So What Now?

After the ICJ ruling on July 22nd that favored Kosovo's independence declaration (you can read all the judges' opinions here) it is unknown how this will turn out for Kosovo at the UN General Assembly meeting in September. Serbia, Russia, China, Spain, and Romania, to name a few, have all declared that they will not change their stances on Kosovo, meaning that they will not recognize the independence of Kosovo. Obviously Russia and China are the big players, since they hold vetoes in the Security Council and as long as they keep vetoing Kosovo's application for statehood, Kosovo's independence and creation of a new state will not be legal internationally. (And as of today, no new country has recognized Kosovo since the ICJ day.)

Which brings me to a good point, as so many have already commented, the ICJ neglected to say anything on Kosovo becoming its own state, rather that they were able to declare their own independence without breaching international law. Therefore, as much as the ICJ ruling was a win for Kosovo, it still did not say that Kosovo was a legal state. A Swiss law professor, Jörg Künzli, explains the outcome in this interview in layman's terms. So basically Kosovo's status is still up for debate, although Kosovo President Sejdiu has announced that Kosovo will apply for UN membership in 2011. Until then, new status talks between Kosovo and Serbia will take place in the Fall and Winter, along with the EU and US looking over their shoulders.

Former President Ibrahim Rugova (Kosovo's first post-war president as an autonomous region), who was critical in forming a government of Kosovo in the 1990s and creating a pathway towards independence. As happy as he would be that the ICJ ruled Kosovo's declaration of independence legal under international law, he will not rest entirely in peace until the status talks have concluded and Kosovo is truly a legal state.

PS: my time grows short in Kosovo. I still plan on writing on some aspects of Kosovo life for the time being, but some time in the Fall will I transition to other international issues. Thank you for those who have followed this blog, I appreciate it and encourage you to keep doing so.

ICJ Today - Post Decision

(EULEX, KP, and KFOR on the north side of the bridge)

The town of Mitrovica was relatively quiet; there was one protest with around 1,000 people further north of the city with no violence. This group did not make it to the main bridge where KP, EULEX, and KFOR stood tall. (And by not making it to the bridge or inciting violence means it was a quiet day! Again I missed this protest because I did not venture that far into Mitrovica North, only just a few blocks over the bridge.) There were groups of people (mostly Kosovar Serbs) standing around the bridge and along the main street, waiting to see if something was stirring up (as of 6pm, nothing did).

The south side, which is predominately Kosovar Albanian, was more lively, with cars driving around with flags (Albanian, Kosovo, United States, Germany, Sweden mainly) in the windows and honking their horns. There were also kids with vuvuzelas, which became quite infamous at the World Cup in South Africa. Fortunately there were no provocations from the south side and the cars did not get close to the bridge.

So what's next? Basically Serbia still will not recognize Kosovo's independence and will argue Kosovo will always be within its territorial integrity. Serbia will now dispatch diplomats to 55 different countries to present its point of view on this decision as well as the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting in September to try to draft a resolution on Kosovo's status (this will be much harder now that the ICJ ruled in favor of Kosovo). For Kosovo, I have heard that there is a possibility that 3-4 countries will recognize Kosovo tonight, and another 36 or so countries will recognize Kosovo over the coming months. Kosovo hopes to have over 100 recognitions by the General Assembly meeting, aiming for the 120 recognition threshold (1/3) which is needed to be a member of the UN. Kosovo will also need China and Russia not to veto Kosovo's acceptance into the UN, which most likely will not happen. This all remains to be seen, but all in all it was a good day for all of Kosovo.

ICJ Today - Decision Time

UPDATE: The EULEX police along the bridge are special units of EULEX. There are apparently KFOR snipers on top of at least one building, and there are two KFOR chopters (which you can slightly see in the pictures of the sky below) flying around Mitrovica North. The North is a 'no-fly zone' except for KFOR (and birds). The Kosovo Police just spread out in front of the bridge because it appears the protest may be occurring soon.

This is a picture of Kosovo Police on the southern side telling an innocent bystander to leave the area by the bridge.

