Prime Minister Mark Rutte will pay a two-day visit to Kosovo and Serbia on Monday. Together with his Luxembourg counterpart, he will talk to the leaders of the two neighboring countries about the rising tensions. What is going on?
First a brief explanation, because the conflict between Kosovo and Serbia goes back years. Kosovo was formerly part of Serbia. After a bloody conflict, Kosovo became independent in 2008, but Serbia does not recognize that independence. The European Union and the United States do recognize Kosovo as a country.
Of Kosovo’s 1.8 million inhabitants, 92 percent are ethnic Albanians and 6 percent are ethnic Serbs. Most of the latter group live in the north of Kosovo. They do not recognize the Kosovo administration, which means they regularly clash with the authorities.
Never peace, but recently more tensions
There has never been real peace between Serbia and Kosovo, but the unrest has increased even more in the past year. For example, at the end of last year there was a fight over license plates, because Kosovo had decided that plates issued in Serbia would be banned.
The number of Kosovo police officers in the north of the country has also increased (leading to tensions) and there have been a number of attacks on Kosovo Serbs. At the end of June, Serbia threatened military intervention to protect the ethnic Serbs in Kosovo.
Demonstrations against new mayors
Tensions rose in May when Albanian mayors were installed in four municipalities in northern Kosovo. Most of the Serb Kosovars live in these municipalities. They had boycotted the elections (the turnout was less than 3.5 percent), allowing the Albanian candidates to win.
The European Union and the United States, among others, called on Kosovo not to install the mayors because of the tensions, but that happened anyway. That led to major protests. Serbian Kosovars demanded the departure of the mayors, saying they cannot represent them properly. They also demanded the departure of the Kosovo police from northern Kosovo.
The mayors had to be escorted to their offices by special police units. NATO peacekeepers were also deployed to protect the town halls. About 30 NATO soldiers were injured in clashes between police and Kosovo Serbs. They suffered broken bones and burns, among other things. 52 demonstrators were also injured. Germany and France called on Kosovo to hold new elections.
1:00 Play button
Rutte first to Serbia, then Kosovo
The visit of Rutte and his Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel will start on July 3 in the Serbian capital Belgrade. Talks are scheduled there with President Aleksandar Vučic and Prime Minister Ana Brnabic. Talks are also being held with organizations that are committed to press freedom and the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.
Rutte and Bettel are in the Kosovo capital Pristina on July 4. There they will be received by President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu and Prime Minister Albin Kurti. Talks with representatives of NGOs are also on the agenda in Kosovo.
2023-07-03 04:37:00
#Rutte #Serbia #Kosovo #rising #tensions
