Can the bridge be opened in Mitrovica without KFOR reconciliation?

Although Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced in mid-July that his government aims to open the main bridge over the Iber River in Mitrovica, NATO's military mission in Kosovo, KFOR, says any decision to open it should be made under the dialogue for normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia, which is mediated by the European Union.

In the statement given Radio Free Europe, KFOR said NATO supports this dialogue and that it is there to contribute to a safe environment for all Kosovo citizens at any time and impartially.

This includes continued presence on the bridge in Mitrovica and regular patrols in the area around”, KFOR said.

He did not answer the question of whether someone from the Kosovo government has contacted him on the issue.

On the bridge over Iber patrol Italian KFOR soldiers, while close are members of the Kosovo Police.

Therefore, from the civil sector in Kosovo they say the key factor in opening the bridge is, in fact, KFOR, because it should move its soldiers, or give consent.

This bridge divides Mitrovica into the Albanian majority southern part and in the northern part, where the majority community is Serbs.

The bridge, currently, is only open to pedestrians, though, within the dialogue, has agreed to open up for traffic as well.

While the Kosovo government believes the opening of the bridge would ensure freedom of movement for all, Serbia sees this issue as “provocation”.

On July 17th, Kosovo's prime minister raised the issue of its opening at a meeting with the ambassadors of the QUINT countries and with the chief of the EU Office in Kosovo, after which he said that “no one can say that this is not a good and correct”.

QUINT countries include: The United States, France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain.

“We want the law implemented, freedom of movement respected, but also peace and security for all”, Kurti told reporters on July 18th, talking about opening the bridge in Mitrovica.

What does QUINT say?

The British Embassy in Kosovo told Free Europe Radio that its country's position is for the bridge in Mitrovica to open in line with relevant agreements reached within the dialogue for normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

“We are open for discussions with the Government of Kosovo, how this can be achieved”, it says in response.

REL addressed other embassies of the QUINT states to ask what their position is on opening the bridge in Mitrovica and if they support the Kosovo Government's intention to open it for circulation, but received no response.

Similarly, the European Union did not respond, but earlier he recalled that this issue has been the subject of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia for normalising relations, and that, for this reason, all decisions should be made within dialogue, with the participation of the official delegations of Pristina and Belgrade.

The EU, too, called on the parties to implement without delay all agreements reached in dialogue, including the Bridge Agreement, but not jeopardise stability on the ground.

How can the bridge open up without risking stability on the ground?

The Kosovo government did not answer the REL question of how the bridge on Iber can be opened without endangering stability on the ground as the international community requires.

Arton Demhay, from the nongovernmental organisation Geta, believes the main bridge in Mitrovica should be opened for easier movement of all citizens, but stresses that this should be done in full co-ordination with KFOR and with QUINT countries.

Any unilateral and uncoordinated action, which could be accompanied by interethnic escalation of the situation, could have the opposite effect”, Demhasaj tells Radio Free Europe.

He adds that the Kosovo government, along with KFOR and QUINT, should talk to the citizens of South and North Mitrovica about the importance of opening the bridge.

“Ura should be opened [for traffic] when an agreement is reached”, Demhasaj says.

Citizens in the south and north of the bridge see its opening differently.

Of the Albanian community's ranks, REL was earlier told that the bridge should be opened, because it would contribute to co-operation and freedom of movement, while among Serbs believe this issue could raise ethnic tensions.

Miodrag Marinkovic, from the nongovernmental Centre for Afirmative Social Action, says KFOR's mandate is to ensure peace and stability on the entire territory of Kosovo and that his presence on the bridge in recent years was a guarantee of that.

He says “reservation” KFOR, when it comes to opening the bridge, may also prevent Kosovo authorities from consulting the community that affects their decision.

The only way to open the bridge without causing tension is for this to be done in a symbolic space, where legitimate representatives of both communities would participate, and where an agreement on how everything would look, Marinkovovic tells Radio Free Europe.

The Serbian list ʹ the main party of Serbs in Kosovo, which enjoys Belgrade's support, said earlier against opening the bridge over Iber.

According to her, such an action targets “further modification of the situation on the ground”.

The Serbian list, too, asked the international community that “says Kurti's opening of the bridge cannot be done without the consent of Serbs living in northern Kosovo”.

Marinkovic also believes that opening the bridge over the Iber is a symbolic “akt of Kosovo authorities, to show they have taken over the north”.

In the four municipalities in northern Kosovo, northern Mitrovica, Zvecan, Zubin Potok and Leposaviq the majority population is Serb, and she has been refusing to integrate into the Kosovo system for years.

There are three-four bridges people use to move from south to north. There are roads, people move. The main bridge has more symbolic value because it has been the central point of conflict between Serbs and Albanians. That's why it's closed. To achieve stability. If its opening does not now include both sides, there is a possibility that this stability will be damaged”, Marinkovic says.

Who is responsible for opening the bridge?

In April last year, the deputies of the Northern Mitrovica Municipal Assembly adopted a decision to open the bridge over Iber, which was later conveyed to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Management of Local Power.

REL asked both of these ministries whether and in what way the opening of the bridge on Iber is being considered, but it was not answered.

North Mitrovica's Deputy Mayor Skender Sadiku said in late May that the responsibility for implementing this decision is now the central institutions, KFOR and the European Union.

He said local authorities in South Mitrovica should agree with this decision.