Following the decision to call off the session of the Assembly of the Northern Kosovo Municipalities, as well as that the agreement with KFOR and removal of barricades should be individually verified by each municipality, the Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Goran Bogdanović told the Politika daily that it was those very things that he feared, which is why he had been against the initiative to convene the Assembly in the first place. "Because it wasn’t the Assembly of Municipalities that decided to set up the barricades in the first place," Bogdanovic said.
Obviously there’s no unity among Serbian municipalities in the north on the matter of the agreement you’ve reached with KFOR. What happens if municipal deputies render different decisions?
Serbia has reached an agreement with the international community and KFOR, and the decision should be implemented, because I don’t believe a better option could have been arranged in these circumstances. And, most importantly, this is a temporary agreement which expires on September 15. It offers a chance to resume the dialogue on September 5 and then resolve the enduring problems in northern Kosovo and Metohija.
How did these differences arise?
I’m not sure about it either. There are rumors in Kosovo and Metohija that representatives of certain political parties claim they had received orders from Belgrade. But I cannot confirm that. However, it’s obvious that a difficult situation is being used for political purposes.
Do you mean the DSS (Democratic Party of Serbia), the party in power in the municipalities of Zubin Potok (whose board members failed to attend the session yesterday) and Zvečan?
I do not wish to name any parties, because it’s not something I can verify. But I already said - a party. The unity that we had in the last 15 days, unity that was reaffirmed daily, collapsed in a day. Still I believe that people and municipal leaders would be reasonable.
However they obviously aren’t satisfied with the agreement, particularly since it violates the Parliamentary Declaration on reinstating the situation prior to Kosovo special units intrusion at administrative crossings.
Yes, which is why we already explained to the mayors and the people at the barricades that the agreement wasn’t perfect but the only possible in such circumstances. If there weren’t for the setting on fire Jarinje and the taking over of the administrative crossing Brnjak, we would have had a chance at a different story altogether. We started off with a very difficult position. But, I repeat, this is only a temporary agreement.
What is then the purpose of the Parliamentary Declaration on Kosovo and Metohija?
Assembly Declaration gave the talks a chance and requested the state of Serbia to undertake all actions and discussions with the international community to reinstate the situation prior to July 25. In such situations, when a great danger looms, when unilateral moves of Pristina pose risk, when the international community is not inclined to us, what use is observing every letter in the declaration ... We respect the declaration, and in our arrangements with the international community we arrived at that very agreement. And those who say this, I'm afraid, are shirking from responsibility.
The Mayor of Zubin Potok, Slavisa Ristic said that it is the Parliament of Serbia that should discuss the agreement with KFOR, not the local deputies. That could make sense since the Parliament Assembly already passed such a declaration?
It does not make sense because it would mean the Parliament deciding on an agreement that would only last a month. By the time the Parliament convened, the agreement would get another 20 or 10 days. In my opinion it is irresponsible. It's shirking responsibility. Again, we are not against deputies having their say about it. If the Serbian Government reached an agreement with the international community, and if we swear on Serbia, and if Serbia had provided guarantees that it would back the Kosovo Serbs, then I think the local authorities should just implement this agreement.
What do you expect happening once the talks with Pristina resume on September 5?
I expect implementation of the agreement. At this point there are already announcements that an emergency post would convene in Leposavic and reach the decision to remove the roadblocks.
These roadblocks on the road to Brnjak and Jarinje are in the municipalities of Zubin Potok and Zvecan, and the biggest one is Rudare.
For technical reasons it is impossible to remove the barricade in Rudare until August 20. There is rubble, a lot of machinery, it was a strong barricade, with strong resistance. And for that we have an understanding from the international community and KFOR.
Do you expect to resolve it by August 20?
I know these people and how loyal they are to the state of Serbia, and I truly believe that in the end they would toe Serbia's position.
Biljana Mitrinović
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Revenue cannot go to Kosovo Budget
Western analysts estimate that the agreement with KFOR is actually a prerequisite facilitating the agreement on customs, and not in the way that would suit the Serbs.
As to the customs, it is precisely this agreement that has put an end to this dilemma: there should not be customs duty at Jarinje and Brnjak, nor any special forces. This agreement and what we had fought for – no duties. Of course, this agreement gives a chance to dialogue, but our position is clear on no Kosovo guards at the Brnjak and Jarinje crossings.
But it’s not trading if there’s only humanitarian assistance.
We are ready to come out with all sorts of possibilities. No one is running from paying duties and taxes, but we cannot accept for these revenues to go to the Kosovo budget, a budget we do not recognize. So there are various modalities to settle the issue. We have an idea on how to ensure that the revenue collected goes into the budgets of local administrations in the northern Kosovo and Metohija. We don’t mind the EULEX customs, but we do mind where the money goes.
Biljana Mitrinović