Stosic: There is only one goal behind the opening of the Bridge on the Ibar – raising tensions

The program manager of the Center for Advocacy of Democratic Culture (ACDC), Slobodan Stosic, told Kosovo Online that the intention of the Kosovo authorities to open the main bridge on the Ibar has only one goal, which is to raise tensions to a higher level and create new problems to be discussed while the old ones are forgotten.

He also assesses that freedom of movement, which is one of the excuses used by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti when talking about this issue, cannot be justified in this case when there are two other bridges open for both pedestrians and vehicles.

"The main bridge on the Ibar is not the only one; there are two more, to the south and north of it, that are open for both pedestrians and vehicles. Opening the central bridge is a politicized topic and will be used as one of the new problems to be addressed in the coming period. As has been the case in the past two years, whenever the situation calms down a bit, new sources of problems are sought to occupy the attention of both the domestic public and the international community. The main argument for opening the bridge is to enable the freedom of movement of people and goods, but we have evidence that, regarding Serbian goods, there is no freedom of movement. Goods from Serbia are not allowed to enter the territory of Kosovo, and under some strange excuses, there isn't even a written order for that, while freedom of movement is used as an excuse for opening the bridge," Stosic says.

He recalls that there is also a decision by the North Mitrovica Assembly regarding the opening of the bridge, which he says does not benefit the majority Serbian community in that city.

"The bridge should be opened according to the agreement, but as representatives of the international community have stated, it is not up to Pristina to decide; it should be agreed upon through dialogue. In my opinion, the opening of the bridge should wait for better political times. This bridge has been a place of conflict between Albanians and Serbs for many years, which the international community is aware of because all these conflicts, I assume, are recorded in their reports," our interlocutor points out.

However, he says he wouldn't be surprised if the Kosovo authorities attempt to open the bridge with the support of special forces. He also notes that the main role in this matter will be played by the Italian KFOR, specifically the Carabinieri, whose duty is to guard the bridge.