Drecun: Kurti's goal is the complete integration of the north

Milovan Drecun, the Chairman of the Defense and Internal Affairs Committee of the Serbian Parliament, stated today that Kosovo's Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, aims to "fully integrate the north of Kosovo into the false state of Kosovo," according to RTV.

"He seeks to establish complete institutional control, meaning gaining authority in those municipalities, installing the institutions of this false state, and preventing the functioning of Serbian institutions, effectively expelling them from Kosovo and Metohija. He wants to establish full physical control with police and special para-police units, with the intention of eventually introducing members of the so-called Kosovo Security Forces. This is a comprehensive system that he is working on," Drecun said to Tanjug.

Drecun added that Kurti has not yet achieved full control over the six municipalities with a majority Serbian population, but he believes that Kurti is on the path to doing so. He emphasized that Pristina is gradually working to integrate the educational and healthcare systems in the north into Kosovo's framework.

"They are very cautious with this. It’s a sensitive issue, and they’ve likely received instructions from the West to proceed gradually. Their goal is to take over the management of hospitals and schools, so that our children will eventually be taught in schools that Serbs supposedly committed genocide against Albanians in 1999, instead of learning that Serbs were ethnically cleansed and expelled," Drecun noted.

Regarding property, Drecun pointed out that since the unilateral declaration of Kosovo’s independence, Pristina holds the stance that all of Serbia's property has become Kosovo’s property. "This is why they believe there should be no Serbian administration or institutions managing that property, and they are enforcing this with the backing of their police."

He also focused on Kosovo's intelligence agency, which operates largely out of public view. "They have an extremely active service in the north. They wear civilian clothing but carry police badges and have full authority. They participate in all unilateral actions taken by Pristina in northern Kosovo, from arrests and interrogations to creating an intelligence network, not only in northern Kosovo but also in central Serbia. There is a particularly active group of around 30 agents, stationed in the southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, but they have a strong presence."

Drecun emphasized that Albanians are also recruiting Serbs, and that some Serbs have been persuaded to work in favor of Kosovo’s interests. "Unfortunately, there are individuals of Serbian nationality who are willing, for various reasons, to work against the interests and security of their own people. Thus, Kurti has established a complete state structure in northern Kosovo under the false state of Kosovo," Drecun stated.

He added that Kurti does not intend to relinquish control over the four municipalities in the north. "He has mentioned that general and local elections will be held sometime at the end of next year. He is shutting down Serbian institutions, terrorizing the Serbian people, and establishing a large number of military bases."

Regarding these bases, Drecun said that the Kosovo Police had nine facilities and have built two new ones, one in Jasenovik in Zubin Potok and another near Leposavic, with plans to build several more, capable of housing up to 100 members of special units.

"When you look at their deployment, you see that there are between 600 and 800 members of these special para-police units present in the north, depending on the situation. Over 4,000 hectares of Serbian land have been expropriated for the construction of police bases and a military-police base in the village of Dren near Leposavic. It’s clear that they plan to station members of the so-called Kosovo Security Forces there."

Drecun expressed uncertainty about whether conflicts will be avoided in Kosovo, citing NATO's recent actions. "NATO has sent a rapid reaction unit of 200 troops, 50 of whom are currently stationed in Kosovo as part of KFOR, while the remaining 150 are in North Macedonia. These forces are being trained for the rapid deployment of new NATO forces. There is also a strategic reserve sent to Kosovo, indicating that they expect some form of incident or conflict."

As for EULEX, Drecun mentioned that they have handed over the Dumash airport near Podujevo to the Kosovo Security Forces, along with the necessary equipment to operate it. "The question is how EULEX, which is supposed to be status-neutral, can assist the Kosovo Security Forces and provide them with an airport. This certainly isn't part of EULEX's mandate, but they are supposed to be a secondary security ring in Kosovo and Metohija. A lot is happening in the security sphere, though it often goes unnoticed because political issues tend to take precedence," Drecun concluded.