Referendum and Other Farces: Why Doesn't the West Force Kurti to Replace Illegitimate Mayors in the North?

"Bad theater directed by Western mediators and starring Albin Kurti in the main role in Kosovo continues. The alleged consent of the Kosovo authorities to allow Serbs in the north to participate in extraordinary local elections and return to municipal authorities, where they make up 95% of the population, has been nothing but a farce and a very cunning political theater from the beginning"

Prepared by: Milos Garic

It has long been entirely clear. Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti has no intention of replacing the imposed, illegitimate Albanian representatives at the head of the municipalities of Leposavic, Zvecan, Zubin Potok, and North Mitrovica. This has now become completely apparent, just days before the fictitious referendum to remove the fake mayors, although Kurti, with poor acting, continues to play his favorite role of "great democrat and promoter of the rule of law."

But, of course, masks fall off, sooner or later.

Kurti's mask is so transparent that it seemed convincing only to him, his whisperers, and his most loyal followers. The political representatives of Serbs in Kosovo have confirmed this by logically refusing to participate in Kurti's latest deception, this time with the supposed referendum, which, according to his plan, was supposed to show how the Serbian community actually "does not want" the removal of Hetemi, Zeqiri, and others. The prescribed, impossible conditions with the required number of voters and all other tricks in the "procedure" from the very beginning were designed only with the goal that no change in the north actually happens. To delay it as long as possible.

The president of the Serbian List, Zlatan Elek, recently stated that the party's stance is for Serbs not to participate in the voting on April 21 because Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti "did everything to ensure the referendum fails." And, that it's all a big setup, was also explained by the former president of the Central Election Commission in Pristina, Valdete Dake, who says that the Administrative Instruction of the Kosovo government for the potential dismissal of Albanian mayors of the four northern municipalities is unconstitutional and illegal, as is the voting scheduled for April 21.

"I have always emphasized that the Administrative Instruction is unconstitutional and illegal because it gives the CEC powers it does not have. First, there must be a law regulating the organization of referendums, and then the CEC can initiate this process," Dake emphasized, adding that acting on a sub-legal act, such as government instructions, in this case, is inherently illegal.

However, the ambassadors of the Quint countries still "believe" in the good intentions of Albin Kurti and are shocked by the Serbs' refusal to participate in a foregone conclusion. The German ambassador Rode told Pristina media that he considers the approach of the Serbs "disturbing."

"On April 21, the Kosovo election bodies will vote to remove the presidents of four northern municipalities. It is extremely sad, and I must say worrying, that the Serbian List has again decided not to participate in the voting. This is a clear case of renewed pressure on citizens in the north not to participate in democratic processes," said Rode.

The same answer to many questions

Thus, it is entirely clear that Kurti does not want his people removed from the head of municipalities with an absolute Serbian majority, and he just needs an alibi for their continued presence in those positions. The key question is - why do key Western mediators from the USA, Berlin, and Brussels allow Kurti to play with democracy in this way?

"The answer to the question of why the West does not force Kurti to expedite the process of replacing mayors in the north to organize new elections is the same as the answer to why they do not force him to lift the ban on Serbian goods, why they let him abolish the dinar, or why they do not force him to propose the Draft Statute of the Community of Serb Municipalities. So, for all these situations, the answer is the same. The West does not want to, lacks the will to press Kurti, or cannot do it for unknown reasons," says political analyst Ognjen Gogic.

Mayors in the north are, he adds, just a small factor in the overall goals Kurti has for the north.

"The issue of councilors is much more significant. So, if, for example, the dismissal of mayors were now carried out, it still would not be enough to carry out the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities because councilors are key. It is necessary for councilors of the Serbian majority to delegate representatives for the constituent assembly of the Community of Serb Municipalities, and they are now absent from the municipal assemblies," explains Gogic.

Historian Srdjan Graovac emphasizes that the West's great understanding of Kurti should not surprise us.

"Several reasons explain this. One is that Kurti is certainly the most popular politician today in Kosovo and Metohija, in the Albanian electorate. If by chance he were to be removed from power, he would win in any subsequent elections. They certainly take this into account, but that is not decisive. Western countries have shown that they decide everything in Kosovo and Metohija, they have once removed Kurti during Trump's time. Kosovo is currently their protectorate, they are the masters of life and death in that area," says Graovac for Kontekst.

As a second key reason why the West is so lenient with Albin Kurti, he states that they "essentially agree with the goals Kurti promotes and wants to achieve."

"Kurti wants to expel any influence of Serbia from Kosovo and Metohija, in economic, political, and every other sense, which suits the West and what they advocate because they have, of course, recognized that quasi-state, they created that quasi-state and, of course, they consider any influence of Belgrade in that area fundamentally unacceptable and that it should be eliminated. So, maybe they have certain complaints about the way Kurti implements it, about the repressive measures he applies, but those complaints are not so significant that they would force them to deal with Kurti. We see that all the measures they take against him are essentially insignificant. This convinces us of the fact that Kurti's confrontation with the Serbs, they actually experience as a confrontation with the influence of the State of Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija, which is very acceptable to them, even desirable to do. And therefore, we should not expect any significant measures against Kurti in this regard. They will do it for form's sake, more to rhetorically calm Belgrade, but not concretely. Concretely, they have no intention of taking any significant action against Kurti," emphasizes Graovac.

Only declarative pressure

Political analyst Ognjen Karanovic, when asked why the political West does not exert sufficient pressure on Kurti to remove the so-called mayors in the north, reminds us that these mayors came in an irrational, undemocratic, and illegitimate way and were elected precisely at the encouragement of certain countries from the political West or from NATO countries.

"Pressure on Kurti regarding those mayors actually does not exist, except declaratively. There is a declarative demand, addressed to the temporary Pristina institutions regarding the Community of Serb Municipalities. There is no clear, nor unified political will when it comes to NATO countries, for the Community of Serb Municipalities to be formed. And, that would represent institutional protection for the Serbian people, not just in the north of Kosovo but also throughout the southern Serbian province, and then we would not come to that situation in the future where three percent of Albanians elect mayors or chiefs in certain municipalities. That is one of the reasons why they do not exert sufficient pressure because that open issue, the implementation of all provisions, all Brussels agreements, they use as a maneuvering space or use as a mechanism for new conditions or pressures that are directed at official Belgrade," concludes Karanovic.

As much as certain representatives of the political West are sometimes dissatisfied with him, Kurti is still their ally and accomplice towards a common goal. This is the essence of the answer to most of the difficult questions that are raised today concerning the alarming situation in Kosovo.