_______

The ICJ ruled in favor of Kosovo, 10 votes to 4, with one abstention. This means that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence did not violate UNSC Resolution 1244 and that it was in accordance with international law. For Kosovo this is great news and Kosovar Albanians are generally happy with this result. Simply put, tonight will be a party night in Kosovo and Kosovo will await in earnest of new recognitions of its independence. Serbia will still not give up northern Kosovo easily and will try to use this verdict to its advantage some way (yes this is a very vague but obvious sentence). Serbia will not recognize Kosovo even though the ICJ has ruled in favor of its independence.

There is bulked up security on the bridge with blue EULEX vans lining up along the bridge. Everyone expects a protest very soon, but there is always the chance that this may not occur.

ICJ Today

Interestingly KFOR has left the bridge, and now it is only Kosovo Police present on the bridge. It is a bad picture, but in the 2 bottom corners are Kosovo Police cars on the North side of the bridge.

Although KFOR is off the bridge, they are setting up on buildings overlooking the bridge, as you can see below. This is basically the lookout post and these guys have the best view of the North side from this building. KFOR resources including vehicles and soldiers are waiting patiently behind this building, as you will be able to see from the pictures in my previous post. But it appears all is well and things will be quiet, which will be good for both sides of the bridge (as well as Kosovo government, KP, EULEX, and KFOR).

ICJ Today

KFOR sets up, and the main countries here in Mitrovica are France, Switzerland, Sweden, Portugal. The Carabinieri is also moving in to the North side, and there have be Italian and French soldiers in these blue cars.

ICJ Today

I will try to update the blog as much as possible today, and I'll do more of reporting and a bit of analysis if I can.

So far right now in Mitrovica things are quiet, but there are two KFOR and EULEX vehicles on the south side of the bridge., which you can see in the picture above. Both are preparing for protests in Mitrovica, which will most likely happen according to an article in Koha Ditore. No one is sure when the protests will happen, and if they truly will go on, but it will perhaps be in the afternoon closer to 3pm when the ICJ issues its statement. There is one report that the judges will vote 8-6 for Kosovo's independence, but in reality it'll go 50-50 for both Kosovo and Serbia.

Two translated articles are below:

1,000 protesters expected today to enter Kosovo from Serbia (Koha Ditore)

Koha Ditore reports that over one thousand protesters from Serbia area expected today to march in the streets of north Mitrovica, on the day when the International Court of Justice is expected to announce its opinion on the legality of the declaration of Kosovo independence. The news was announced by relevant international sources, well informed about the situation there, who also emphasized that those protesters will be arriving prepared by officials in Belgrade. “Belgrade will send around 1000 protesters from Serbia tomorrow in Mitrovica, a demonstration whose purpose is to pressure Brussels to act in the north”, said the source of the newspapers in anonymity.

KFOR ready for ICJ decision (Infopress)

KFOR Commander Markus Bentler said KFOR is ready to react to any situation that may arise in Kosovo following the ICJ decision. “We have no indications of a threat. However, we will be ready. We do not wish to scare anyone but we are ready to respond to any violence,” said Bentler.

International Court of Justice Opines Tomorrow

The ICJ will give its opinion on the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence, which occurred on February 17, 2008. There are many articles on what the ICJ's statement will mean and who will win. But the consensus is that the statement will be vague and that both Kosovo and Serbia will interpret it in their own favors. Most likely the ICJ will not rule in favor or against Kosovo's independence, and this article by Stratfor actually believes that Russia will be the big winner tomorrow.

Already Kosovo and Serbia have begun to predict what the ICJ opinion will say and what it will mean, and both governments are trading blows in the news. This isn't new nor is it worthwhile rhetoric, but both Kosovo and Serbia know that after tomorrow they both will meet in the coming months for talks about how to solve their differences. Serbia references these future talks to be about Kosovo's status, but Kosovo rejects any talks on its status; and both more or less deny the rumors of land swaps because the time to have done this is about 20-30 years too late. The land swap would potentiall be Kosovo's "North" region, which is predominately Serbian, with the Presevo Valley in Southern Serbia, which has a large Albanian contingent. And actually nothing will really happen for the next few days because the EU has decided not to make any statements until July 26th on the ICJ ruling. I've heard that until the EU speaks, then Serbia will not say much, but Kosovo will have no problem issuing statements, especially from Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, who happens to be in the United States this week (coincidence? I think not).

