The long-awaited session of the Kosovo Assembly during which the Assembly adopted three laws – The Law on Kosovo Security Force, the Law on the Ministry of Defense of Kosovo and the Law on Service in the Kosovo Security Force was held today. The new laws will ensure the KSF transformation into Kosovo’s armed forces, but without changing its name. In the aftermath of this decision, particularly notable is the rift between the positions of NATO and the EU on one and the U.S. While NATO and EU are criticizing this “ill-timed” decision, the U.S. ambassador sends a message of support. Serbian officials and Srpska Lista also condemned the adoption of these laws.
The morning of the “historic” plenary session of Kosovo Assembly which only had three points on its agenda saw heavy snow and a plenitude of flags all over Kosovo. Serb-majority areas were decorated with Serbian flags, while Albanian majority areas were decorated with Quint countries and Albanian flags. All in preparation for the 10 o’clock plenary session.
As expected, the three draft laws were adopted swiftly. All 107 deputies who attended the session today voted in favor of all three laws.The representatives of the Kosovo Serb community boycotted today’s vote.
The reaction from North Mitrovica have thus far been calm. Following the vote greatly opposed by the Serbian government and Serb community, the Crisis Staff of Srpska List organized a media conference.
At the conference, the chief of Srpska Lista, Goran Rakic urged all Kosovo Serbs to exercise restraint and not to “fall for provocations”.
„However, if there are any threats, I want to tell the Serbian people that we, the political representatives, will be in front of our people, in front of our own empty-handed people, and we will defend our right to life,“ Rakic said.
Srpska Lista Vice-President, Igor Simic also addressed the public and announced that he will file a complaint to the Constitutional Court for violating the provisions of the Kosovo Constitution. Simic, however, expressed doubt that „this court will stand in defense of the law“.
NATO, EU, USA ambassador and high-ranking Serbian officials reacted
NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, was one of the first to react to the decision of Kosovo Assembly, in a written statement he expressed regret that this decision was made “despite the concerns expressed by NATO”.
“While the transition of the Kosovo Security Force is in principle a matter for Kosovo to decide, we have made clear that this move is ill-timed,” Stoltenberg’s statement reads.
“With the change of mandate, the North Atlantic Council will now have to re-examine the level of NATO’s engagement with the Kosovo Security Force,” he said, adding that NATO remains “committed through KFOR to a safe and secure environment in Kosovo and to stability in the wider Western Balkans”.
The European Union also reacted with a brief statement, stating that it shares NATO’s attitude.
Unlike NATO, the new U.S. ambassador in Pristina, Philip Kosnett sent a message of support to the “gradual transformation of the KSF into a force with a territorial defense mandate, as is Kosovo’s sovereign right”.
“These laws bring no immediate change to the structure, mission, or operations of the force, rather, they represent the beginning of the practical, ongoing work of building a transparent, multi-ethnic, NATO-interoperable force that serves all of Kosovo’s communities, in accordance with the Government of Kosovo’s 10-year transition plan,” the U.S. embassy said in a statement.
The U.S. embassy also called all stakeholders within and outside Kosovo to encourage citizens of Kosovo’s minority communities to participate in its security forces –“for the benefit of their own communities and of the country”.
Ana Brnabic: A difficult day for me
„I can say that today is a difficult day for me. This is not a day that contributes to co-operation and stability in the region,“ the Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said.
Brnabic shared her belief that “without a stable region there is no stable Serbia”. She also announced great news for Serbia in the future.
The head of the Kosovo Office, Marko Djuric was far more critical. He called on „citizens of Serbia, Albanians and all others“ not to enter the ranks of „illegal and occupying armies“ and stressed that all who join the Kosovo Army will be arrested.
Djuric said that the transformation of the Kosovo Security Forces into the armed forces aims to round up the process of creating an Albanian independent state, the so-called Republic of Kosovo.
He stated that since such a move by Pristina is contrary to the Constitution and laws of Serbia, Resolution 1244, the provisional constitutional framework of Kosovo, and the Kumanovo Agreement, the Kosovo Army represents an „illegal occupying armed formation on the territory of the Republic of Serbia“.
„We demand that KFOR does not allow the so-called illegal Kosovo Army to operate in the territory of Kosovo and to dismantle it and restore the situation within the limits set by Resolution 1244,” Djuric stressed.
North Mitrovica student performance: The death of international law
Following a conference of the Crisis Staff, the students of the Pristina University organized a protest performance in North Mitrovica today. The performance started at 12:44 – symbolizing the UN Security Council Resolution, when the gathered students symbolically buried the United Nations Charter, UN Security Council Resolution 1244, as well as the Military-Technical Agreement from Kumanovo near UNMIK and OSCE buildings.
Instead of the bereaved family, the death notice read: „The Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija and other numerous admirers of international law are in mourning.“
„We have shown today that the international community and all the factors of peace and stability in the world and in Europe have betrayed us, that is, betrayed our confidence that they were trying to build with us from 1999,“ SKONUS President Milan Savic said.
He also sent a message to the world and the international community – „You cannot trick us anymore, we see that we can no longer expect your help.“
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
