29 minutes agoBBC: Why is the trouble going on between Kosovo and Serbia and whether Russia is involved
Periskopi(4 years ago)
(4 years ago)United Kingdom national broadcaster BBC has published an article on tensions in northern Kosovo, stressing they are growing. Protesters have blocked roads and reportedly fired guns after being forced to place Kosovo plates on their cars. There is fear that violence between ethnic Serbs and Albanians [...]
Protesters have blocked roads and reportedly fired guns after being forced to place Kosovo plates on their cars.
There is fear that violence between ethnic Serbs and ethnic Albanians could flare up again, 23 years after the war in Kosovo, the BBC writes, reports Express newspaper.
Where is Kosovo, and who lives there?
Kosovo is a small country, without sea access to the Balkans, bordering Albania, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.
Many Serbs consider it the birthplace of their nation.
But of the 1.8 million people living in Kosovo, 92% are Albanians and only 6% Serbs. The rest are Bosniaks, Gorani, Turks and Roma.
How did Kosovo win independence?
After the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Kosovo sought autonomy and its independence.
Serbia responded with a brutal blow against ethnic Albanians seeking independence.
This ended in 1999, with a NATO shelling campaign against Serbia, between March and June.
Serbian forces withdrew from Kosovo, but for many Kosovo Albanians and Serbs, the conflict has never been resolved.
NATO-led KFOR is still in Kosovo, with a current force of 3,770 troops.
In 2008, Kosovo declared independence.
A total of 99 of 193 United Nations nations now recognise Kosovo's independence, including the US, Great Britain and 22 of the 27 EU states.
But Russia and China, which do not do so, have blocked Kosovo's membership in the UN.
And Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq has pledged that Serbia will never recognise Kosovo as an independent state.
Neither Kosovo nor Serbia are in the EU but: Serbia is an EU candidate country since 2012. Kosovo has indicated it wants to apply by the end of 2022.
Why are trouble now?
Relations between the Albanian-dominated government and the Serb minority have been strained for years.
Last weekend, tensions went into civil disobedience.
The Kosovo government wanted to force them to the ethnic Serb areas to replace their car plates issued by Serbia with those of Kosovo.
About 50,000 people in these areas do not want to use Kosovo license plates because they refuse to recognise Kosovo's independence.
On Sunday, ethnic Serbs in the northern Kosovo region, which borders on Serbia, barricaded roads, and some persons reportedly fired weapons in protest.
The Kosovo government postponed implementation of new regulations for a month.
Is Russia involved?
The Kosovo government says Serbia is promoting ethnic tensions and Russia is supporting it.
Serbia and Russia are traditional allies.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Serbia refused to join the sanctions regime of other European countries.
Instead, in May, Vucic signed what he said was a favourable gas deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova blamed the Kosovo authorities for the tension in Kosovo, who said they established unconventional “discrimination rules”.
An MP from Vuciki's party said Serbia would soon be forced to begin “the ratification of the Balkans” using the same language Putin used to justify his invasion in Ukraine. Later he apologized for his words.
Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said Putin could use this to expand the current conflict in Ukraine and further destabilise Europe.
