Is there really an "improved security situation" in Kosovska Mitrovica, which is why KFOR is withdrawing from the main bridge in that city
This marked the beginning of the gradual withdrawal of the permanent presence of KFOR troops, the international military mission under the leadership of NATO, which since the end of the war in 1999 Kosovo engaged in order to prevent conflicts.
The reason for this, as they stated, is the "improvement of the security situation in Kosovo", but they can also return to the streets if the development of events requires it. "Upon completion of this process, KFOR will maintain a strong presence in North Mitrovica and throughout northern Kosovo, continuing to contribute to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all communities," KFOR told DW.
They did not specify whether the Kosovo Police will take over the security of the bridge that separates South from North Mitrovica, which has been the scene of inter-ethnic conflicts and tensions for decades.
On the other hand, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Dzhelaj Sveฤlja, stated that the transfer of responsibility from KFOR to the police has begun, which should lead to the opening of the main bridge for traffic.
For Visoki Deฤani monastery, KFOR was more specific: the Kosovo Police will gradually begin to integrate into the security structures.
Such announcements followed a series of incidents in the north of Kosovo, which worried the local Serbs and the European Union.
Recently, the public company Ibar-Lepenac, following the decision of the Kosovo Ministry of Environmental Protection, demolished 17 cottages of local Serbs on Lake Gazivode in the municipality of Zubin Potok within a month. The objects in question were, according to the Kosovo authorities, illegally built on the land managed by that company, as a result of which they requested the "release of the usurped property".
Many building owners claim that they have documentation confirming the right to use the land, and that their cottages were illegally demolished while court proceedings are ongoing.
Also, recently, a resident of a village in this municipality accused members of the Kosovo Police that, during the search of his house on suspicion of possessing a weapon, they physically harassed him and inflicted a series of physical injuries on him, as a result of which he ended up in the hospital.
There is no clear explanation why KFOR made the decision to reduce its presence right now, nor did they specify it in the answer to DW's query.
Zoran Saviฤ from the non-governmental organization Aktiv from North Mitrovica is not surprised. As he says, the announcements are not from yesterday, but neither is the distrust of the citizens of the northern part of Kosovo in the Kosovo police.
Reports from non-governmental organizations from the north have shown for years the low trust of citizens in security institutions in Kosovo. When, says Saviฤ, the recent events in the municipality of Zubin Potok are added to that, it is questionable on the basis of which international organizations estimate that the security situation has significantly improved.
"Objectively, if you read the NATO announcements and analyze the available statistics, certain improvements can indeed be observed. This can also be seen in the police reports. However, if you ask citizens on the street how they feel and whether they trust institutions such as the police in particular, you will get a different picture," Saviฤ points out.
Professor of the Faculty of Political Science in Prishtina, Nejmedin Spahi, believes that it is understandable that distrust exists, given everything that happened during and after the war. However, he assesses the work of the police in the north as "fairly good", in certain segments even "better than in other parts of Kosovo".
"That's why I think that the Kosovo police have a certain legitimacy to maintain order and peace. Especially considering that, after the Serbs left the police in the north of Kosovo at the invitation of political representatives, they gradually worked to improve the ethnic structure of the police," explains Spahiju. Therefore, he claims that even the opening of the main bridge in Mitrovica "would not pose a security risk."
"Closing the bridge, after what happened in Banjska and after the Kosovo authorities took control of the north, no longer makes much sense. It no longer represents a security measure between the two sides, since there are practically no more two sides. The same institutions are located on both sides of the Ibar."
Local journalist Andrija Lazarevic, founder of the Zubin Potok INFO media, still believes that it is not the right moment either to open the bridge or to reduce the number of KFOR members. He says, "numerous testimonies about the violent behavior of the police against Serbian citizens in previous years remained unexplained."
"The citizens here are scared. They see the opening of the bridge for traffic as dam bursting, which enables a greater penetration of Albanians to the north. Let's not forget that the legally pending demolition of buildings continues on Lake Gazivode, searches are carried out every day, and people are detained as part of the investigation of war crimes," says Lazarevic and adds:
"I don't want to prejudge the investigation of such a sensitive topic, but it is impossible not to wonder how the mere chronological order of these events does not create the impression of continuous pressure on a community."
Shortly after KFOR's announcement, the Serbian List expressed its opposition, and requested an urgent meeting with the KFOR commander, which soon followed.
Serbian List did not respond to DW's inquiry, so we were unable to find out why they asked for a meeting when the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, Milan Mojsiloviฤ, is familiar with the process, and what measures this party will take when it comes to, for example, the security of the Visoki Deฤani monastery.
Zoran Saviฤ from the NGO Aktiv believes that such things "cannot happen unilaterally, without communication with official Belgrade", which is why he claims that this is "an obvious application of the Franco-German plan, which President Vuฤiฤ obviously accepted".
"Whether someone likes it or not, the fact is that the policy implemented by both Pristina and local Serbian representatives has political legitimacy, and I think that's exactly where the essence of the whole story lies," concludes Saviฤ.
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