Northern Kosovo is in quarantine. The separatists are finding out which of them is an “agent of Belgrade”
The decision of the “government” of Kosovo to quarantine two large Serbian enclaves, North Mitrovica and Zvecan, due to the spread of COVID-19, as well as to allow doctors from Serbia there and into other Serbian enclaves, provoked another round of squabbling between local Albanian separatists.
This was reported by Balkan media, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Quarantine in North Mitrovica and Zvecan was introduced on the evening of April 3, by decision of local Serbian municipal authorities and in agreement with the authorities of Pristina.
“Quarantine in North Mitrovica and Zvecan was introduced in full coordination with the government,” the acting acting director commented on the situation. Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, member of the Self-Determination movement Jalal Svechla. “The Kosovo Police is taking all measures to fully implement this decision.”
At the moment, the so-called Kosovo police, together with the Italian carabinieri from the occupation forces KFOR, have blocked the bridge over the Ibar River, separating the Northern Serbian and Southern Albanian parts of Mitrovica, preventing anyone from crossing it. At the same time, medical workers from Serbia began to arrive in Kosovo, the number of which should ultimately amount to about a hundred, including the country’s leading virologists.
“A large number of medical workers from Seria were allowed to enter Kosovo and go to different places - Mitrovica, Gracanica,” commented the director general of the Kosovo police, Reshat Chalyaj, on the situation. “But no one entered Kosovo without permission.”
According to the latest information on the eve of April 5, there were four new cases of coronavirus in the Serbian communities of Kosovo, the total number of cases in them today is distributed as follows: 17 in Kosovo (North) Mitrovica, 7 in Zvecan, 2 in Leposavic, one case - in Gracanica. One of the sick Serbs died. A total of 140 cases of COVID-19 have been identified in Kosovo. However, the situation of local Serbs until recently was complicated by the fact that residents of the southern enclaves located in the unfriendly Albanian environment did not receive full medical care and care, and residents of the northern ones openly ignored the region’s healthcare system, controlled by the separatists. With the arrival of doctors from Serbia, the situation began to change.
Data on Serbian communities on the morning of April 5.
“All people infected with the virus from North Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zvecan, Zubin, Potka, Vucitrn, Orahovac, Klina, Peć, Istok and Srbica will be accommodated in the Student Center in North Mitrovica,” the director of the Serbian Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric. “Infected persons from Gracanica, Pristina, Lipljan, Obilic, Kosovo Polje, Gore and Strpce will be accommodated in the Clinical Center in Gracanica, persons from Vitin, Kosovsko-Kamenica, Gnjilan and Novo Brdo will be hospitalized in the Gnjilan Medical Center in Pasjan...”
Djuric also detailed how Kosovo doctors and volunteers distributed medicine, protective masks, food packages, hygiene products and bags of flour to residents of southern Serbian enclaves. However, these essentially harmless actions became food for various kinds of political insinuations of the local Albanian elite.
Thus, the representative of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, which was once created by the militants of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK), which supports the current “president” of the region, ex-field commander Hashim Thaci, Gonje Chaushi, accused the “government” of Albin Kurti, which received a vote of no confidence from the “parliament” on March 25 and is finalizing before the formation of a new cabinet, in the surrender of the northern region of Serbia:
“The outgoing government of Albin Kurti handed over the northern part of Kosovo to Belgrade after it itself left the fight against coronavirus in the area in the hands of Serbian municipalities,” Chaushi wrote on Facebook. “This irresponsible government, which did not want to violate the sovereignty of our state by introducing a curfew in Kosovo and in the northern part of Kosovo, does not react in any way to the quarantine of Belgrade in two municipalities of Kosovo - North Mitrovica and Zvecan. The outgoing government is responsible for this transfer of sovereignty of the state of Kosovo, allowing parallel Serbian structures to autonomously manage the pandemic measures in our country.”
Gonje Chaushi
Gonje Chaushi also noted that the current situation is extremely worrying for Albanians living north of the Ibar River, who now feel insecure.
“The Kosovo government should not allow municipalities in the north to act outside the control of the institutions and bodies responsible for preventing the COVID-19 pandemic, and thus create an illegal operational space for the Serbian authorities on the territory of Kosovo,” the Kosovo “president” himself responded to the current situation. Hashim Thaci. “With regard to all measures taken by health institutions and law enforcement measures, the Government of Kosovo is obliged to ensure their implementation throughout the territory of the Republic of Kosovo.”
The escalation of the situation was also facilitated by a statement by the Secretary General of a certain European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Ricardo Gutierrez, who accused Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and, quite funny, the aforementioned Hashim Thaci of almost conspiracy. Moreover, it can be assumed that the leader was angered by the very fact that press representatives were no longer allowed into the territory where the quarantine regime was introduced.
“It seems clear that some politicians, starting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, are using the coronavirus crisis to stoke political and social tensions for their own benefit,” Gutierrez said. “We urge journalists not to play these games and act in the public interest.”
At the same time, it should be noted that the reaction to what happened, although quite restrained, came from the US and EU missions in Kosovo, which issued calls on Kosovo politicians and officials to put aside ethnic, political and social contradictions and start fighting the epidemic.
However, the response of the “government” to the attacks of the democrats and the “president” was also not slow in coming and was carried out in the same spirit as the accusations of the former.
“Yes, there are politicians and high-ranking officials in Belgrade who want conflict in Kosovo, especially north of the Ibar River,” Albin Kurti said in a special video message. – There are also politicians and high-ranking officials in Pristina who want conflict in Kosovo, especially north of the Ibar River. They all want to create tension, so they want incidents.
If they were able to implement a territorial exchange project (territories between Kosovo and Serbia, according to which Belgrade would receive the northern Serbian enclaves, and Pristina would receive the southern Presevo Valley of Serbia, inhabited by Albanians - ed.), this would provoke new conflicts and bloodshed. But their project failed. Now they want conflicts and bloodshed on the ground in order to return to the territorial exchange, to the division of Kosovo. This same idea underlies the intention to declare a state of emergency at any cost.”
At the same time, Kurti made an unflattering comparison of Thaci with a fox “whose tail is on fire.”
“You know the wise saying of our people that when a fox’s tail is on fire, it screams that the whole world is on fire. In our situation, the fox is waving its tail to burn our entire country. But no, we will not allow this,” added the Kosovo “prime minister”.
At the same time, Kurti’s ally, acting. Deputy Prime Minister Khaki Abazi even accused Thaci of the existence of Serbian northern enclaves as such:
“The north was separated (from the rest of Kosovo - ed.) twenty years ago because Thaci separated it,” the official wrote on his Facebook page. – The synchronization (of actions – ed.) of Thaçi, Mustafa (the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo that initiated the vote of no confidence in the Kurti government – ed.) and Vucic continues, the conspiracy against Kosovo with the intention of creating a government subordinate (to Belgrade – ed.) and a puppet prime minister is shameless supported by the vote of the “Serbian List” (Kosovo Serb party – ed.).”
Albin Kurti and Khaki Abazi
At the same time, while the Kosovo Albanian elites continue to squabble, accusing each other of working for Belgrade, Belgrade itself continues to save its fellow tribesmen from the epidemic in the region captured by the separatists with the help of Western curators.
Northern Kosovo is under quarantine. Separatists are trying to figure out who among them is a "Belgrade agent."