belgrade refused to allow cars registered "
RKS
", for "
Republic of Kosovo
" to pass, Pristina wanted to introduce a "
principle of reciprocity
" by banning Serbian registrations. A provisional compromise was found: the national badges are now covered with white stickers. On Wednesday, however, an anti-crime operation by the Kosovo police reignited Mitrovica, sparking violent clashes with the local population.
Miodrag Milicevic, the Activ NGOs, one of the few to promote inter-community dialogue, says exasperation rising among Serbs: "
Many had already accumulated frustration after the conflict on plates 'registration.
People don't want to be ashamed to display the symbols of the state to which they believe they belong.
"
In the short term, it is possible that by showing muscles in the Serbian areas, reformist Prime Minister Albin Kurti, triumphantly elected last February, hopes to improve his party's positions in view of Sunday's elections.
Locally, the rise of tensions will especially give water to the mill of Lista Srpska, the party of the Serbs of Kosovo, totally remote-controlled from Belgrade.
"
We reject Serbs who might be interested in better integrating into our society
"
And many wonder about Albin Kurti's strategy, like Visar Ymeri, the director of the Musine Kokalari Institute, a social democratic think tank in Pristina.
“
I think that the way Albin Kurti deals with the northern issue is potentially very dangerous, because the government of Kosovo only presents the citizens of the North with one of its facets, and these are police actions.
With this way of managing the North, we reject Serbs who might be interested in better integrating into our society.
Our Prime Minister talks about a society based on citizenship, but he acts in a different way.
"
Josepp Borrel, the head of European diplomacy, called the new dispatch of the special police to northern Kosovo as a "one-sided" action, while Belgrade hastened to denounce the latest actions in Pristina.
President Vucic thus reiterated that he was ready to defend the Kosovo Serbs "
by all means
".
The "
dialogue
" which must resume in one way or another between the two countries therefore seems to be off to a very bad start.
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