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.
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