Gogic: It's a matter of time before attacks on Serbian hospitals and schools occur

Political analyst Ognjen Gogic tells Kosovo Online that he expects the Kosovo authorities to continue the action of closing Provisional Institutions in Serbian communities in the near future, starting from central Kosovo and extending to the north and that it is only a matter of time before hospitals and schools are targeted.

"This has already begun in Pristina and Osojane, and Pristina will always argue that these healthcare and educational institutions are illegal, operating outside the Kosovo system. They might not go as far as shutting them down permanently, but just having the police show up, disrupting operations, and instilling fear among the population is enough to deter people from going to these facilities and seeking solutions in central Serbia. In this way, they achieve the same goal - halting the operations of these vital institutions for the survival of Serbs in Kosovo," Gogic explains.

Moreover, he says, this sends a message heard before: Serbia can no longer have its own institutions.

"This creates conditions for Serbs to leave Kosovo because you hinder their lives, you cut the branch they're sitting on. When they can't seek medical treatment, educate their children, or earn a living, what reason do they have to stay in Kosovo?" Gogic points out.

Regarding last week's raids on Provisional Authorities, he says they occurred in the most vulnerable communities, where it was easiest to enter these institutions and seize inventory. He says that it wasn't a sophisticated police operation, but it was meant to show force and intimidate people.

"It's testing the waters and boundaries. If this goes unchallenged, they'll surely escalate. It's important to note that in places where this has already happened, in Gora and Metohija villages, Serbs and Gorani live outside Serbian municipalities. There are no municipalities with Serbian majorities; there are no Serbian councilors in local assemblies. Serbs there have no institutional protection, and those institutions held certain significance. It wasn't a random target. It's a different story in central Kosovo, where you have the Municipality of Gracanica under the Kosovo system, yet there's some form of institutional protection. That's not the case in Metohija, and that's where the consequences are felt most severely," Gogic concludes.