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The government of Kosovo, assisted by the police, closed on Friday afternoon five parallel institutions in the north of Kosovo, which, according to the government, were parallel structures working under the directives of Serbia. The Minister of Local Government Administration, Elbert Krasniqi, after the police operation, said that "parallel illegal institutions of Local Self-Government, which operated under Serbian directives, violating the constitutionality and laws of the Republic of Kosovo, have been closed."
"Parallel municipalities, which will no longer operate, are: the District of Mitrovica of Kosovo, the parallel Municipality of Mitrovica, the parallel Municipality of Zveçan, the parallel Municipality of Zubin Potok, the parallel Municipality of Leposaviq. These 5 today join 7 other parallel municipalities which were closed in Prizren, Pejë, Suharekë, Istog, Klinë, Rahovec and Dragash", Minister Krasniqi wrote, pledging that Kosovo's institutions will provide services to all citizens without distinction, including those of the Serbian community.
Police: Operation aimed at shutting down illegal activity
The Kosovo Police stated after the operation that it was carried out in four municipalities in the north of the country with the aim of stopping the activities in "five objects, which have been used as illegal municipalities, and which are contrary to the constitutional legal order". .
This action of the Kosovo authorities in the north provoked the reaction of the USA. The US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe, Jim O'Brien, called the actions of the Kosovo government after the closure of the parallel Serbian municipalities in the north of the country "uncoordinated and provocative". "The United States is concerned by the continuous uncoordinated and provocative actions of the Government of Kosovo. I call on Prime Minister Kurti and his government to consult and coordinate with the international community and stop the uncoordinated actions that negatively affect our partnership," wrote X O'Brien on the platform.
The US "appreciates the work of those, including EULEX and KFOR, who prevent violence, and we call for continued restraint by all parties," O'Brien emphasized. Even the US embassy in Pristina said that "the operation of the Kosovo authorities to close the parallel Serbian municipalities in the north of the country was not coordinated and the continuation of such actions represents a real and growing deterioration of our partnership".
Petkovic: Action with long-term consequences in the normalization process
Serbia reacted strongly after the police operation in the north of Kosovo. The head of the office for Kosovo in the government of Serbia, Petar Petkovic, said that "this action will have long-term consequences in the process of normalization of relations" and according to him "it is intended to promote conflicts in the north". According to Petkovic, "with the closure of these institutions, Kurti wants to extinguish the lives of Serbs in the north of Kosovo and carry out the final ethnic cleansing".
Earlier this month, the Kosovar authorities closed nine more branches of the Serbian Post in the north and unveiled a plan to open the main bridge over the Iber River in Mitrovica, which divides the city into two parts, the northern one inhabited by a majority of Serbs and the southern one with Albanian majority. During a visit to Belgrade on Thursday, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, expressed concern with what he called "Kosovo's unilateral actions", which, according to him, do not represent good signs towards the normalization of relations with Serbia.
The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, when asked about Macron's statement, said that "his government is establishing the rule of law and public order, as well as ensuring peace and security for all citizens of Kosovo, without distinction." "In this aspect, we want close cooperation and international support, including France, which we consider a very important friend, ally and partner in the European Union and NATO," said Prime Minister Kurti. But the international authorities have emphasized several times that all issues related to the situation in the north of Kosovo should be addressed within the dialogue in Brussels mediated by the European Union./ DW
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