GNK: Kosovo to cooperate with KFOR for demilitarization of the north

Kosovo, Serbia and other external parties should focus on avoiding the short-term risk of violence in northern Kosovo, and then analyze ways to guarantee long-term stability.

This is what was said in the latest report of the International Crisis Group - an organization that draws up independent analysis and advice on conflict prevention, resolution and management - published on April 2.

In the report entitled 'North of Kosovo: Asserting sovereignty between divided loyalties', dedicated to Kosovo-Serbia relations, with a focus on the north of Kosovo and the developments there, it is suggested that Kosovo cooperate with the NATO peacekeeping forces in Kosovo [KFOR ] "to demilitarize the North."

"Kosovo should withdraw special police units from Serb-majority regions, and until it does so, deploy them sparingly and only in coordination with KFOR peacekeepers, whom northerners see as the most reliable, considering their commitment to neutrality".

In April 2013, Kosovo and Serbia signed what is known as the "First Agreement on Principles Governing the Normalization of Relations" - known as the Brussels Agreement.

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It mentions that there will be a regional police commander for the four municipalities with a Serbian majority - North Mitrovica, Zveçan, Leposavic and Zubin Potok - who must be a Serb, a citizen of Kosovo.

However, none of the points of this agreement mentions the going or not of the special units of the Kosovo Police in the north.

According to the report of the International Crisis Group, in order to increase Pristina's sense of security, KFOR should help Kosovo control the border, prevent the smuggling of heavy weapons and find those that have been introduced earlier.

"Serbia must stop supporting paramilitary activity and judge those involved in the murder of the Kosovo policeman. In the absence of a comprehensive political solution, the burden will be on the European Union, the United States and NATO to guarantee peace and avoid escalation until the conditions for a negotiated agreement are reached."

In the report, the International Crisis Group has assessed that Kosovo is winning the battle for control of the north, although hopes for normalization of relations between Pristina and Belgrade are fading.

The two sides have been negotiating in Brussels for the normalization of relations - with the mediation of the European Union - since 2011.

The parties have reached some agreements, but not all have been implemented.

The flags of Kosovo and Serbia - two countries involved in the dialogue mediated by the European Union, over a decade.

The report states that "the remaining Serbian institutions on the territory of Kosovo, which survived the war of 1999 and the independence of Kosovo in 2008, are being dismantled after a paramilitary operation supported by Serbia in September 2023".

In September of last year, Serbian armed groups attacked the Kosovo Police in the village of Banjské in Zveçan, killing the Kosovo Police official, Afrim Bunjak.

Then, in the exchange of fire, three attackers were killed.

Kosovo accuses the state of Serbia of organizing and carrying out the attack, but Belgrade denies this.

The former vice-president of the Serbian List, Millan Radoicic, has taken responsibility for the attack.

He is currently believed to be at large in Serbia.

According to the report, the attack in Banjska has turned the attention to the north of Kosovo and to the benefit of Pristina, at least in the eyes of Brussels and Washington.

According to the analysis, the attack "has created a strong suspicion that Belgrade has armed and trained the paramilitary group for deadly attacks on the Kosovo Police. Without a convincing alternative, Serbia has lost much of the support it has gained from flexibility in the EU-mediated dialogue".

In other findings, it was mentioned that after the attack in Banjska, Prishtina took advantage of the change in circumstances to accelerate the integration of the north and to expel the remaining institutions of Serbia.

"From her perspective, the incident has confirmed that the problem facing the north is the criminals and terrorists supported by Belgrade and not ordinary Serbs. She considered the paramilitary threat as a justification for engaging the heavily armed police in that area."

According to the report, "these are difficult days for the Serbian minority, whose future is vital for rapprochement between Belgrade and Pristina".

"To remain a self-governing community, it needs continuous access to Serbian institutions, especially in the field of education and health, plus financial support.

He also needs security, which he can get with the return of the Serbs to the Kosovo Police, from which the Serbs withdrew in November 2022."

Holding elections in municipalities in the north

The group suggests that Kosovo also take "credible steps towards guaranteeing self-government for the Serbian minority in the north. New elections must be held, along with ending the boycott of northern Serbs against government institutions".

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The report referred to the new elections for the four mayors of the municipalities in the north of Kosovo - an area inhabited by a majority of Serbs - which are currently led by four Albanians.

They won these positions in the elections held in April last year in the four northern municipalities, which were boycotted by the Serbian population in the north.

Currently, the procedures for the dismissal of the current mayors have started, which will pave the way for new elections.

Lista Serbe - the largest party of Serbs in Kosovo - although it boycotted the April elections, it said weeks ago that it is ready to participate in the new election process.

Association for Kosovo, de facto recognition for Serbia

When the agreements were mentioned, in the report of the International Crisis Group, the two most problematic aspects in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue and the normalization of relations between them were also evaluated.

On the side of Kosovo, the formation of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority was mentioned.

On Tuesday, April 2, the spokesperson of the European Union (EU), Peter Stano, said that Kosovo must urgently implement the multi-year obligation to establish an Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority in the country and warned that it will face consequences on its path to the EU if it fails to do so.

Kosovo and Serbia have reached agreement on the Association in 2013 and then in 2015 on the principles for its establishment.

But, in 2015, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo found that the agreement is not in full harmony with the Constitution.

At the end of last year, the international community presented to the parties a draft for the statute that this Association would have. The parties, initially, said that they have accepted it, but have not taken any steps forward.

In an interview for Radio Free Europe on March 19, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, stated that he did not accept this draft statute.

"Another priority is meeting the needs of the Kosovo Serb minority - with or without an official framework for autonomy. Residents of the north depend on schools, universities and health centers that operate within the Serbian system. Most of the residents are paid directly or indirectly by Belgrade and receive aid in dinars through a system of post offices and banks that Kosovo intends to close," the report said, among other things.

On February 1, the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) started to implement a new regulation that foresees the euro as the only currency for making cash payments.

Thus, the use of the dinar has become impossible.

Serbia declares that it allocates aid worth millions of euros to Kosovo Serbs and pays them salaries, pensions and additional aid in dinars.

The United States and the European Union have asked Kosovo to postpone the implementation of the CBK regulation on the grounds that it was strengthened too quickly, without offering adequate alternatives for Serbs who receive dinars.

Some Kosovo Serbs, with whom Radio Free Europe has talked in recent weeks, have admitted that life has become difficult for them after not being able to receive dinars.

Serbia has installed several ATMs at several border points with Kosovo, to enable the Serbian community in Kosovo to receive dinars.

"Ethnic discrimination and language barriers keep many Kosovo Serbs away from the labor market. If they lose access to Serbian jobs and benefits, they will emigrate. The EU and the US should ask Kosovo to enable the continuation of these Serbian services. They should ask Pristina to end the ban on food and medicine imports from Serbia, and on the dinar issue. For all this, Kosovo should follow the position of the USA and the EU", the report said, among other things.

On the Serbian side, the de facto recognition of Kosovo has been mentioned.

"De facto recognition means that Kosovo is treated as an independent state without an official declaration [from Serbia] and it enables other states and international bodies such as the United Nations to recognize and accept it as a member. "Serbia is ready to deal with Kosovo directly, but is determined to keep the issue of its status open," said the report of the International Crisis Group.

Kosovo declared its independence in 2008.

Its citizenship has been recognized by 117 countries, including the USA and most EU member states.

However, Serbia continues not to recognize the state of Kosovo and tries to prevent its membership in many international organizations.