Politicians strike agreement but Serbs do not feel safe in Kosovo

Politicians strike agreement but Serbs do not feel safe in Kosovo

While Brussels and Washington are celebrating the Ohrid Agreement, Serbs living in Kosovo are still not safe. Unknown perpetrators have broken into several houses, and the leaders of local Serbs are still unwilling to participate in the upcoming municipal elections.

WORLD POLITICS MARCH 21. 2023 17:19

Serbs live in fear in Kosovo

Unknown perpetrators have broken into the houses of three Kosovar Serb families in the past few days, causing significant material damage, the Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo writes. This series of intensifying robberies and break-ins targeting Serbian homes in recent weeks, sends the message to the Serbs that not only are they not welcome but that indeed their existence is under direct threat the office wrote in a statement.

One of the burglaries took place in the village of Batuse. A house was broken into while the family attended a celebration in central Serbia. The family has three children, and the incident caused anxiety and fear not only in the family members but their neighbours and other Serbs living in the village. An attempt was made at the home of another Kosovo Serb family, but they arrived home just as the robbers tried to enter through the window. The current cases are not rare instances, last weekend two more Serbian houses were also broken into and burgled.

The series of burglaries cause disturbance in the local community of Serbs, exacerbated by the fact that the authorities have not found the perpetrators in any of the cases. This is why the Office for Kosovo is demanding that attacks on Serb property be taken very seriously, and that those responsible be prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Agreement without signature

Thus, tensions remain high in Kosovo even though Serbia’s president and Kosovo’s prime minister met to agree on the implementation of the EU-mediated settlement plan. However, Aleksandar Vucic refused to sign the agreement, saying that Serbia does not recognise Kosovo as an independent state, and as the leader of an internationally recognised country, he cannot sign an agreement with the leader of an unrecognised territory.

Reaching an agreement was announced by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell late on Saturday evening after meeting Aleksandar Vucic and Albin Kurti in Ohrid, North Macedonia. It is not a new agreement the two parties reached, the top diplomat noted, adding that Belgrade and Pristina agreed on the implementation of the agreement accepted in Brussels at the end of February, and the implementation annex will be an integral part of Kosovo’s and Serbia’s EU path. Thus, the implementation of obligations set out in the documents is a key prerequisite for progress towards the EU.

Kosovo Serbs to boycott local elections

Despite the agreement, Serb politicians in Kosovo continue to insist on their former position, reconfirming that they will refuse to participate in the local elections until the Pristina government meets two conditions: the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities (with an ethnic Serb majority) and the withdrawal of all special units from the north of Kosovo. The representatives of the Serbian List – the largest party of Serbs in Kosovo – discussed the issue with the ambassador of the US in Pristina. The Serbs have stated that they will not return to Kosovar institutions until their conditions are met.

Local elections are to be held on 23 April in the north of Kosovo. Originally, the vote would have taken place on 18 December, but it was postponed to a later date at the request of the international community.

WORLD POLITICS

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borrell, eu, kosovo, kurti, serbia, vucic