The Kosovo Government Calls out the UAM

Behind the trees lies one of the offices of the UAM, branded with the blue sign.

The big news the past two days has been a report** put out by the Office for the Integration of the North in the Kosovo government, citing the inefficiencies of the UN Administration in Mitrovica (UAM) and how the UAM is actually blocking integration of the city between the Albanians and Serbians. The information in the report is not fabricated by the authors, rather it was taken through interviews with members of the international presence, government, and civil society. The report also tries to tell a story of the UAM, how it was created to fill the void of local governance in Mitrovica North (which is inhabited primarily by Serbs) as well as to administer to all communities in Mitrovica North equally. The report concludes that this is not the case, and that the UAM does not follow its mandate by only aiding the Serbian community and being seen as illegitimate by all communities (even the Serbs) in Mitrovica North. It must be mentioned that Kosovo has been calling for the ousting of the entire UN administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) since their independence in February 2008.

The report also focuses on the Serbian parallel structures in Mitrovica North, which operate illegally, according to Kosovo law, and were to be replaced by the UAM with its creation in 2002. Yet the parallel structures still exist and some members of the parallel structures also work for the UAM and receive double salaries. The salaries from the UAM come from the Kosovo budget, whereas the salaries from the parallel structures come from the Serbian government (most likely the Ministry of Interior, but this is unconfirmed). So although the UAM was supposed to take the place of the parallel structures in Mitrovica North, the UAM is helping the parallel structures survive.

UNMIK rejects this paper of course and the Special Representative to the Secretary General of the UN, and head of UNMIK, Lamberto Zannier had this to say about the report: "[It] contains many factual inaccuracies and makes a number of unsubstantiated claims. I regret that the authors did not consult me or the appropriate UN officials during the preparation of this paper, as in doing so they would have had the opportunity to issue an accurate report." Interesting comments, but quite political, and he needed to say this to save face with his boss (Ban Ki Moon) and the international community.

The debate about whether the UAM, and UNMIK as a whole, should stay or go will go on for quite some time in Kosovo. The release of the report comes at an interesting time where Kosovo is arranging talks with Serbia about how to patch up their relationship as two independent states. Serbia still does not recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state, yet they are on board with talking with the Kosovo government. Regardless of these talks, Kosovo would love to get UNMIK out of the country to solidify their independence recognitions, as UNMIK's mandate was to administer to Kosovo and ready them for independence. Even if UNMIK were to dismantle its mission, the other international organizations, such as EULEX, OSCE, and the ICO, would most likely remain in Kosovo to help progress the rule of law and politics.

**For the first two hyperlinks, the first article translated in the pdf by UNMIK are loose summaries of the report and the front page of Koha Ditore on both September 22 and 23. To read an article from a Serbian news outlet, written in English, please go here.

The Iber River. The bridge in the background is the famed bridge that separates the Mitrovica South from Mitrovica North. In this picture, Albanian youth sit on the southern side (lower half of the picture) while Serbian youth sit on the northern side. The Iber is known to be contaminated with lead.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Protest in Mitrovica

Unfortunately I missed this one, but the Ministry of Interior opened an office in the Bosniak Mahala section of Mitrovica North, which is friendly to Albanians (and actually has Albanian flags flying in the neighborhood). The Ministry of Interior opened a civil registry office in this section, and I assume the Serbian population saw this as an encroachment of the Kosovar government into their area. Most Serbs do not want the Kosovar government in Mitrovica North, nor does Belgrade. The protest was most likely organized, I have been told that they are not spontaneous, especially when 1000s show up.

This article states that one Serb was killed and another 11 injured, but I have also seen articles that 12-13 were injured. I am not breaking news here, but it is good to report it nonetheless. Reuters also reported it, which is more reliable. I hope to catch the next one and provide my own pictures if possible.

Here is the Serbian side of the story.

Gerard Gallucci reported that the opening of the Ministry of Interior's office is part of Kosovo's government's 'Northern strategy.' which noone has apparently seen except for top government officials and international diplomats, such as Peter Feith, the International Civilian Representative. Here's what Gallucci says"

"The opening of the office was supposed to be part of Pristina's northern strategy to impose its institutions on the Serb majority north that rejects Kosovo independence. The fatality was reportedly a local doctor standing near his home in the Bosniak Mahalla mixed area. EULEX police reportedly were protecting the Kosovo office and kept protestors away."

Mixed neighborhoods and Government Intervention

I must clarify. Mitrovica is a municipality in the North of Kosovo where the Iber River happens to run through it. Within in the municipality there is a large city and this city is divided by the Iber into Mitrovica North and Mitrovica South. The North is predominately Kosovar Serb and the South Kosovar Albanian. However, in the northern part of the Mitrovica municipality, which is very rugged, mountainous, and underdeveloped, there are small villages or neighborhoods of Albanians, Serbians, and Bosniaks. But there is a Kosovar Albanian and Bosniak population in Mitrovica North; thus I do not want want to draw a picture like West Germany and East Germany during the Cold War, even if Mitrovica North really only answers to Belgrade. This is not the case. Anyone can cross over the main bridge (and people do this frequently) although there is a Kosovo police car sitting in the middle, for monitoring purposes. There are other bridges to Mitrovica North, and at least two that I have taken lead in to K-Albanian neighborhoods.

This is makeshift bridge along a dirt road. You can see the rails in the center of the first photo, and ahead is a a Kosovar Albanian village. The second picture is going across the bridge in the car, below is the Iber River.

This is a K-Albanian neighborhood in Mitrovica North. It is surrounded by K-Serbs for the most part, but there is not constant fighting between the two. The red flags are Albania's national flag. The bridge is at the end of the road, as unlike the bridge above, this is more suitable for traffic,. and is also guarded with a Kosovo police car.

