As mentioned before, Belgrade has established parallel institutions in Northern Mitrovica. Not only in security, but also by paying the salaries of many members of the Serb community. They now receive money from Kosovo, Belgrade and international institutions.

Belgrade has also issues threats against Kosovo government staff working in the area, primarily the Kosovo Police Service who employ Serbs. The threatened police officers have been suspended with renumeration and continue to meet on an “informal basis” with theirwork colleagues.

Action. The US government said in 2005 that if peace in Northern Mitrovica could not be settled, then a decade of work in Kosovo would be a “failure”. Rexhepi seems to be of the same opinion. “We are very happy with the reaction of the majority population of the R. of Kosovo, however we are aware of the fact that this situation cannot last for ages. Therefore, in order to prevent any reaction from the Albanian majority, we have to draw some red lines and act quickly.”

So what actions does the government take? First, reaching out to Serb communities “to tell them Kosovo is theirs and our home.” Second, like the Ahtisaari plan details, “we want to assure minority communities that their future is in Kosovo and the independence is not a threat but an opportunity for all citizens of Kosovo.” Third, “we are sending political messages that violence is unacceptable.” Bear in mind that Mitrovica is the last urban stronghold of Serbs in Kosovo. Not that long ago, 30 000 Serbs lived in Pristina, today there are less than 100. Earning the trust of this Serb community is not going to be easy (but I guess no one said it would): it’s the last Belgrade-’protected’ area that allows Kosovo Serbs to stay Kosovo Serbs, instead of having to immigrate into Serbia where they aren’t always welcome.

Black markets in Northern Mitrovica Rexhepi confirms that Kosovo institutions are not functioning in this region and EULEX has not deployed its mission, which he says results in a “security gap which is used by criminal groups (Serb and Albanian) for smuggling and creating a ‘legal’ black market.” He cites the same example Ahmeti, the leader of Peace Doves, did: the cost of fuel is half price in Northern Mitrovica, compared to in the South. Interestingly, Rexhepi first says “the problem in the Northern part of Kosovo [black market, smuggling] is not related to inter ethnic relations, but has to do with the rule of law. People from both communities are using this vaccum to work on their interests not respecting rule of law.” Interestingly enough, the black market is one of few places where Albanians and Serbs come together. I guess sharing common ground has its benefits. If we come back to Albin Kurti’s argument, that more jobs = mixed ethnicity work spaces = common ground for building better relationships, the UN should jump on the economic development boat for more than one reason.

Rexhepi then rescinds on his previous comment and says that after independence violence immediately flared up in two places, Customs Gates 1 and 31, and “therefore [the state] considers this a ‘perfect environment’ for criminal groups to create a black market in that part of Kosovo [north] and having a direct impact on interethnic relations.”

I’ll just finish this off by a list he gave me of immediate steps and actions the Kosovo government has to undertake to bring stability to Northern Kosovo:

-take all necessary measures to protect state institutions (customs, courts, correction service)
-to ensure respect for the Chain of Command from all KPS officers
-provide security for International Civilian Office staff in the Northern part of Kosovo.
-increase border control and border management.
-take all necessary steps to prevent creation of other parallel institutions
-re-establish Customs Service in Gate 1 and 31.