26 May – Police in northern Kosovo used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse crowds in three Serb-majority towns and enter municipal buildings in support of recently elected ethnic Albanian mayors — security actions that drew quick rebukes from Pristina’s Western allies, who urged dialogue and not “violent measures”, reported RFE/RL on Friday.
Unrest on May 26 shook Zvecan, Leposavic, and Zubin Potok — similarly sized communities where the recently elected ethnic Albanian mayors sought to enter municipal buildings and take office in Serb-majority towns.
Law enforcement authorities in Zvecan said five police officers had been injured and that at least four vehicles had been damaged. There were no immediate reports of possible injuries among protesters, who had surrounded the buildings in a bid to prevent the mayors from taking office.
Tensions rose further in the evening after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic placed his country’s military on high alert and ordered troops to deploy closer to the border with Kosovo.
The ethnic Albanian mayors were sworn in on May 25 to lead majority Serb municipalities, replacing Serb mayors who had resigned last November to protest a cross-border dispute over vehicle registrations.
A subsequent election to replace the mayors was boycotted by the dominant ethnic Serb party, Srpska Lista (Serbian List), which enjoys the support of neighboring Serbia’s government — paving the way for ethnic Albanian candidates to win with tiny vote totals.
A fourth mayor was sworn in last week — in North Mitrovica — in a process that Vucic condemned as an “occupation” of areas of the former Serbian province. Vucic has vowed never to recognize Kosovar independence.
The Serb minority accounts for 5 percent of Kosovo’s 1.8 million population, which is 90 percent Albanian. But they hold majorities in regions near the Serbian border.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on May 26 said that Kosovo’s government took the action to force access to municipal buildings against U.S. advice.
“We strongly condemn the actions by the Government of Kosovo that are escalating tensions in the north and increasing instability. We call on Prime Minister [Albin Kurti] to immediately halt these violent measures and refocus on the EU-facilitated Dialogue,” he wrote on Twitter.
A statement by Kosovo’s Interior Ministry defended the police action and said that all three mayors “have settled in their offices in the municipal facilities.”
“They will continue their mandate by being at the service of all citizens without distinction,” it said.
Vehicles and helicopters from the NATO-led KFOR mission for Kosovo were seen in Zvecan and Leposavic. /argumentum.al