The ICJ ruling also has consequences for other territories in the Balkans, such as Republic of Srpska in Bosnia, territory in Croatia, Montenegro, and Macedonia. And on a larger scale, there are disputed and wanna-be break away regions in Spain and Greece (which is in the Balkans) to name 2 more prominent cases. We will see what happens tomorrow and the days to follow. I will try to report what I can, although this should be in the news. There are rumors that protests and the like may break out in the North, and I will be in Mitrovica so I will relay what happens. But these are only rumors, and most people expect nothing serious to happen throughout the rest of the country, except for celebrating an ambiguous statement.

Briefing on Energy in Kosovo

Simply put, the energy situation in Kosovo needs to be improved. Power outages are not uncommon, but when they occur in cities, they do not last for incredibly long periods of time - perhaps a few hours. In these instances, one can hear the ringing and grinding of generators, which is not pleasant when trying to eat at a cafe (or watch the World Cup). Also, this strains and disrupts business output and for smaller firms can be an irritating and substantial cost to buying a generator and running it. Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK) is the only public/private utility company in Kosovo, meaning that although they are a public company now (they became a publicly owned enterprise in 2005 and received 70 million Euros in 2009 from Kosovo's budget according to the World Bank), the government is selling some of KEK's assets to privatize. The World Bank, in the April 29th report on Kosovo titled "Unlocking Growth Potential," believes that privatization of the energy sector will only have positive benefits for Kosovo, but this is not a surprise that the World Bank is pushing privatization.

However it may not necessarily be bad, because funds would be better spent to update old equipment, as you can see from the picture of the small power towers that are used in Kosovo.

Currently, lignite is Kosovo's most abundant energy source, but there is no one efficient source of extracting lignite from the earth, albeit it is mined now and used for energy production at plants Kosovo A and Kosovo B. KEK mines the lignite for both these plants, which it owns, and distributes this electric power around Kosovo. But due to poor tax regulations and consumer unwillingness to pay for electricity in some areas in Kosovo - mainly the North - KEK only receives payment for 40% of the energy it produces. This, as you can see, is a major problem for a publicly owned company.

To the left is Kosovo A, which is 40 years old and pollutes approximately 70 times more than EU standards. Because energy production capacity in Kosovo is poor, the plan is to keep producing energy from lignite at Kosovo A until around 2015.

Below is Kosovo B, which looks like a nuclear power plant but is still a lignite energy plant. It is about 25 years old and according to the 2009-2018 Energy Strategy, this plant will be refurbished and privatized. Unfortunately I do not remember how many litres of water Kosovo B consumes a day to cool its main stack, but it is quite significant. The water comes from Lake Gazivoda in the North, which is the main source of water for Kosovo. Funding and management of both Kosovo A and B is poor, and as of now they are are a huge strain on Kosovo's economy and budget.

However, the plan is to construct a new power plant, named Kosovo C or Kosovo e Re Power Plant, which will be in-line with EU standards. There does not seem to be a target date set to complete the construction of Kosovo C, except 'as quickly as possible.' In Kosovo terms, this means Kosovo C will not be up and running anytime in the next 15 years. There is potential in the energy sector, but there needs to be serious investment - mainly from internationals - and the political will from the government to back investment up by producing reliable energy infrastructure. Perhaps the World Bank is right to assume that privatization is the way to go, but this remains to be seen.

Correction: Interesting developments in the North

In my previous post I stated the following on Kosovo's special policing units:

"[the] special unit in which I speak of has yet to be deployed (again) to patrol."

The unit has been deployed already, although reading translated news articles it seems that they have not been deployed (see one article below from Koha Ditore). In fact I have photo-evidence, not that this is secret, but just for authenticity of my blog (i.e. meaning I'm not making things up). One can identify a special police unit because they drive Toyota Landcruisers, as opposed to the various other makes and models they use. Please see pictures below (disclaimer: the pictures are not great because I did not want to be conspicuous.)

