Graovac: Just mentioning the KSF in the north is a path to escalation

Srdjan Graovac from the Center for Social Stability states that even the mere mention of the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) in the northern part of Kosovo, let alone the planning to install these forces there, is a definite path toward escalating the situation. Veljko Odalovic, the President of the Government Commission for Missing Persons, sees Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti as an individual prone to incidents and solely responsible for the current crisis, Kurir reports.

Graovac believes that the potential installation of KSF in the north directly jeopardizes the safety of the Serbian population.

"It's evident that the Albanians are working on establishing an army, which they shouldn't be allowed to do. Similarly, it's clear that they have a plan to eliminate any authority of foreign factors in Kosovo and Metohija," Graovac stated.

The new Kosovo Defense Minister, Ejup Maqedonci, publicly admitted that political efforts were being made to lift the ban on the presence of Kosovo Security Forces in the north without prior agreement from the KFOR commander. Graovac suggests that this statement shows that Pristina is directly targeting the removal of KFOR's authority, which is the sole armed force responsible for security in the northern part of Kosovo and Metohija.

"KFOR is not reacting to this, and it's valid to question whether their silence implies approval of such intentions. Kurti, for who knows how many times, demonstrates that he's not interested in de-escalation and constantly seeks excuses to maintain tensions," Graovac warns.

Odalovic says for Kurir that Kurti has done everything that led to incidents, provocations, injuries, arrests, and the brutal imposition of a single narrative.

"Kurti is a person of incidents, and he continues to act in that manner. It has turned into institutional terror, with members of special units armed with long guns introduced into municipal buildings. He has occupied the northern part of Kosovo and Metohija and established a reign of terror within those institutions," Odalovic says.

The other form of terror Kurti employs, as Odalovic says, is within the judiciary, where people are being arrested and held in detention with very little information about their fate.

"The prisons are full of Serbs that Kurti arrested a few months ago. Kurti installs these mayors despite everything, brings in the police, and closes the circle. This went on for a while without significant effects. Then he proceeded further, placing the same mayors in a position of exerting terror. He started with various bans, culminating in the ban on importing Serbian goods, aiming to make Serbs feel insecure regarding any aspect, including medical matters," Odalovic stated.