The Kosovar authorities closed ten Serbian “parallel” municipalities on Wednesday, including one in the capital Pristina, an operation which risks worsening tensions with Belgrade, which immediately denounced a “dangerous escalation” in the run-up to the legislative elections. planned for February in Kosovo.
“The time of municipalities and parallel and criminal institutions of Serbia in the Republic of Kosovo is ending,” Kosovar Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said in a Facebook post, listing the ten localities in which Serbian municipalities, financed by Belgrade, were closed.
“As we promised, we will not allow any parallelism, and even less criminal activity by Serbia that would violate the Constitution and the rule of law in our country,” he said. Xhelal Svecla added that several Serbian post offices and tax administrations had also been closed during this police operation carried out in the morning in these localities of Kosovo where Serbs live.
“Aggressive actions” against Belgrade
Serbia – which has never recognized the independence that its former Albanian-majority province proclaimed in 2008 – immediately denounced a “dangerous escalation”.
“These aggressive actions are not only an attack on institutions, but a blatant attempt to undermine the collective rights and identity of Serbs in Kosovo,” Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric said in a message published on social media. social.
“It is obvious that [le Premier ministre kosovar Albin] Kurti is using these provocations as part of his electoral campaign, in defiance of human rights and agreements supposed to protect peace and coexistence,” said Marko Djuric. “This strategy only further deepens divisions and threatens the stability of the region,” added the head of Serbian diplomacy, inviting the international community “not to remain silent.”
Upcoming legislative elections in Kosovo
Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic for his part denounced “the torture” that Albin Kurti exercises on the Serbs. “We are carefully following the development of the situation and we will take all measures to protect the Serbian population from further attacks by Albin Kurti,” Milos Vucevic wrote on X.
This new operation by the Kosovar authorities follows numerous others aimed at dismantling what Pristina considers to be Serbian parallel institutions operating illegally in territories mainly inhabited by Serbs.
Serbian post offices and banks have been closed in recent months, and the use of the Serbian dinar was banned almost a year ago.
It comes a few weeks before the legislative elections – called for February 9 -, which will serve as a test for the policy pursued by the Kosovar Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, who has increased his standoffs with Belgrade.
