Why is the situation in Kosovo escalating? Old wounds, hate propaganda and political opportunism | Abroad

The world looks at Kosovo with concern. The country in southeastern Europe, bordering Serbia, Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia was rather a powder keg in a region with great sensitivities. Balkan historian Geert Luteijn about the background to the recent tensions.

Luteijn: ,,For Serbs, Kosovo remains ‘sacred ground’ and the cradle of their civilization. This is partly due to some historic Orthodox monasteries, which can still be found there. This reasoning is somewhat strange and is reminiscent of the Russian claims to Ukraine. Culturally, we can regard Flanders as the cradle of the Netherlands, but that does not mean that we should now claim Flanders as Dutch territory. What is really going on is that political actors on both sides are opportunistically using the Kosovo conflict to divert attention from other domestic problems.”

Why did things escalate this time?
“This violence stems from the war in Kosovo (1998-1999). That war was the result of a guerrilla war by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which the Milosevic regime used to carry out ethnic cleansing of the Albanian majority in what was then Serbian province. The aftermath can still be felt. Serbian and Albanian media still spread a lot of hate propaganda every day. Tensions escalated last year when the Kosovo government attempted to force ethnic Serbs to replace their Serbian plates with Kosovar plates. This was seen as a threat to their identity. Tensions have risen further in recent weeks because of the mayoral elections. In the north of Kosovo there are four municipalities with a Serb majority, but Serbian voters boycott the elections. Because less than 4 percent voted, Kosovar mayors have been elected who now have to be protected against angry Serbs, including by the NATO peacekeeping force.”

In contrast to previous governments, current Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and incumbent Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic have a bigoted attitude. What is the reason for this?
“Kurti has a past as an activist against the regime of Slobodan Milosevic, the former president of Serbia in the 1990s. He was even imprisoned for this. Kurti has been very outspoken about Kosovo’s independence and less willing to compromise in the conflict than his predecessors. On the other hand, Serbian President Vucic is keen to make the Serbs in Kosovo dominant. A Serbian mayor in Kosovo who disagreed with Vucic was murdered. The court case will start soon. In my estimation, the local anger is mainly fueled from Serbia.”

Does the most famous Serb, Novak Djokovic, still have influence on this conflict? He wrote on a camera lens after winning a match at Roland Garros: ‘Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence’.
“Djokovic expresses the opinion of many ordinary Serbs. He is no more radical than the average Serb, who indeed considers Kosovo to be the cradle of Serbia. There is also a clear link with the cultural heritage present in Kosovo. An agreement between Serbia and Kosovo to protect this heritage would make sense, but at the moment I don’t see that happening.”

Because how will this end in the end?
“I don’t see a solution with the current Serbian government in the short term. Vucic has no interest in resolving this conflict. He likes to use it as a distraction for other problems. Kurti, on the other hand, has more interest in it, as Kosovo hopes to make progress towards integration into the European Union. But at the moment that is almost impossible because of this conflict. The future will depend on the political will and willingness of both sides to compromise.”