The arms legal campaign is being seen as a failure

Skeptics about the success of this campaign are expressing experts on the issue of security in Kosovo.

Avni Islami of the security issue in Kosovo says that as a result of failing to reach a peace agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, citizens are reluctant to legalise their weapons, he considers that the arms legalisation campaign is not producing expected results.

Islam acknowledges that legalising weapons as the process would affect increased civic security in Kosovo.

“It seems that this time again it has not produced an expected result because Kosovo is a place that has come out of war and not far away, and I think that most of the weapons are weapons of war, firearms that can be used in the fountain, and because of the uncertainty and because of these revelations and not resolving the Kosovo statute made even more suspicious that firearms do not deliver until citizens feel a certainty in themselves, and feel that Kosovo's security institutions, so Kosovo Police and other acts of action are willing to protect every citizen's life and property, the state-of IslamI.

On the other hand, parliamentary Commission for Internal Affairs, Security and Oversight of the Kosovo Security Force member Rexhep Selimi says that unconsciously, citizens are not properly informed about this campaign.

Named this arms legalisation campaign as a failure, Selimi says it is not about legalising weapons.

This six-month process has failed because there has also not been a real campaign for self-aware people of what it is about, but it may not have been well prepared for legal infrastructure or secondary legislation. So there's going to be perhaps another six months that the prime minister can do... but there's still gotta be some sort of awareness and an area for citizens to know what this is about and to understand those not just about handing in, and legalizing weapons, because that's how if it were then all weapons would be legalized, and that's actually not just a request for amnesty of weapons without license, Selimi says.

But in addition, at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, this campaign is considered successful.

Chief of the Department of Arms and Amunition at the Ministry of Internal Affairs Dean Mustafa says that so far, the final permit for legalisation of the weapon no one has received, but that 100 have received approval from the MPB.

He says the campaign this ministry has launched has had an effect on the awareness of citizens for their weapons to be held with permission.

“We are estimating that it is a process that is going well, it's not without success, it's not a few 400 weapons we still have three months or about 4 we expect to raise citizens' awareness and with campaigns that we've launched for reporting with our legalisation procedures through municipal security councils which are done by municipalities... Final permission that means a card to possess five years' worth of weapons, no one has yet received preliminary permits that we've issued about 100 and those who have sent weapons and weapons check companies have now taken to their homes, he says.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has licensed over 20 companies dealing with gun use training, and this type of service is costing 100 euros.

While statistics say that there are over 200,000 weapons in the hands of Kosovo citizens illegally, the Kosovo Police Units only in 2018 have confiscated 1,000 and 473 weapons, until the first two months of this year have confiscated 236 weapons.

So at least it has become known for Kosova Prees through an electronic letter from the Kosovo Police Information Office.

Kosovo's “Police as they carry out their day-to-day tasks, during operational and investigative work, face illegal weapons. Such weapons are confiscated and then on the basis of judicial decisions, adequate measures are taken against such cases. Police during 2018 confiscated 1473 weapons and 23941 rounds of various calibres. During January and February 2019, police have confiscated 236 weapons and 3114 rounds of various calibre”, says this electronic letter.

We remember that the weapons legalisation campaign “with Letter” was launched on December 17th and all those carrying illegal weapons and wanting to have them on leave, which they have until June 17th of this year.