In the picture to the right, the Landcruiser is very small in the back. I apologize for the poor quality.

"AKR does not support Rexhepi on sending special units to the north"

Koha Ditore reports that the Alliance for New Kosovo does not support the position of the Minister of Internal Affairs Bajram Rexhepi of sending special units of Kosovo Police in to the north. AKR advisor for politics and national security Shefki Abdullahu said on Wednesday at a press conference that he ranks the Minister’s announcement as imprudent. “The announcement of Minister Rexhepi is hastened. The situation in the north is complicated, it has been such for 11 years now, when special units of a state are sent to a place to stabilize the situation, there is no return,” said Abdullahu. He added that if the sending of the units was supported by the international community in Kosovo, then the operation would have been successful, but if not, it could compromise Kosovo Police.

Interesting developments in the North

In the municipality of Mitrovica, there is an accepted chain of law enforcement:

1. The Kosovo Police are the supposed first responders and deal with all issues, having a leadership role in most of the issues.
2. EULEX defers to the Kosovo Police, but they do take on their own investigations, give the Kosovo Police necessary support, and use their own judges for trials in Mitrovica.
3. KFOR (NATO's mission) is really in Mitrovica more for security reasons, and are the last resort if a situation gets out of hand. They are hands off on investigations and most criminal issues; however because they have the best resources, they can really come in whenever they want to quell an event. KFOR also controls the airspace over Mitrovica and runs practice missions there.

Now regarding the July 2nd protest (as an aside, Serbia's President Boris Tadic called on the United Nations Security Council to have a meeting on the July 2nd protest) and the July 5th shooting of a Serbian government official, initially the Kosovo Police were investigating these incidents. But according to this article from Serbia's B92 news, EULEX is now taking the lead in the investigation, which means that the investigation will be stepped up (and hopefully unbiased). EULEX taking over Kosovo Police's investigations is not uncommon, and either EULEX can step in or the Police can request EULEX assistance.

For the time being, EULEX investigating these two early July incidents is a good thing, because there is now the confrontation between Kosovo and Serbia of Kosovo's decision to send a special policing unit into the north of Kosovo. According to Gallucci's blog, Kosovo already sent up a special unit (KPS/ROSU) in June; however this special unit in which I speak of has yet to be deployed (again) to patrol. The unit is made up of mainly Kosovar Albanians. Interestingly, Kosovo believes that it has the capacity and resource to sustain this unit in the North without the help of EULEX. EULEX has already stated in multiple articles that they will not collaborate with the Kosovo Police on this mission nor do they think that it is useful for Kosovo to do so. To further this, NATO Commander of Allied Joint Force Command Admiral Mark Fitzgerald visited Kosovo yesterday and said "The situation all over Kosovo was and continues to be absolutely calm, peaceful and very safe." He does not foresee increased security in the country, which is probably directed at the announcement of the special policing unit in the North.

To break it down: NATO as well as EULEX do not see an inflamed security situation in Mitrovica North, or the North of Kosovo, due to the two incidents that occurred in the beginning of July. Kosovo understands these views, but at the same time, government officials see the special policing unit as a way to sustain stability, create greater stability (if one can do so), and contribute to the overall security and peace in the region. Belgrade on the other hand, views the deployment of this policing force as an affront to the Serb population in the North and as an informal act of war, mainly because Kosovo will be imposing the police unit without speaking to any of the authorities in the region. As a reminder, Belgrade has a strong influence in the north of Kosovo which consists of a large Serbian population, especially in Mitrovica North, where there is also an illegally elected municipal administration that 'runs' that part of the city. Belgrade does not want to give this region up to Kosovo, nor does Kosovo want to partition it to Serbia. We will see what happens in the near future, but it is a bit of mess in the North right now.

