The Government of Kosovo has decided to postpone for a month, until September 1, the application of the prohibition of Serbian documents and license plates in its territory after the tensions that were experienced this Sunday at two border points between the two countries, Brnjak and Jarinje.
The decision, hence the controversy, would force some 50,000 Serbs in the north of the country who do not recognize the Kosovar government and its institutions, and who therefore continue to use license plates and documents issued by the Serbian authorities, to request them from the capital , Pristina. Kosovo, a de facto independent territory since 2008, has been recognized by more than a hundred countries, but Serbia and Russia deny its new status.
According to a statement issued last night, the government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti conditions the postponement to the removal of the barricades placed by local Serbs. Kurti had announced in June that he would no longer accept Serbian identity documents and license plates in his territory from August. It is a reciprocity measure, according to him, since Belgrade, which claims that everything is a ploy to expel Serbs from the north of the country, does not accept their documents or license plates either.
It is the second attempt, after the Pristina government gave up imposing the measure last year due to similar protests. This time it is not being fruitful either, for the moment. Late on Sunday, Serb protesters parked trucks full of gravel and other heavy machinery on the roads leading to the two border crossings, where Serbs are in the majority. In response, the Kosovar police deployed their patrols.
According to the NATO-led mission, which has 3,770 troops in Kosovo, "the general security situation in the northern municipalities is tense." They added in their statement that KFOR was "closely monitoring" and "ready to intervene if stability is endangered."
Thus, after consultations with the ambassadors of the European Union and the United States, the Pristina government has agreed to delay the implementation of the plan for a month. At the moment, there are no injured, although the police assured that on Sunday there were already shots. According to the Kosovar authorities, the demonstrators had beaten several Albanians passing on the roads and had attacked some cars.
Following Pristina's decision to postpone the controversial rule, Kosovo Serbs removed barricades made up of trucks and other heavy vehicles blocking access to the northern border crossing with Serbia on Monday afternoon.
Although the two countries in dispute promised in 2013 to start a dialogue to resolve outstanding issues, the peace in Kosovo, in a certain way maintained by NATO and European mediation, remains fragile.
