Why do the extreme Albanians want to rule the north of Kosovo by force and can the Serbs accept that?

"The idea of the current Kosovo Government is to establish some form of permanent police-military administration in the northern municipalities, where the Serbs are the absolute majority. This would nullify the meaning and role of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, and would imply the continuation of discrimination and apartheid, which is an unsustainable and very dangerous situation that the Serbs cannot agree to".

Edited by: Milos Garic

Albin Kurti's recent announcement that next year Kosovo would have 600 more members of the Kosovo Security Forces, on top of the already existing 5,000 regular members, as well as an additional 500 policemen, along with the message he sent to Self-Determination activists and all citizens that "they will not be able to stop us even at in the south, nor in the north", is actually a direct threat to the Serbs and an announcement of new tensions, even those who are less familiar with Kosovo's circumstances have no dilemma about that.

Kurti had put the "conquest" of the northern municipalities with weapons in the focus of his activities, which his predecessors Thaci and Haradinaj did not attempt, and the "change of reality" in North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Zubin Potok, and Leposavic completely fits into the open intention of the Kosovo Prime Minister to sabotage and prevent any possibility of the formation of Serb self-government through the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities.

Why is it so important for Kurti to "break" the Serbs in the north?

The interlocutors of Kosovo Online agree that Kurti's plan is to keep the north of Kosovo in a state of explosive tension for as long as possible, because he derives multiple benefits from it, in terms of achieving the aspirations of an ethnically pure Kosovo as a way to realize the creation of a "Greater Albania", but also as a good way for remaining in power through the support of the extreme part of the Albanian electorate.

"When Kurti emphasized a few months ago, on the occasion of the 145th anniversary of the founding of the League of Prizren, that he would follow the philosophy of the "leaguers", he once again confirmed the ultimate goals of his policy. The creation of a “Greater Albania“, whose ideological foundations were laid by the League of Prizren in the 19th century, represents the foundation of his political activity. Therefore, all the moves he has made so far, as well as those he will make in the coming period, will be aligned with that strategic goal", historian and political analyst Srdjan Graovac says.

Kurti's goals

He Indicates for Kosovo Online that Kurti's repressive policy towards the Serbs in the north of Kosovo should be viewed through this prism.

"For him, this has both strategic and tactical importance. Namely, the deployment of Albanian Special Forces in the north of the province and the constant repression to which the Serbs there are exposed certainly represents one of Kurti's key tactical moves and means for achieving the ultimate goal. There is no doubt that he is trying to provoke the armed conflict, to drag Serbia into an open war with the NATO pact. In this way, it would create a new political reality in which any negotiations with Belgrade, about technical issues or the status of Kosovo and Metohija, would acquire a new, extremely unfavorable dimension for Belgrade. Under such circumstances, Kurti hopes that, under strong pressure from the West, Belgrade would be forced to finally and unconditionally recognize the illegal secession of the southern province", Graovac says.

A writer and journalist from Gracanica Zivojin Rakocevic describes the situation in the north of Kosovo as an obvious occupation.

"If someone who has no prior knowledge of the Kosovo conflict were to pass the road from the Jarinje crossing to Kosovska Mitrovica, they would realize that the north of Kosovo is occupied and that the roads are patrolled by an unnatural number of different police formations. Albin Kurti has achieved what the KLA commanders gave up and thus brought the north of Kosovo into a state of explosive tensions that occasionally turn into chaos. Basically, those police formations operate in the north in complete fear and with their hand on the trigger. This is an image that one lives with and which cannot bring any good", Rakocevic said for Kosovo Online regarding this topic.

But, considering the persistence with which he implements the policy of pressuring the Serbs, especially in the north of Kosovo where they are compact, it is clear that Kurti wants to implement some goals, that are important to him, in practice.

Srdjan Graovac points out that this is about three equally important Kurti’s ideas.

"He is trying to break Serbian unity and encourage emigration. There is no place for the Serbs in a "Greater Albania", especially if they are compact and organized because they represent a disruptive factor and someone who is a natural barrier to Greater Albania's aspirations. Also, we should not ignore the fact that Kurti's repressive policy exerts constant pressure on non-political Belgrade and the entire Serbian public, which is especially sensitive to the position and suffering of the Kosovo Serbs. Kurti counts on that in this way he can influence the destabilization of the situation in Serbia itself, in order to cause sharp divisions in Serbian society and weaken Belgrade's negotiating position. Last but not least is the fact that with his aggressive policy towards the Serbs, Kurti is strengthening his political position within the largely extremist and nationalist Albanian society. He builds his popularity on a harsh reckoning with the Serbs, and he considers any compromise as a danger of a drop in popularity, both for him and his party", Graovac explains.

An unsustainable and dangerous situation

Historian Aleksandar Gudzic from Gracanica also has no doubts about Albin Kurti's intentions in the north of Kosovo in the Serb-majority areas.

"Albin Kurti's idea is to establish some form of police-military administration, which will manage the northern municipalities of Kosovo where the Serbs are the absolute majority and where every form of discrimination and apartheid will be at work. Kurti has been implementing apartheid for years. It is an unsustainable and very dangerous situation which the Serbs cannot agree to. The Serbs decided to oppose the repressive regime of Pristina with Gandhian methods, by boycotting. This is a legitimate form of democratic struggle. We have elections that were boycotted by the Serbs when a few dozen Albanians came out, maybe not so many; the Albanian mayors were appointed who are now protected by the police and KFOR from the citizens of those municipalities. By logic, and by law, the elections should be an expression of the will of the citizens. Everything that happened in Kosovo would not have been invented even by a character from the cartoon Homer Simpson, but it is reality and life in Kosovo", Gudzic said.

If we take all the mentioned reasons into account, it is logical to expect that Kurti will not only continue his repressive policy towards the Serbs in the north of the province but even intensify it. Any loosening of restraints does not fit Kurti's political agenda in any way, neither tactically nor strategically. The only way to change this situation is through decisive pressure from the USA, however, for now, there is no will in Washington to act in that direction.

Srdjan Graovac points out that Kurti's policy is also used by the West as a kind of additional pressure on Belgrade, in order to "force Serbia to accept what they call reality, which is nothing but unprecedented political and legal violence in the service of creating the so-called Kosovo statehood".​