A wave of Serb resignations from public posts in north Kosovo meant Albanians took seats left empty on the local council of North Mitrovica, a Serb stronghold.
Twelve Kosovo Albanians, two Bosniaks and one Serb were sworn in on Wednesday as local councillors on the assembly of North Mitrovica, the predominantly Serb half of the divided Kosovo town of Mitrovica, after a mass Serb walkout in November.
Council member Nedzad Ugljanin, who now chairs the assembly, noted the irony of the situation created by Serbs quitting Kosovo’s public bodies en masse in a row over vehicle licence plates and an unfulfilled promise by Kosovo to create an association of Serb-majority municipalities in the former Serbian province.
“We came to a house without a host,” Kossev quoted Ugljanin as telling reporters. “We know that the majority community should be the host, but we are not to blame for this situation and I said in my presentation before the councillors that we will deal with political issues as little as possible.”
North Mitrovica assembly members from the Belgrade-backed Srpska lista party quit their posts in November alongside fellow local councillors, mayors, judges, police officers, prosecutors and other Kosovo Serb public sector employees in four Serb-majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo.
Serbia’s pointman for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, condemned Wednesday’s swearing in.
“Albanians, through legal violence and unilateral moves, took council seats belonging to Serbs in the Serbian municipality of Kosovska Mitrovica, even though no one voted for them and they do not have any majority or the support of the Serbian people,” said Petkovic, who is head of the Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo.
Responding to the walkout, Kosovo’s government called elections in the four municipalities for December 18 but was forced to postpone for April after a series of security incidents in the north; for the past five days Serbs in the area have mounted barricades blocking roads.
Srpska lista has threatened to boycott the elections.
I continued my mission in Belgrade today to meet with @predsednikrs @avucic. We had an open and honest discussion on a political solution that would lower tensions and allow for dismantling of barricades. He understands the seriousness of the situation. pic.twitter.com/Le6HDYThx5
Envoys of the United States and European Union, Gabriel Escobar and Miroslav Lajcak, discussed the tensions in Belgrade on Wednesday with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
The three had “an open and honest discussion on a political solution that would lower tensions and allow for dismantling of barricades,” Lajcak tweeted, adding that Vucic “understands the seriousness of the situation.”
The envoys met Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Tuesday, after which Lajcak said a political solution was urgently needed to restore freedom of movement “for all”.
“We discussed the need for everyone to remain calm, the need to continue the dialogue,” Escobar told media after meeting Kurti. “We need to start talking about the implementation of the Association [of Serb-majority municipalities]. I have made that very clear.”
Besides Ugljanin, the new North Mitrovica councillors are: Skender Sadiku, Flutura Hamza-Azemi, Aida Ferati-Doli, Bashkim Cimili, Gzim Alushi, Erden Atic, Petrit Miftari, Arben Smajli, Meleke Kelmendi-Shipoli, Naxhije Hamza-Xhema, Lumni Xhaka, Jahir Demaku, Betim Osmani, Adelisa Gjushinca, and Dusan Milunovic.
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