In early November 2022, ethnic Serb officers of the Kosovo Police took off their uniforms in front of cameras, while their chief of operations declared: „We decided to stand by our people. Enough is enough!“ Nine months later, new Serb police officers entered the same service, however, less than 10% of the number of those who decided „to stand by their people“.
The police station in the north gained 74 new police officers today, all of them from non-Albanian communities. More than half (45) are ethnic Serbs, 16 are Bosniaks, 3 are Turks and 8 are members of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.
The news was confirmed for KoSSev by the deputy commander for the region North, Veton Elshani.
He added that the new Serb police officers in the Kosovo Police come from different parts of Kosovo, noting that the majority of them are from the north – Mitrovica, Leposavic and Zubin Potok.
Elshani confirmed that the new police officers started working in the station and in the field from today, adding that their training is ongoing.
„Now, through practice, they are additionally trained to work in patrols and other necessary tasks. They will be trained for the next two or three months,“ said Elshani.
The officers are part of a group of 418 Kosovo Police cadets who recently finished their training. At a ceremony marking the end of the six-month police training course, which was held the week before last in Pristina, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti emphasized that this service is „the most reliable institution in Kosovo, a continuation of the Kosovo Liberation Army.“
The Kosovo Police is currently recruiting new members in all regions, including in the north, as announced at the beginning of the month. The recruitment ends the day after tomorrow.
This is also the third job vacancy in the KP since Serbs left Kosovo’s institutions, including the police, at the beginning of November last year.
In the middle of July, the Prime Minister of Kosovo shared the information that 547 Serbian policemen left their jobs, and that there are 800 policemen in the north right now – not all of whom come from the Albanian community.
Before new policemen from non-Albanian communities joined the northern station, the commander of the North Mitrovica police station, Ramiz Isufi, said earlier this month that there were three policemen from the Serbian community in that station.
Since Serbs left the police force, their jobs have been taken by Albanian policemen from other regions throughout Kosovo. The work of the regular police, however, has been overshadowed for months by the presence and deployment of special police units in the North, with at least four bases and several checkpoints.
The Constitution of Kosovo provides for fair (territorial) ethnic representation in the police service
The Constitution of Kosovo, Articles 61 and 128.4 which addresses representation in employment in public institutions, i.e. Kosovo Police foresee, especially when it comes to the police service of Kosovo, the equitable representation in employment in areas inhabited by a particular community.
„Communities and their members shall be entitled to equitable representation in employment in public bodies and publicly owned en)terprises at all levels, including in particular in the police service in areas inhabited by the respective Community, while respecting the rules concerning competence and integrity that govern public administration” (61)
“ (…) Ethnic composition of the police within a municipality shall reflect the ethnic composition of the population within the respective municipality to the highest extent possible“. (128.4.)
Furthermore, the Brussels Agreement states that the regional police commander should come from the Serb community:
“Acting on behalf of the Association/Community, the four mayors of the northern municipalities will provide the Ministry of Interior a list of candidates for nomination as regional Police Commander as specified in Article 9 of the First Agreement.”
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
