In the early parliamentary elections of Kosovo, opposition political forces won - the ultra-right movement Self-Determination (25.77%) and the Democratic Union (25.05%) of former Prime Minister Isa Mustafa (2014-2017). This was reported by the election commission of the partially recognized republic on the basis of the calculation of 96% of the vote. The election took place last Sunday.
The third place in the vote was won by the Democratic Party (21.16%) of incumbent President Hashim Thachi. Also, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, ex-Prime Minister Ramush Haradinay (2017-2019), the Social Democratic Party and the Serbian List, expressing the interests of the Serbian minority, also passed into the parliament of Kosovo.
The legislative body of Kosovo includes 120 seats, with 100 being given to the elect from Albanian political forces. The remaining 20 mandates are distributed between Serbian deputies (they get 10 seats) and representatives of other ethnic groups - gypsies, Ashkalov, Gupts, Bosniaks, Turks and Gorans. According to Pristina, over 1.9 million voters are registered in the self-proclaimed republic, 117 thousand of them live in areas dominated by the Serbian population.
In an interview with RT, an employee of the Institute for European Studies in Belgrade, Stevan Gayich, described “Self-determination” as an “extremely nationalistic” political force. In his opinion, a compromise in relations with Belgrade and the ethnic Serbs living in the north of the region should not be expected from the winner of the parliamentary elections.
“The ideological roots of“ Self-determination ”go back to Marxism, but now it’s incorrect to call it left. This is a radical nationalist force, which is not much different from parties that call themselves "democratic." The main goal of Self-Determination is to achieve full international recognition of Kosovo, including from Belgrade, ”Gayich explained.
The leader of Self-Determination is Albin Kurti, who became famous for organizing massive pro-Albanian protests in the second half of the 1990s. In September 2018, a politician in Pristina initiated a demonstration against the president under the slogans “Down with Tachi!”, “No bargaining with Serbia!”, “We are not selling our native land!”
Kurti is opposed to the plan for delineating the territories in Kosovo, which caused a lot of controversy last year. The idea is that Belgrade gains control of the northern regions of the region. The sovereignty over the rest of the territory of the self-proclaimed republic is recognized by Pristina.
“If Kurti remains committed to the abolition of the plan for the exchange of territories, then for Serbia this will be a blessing. From my point of view, Belgrade should under no circumstances give up Kosovo. This is the legal territory of Serbia, ”said Gajić.
According to the expert, in the hands of Kurti, unlike other Kosovo politicians, there is no blood. At the same time, Gayich is convinced that the victory of “Self-Determination” will not lead to a softening of the course that is being taken with regard to Belgrade. Natives of the party, like their predecessors, will continue to pursue a policy of "forced albanization."
Also, the interlocutor of RT believes that the Serb minority in the self-proclaimed republic will continue to be in a "very difficult situation". According to the expert, the Serbian List controlled by Belgrade does not have a serious impact on the policy of the “authorities” of Kosovo, and its representatives are unlikely to be included in the new government.
- Self Determination Leader Albin Kurti
- © Florion Goga / Reuters
“There is a chance that Kurti will become the prime minister of Kosovo, he has good prospects, but for this he needs to enlist the support of the Americans. It is they who decide such issues, ”says Gaiich.
Alexander Vucic expects the new government of Kosovo to abolish 100 percent duties on goods from Serbia introduced in November 2018. At the same time, he stated that Belgrade would face “difficult negotiations” with Kurti and any other “official representative of the Albanians”.
“I think that we will have difficult negotiations, the government of Kosovo will be formed only by December. I would like to believe that some responsible government will abolish duties and provide an opportunity to start negotiations. I believe that duties will be canceled, ”Vučić said at a press conference on the elections in Kosovo.
In a RT commentary, MGIMO professor Elena Ponomaryova believes that Kurti can indeed abolish duties. However, the final decision will be made after appropriate consultations with the “Western curators”.
At the same time, the expert doubted that the new Kosovo government would become a capable and contractual institution. In her opinion, the self-proclaimed republic is under the de facto power of more than a dozen mafia structures that "mimic democracy" and state institutions.
“The political forces of Kosovo are practically no different from each other. They do not have a clear agenda, except for a course towards confrontation with Serbia and the widest possible recognition. Elections, the distribution of ministerial posts, inter-party struggle and other democratic procedures are the facade, behind which there are clashes between criminal clans, ”Ponomareva emphasized.
"Hotbed of crime"
None of the Kosovo parliament's convocations worked out their four-year mandate to the end. The cadence of the current deputy corps lasted two years. Early elections were the result of another political crisis in the self-proclaimed republic.
On July 19, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinay announced his resignation due to calls for interrogation in The Hague. On August 22, deputies voted for the dissolution of parliament.
Haradinay constantly receives subpoenas of the Special Court for the Investigation of Crimes of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), an illegal armed group that operated from 1996 to 1999.
In the second half of the 1990s, Haradinay was one of the KLA field commanders. In 2005, the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) suspected him of organizing the deportation of Serbs and Gypsies, as well as massacres of civilians. In 2012, the court acquitted Kharadin, but today he faces similar charges.
“I was offered to arrive there (in The Hague) as the prime minister or ordinary citizen of Kosovo. I chose the latter, ”Haradinay explained to his reporters.
As experts interviewed by RT explained, the criminal prosecution of Kosovo’s leaders is a tool of Western control of Pristina’s policies. Almost all the prime ministers and presidents of the self-proclaimed republic were participants in the hostilities and are responsible for reprisals against the civilian population, analysts recall.
- Ex-Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinay
- © Hazir reka / Reuters
“The West is well aware of the atrocities of the KLA, in which almost all the current elite of Kosovo was involved. If foreign curators want to replace a person, then forgotten cases initiated by the ICTY are initiated against him. The situation with Haradinai is a very revealing example of such a policy, ”said Gaiich.
According to the political scientist, now the situation in Kosovo is complicated by serious disagreements between the United States and Germany. One of the stumbling blocks is the plan for delimiting territories in Kosovo. Berlin opposes the implementation of this scheme, fearing the growth of separatism in Europe, Gayich noted.
Elena Ponomareva believes that the leading Western powers have not developed a comprehensive plan for resolving the Kosovo crisis. Europe was in the most difficult situation.
“Kosovo has become a hotbed of crime, drug trafficking and terrorism. The Albanian mafia has already supplanted the Italian. This is a direct consequence of NATO aggression and the collapse of Yugoslav statehood. The Kosovo crisis has become a serious threat to the security of Europe, and nothing will change from the election of a new parliament and government, ”summarized Ponomareva.