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The confusion that the NATO chief caused for the security forces in the north of Kosovo

2023-09-08 20:41:18Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
The confusion that the NATO chief caused for the security forces in the north of
Jens Stoltenberg

No one from Kosovo's institutions has yet clarified whether NATO and its peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, have any new requirements regarding the deployment of Kosovo's special police in the north - an area inhabited by a majority of Serbs.

The dilemma of whether this police should receive the approval of KFOR for deployment there, was raised a day ago, after a statement by the general secretary of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg.

Referring to a document from 2013, in which the Government of Kosovo pledges to NATO that it will not deploy the Kosovo Security Force in the north without consulting with KFOR, Stoltenberg said:

"We expect consultations for every action of the Kosovo security forces, the Kosovo Police, that may have an impact on security. Any landing of special forces requires the approval of KFOR and requires close consultation between the authorities of Pristina and KFOR".

Asked by journalists if this means new conditions for Kosovo, Stoltenberg denied it.

He made the comments at a joint press conference with the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, in Brussels.

For more clarifications, REL has addressed to NATO and its mission in Kosovo, KFOR, the Office of the President of Kosovo, the Office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, but from none of the institutions has received answer.

The Office of the President has suggested REL to refer to Osmani's statement during the press conference with Stoltenberg, as well as the interview of the president's chief of staff, Blerim Vela, for Klan Kosova Television.

Osmani in Brussels said that the 2013 document "focuses only on the Kosovo Security Force".

Similarly, Vela has confirmed that "Osmani explained to Stoltenberg that the 2013 document focuses only on the Kosovo Security Force".

"I cannot judge whether [Stoltenberg's statement] was a mistake or on purpose in this matter. But there was an agreement that this [document] applies only in relation to the KSF", said Vela.

Official Belgrade, which continues to oppose Kosovo's independence, announced in 2008, has commented on Stoltenberg's statement. President Aleksandar Vučić has said that he hopes that it "will have an impact, if not on [Kosovo Prime Minister Albin] Kurti, then at least on some others, on EULEX [the EU mission in Kosovo] and on the behavior of KFOR".

KFOR was established in Kosovo after the war, in 1999, and is responsible for security in the country.

What does the 2013 document say?

In the letter of commitment that the then prime minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, sent to the then head of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, he, on behalf of the Government of Kosovo, offered "a guarantee that the Kosovo Security Force will have the opportunity to undertake actions in the north of Kosovo only in cooperation with KFOR".

The document states that this commitment "is in full compliance with Kosovo's existing obligations towards NATO, which the Government of the Republic of Kosovo implements with great seriousness".

Also, the document emphasizes that the Government of Kosovo is clear that KFOR, in fulfilling its mandate, can engage with the legitimate representatives of the local community in the north of Kosovo, as part of a regular process of interaction.

Alert for new request?

Shpat Balaj, researcher at the Kosovar Center for Security Studies, believes that Stoltenberg's statement, considering the level of the organization he leads, "is not related to any confusion".

"I think that this [statement] is in line with the narrative of the international community in general, about the situation that has been created in the north of the country, in recent years. It is no longer a secret that they are not satisfied and that they do not support the deployment of special forces of the Kosovo Police to maintain order and security in the north of the country", says Balaj for Radio Free Europe.

According to him, Stoltenberg's statement is a message for Kosovo institutions to withdraw the special police forces from the north of the country.

Balaj says that he sees the statement of the head of NATO more as a kind of warning for a wider coordination of Kosovo's institutions with KFOR, when it comes to actions and commitments in the north.

"This can be read more as a message or request that NATO or, in general, the international community is potentially trying to put forward. But, in order to do something concrete, I think a concrete agreement is needed, such as the letter of exchange [of 2013], which then continued to be known as an official agreement", says Balaj.

Tensions in the north

The north of Kosovo, inhabited by a majority of Serbs, is constantly a hotbed of unrest.

The residents there do not obey the decisions of Kosovo's institutions, but those of Serbia, which operate in the area through parallel structures.

Tensions are now high due to the takeover of local power by representatives of Albanian parties.

The Albanian leaders have emerged from the extraordinary elections of April, which the local Serbian population has boycotted.

They entered the municipal offices at the end of May, under the escort of the special police of Kosovo.

Local Serbs have opposed this and, in some cases, protested violently.

In an effort to ease the situation, the Kosovo authorities made an agreement with EU representatives on July 10.

The agreement envisages the withdrawal of Kosovo's special police from municipal facilities in the north and the organization of new elections in the four municipalities there: North Mitrovica, Zveçan, Zubin Potok and Leposaviq.

Until now, the Government of Kosovo has said that it has withdrawn half of the special police forces from municipal facilities, and is in the process of organizing elections./REL


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