Follow up to Albania - Bunker Galore

In Albania, there are currently over 700,000 bunkers littering the country. Most are grouped together in what were thought as 'strategic' places, such as at the bottoms of mountains, in fields, along the main roads, and on the beaches. These bunkers were built from 1950 until 1985 by the communist ruler Enver Hoxha, who was paranoid that either Serbia or Russia was going to invade the country and take over. Although Albania has recently found big oil deposits, there was really no reason for any country to invade Albania. There was not much economic prosperity during the communist years (hence it was communism), but it would also be hard to successfully invade Albania because of its rugged, and mountainous landscape. Granted the valleys and lowlands are easily tranversible, getting to these areas is a bit hard from the surrounding countries and from the sea.

This old BBC article explains an interesting story of the beginning of the bunkers:

When the prototype bunker was finished in the 1950s he asked the chief engineer how confident he was that it could withstand a full assault from a tank. The answer was, "Very confident". The Communist Party supremo then insisted that the engineer stand inside his creation while it was bombarded by a tank.

Sadly for the current generation, the shell-shocked engineer emerged unscathed and his look-out posts went into production on a massive scale. The Communist Party has now gone, as has the giant gilded statue of Hoxha from the main square of the capital, Tirana, but the bunkers remain and the prosperous future is nowhere in sight.

Most lay abandoned and filled with trash and human excrement. But not all are, and I was able to take a picture from the inside looking out into the Ionian Sea (Mediterranean Sea). I was told that a year or two ago some bunkers were found to have weapons and hazardous material wastes. Some are being used as art (i.e. painting on them) and others are incorporated into buildings and bars (see below). But really, the government nor regular Albanians know what to do with all the bunkers, and it is too expensive to remove them. Most likely they will just remain a reminder of communist times.

This is the top of bunker, which now a support mechanism for a beach bar, as well as being a decoration. The rest of the bunker is underneath the bar.
If you look closely, there are bunkers lined up in front of the treeline along the beach.

The back of the bunker. You walk in the little door in the middle, but this bunker has sunk a bit in the sand.

This last picture is a communist monument that is along the main mountain road to Dhermi. Not many are left nor are so well preserved.

Encounter with University of Mitrovica

This post is written by my colleague on the trip with whom I am working this summer, Jose Reymondez Ramos:

Mitrovica is known for being a divided city. Primarily, there are Albanians in the South and Serbs in the North. The divide isn’t centered around a wall or a fence. There is actually a river that divides the city, although the geographic line can be easily traversed via multiple bridges. The main bridge has a Kosovo Police SUV that has sat there for so long that the tires hardly have air left in them. In a car, you may get briefly stopped but on foot there is freedom of movement.

When you cross the bridge, no one really notices although there may be a concealed bridge watcher watching you with binoculars and taking notes. Once you get in to the North, you are largely ignored and can walk around unhindered and unmolested. You may be asking why this is an issue, and hopefully in a later post this security aspect of Mitrovica North will be explained.

Anyway, we decided to check out a compound at the North end of the city, almost at the city limits, that houses the EU House, EULEX, UNMIK, UAM, OSCE, and other NGOs and international organizations. Our loitering of the premises was interrupted by a man at the top of one of those metal staircases that are sometimes attached to the outside of buildings. He asked us what we needed and we explained that we were grad students writing about Kosovo. He then told us out to seek the first floor behind a Raiffesen bank down the street towards the center of Mitrovica North. In Europe the first floor is usually what we would consider the second floor, but either way, we were not sure to whom we were directed (nor did we really care, just someone who would speak with us about Mitrovica).

Anyway we found the bank and indeed behind it were buzzers labeled with floor numbers. We buzzed the first floor and a Serb woman stuck her head out the window indicating that the door was already open. We went up the stairs to find something called the EU information center where we were greeted by a goateed Serb who told us that someone would be with us in a minute. He led us in to an office with a couple of computers that we were invited to use.

