German Press: Kosovo at the border of a major new crisis

“Handelsblat” expresses concern that Kosovo is again at the border of a major new crisis. “If desired detension is secure. The Kosovo government held Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq responsible for the developments. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti wrote on Saturday evening that there is no room for fascist violence-Nukic on his part to blame Kosovo and claimed, that police there have fired on members of the Serb minority before protests are scaled up -- Vuciq claims, that Kurti wants blood. ”

And in a comment by Erich Rathfelder for “tageszeitung” with the title “West that forgets history” notes that “in the current conflict in Kosovo, and also in Bosnia we experience how superficial the debate has been made about the Balkans, how few critics and politicians who move to the Balkans, without learning from history. Which is wrong with the strategy of curbing autocratic and nationalist systems with soft politics, they don't understand.” Rathfelder notes that we are still far from stable peace in the region, although 24 years have passed since the war in Kosovo, and adds that this probably relates to it, that lessons from the Kosovo war are not much more anchored in today's politicians and the generation of journalists, and political decisions that are made that do not come out of the teachings of the past and therefore new conflicts arise, stresses “tageung”

The newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” under the title “Albanian mayor for Serb citizens” writes that the last <x4 scale was understood since last week, but signs have been given since a month. They are related to municipal elections, held in April in four northern municipalities. These were announced after the Serb population in northern Kosovo, including the mayor, in November 2022 in protest against Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti's policy, withdrew united by local institutions... to occupy seats in empty municipalities, Kurti organised elections in affected municipalities that were nearly completely boycotted by the Serb population... The EU criticised him immediately after counting the short vote a month ago, which such elections are not a long-term political solution to the conflict in northern Kosovo... The EU joined Serbia's request that Pristina finally allow the long-wanted establishment of the Communist Association. ”

And the newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung writes that Kurti and Vuciq quarrel on the backs of Kosovo Serbs, and that tensions in northern Kosovo continue even after the clash of Serb militants with NATO troops. Kurt, with a legalist stance, decided that the elected after the April 23rd vote to enter their offices, in service of all citizens, wrote NZZ, but “press on Kurti grew when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday on Twitter condemned Kurti's step and demanded his suspension. Kurt was not impressed by the unusual American rebuke for Kosovo politicians. Instead, he blamed Belgrade-led radicals and hooligans for the protests. These are taking the Kosovo people hostage. But that's half the truth. Of course there are groupings, which have the direct support of the ruling party in Belgrade. But it is also true that most of the Serb population in Kosovo has not only never accepted the Kosovo state, but Kurt's uncompetitive actions perceive them as hostile. ”

The newspaper “Die Welt” pays attention to Russia's reaction following the rigors of the conflict in northern Kosovo, which once again turns out to be the Serb defence power. Russia strongly attacked the West. We ask the West to finally stop the fraudulent propaganda that the blame for the incidents in Kosovo puts on desperate Serbs who want to defend their legitimate rights and freedom without weapons and peacefully, the Foreign Ministry said in Moscow.... It is not too late to go back to the history of April 23rd forged municipal elections.