Mijacic: Limited scope of the Joint Committee for North and South Mitrovica due to upcoming elections

Dragisa Mijacic, Coordinator of the Working Group of the National Convention on the EU for Chapter 35, assesses that the start of work of the Joint Committee for North and South Mitrovica at this moment primarily aims at political rapprochement between the two municipalities within the same political party and should be viewed from that perspective, as well as in the context of the upcoming local elections.

“The mayor of North Mitrovica, Mr. Atiq, currently does not represent the majority community in the northern part of Mitrovica; he does not represent the Serbs, so the scope of this initiative is very limited, especially considering that local elections are already scheduled for October,” Mijacic told Kosovo Online.

However, he adds that when it comes to the functionality of the two municipalities, efforts should certainly be made to bring them closer through joint projects that also serve the interest of uniting the two communities.

He points out that it is first necessary to define the boundary between North and South Mitrovica to create conditions for some joint infrastructure projects.

“This is something the committee could work on, in order to create conditions for the possible opening of the main bridge. But carrying out such major capital projects under the current circumstances of social and political division between the Serbs, who predominantly live in the north, and the Albanians, who predominantly live in the south, is really more counterproductive than useful or necessary at this time,” Mijacic notes.

He believes that the main bridge over the Ibar will not be opened before the local elections scheduled for October 12.

“There is a Brussels agreement on opening the bridge which includes the delineation of North and South Mitrovica, and until that delineation happens, the bridge will not be opened. KFOR, as the security guarantor on the bridge itself, is quite clear on this issue. Last year, they announced that there would be no opening of the bridge until all points from the Brussels dialogue are resolved, so I expect KFOR to maintain this stance throughout the summer,” Mijacic said.

He also emphasizes that the delineation of the two municipalities is very important in the context of holding local elections both in the north and the south.

“It is simply unknown who votes for which municipality, who votes for mayors and councilors in the north, and who votes in the south. This situation has not been normal for so many years since the agreement on the formation of the Municipality of North Mitrovica was reached,” he believes.

Certainly, he says, it would be good if cooperation between North and South Mitrovica existed after the October elections for the benefit of citizens on both sides of the Ibar.

“There are many infrastructure problems that need to be solved jointly, rather than being resolved as is currently the case, through a system of majorization. Solutions that satisfy the interests of all communities living there should be based on mutual respect and agreement,” Mijacic concluded.