Of course it was he himself who came to see us and he began to give us a presentation on student programs offered by the EU in the University of Pristina, currently known as the University of Mitrovica: Tempus and Erasmus Mundus. Before speaking about Tempus and Erasmus Mundus, the University of Pristina is considered temporarily located in Mitrovica, but called the University of Mitrovica by the North and by Serbia. (There is a University of Pristina in Pristina, Kosovo however). There are 10 faculties, which in the US would be considered schools, such as philosophy, economics, etc. Briefly, Tempus helps modernize curriculums to EU standards while Erasmus is a European student exchange program, and this particular branch is looking to increase the exchange of Serbian students with other universities in Europe. After about a 15 minute speech on what Tempus and Erasmus Mundus is doing in Mitrovica North for the University, we then were able to explain the EU info center representative that we were students but not prospective students of the services he was explaining.

Yet we did learn that the University of Mitrovica/Kosovo is funded by the budget of the Ministry of Education in Serbia while the EU programs get grants from the EU Commission and the ECLO. Europeanizing their higher education obviously has to do with eventual EU accession of Serbia (and perhaps Kosovo); but it makes me wonder if they know that, barring partition of North Mitrovica to Serbia, this University is within Kosovo territory and would eventually join the EU as a Kosovo university rather than a Serbian University. The budget of Serbia is funding a University that may join the EU in a different country. One also wonders what the EU's logic here is, working with a University in Kosovo that gets its budget from Belgrade.

In short, we were in Kosovo, but were being described a University that is funded and run by Serbia and that is working with the EU to meet European Education standards as a Serbian University.

Tony Blair and Bill Clinton

Tony Blair is coming to Kosovo today to receive and honorary doctorate (“Doctor Honoris Causa") from the University of Pristina. Twofront page articles from the gazette Epoka e Re are titled: “The friend, great Blair, arrives today in Kosovo” and “Welcome Prime Minister Blair!”As the poster reads, he is a "leader, friend, and hero;" mainly for his Blair Doctrine that he delivered in April of 1999 at the University of Chicago, where he equated the intervention of NATO in the Kosovo War to a just war. The doctrine is not solely on Kosovo, but Kosovo is the example he keeps referring to when speaking about things such as global interdependence, security, and politics. Pristina was decorated with these posters and billboards as well as hanging up British flags along the main pedestrian walkway, Mother Teresa Street.

Former President Bill Clinton also had a big role to play in the NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999. For this, Pristina erected a statue of him in November 2009 along Bill Clinton Avenue. Currently they are reconstructing the avenue to make it more accessible for traffic, and most likely to beautify the area as it is a bustling strip. Because of the NATO intervention, most Kosovar Albanians have a love for Bill Clinton (and America in general). Speaking with some locals, this may be the only place that one can find people who equally love Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

On a lighter note, Snoop Dogg is coming to Pristina this Saturday. He is part of Z-Mobile's advertising campaign, where they have hired him to promote their new mobile company. There are small kiosks around the city where you can purchase tickets, as well as employees walking around wearing Snoop Dogg billboards to promote the concert. If you purchase a ticket directly from the kiosks, walking staff, or Z-Mobile store, you will receive a free sim card and a 25 euro credit. This has nothing to do with anything, but Pristina has been bringing in bigger stars here. In 2007, 50 Cent toured in Pristina and in June, for the Freedom Festival, Chamillionaire played here.

Some things in Pristina

This is a destroyed building as you can see. The building is actually a 2 story structure that housed 2 different shops, one was a clothing store, in Pristina. Apparently this building was illegally built (not sure when) and did not have a permit to be constructed in this area. From what I was told, there was a blueprint to build another building in this area, it did not happen, and this (former) building was built. So, the local authorities tore the building down to rebuild what was originally planned. On the second photo, the men sitting on the rubble sift through it and pick what metal scraps and the like that they can. There is really no one here to stop them, and for about 3-4 days there were different men scavenging for scraps that they could sell or use themselves.

This is old news in Pristina, but this Yugoslavia-era monument, which stands for "brotherhood and unity," is going to be knocked and a new square, dedicated to the KLA hero Adem Jashari (who I wrote about here). I spoke with a local about this, and he stated that this is a good thing, because there are no other Yugoslavia monuments in the former Yugoslavia (I cannot confirm this). Further, Kosovo wants to look forward to its future and not be reminded of its history under Serbian rule in Yugoslavia (although when Tito was in power from 1953-1980, Albanians had recognition and Kosovo had autonomy).

