Why does Kurti need new tensions and incidents in the north of Kosovo?

The new tension in North Mitrovica, caused by the intention of Self-Determination representatives in the local government to forcibly take over the building of Serbian administrative bodies in Bosniak Mahala, threatens to re-ignite the atmosphere in the north and indicates that there is no sincere intention of Pristina in the direction of de-escalation, according to Kosovo Online interlocutors. They point out that these moves are in the service of further pressure on the Serbs, and if the representatives of the Western governments do not stop it, the main responsibility for the consequences will be on them.

Erden Atiq from Self-Determination, as the current Mayor of North Mitrovica after the local elections in which the Serbian community did not participate, today postponed by two weeks the deadline for the Serbs to leave the premises of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, the Service of the Directorate of the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund, of the Kosovska Mitrovica Administrative District and the Center for Social Work Vucitrn in the settlement of Bosniak Mahala, but the decision on eviction remained.

The President of the Center for Social Stability, Ognjen Karanovic, believes that the development of events in North Mitrovica represents a continuation of the escalation of the situation in the north of Kosovo. As Karanovic says, for several weeks Albin Kurti and his closest collaborators have been saying that they have implemented the de-escalation process, however, the situation on the ground and the justified impression of the Serbs say otherwise.

"The intention of the Pristina institutions to evict the Serbian authorities from the building in Bosniak Mahala is nothing more than the continuation of the escalation of the situation in the north of Kosovo and Metohija because Albin Kurti knows that those institutions of the state of Serbia and the Serbs in North Mitrovica are the lifeblood of the Serbian life. Everything he did In recent years, Kurti wants to complete with the attempt to completely disavow all the institutions of the Serbs in the north of Kosovo," Karanovic said.

Analysts believe that Kurti, pressured by numerous internal affairs in the last few weeks, can only divert the attention of the Albanian public from this by some additional actions against the Serbs.

Karanovic, however, points out that Kurti's ultimate goal is to evict citizens of Serbian nationality, that is, non-Albanian citizens from Kosovo, along with Serbian institutions.

"That is Kurti's final goal - a homogeneous, ethnically pure Kosovo, without the Serbs, a Kosovo that would represent the nucleus for the creation of a 'Greater Albania', which is the final goal of all Albanian political elites," Karanovic says.

Karanovic believes that it is positive that the US Embassy condemned the intention of the Pristina authorities, but, as he adds, if it ends only with declarative statements from Western countries, he is afraid that Kurti will not react.

"And that is a general problem, everyone sees it, the whole world sees it, both the East and the West see who Kurti is, what his ultimate intention is, they condemn such behavior, they know that such behavior can lead the Western Balkans into the abyss of armed conflict or into at least the destabilization of the political situation, which should not benefit anyone, especially not at this moment if we look at global events, but no one is reacting with a necessary, decisive measure that would stop Kurti. After all, to overthrow him from power, as Richard Grenell did a few years ago," Karanovic says.

However, he is convinced that Belgrade will not give up its red lines.

"They should know that Serbia does not react that way to pressure. Compromise - yes, but pressures and unilateral moves will never get the green light from Serbia," Karanovic says.

Commenting on Kurti's statement in which he said that de-escalation had been achieved in the north of Kosovo and that Kosovo respected the Bratislava Agreement and fulfilled its obligations, Karanovic said that this statement was dangerous and sad, and if it had not been so, it would have been funny.

He points out that the reduced number of members of the special police in municipal buildings is not a de-escalation of the situation, but only the movement of Special Forces, which have nothing to do in the north.

"Neither 50 percent, nor 70, nor 20, none of them should be in the north of Kosovo in accordance with the Brussels Agreement, not to mention in accordance with Resolution 1244, in accordance with other documents. Pristina has not complied with anything. First, the Special Forces have no business there, and second, the economic war of the temporary institutions of Pristina against Serbia continues and nobody reacts to it. I don't see what has been de-escalated, the fact that they don't shoot, that the Special Forces don't open fire every day on bare-handed Serbs - if it is de-escalation, then fine, however, for de-escalation it is only necessary to respect already adopted agreements, already adopted international documents, and if they were respected, nothing would happen, but Pristina's goal is to cheat those documents in order to expel the Serbs," Karanovic said.

Aleksandar Mitic, a research associate at the Institute for International Politics and Economy, says that Albin Kurti, by evicting Serbian institutions from the building in Bosniak Mahala, wants to show that he can escalate the situation whenever he wants and that he is now in charge of security, even in the north.

"Such a thing was made possible for him by his protectors from the West, who are now ineptly trying to wash their hands in front of the public with the good cop, bad cop game," Mitic told Kosovo Online.

He emphasizes that Kurti is raising the stakes and adds that later the Kosovo Prime Minister will ask for new political concessions from the Serbs and Belgrade for some tactical de-escalation, for which he will receive the support of the West.

"That is, primarily from Berlin and London as the main patrons, but also from Washington, which has nothing against it as long as things are carried out in the Albanian interest. The continuation of intense Western pressure on Belgrade follows, and in that context, all Kurti's moves should be watched," Mitic added.