Garic: Kurti maintains a situation in the north where incidents can be expected every day

The intention of the current leadership of the municipality of North Mitrovica, led by Erden Atiq of Self-Determination, and his party leader Albin Kurti, to relocate employed Serbs from the administrative building in Bosniak Mahala sends a clear message to the Serbian community that they shouldn't expect anything new from the Kosovo Government, especially not in the direction of normalization and de-escalation of the situation in the north, Milos Garic, the chief editor of Kosovo Online, said in an interview with RTS.

Garic believes that it's a stripped-down anti-Serbian policy that doesn't stop, "even though Kurti, as in many previous cases, does it under the guise of alleged law enforcement."

"He incites new incidents and tells EU and US representatives that he has done everything to achieve normalization and fulfilled all that was required of him. In reality, nothing has changed, and everyone sees that," Garic says.

According to him, Kurti wants to maintain a situation in which conflicts and tensions can be expected every day, and as usual, he blames Serbs for them.

"Kurti wants to continue this policy despite all these statements and condemnations from the EU, US, and Germany. Ambassador Rohde really noted that Pristina hasn't done enough toward de-escalation, but Kurti doesn't care much about it. He continues his policy precisely because it has worked for him so far. Let's remember the land of the Decani Monastery and the obligations related to the Community of Serbian Municipalities. Kurti's clear intention is to hinder normal life for Serbs, primarily by preventing them from managing their destiny," Garic emphasized.

He indicated that Kurti intended to keep the special police and all the weaponry he had installed in the north and that stories about moving some police officers out of the municipal buildings were nonsensical when it was known that they were still nearby, just 100 meters away from the municipal buildings.

"He hasn't withdrawn them from the north. Kurti wants to continue with this policy and aims to target what Serbs still have left – healthcare and education," Garic said, adding that new tensions could be expected in the coming period.

Garic believes that Kurti won't give up on his plans.

"As long as Kurti is in power, there's no room for optimism. On June 3, the EU set conditions for Kurti to achieve de-escalation, remove the police, and have mayors not work from municipal buildings. However, he hasn't done any of that; on the contrary, he keeps those people under police control in municipal buildings. The police presence is the same, they've just shifted slightly, but they're still there. So, nothing has changed. Nevertheless, he claims he's done everything and he is even angry at the EU for maintaining punitive measures," Garic emphasized.

According to him, Kurti's behavior keeps raising the stakes, so that when he's in a situation where he has to listen to the West, he can negotiate and try to retain most of what he has achieved on the ground.

"Everyone can see this now – Belgrade, as well as the EU and the US. But Kurti knows that the major Western powers share a similar intention as his – to affirm the statehood and independence of Kosovo, which gives him momentum and makes him seem unstoppable. If we agree that Brussels is powerless, it's clear that Washington can stop Kurti's plans, but probably only by removing him from the position he holds. As long as Kurti is Prime Minister, it's hard to expect anything better than this," Garic pointed out.

Regarding KFOR's role in calming potential new tensions, Garic says that KFOR acts on command only when they assess that security is at risk or traffic is disrupted and when they assess that the situation has reached a critical point.

"These assessments haven't always been the best and most timely. Lately, the cooperation between KFOR and Serbian state authorities has been very good. This is crucial for the security of the Serbian people in Kosovo and will be important from October when the Turkish command takes over. We'll see then how their role will be carried out," Garic concluded.