Non-fatal Shooting in Mitrovica

Peter Miletic, a Kosovar Serbian who serves in the Kosovo parliament, was shot four times today outside of his home in Mitrovica North. It was so important that Yahoo! covered it, or posted it from Reuters. As the investigation pursues, the media may play this onto the incidents that occurred last Friday (scroll down to my previous blog posts). However, it could also just be a coincidence; but either way it shows that there is anger with the work of the government (and perhaps more personally with Miletic, since there is a contingent of Serbians who view any other Serbians working with the Kosovo government as a traitor. I was in Mitrovica today and there were no uprisings or anything because of this. Although I did not go to Miletic's house, I was on the northern side and nothing seemed out of place, so that this did not cause anything further, from either the north or south side, was good. Although Miletic is a Serbian politician holding one of the 20 minority seats in the Kosovo Parliament, I could not see the Albanians rising to the occasion to protest his shooting, but if this would have happened, then it would have showed some sort of unification (if you will) to have Kosovar Albanians support a Kosovo Serbian in the municipality of Mitrovica.

On another note, there was increased security on the bridge, with NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) French quadrant having a presence on the main bridge. They usually do not station trucks on both sides of the bridge, but today was a bit different. Switzerland and Denmark also have KFOR presence in Mitrovica, and you can see them patrolling the streets.

A quick lesson: There is a line of responsibility for safety, protection, and ultimately security in Mitrovica. First it is the Kosovo Police force, then EULEX patrols, and lastly KFOR. KFOR, under NATO is there mainly for protection purposes and if things get out of hand and NATO wants to withdraw troops, because if they can do this, this shows 'progress' is being made in the municipality. In certain situations, KFOR can be asked to help out or be utilized for preventive/security measures here. But in this case, from anecdotal evidence, KFOR was not really asked to have a presence on the bridge, rather they did so on their own (but if asked about it, they would really say they were asked to do this). Perhaps with the shooting this morning it might have been warranted, but it also takes away from the sovereignty and authority of the Kosovo Police, which may still be 5-10 years away from patrolling Mitrovica without any international help. It's a very sticky and confusing situation in Mitrovica, but one that is highly interesting and relevant to international security, urban security theory, and especially ethnic security studies (i.e. dilemmas). Below there is a picture of Kosovo Police patrolling the southern side of the Iber River.

As a follow up to the protest last Friday, my colleague Jose Reymondez and I also ventured to Kosovo Ministry of Interior's Civil Registry Office in Mitrovica North. This was what caused the protest and one death on Friday morning (see my blog post below). There was also heightened security there too, with Kosovo Police in charge, French KFOR police men, and even an EULEX patrolman. The first security contingent was set up about 100 feet away from the office, then there was a second contingent stationed outside the office. Jose asked the French KFOR if I could take a picture, and in correct order as I mentioned above, the French officer deferred to the Kosovo Police officers. The K-officers replied in English 'no problem.'

The building, which was not in a main part of town, had three employees in it, sitting around and drinking coffee. This is no surprise that anyone has come to register to receive an official Kosovo ID card and be put in the system, probably for fear of an attack afterwards. It is not an incredibly bad idea for the Kosovo government to try to establish itself in the Mitrovica North with its first building and hand out ID cards; but at the same time there are many other issues the K-government needs to focus on rather than trying to just get a presence in the North.

I found out that there was an issue with posting the sign on the building (see right). The Kosovo government, the International Civilian Office (ICO), and EULEX has a consensus that the sign was to be posted. The ICO had discussions with the Serbian parallel structures in Mitrovica North, meaning the political parties that are in power but seen as illegal by Kosovo and the international community, and at first the Serbian politicians agreed the sign was to be posted. Then later they protested, but it was too late, and the sign was posted. Even if the sign was not posted to indicate where the building is located, the protest would still have occurred, because word can get around in Kosovo.