Andric Rakic: Aimless police patrolling in the north; dialogue with the local community is the only solution

Milica Andric Rakic, program manager at the NGO New Social Initiative, believes that the only way to calm the situation in Kosovo, particularly in the north, is through dialogue and cooperation with the local community. According to her, not only the return of Serbs to the Kosovo Police but also the rebuilding of institutions through partnerships between Kosovo’s institutions and citizens is the only path to a sustainable and normal situation, and anything else, she says, leads to further escalation.
However, she adds that she is unsure whether there is sufficient understanding in Pristina that the current approach needs to change.
"Especially when you look at the reaction to these recent attacks and see that the response is, once again, to flood Serbian areas with police officers aimlessly wandering the streets. There is no strategy here. These are indications that they don’t think it’s time to change their approach," Andric Rakic emphasizes.
She does not see how the potential presence of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) in the north would help ensure security.
"It’s not like they have more capacity than the Kosovo Police, which, with all its resources, failed to prevent this sabotage, which is the worst thing to happen to Kosovo since the war. I don’t see how anyone could see value in this," she says.
Regarding the possibility of a permanent KFOR presence in the north, she describes it as a "more neutral security option."
"That was the solution in September and October 2021. The de-escalation agreement after the September barricades stipulated that KFOR would temporarily take over positions that special units of the Kosovo Police had suddenly occupied. Dialogue actors, mediators, and KFOR are well aware that this is a way to de-escalate the situation. However, they likely conducted a political analysis and concluded that this might not be wise, as it would be a blow to the credibility of Kosovo's security institutions. But denying the reality, that they are failing to establish a relationship with citizens and stabilize the situation, will not help either. In the end, a choice will have to be made between prioritizing Kosovo's security institutions or the overall safety of all citizens in Kosovo," she explains.
Regarding the return of Serbs to the Kosovo Police, Andric Rakic notes that this depends on the political will and mindset of the government in Pristina.
"I don’t think this government is capable of trusting Serbian police officers, whether new recruits or old ones who might return. However, a future government might be able to. Some past governments have already demonstrated the ability to establish a basic level of trust with Serbs. This will primarily depend on the outcome of the February 9 elections and the composition of the next government," Andric Rakic concludes.
She warns that analysts on the ground consistently point out that continued unilateral actions can only lead to new escalations.
"It is either dialogue or further escalation. The latter could make Kosovo unlivable for three to six months. The attack on the Ibar-Lepenac canal represents destabilization on an unprecedented scale. Even during the war, there weren’t such attacks on critical infrastructure," Andric Rakic points out.
0 comments