As Kosovo’s independence comes and goes, it looks like the ‘ethnic divide’ in Mitrovica is here to stay:
MITROVICA — From the Serbian side of the Ibar River that divides this city, a visitor can stand and gaze on freshly painted buildings in the Albanian half of Mitrovica. It is a sharp contrast to the grayness that seems to hang over the Serbian part of the city.
Oliver Ivanovic, who currently serves as a key Belgrade official on Kosovo issues, was born in Mitrovica. But he says even he finds the city to be neglected and dreary.
"In this gloomy, gray atmosphere, it’s hard to be an optimist," Ivanovic says. "People who were born here and have lived here for a long time have become attached to this town. But talking to them, I learned that, despite their roots in Mitrovica, some of them have reached the conclusion that this is no longer the place they used to care about. They’re thinking about leaving."
Mitrovica, in northern Kosovo, has been a divided city for nearly a decade. Its northern half, and its environs, are home to the bulk of Kosovo’s 250,000 ethnic Serbs. Contact is rare — and often hostile — with the majority Albanians who populate the city’s southern half.
Changing the Kosovo economy is key to reconciliation: engaging Albanians and Serbs in the same – legal – working atmosphere and ensuring they benefit equally is essential. Bridge the economic cleavage and there’s a chance for some serious talks. Talks where the locals govern the outcome, not the nationalists in Belgrade or the ex-KLA in Pristina’s government.