EULEX being tested

EULEX being tested

(Zeri, by Burim Ramadani)

The events of the last days of 2008 and the first days of 2009 indicate that putting North Kosovo under control is a complex issue.

· Since February 2008, when two border crossings in the north were set on fire, certain groups of people have been causing unrest there. The same thing happened in the first days of 2009, indicating that there will be security problems also this year.

· As a matter of fact, the period that Kosovo has entered needs peace and stability in order to make progress in different aspects of life. But for the time being this does not seem to be possible. Unfortunately it will take time before we reach the necessary stability that improves living standards.

· It is almost impossible to compare positive and negative powers in North Kosovo. It is also impossible to understand the reason why there is no rule of law in that part. There are several thousands of KFOR, EULEX Police and Kosovo Police troops in that part of Kosovo, which in fact is less than 1/3 of Kosovo territory. And there are only some hundreds of individuals, who are paid by different national anti-Kosovar structures, to destabilize the situation and to destroy everything that has been reached so far. Any European state would be ashamed if its soldiers and police officers were not able to confront with such a group of people.

· It seems that security forces in North Kosovo lack determination. At the same time, it seems that there is a lack of necessary/sufficient institutional pressure to increase legal reaction to violence and destabilization tendencies. But what did EULEX come to Kosovo for? To remain non-functional just as UNMIK Police in many cases, or to restore the rule of law all over Kosovo? The latest violent acts indicate there is a lack of reaction of EULEX and that this is the first failure of this mission. Only a precise work of this mission could remove dilemmas about the mission’s success.

· EULEX should cooperate with local institutions. The same applies also for UNMIK. Meanwhile, Kosovo Police should clarify and define its role and cooperation with other local and international institutions. Kosovo’s independence implied also the transfer of competencies from UNMIK to local institutions in terms of management and subordination of Kosovo Police and the rule of law in the entire territory of Kosovo. Professional and law-based functioning of Kosovo would also mean a normal pressure on EULEX when it comes to security and the rule of law.

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Kosovo News

· Candidates for Ombudsperson waiting for end January or February (InfoPress)
· Antonis Samaras: Macedonia to be disintegrated (dailies)
· Some Mitrovica Serbs obtain documents of the Republic of Kosovo (Zeri)

Editorials & Opinion Pieces

· EULEX being tested (Zeri, by Burim Ramadani)

· Ahtisaari à la carte! (Koha Ditore, by Augustin Palokaj)
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