Haradinaj: Who can stop Balkan wars if borders are opened

Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj had recently imposed a 100% customs tax on Serbia's goods. Under the interview for German news agency “dpa”, the chief of the Kosovo government had clarified the reasons for changing behaviors towards Belgrade

Why is it important for you, at this moment, to set up the Kosovo Army mosque?

Haradinaj: The Kosovo Army has already existed- in the form of KSF. What we are doing now is granting the KSF's mandate for protection of Kosovo as the Army.

Minister of Foreign Affairs NATO has recently let you know that this is not the right moment for transforming the protection troops against KSF disasters into an army.

Haradinaj: We haven't chosen time. The process of transforming the Kosovo Security Force (FSK) has started ten years ago, even with active guidelines and support of our partners in NATO, including Germany. This process has already reached a point where this is a logical and imposed step.

Haradinaj: The construction process is scheduled to last ten years. After that, the military will achieve the 5,000-strong force -- currently only 3,000. And we'll only have light weapons.

Don't you think this poses a slight threat to the Serb population in Kosovo?

HaradinajNo, not at all. Serbs joined KSF. Only Belgrade is unhappy with this.

How many Serbs are there?

Haradinaj: Approximately eight percent. A few days ago, when I was distributing certificates on Ferizaj for recruits, we were sitting in public with Serb families applauding when they mentioned their sons and daughters' names. But there are times when Serbs have abandoned him The KSF, because their families have been threatened and openly intimidated by institutions in Serbia.

Your Western partners have shook their heads even when you placed the 100th Taksa % in goods to be imported from Serbia. Why has this been necessary?

Haradinaj: Serbia has almost always made the importation of our goods impossible. Confirmations of origin have been sought, of course, that they did not recognise, because Kosovo they do not recognise as a state. Trucks with the Kosovo registration sign have not been allowed into that state. They've set out veterinary rules. But almost nothing worked, when we wanted to export.

The 100% tax is a kind of trade blockade...

Haradinaj: Serbia is leading an extremely aggressive and destructive campaign for my country. Where possible it works against the fact that Kosovo membership in the International Organisation of Sports Federation, the U Cultural Organisation NO UNESCO, now recently at Police Organisation I NTERPOL. We had to finally defend against this, so it came to the tax.

The dialogue successfully developed since 2011 with the European Union's mediation with Serbia for reaching an agreement on normalising relations between the two countries has again reached a point of death. Haven't your latest shares affected this?

Haradinaj: It's true that the dialogue is off the road. But not because of the defanities. But because it has recently been discussed on territories and borders.

Do you mean the idea of exchanging territories for minority-resident countries in northern Kosovo and Albanians in southern Serbia, the Presevo Valley of Serbia, the union with the respective “atland”. What's wrong with that?

Haradinaj: Only such rhetoric is very dangerous for the entire region. No one in the Balkans is fully satisfied with the existing borders. Once the border issue was opened, however, it is unlikely that closure of this subject will be reached again. And as the wars of the 1990s have shown us, unpredictable tragedies would be endangered. /dpa