“Petkovic’s statements – warmongering, the EU and the US should react”
tidings
Rhewal
30/07/2022 20:00
The professor of international relations, Dritëro Arifi, considers the threats of the director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, Petar Petkovic, dangerous and warmongering, who said that the representatives of the Serbs in the north of Kosovo will begin the formation of the Association of Municipalities with Serbian majority, if the Government of Kosovo does not give up reciprocity for Serbian identity cards and vehicle plates.
The Government of Kosovo has already announced that from August 1, the implementation of the decision on the reciprocity of identity cards with Serbia and the re-registration of vehicles will begin, replacing the acronyms of the cities of Kosovo on license plates issued in Serbia with RKS.
This decision has aroused reactions from official Belgrade.
And, the director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, Petar Petkovic, has gone so far, saying that the reaction to reciprocity will come from the Serbs in the north of Kosovo, who will begin the formation of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority.
“Serbs have nothing to expect. If they can behave as they want, then it is normal for the Serbs to start creating the Association. Ten years have passed and they must ensure their rights”, said Petkovic.
The Serbian Foreign Minister, Nikola Selakovic, has gone even further in the warmongering propaganda, saying that with these decisions the Government of Kosovo is preparing hell in Kosovo.
Kosovar analysts are considering the statements of Belgrade officials as dangerous and warmongering.
The professor of international relations, Dritëro Arifi, told the Telegraph that Serbia wants to tense the situation and present the Government of Kosovo with problems.
“Petlović’s statement is dangerous and warmongering. “Serbia’s desire is to create internal tension in order to somehow present the Government of Kosovo as problematic and perhaps desiring conflict,” said Arifi.
According to him, the formation of the Association cannot be done unilaterally, because this would mean the division of Kosovo.
“Therefore, the Serbian side must calm down and the EU and the US must react, because this is an extremely dangerous statement at the time of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine,” he said.
Arifi further said that such statements by the official Belgrade can produce chaos in the north of Kosovo. “This is the main goal of Serbia, to present the Government of Kosovo without knowing why it does not want to end the dialogue. Therefore, the institutions of Kosovo should be attentive here and warn QUINT as soon as possible about such a statement by an official of the Government of Serbia”, he said.
Analyst Arbnor Sadiku thinks that the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority cannot be established and implemented in practice, without the permission of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo and without the will of the municipalities with a Serbian majority.
“Now, Kosovo itself must draw up a Draft Statute of the Association of Municipalities with a Serbian majority, respecting the recommendations of the Constitutional Court, and present it to the EU and the Serbian side. This would prove that Kosovo does not block the dialogue, but it is Serbia that maintains the status quo and blocks progress in the dialogue,” Sadiku told Telegraf.
According to him, the reciprocity that Kosovo will implement for Serbia’s identity cards and vehicle plates is legal and legitimate.
Meanwhile, Professor Arifi said that the determination of the Government of Kosovo to implement reciprocity for identity cards and license plates is in accordance with the Constitution and the laws of the country.
“Therefore, neither less nor more can be done by a normal state that wants to establish law and order within the country,” he said.
According to him, reciprocity is being applied, since the Serbian state does not want to understand and accept the reality that Kosovo is an independent state. “So, we have come to these measures to make the Serbian state and the Serbian citizens of Kosovo aware that Kosovo is their state. Therefore, citizens must respect the rules of the state where they live, as do the Albanians of the Presheva Valley in Serbia”.
Arifi further said that further developments on these issues will be a bit tense in the coming days, especially at the end of September, when all license plates issued in the former Yugoslavia, which have the acronyms of the cities of Kosovo “KM”, PR”…
“Serbia is trying in every way to tense the situation in the north, in order to create excuses for not continuing the dialogue. The Serbs have realized that the pressure is increasing and mutual recognition is being demanded, and they are not ready to do such a thing. Therefore, their desire is also to create tension. But knowing that such tension produces high risks, the more before we have a war not far from Europe. Therefore, any deviation from peace will endanger not only Serbia and Kosovo, but may endanger the entire Western Balkans and possibly beyond,” said Arifi.
Even Sadiku expects that there will be international pressure to intensify the dialogue.
“But there is really no willingness from either Kurti or Vučić to make compromises about reaching a quick agreement between Kosovo and Serbia”, he said.
According to him, if there will be international pressure for the creation of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority, Kurti can lead the country to new elections in the fall.
Based on the decision of the Government of Kosovo, on August 1, the re-registration of cars with license plates bearing the acronyms of the cities of Kosovo and issued by Serbia will begin. These official license plates from Pristina are considered illegal.
The re-registration process is expected to last until September 30.
Likewise, on August 1, all citizens who will enter Kosovo from the territory of Serbia will be equipped with an entry-exit document. According to the authorities in Kosovo, Serbia has been applying the same practice to citizens of Kosovo for 11 years.
The Kosovar executive has previously announced that the entry-exit document will be issued at all land and air crossing points and will be valid for 90 days, just like the document that the Serbian authorities issue for Kosovo citizens when they enter Serbia.
This document will also be provided to persons under 16 years of age who do not have an identification document, but who must have a birth certificate. /Telegraph/
