Arberi

Eight years after the agreement to open the bridge over the Iber, there are increasing calls for it to remain closed

After the EU and KFOR, on Sunday the USA also said that it is not the right time for the full opening of the bridge over the Ibër river. In 2015, an agreement was reached in Brussels for its opening, but this did not happen, and it is being opposed as an idea even now, when the new municipal bodies of North Mitrovica have made a decision to unlock

In the framework of the technical dialogue in 2015, Kosovo and Serbia agreed on the possibility of traffic for pedestrians and cars on the main bridge of Mitrovica, which connects the south with the north.

At that time, the Government of Kosovo headed by Hashim Thaçi informed the citizens that the bridge would be opened "for vehicles and pedestrians no later than the end of June 2016".

With this agreement, the barricade erected by the Serbs at the northern end of the bridge was also removed, and the European Union became part of the design and revitalization of the bridge, which was intended to transform from a symbol of frozen conflict and ethnic division into a symbol of peace and coexistence. .

And now that the new municipal authorities in North Mitrovica, led by Vetëvendosje, have demanded the unblocking of the bridge for cars, the calls have become frequent for it to remain closed for a while longer. On Sunday, this was also requested by the US ambassador in Belgrade, Christopher Hill.

"When the Association is finished, we will look at the other aspects of normalization", Hill said to Serbia's "Pink" television, underlining that the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority should happen before all of them. He joined the messages from the EU and KFOR that it is not time for the complete unblocking of the bridge.

In fact, according to the 2015 agreement, with the process, in addition to the negotiation team then led by Edita Tahiri and Marko Gjuriq, the implementation team that included the mayors of the municipalities of North and South Mitrovica would also be involved.

With the plan agreed by the heads of the technical delegations, Tahiri and Gjuriq, on August 5, 2016, it was foreseen that the whole process would end at the beginning of 2017.

"The bridge will be opened for all types of traffic on January 20, 2017. In accordance with these fates, North Mitrovica will revitalize the main street - 'Mbreti Petar' street as an area for pedestrian traffic. The works start and end on the same day as the works on and around the bridge," the Bridge Agreement Implementation Plan states.
The chairman of the Serbian List, Goran Rakić, who led the Municipality of North Mitrovica, had interrupted the works, violating the terms of the agreement. Even at that time, this party first requested the formation of the Association and delayed the work, claiming that releasing the bridge for full circulation would endanger the Serbs. This party, even now that it has been reopened as a topic, has threatened that the re-functionalization of the bridge will bring incidents.

According to the then mayor of Mitrovica, Agim Bahtiri, in 2018 the internationals also showed resistance to the opening of the bridge, when the work of the implementation teams was paralyzed.
"They started another agreement that they wanted to make in order to divide Kosovo, and there the situation got stuck so that bridge would not be expanded. The European Union told me at that time that we have a much bigger agreement than this and we are finishing the issue of the north and Kosovo", Bahtiri told TIME.
The government led by Albin Kurti has supported the initiative of the North Mitrovica Municipal Assembly to open the main bridge that connects the south to the north for traffic. But once again the Serbian List and the international community expressed resistance.

"The decision to remove such obstacles is a fair and proper action. Kosovo belongs to all its citizens and they enjoy the right to move freely throughout its territory", the Government's spokesperson, Përparim Kryeziu, told REL.

The former mayor of North Mitrovica who resigned last year, Milan Radojević, has opposed the opening of the bridge through a Facebook status.

"The decision on the eventual opening of the city bridge can only be made by the Serbs, citizens of Mitrovica, Kosovo, and the north has paid a high price for Serbs to continue living in the northern part of Mitrovica, Kosovo, but also in other northern municipalities. ", Radojevic wrote.
Despite the delays in the implementation of the agreement on the bridge, KFOR and the EU have openly opposed the opening of the bridge for vehicle traffic, saying that it is not the time for this.
"The reopening of the Austerlitz bridge is an issue that must be resolved through political dialogue. KFOR also continues to provide the necessary security support so that EU-led diplomatic efforts can move forward," KFOR's response said, referring to a similar bridge in France with a bloody history. of Napoeon Bonaparte's wars in the XNUMXth century.

After the April 23 elections, the municipality of North Mitrovica, inhabited by a majority of Serbs, is led by Vetëvendosje. The Serbs boycotted the elections in this municipality and in three others in the north: Leposavic, Zubin-Potok and Zveçan. And the first decision of the new authorities in North Mitrovica was the complete opening of the bridge that separates - once a city - Mitrovica.

This agreement is one of many that have not been implemented.