Kosovo Albanian plan to expel Serbia 's institutions from northern Kosovo
The Kosovo Albanian institutions in Pristina are intending to use the lowering of Belgrade 's assistance to the Kosovo Serbs - due to the economic crisis - to eliminate Serbia 's institutions in the secessionist province, according to a strategy document made by the Albanian authorities.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Friday, January 22, 2010
According to this document, Pristina aims to open a local bureau of the "Government of Kosovo" in Bosnjacka Mahala, the multiethnic neighborhood of mainly Serb-populated northern Kosovska Mitrovica, and to hold elections in northern Kosovska Mitrovica.
This would later be used as a model to take over other Serb municipalities in northern Kosovo, such as Zvecan, Leposavic and Zubin Potok.
The first step in the plan is the forming of the new municipality of " Northern Mitrovica ", according to the strategy.
The main obstacle is Belgrade , "which supports parallel institutions and exercises pressure on Kosovo Serbs not to participate in the Kosovo system".
According to the strategy, the Kosovo Albanians should prepare enough material resources to support "moderate political factors in northern Kosovo and cooperation of the Kosovo Serbs".
The Eulex mission should be reinforced, and UNMIK should be completely marginalized, before being closed down.
According to the strategy, Eulex should begin hiring more Kosovo Serbs in order to improve contacts with the Serb community.
The Pristina institutions should then slowly take over the judicial system in northern Kosovo.
The strategy aims to create a Board for Northern Kosovo , which would be made up of representatives of the "International Civilian Office", Eulex, Kfor, USAID, Unmik and some embassies, with the aim of "heightening the attention and the focus on northern Kosovo"
The board should be led by the Italian ambassador to Kosovo, Michael Giffoni, a former close associate of EU High Representative Javier Solana.