Interestingly, the Kosovo government is trying to devise a way to create mixed neighborhoods in the north part of the municipality (i.e. the mountainous regions that can be developed). This is the plan but again, it remains to be seen how this will go. Below is the construction of a K-Albanian house that is the first house in over nine years to be funded by the government. This house is being built to create a mixed village - the thing is, the Kosovo government does not want funding or assistance from Belgrade.

I'm not certain but from what I can fathom is that Belgrade is not happy with this plan and believes it will only be a village for K-Albanians. This is probably not far off, and thinking like this is common in this situation. And as a side note, looking at the second picture of the tilled dirt, I believe that the houses behind this is actually a Serbian village, therefore Belgrade could view this construction as a blockade to expanding the Serbian village. This leads me to another interesting facet in this new village. Not more than 100 yards away did the Serbian government start constructing its own buildings right between two K-Albanian houses.

The two large buildings on the right hand side, the first one is bright red, are the buildings constructed by the Serbian government. Every other house or building you see is K-Albanian. Things like this are not uncommon in the Mitrovica municipality and it really hinders any type of cooperation or feelings of security for the citizens. It's like a chess game, a very strategic chess game that hopefully will not end in violence.

Mitrovice/Kosovska Mitrovica, Part 1

**Albanian name/Serbian name when talking about most places (if not all) in Kosovo, but I will just 'Mitrovica' for simplicity.

Not the best picture unfortunately, but this is the main bridge crossing, that divides Mitrovica across the Iber (ee-ber) River. Within the city of Mitrovica, the North side (which the side the picture looks to) is Serbian dominated; the South Side (from where the picture is taken) is majority Albanian - both being Kosovars but not following the same government nor same institutions or rule of law. It is a tense place, with the last protest/riot coming on May 30, where Albanians protested against "illegal" (in the eyes of Kosovo and most of the international community) elections that were held in Mitrovica, authorized by the Serbian government, which has de facto rule in the North and influences decent power over the area as well. Although this was a larger protest, there have been other protests, demonstrations, and riots in this area since the end of the Kosovo War in 1999.

The graves are KLA members. The city below is Mitrovica.

Why is this a tense area? Well there are many, many reasons for this. North Mitrovica is one of the last real areas that Belgrade (Serbian government) has a hold on. There are few other Serb enclaves in Kosovo and within these enclaves Belgrade seems to be losing influence. For example, there were successful elections in the municipality of Leposavic (Serb-majority), that even the US Ambassador Christopher Dell heralded. These elections took place with the consent of the Kosovar government and the international community, and it is hoped that the newly elected Serb politicians will work cooperatively with the Kosovar government. From reading and talking to people in Kosovo, it appears that Serbian Kosovars are not really interested in politics and fighting with the Kosovar government over power, rule of land, and independence, rather they are more concerned about safety, jobs, and a better life.

Mentioning independence, Belgrade (and yes, other Serbians as well) do not recognize Kosovo's self-proclaimed independence and holding on to Mitrovica is the main way to hold on to Kosovo as a whole.

Fighting for North Mitrovica may or may not work for Serbia, this remains to be seen. But not recognizing Kosovo's independence and Belgrade leveraging their power in the North are two of the more obvious reasons that tensions persist.

To take a step back, Serbia deems Kosovo as its "Jerusalem," being at the heart of its Orthodox religion and the cradle of Serbian civilization (for a lack of a better phrase), which dates back to the 6th century when Serb tribes migrated to the area around Kosovo under the Byzantine Empire. The Serbs built an empire from the 1100s to the 1400s, and the seat of the Orthodox church was in Peje/Pec but has since been moved to Prizren/Prizren, Kosovo. In fact, the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch just visited the seat in Prizren on June 18th. History is important in the relationship between Kosovo and Serbia; however it is not all about history when it comes to Mitrovica. There are also resources in the mountains of Mitrovica that both sides would like to own full possession.

(These are some of the mountains in the North. The red and white smoke stack to the right is a mineral factory, that used to refine gold, which is still able to be mined in the mountains. It also was a lead factory. The factory is still in use but not fully capacity and not to mine gold.)

Some other problems is that there really is no rule of law in North Mitrovica. If anything, Serbian law is followed in the North and Kosovar in the South; however nothing is enforced and the International Crisis Group reports in their latest report that safety comes from the goodwill of the population. There is a cooperation set up that is part of the Kosovo Police force where there is a mixed police force in the North, but really this means there are about 10 Albanians that are supposed to patrol mixed areas in North Mitrovica, but there is no evidence if this actually happens. Any Serb police official or local government official do not really communicate with the Kosovo Police force, so there is no cooperation or joint-exercises to ultimately provide safety and security in the North. Another interesting thing regarding police, Belgrade sends its own "plain-clothes" cops down to the North to monitor the situation and watch over the Serb/Albanian police officers in the North, probably reporting back to Belgrade. This causes insecurity with any police officers in North Mitrovica because they must be worried about repercussions from Belgrade for their actions (and thus probably don't act).

I apologize as I have gotten off track a bit, but this is not the half of it and I will write more about this whole situation in later posts. It is a very complicated area, as is the whole of the case for Kosovo, and hopefully I'll be able to make a dent in it while I am here this summer.

The Iber River. The right is North, left is South. This water is polluted with lead, and lead poisoning is a big problem in Mitrovica. This comes from the mining around Mitrovica, especially in Trepce, which was a huge mining factory outside of Mitrovica.

The facotry again. There is a mound of black dirt to the right and of regular dirt in the center-right. This is just to show that the factory is still in use.
The Main street in North Mitrovica. The flags hanging across the street in the background are of Serbian President Boris Tadic.