Tensions over vehicle licence plates and anti-smuggling operations, between authorities successful Kosovo and Serbia, in recent weeks, may lend to unravelling “steady but fragile advancement made successful rebuilding spot among communities” successful Kosovo and Serbia.
The informing came from Special Representative and caput of the UN Interim Administration Mission successful Kosovo (UNMIK), Zahir Tanin, successful a briefing to the Security Council on Friday.
“[These events] are of heavy interest to maine and should beryllium a informing to each members of this Council”, Mr. Tanin said, referring to two episodes involving the Kosovo Police.
Escalating events
‘Steady but fragile progress’ indispensable beryllium protected done sustained dialog and trust-building, SRSG Tanin tells Security Council
Read the afloat connection of the Head of UNMIK to #UNSC and its Albanian and Serbian translations here:https://t.co/IUdwh2CExe
On the greeting of 20 September, Pristina launched a constabulary cognition successful bluish Kosovo to enforce a caller licence sheet validity regime, causing a stand-off with protesters blockading postulation on the Administrative Boundary Line.
Special units of the Kosovo Police, equipped with agelong weapons, were deployed successful armoured vehicles. In 1 instance, they utilised teardrop state and percussion grenades to disperse protesters.
Tensions were reportedly resolved over the borderline dispute, pursuing planetary mediation and the deployment of troops from the NATO-led peacekeeping cognition successful Kosovo, KFOR.
Anti-smuggling operation
This past Wednesday, Kosovo Police Special Police Units were erstwhile again deployed in the north, arsenic portion of what has been described arsenic an anti-smuggling operation, conducted successful respective locations successful Kosovo.
Over the people of the day, the cognition provoked protests and clashes that resulted successful a important fig of injuries, among protestors, police and uninvolved civilians.
According to quality reports, the clashes progressive taste Serbs, which provoked a effect from Serbia, calling connected the planetary assemblage to reconstruct bid and support Serbs surviving wrong Kosovo.
Mr. Tanin described these events as a reminder “that deficiency of governmental knowing and connection is simply a vector for the escalation of tensions, particularly successful fragile information environments characterised by mistrust.”
For him, this tin beryllium described as “a bruising episode, but it could acold excessively easy person been turned into a existent haemorrhage.”
“History successful the portion has tragically and repeatedly shown that ostensibly tiny incidents, misreading of intentions, and outright mistakes, can trigger an unstable information escalation that puts lives astatine hazard and benefits no-one.”
Dialogue
The Special Representative informed that helium has spoken astir it both with Prime Minister Kurti, from Kosovo, and President Vučić, from Serbia, as good arsenic other diplomatic actors involved, particularly those representing the United States, the Russian Federation and China.
He also welcomed the caller brushwood between the 2 leaders, on 6 October, during the EU-Western Balkans Summit, successful the beingness of French President Macron and German Chancellor Merkel.
“Still, it would beryllium premature and overly optimistic to accidental that we tin spot a resumption of existent committedness to the dialogue, which remains the lone forum successful which liable and result-oriented discussions tin continue”, helium concluded.
English (US) ·