The expert on the Balkans at the International Crisis Group, Marko Prelec, believes that the opening of the main bridge over the Iber in Mitrovica without the support of the West, could trigger new tensions in the north of Kosovo. In a Voice of America conversation, Mr. Prelec says that this issue is worth addressing in dialogue, at least as a friendly gesture to the European Union for the support it has given to Kosovo.
The expert on the Balkans at the International Crisis Group, Marko Prelec, said that the opening of the main bridge over the Iber, as a symbolic act, without the support of the West could trigger new tensions in the north of Kosovo.
In an interview with the Voice of America, Mr. Prelec said that avoiding new tensions in Kosovo may have been one of the topics discussed by the Director of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, during the meetings with the leaders of Kosovo. . He believes that the visit of Mr. Burns, who stayed in Kosovo after visits to Bosnia and Serbia, was intended to “advance certain American interests around the stability of the region.”
The visit coincided with a time when the US government is opposing the decisions for the north of Kosovo by the government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, including the plans to open the bridge that separates the two municipalities of the city – the mostly Albanian south and the mostly Serbian north.
Mr. Prelec said that the opening of the bridge, more than anything else, is a symbolic act.
“There are three bridges in the city, two of which are open for car traffic, while the main bridge is and has been, for as long as I can remember, open for pedestrians and is widely used. I myself have been through it many times. You can see people going from north to south for shopping, from south to north for meetings, so it's not like the fall of the Berlin wall, it's a symbolic act because it's in the center and because right after the NATO intervention in in 1999, this bridge was the epicenter where the Serbian paramilitary presence in the north tried to stop armed Albanians from crossing the bridge, so the so-called bridge guards were there,” he said.
The United States, NATO and the European Union seek to resolve this issue within the dialogue in Brussels.
Mr. Prelec says that this issue is worth addressing in dialogue, at least as a friendly gesture to the European Union for the support it has given to Kosovo.
“I think that the dialogue has been in a kind of coma for a while, and this has to do with its essential goal, to push the parties towards normalization in a comprehensive way. Clearly this is not happening and there does not seem to be much prospect of reviving that political dialogue towards normalization in the near future, at least not this year. But what the dialogue can do is to deal with lower-level issues like the question of what to do with the main bridge in Mitrovica”, says Mr. Prelec.
He believes that opening the bridge without international coordination could fuel new tensions.
“But I don't necessarily expect any kind of violence, we may see demonstrations. My impression, noting that it's been a few months since I visited Kosovo and things may have changed, but from the last time I was in the north my impression is that the population there is quite scared and that they don't feel like they are in a position to carry out acts that show force as has been proven in the past with the placement of barricades or certain individuals who carried out actions that some would describe as paramilitary, and others as terrorism against the state. There doesn't seem to be any readiness for now in the north of Kosovo to do something like that,” he said.
The United States has emphasized that the lack of coordination of the Kosovo government regarding actions in the north has already damaged the partnership between the two governments. The European Union has warned of the possibility of increasing punitive measures for Kosovo. Mr. Prelec said that the assertion of critics that the government is “putting alliances at risk” is perhaps too strong a position, but according to him, it is very clear to a wide group of observers that the government of Kosovo has already damaged relations with allies its most important to a significant degree.
“The United States is perhaps more vocal than others, but also the European Union and various member countries such as France, Germany, Italy have been quite clear about the damage that has been caused to relations and the fact that they are less willing to intervene in name of Kosovo. So this has already happened. I don't see many opportunities for further escalation because in the north of Kosovo I think the government has achieved its goals. It has fulfilled these goals in terms of taking important steps to remove Serbian institutions and establish its authority and territorial integrity. He paid a price for this and now this is done”, said Mr. Prelec.
In an interview with Voice of America earlier this week, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, speaking about the clashes with the West and criticism of the opposition for lack of coordination with allies on many issues, said that the differences in attitudes have never been in the goals , value and principles, but only in strategy, tactics and operations.
