Pristina, November 30, 2022
Honorable Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Glauk Konjufca,
Dear members of the Assembly of the Republic,
Dear citizens of Kosovo,
On November 23 of this year at the 109th meeting of the government and on November 24 here in the Assembly of the Republic, I have shown you the progress of the high-level meeting between the Republic of Kosovo and Serbia on November 21.
The text proposed by the vice president of the European Commission and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy and Security, Mr. Borrell as a draft statement that used to be issued at the end of the meeting and that actually constituted the meeting invitation, had four paragraphs. Two of them called for an urgent focus on the “EU Proposal”, supported by Germany and France, for the normalization of relations, setting a deadline for reaching an agreement before March 2023. So, March 2023 is mentioned for the first time in the invitation of Borrell and Lajçak for the meeting that took place then.
In principle we agreed to this invitation and bought the tickets to Brussels. Now, in the framework of those discussions we had there, we have always put the emphasis on the “EU proposal” for agreement. Dialogue as dialogue for agreement, not dialogue for process, or dialogue to solve a minor problem. The conversion of illegal license plates in some municipalities in the north of Kosovo is the right of the citizens of the Republic, but at the same time it is also their obligation. And we have implemented this obligation by also presenting financial incentives to all those who convert license plates. Let’s not forget that there are several thousands of such license plates, tens of thousands of Serbs have already converted illegal license plates to RKS ones. There are also those that have been converted to Serbian license plates BG, NI, KG and so on. But it is a minority within the Serbian minority that has not converted them, let’s not create the impression that it is about the majority of the minority, but about the minority of the minority, because the data in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Kosovo Police prove such a thing.
We agreed to suspend further actions, namely fines that followed the reprimands, related to the conversion of license plates if Serbia would suspend the issuance of license plates with denominations of Kosovo`s cities.
So, focus with urgency and with a certain deadline on the Franco-German proposal and in the middle suspension of further license plate actions regarding fines in Kosovo, and their issuance in Raska, Serbia. This was our very rational proposal and we were very close to reach a joint statement, which Mr. Borell would then present.
I repeat that Monday’s meeting was not successful, since the focus on the “EU proposal” supported by France, Germany and the United States of America, was switched only to the actions related to the conversion of illegal license plates to RKS ones. I repeated to them what I already told them on August 18, that I am neither a policeman, nor a station commander, nor a customs official, nor a cadastral chief, I am the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo and I have come for the final agreement. And they knew that I am right, because the meeting on August 18 gave me the right. The first point is the general framework of the agreement, the second point is current affairs.
On Wednesday, November 23, exactly what could be achieved on Monday was achieved. So, suspension of further actions regarding license plates, on the one hand fining the illegal ones in Kosovo and on the other hand banning their issuance in Serbia.
In my judgment, Wednesday’s agreement was not possible without Monday’s developments, because many things were seen on Monday, above all, the abandonment of the European Union’s proposal, precisely by the mediator.
However, we are now in a different situation. We have suspended the actions to give space to the agreement according to the European or Franco-German proposal, which from the very beginning we have called a good basis for discussion. Because it is based on values, not within that ideology of a unique solution to specific problems, with endless detail that makes everyone lose interest in it.
Now it is up to the sponsors of this plan to reach an agreement for the normalization of relations as soon as possible.
As I stated on the day of the inauguration in this Assembly, the dialogue with Serbia is one of the capital topics in which we aim for political and social consensus.
In this regard, I have repeatedly invited the heads of political entities for consultation and coordination, including the caller of this interpellation.
We are a democratic country and debates and constructive criticism strengthen and sharpen our arguments. We may not always agree on the approach to dialogue, what are the best strategies and tactics, and here I believe we differ, but what I believe unites us is our common goal of strengthening Kosovo’s sovereignty and preserving territorial integrity .
Kosovo citizens have voted massively for change and for a new approach to the dialogue with Serbia.
Therefore I welcome the criticisms, they are welcome, but I believe that at the same time you should understand exactly the clarity, determination, fairness and usefulness of this new approach.
If we were in the past governments where the majority depended on the Serbian List, surely there would have been a motion of no confidence to overthrow the Government. But this is not possible now, reciprocity with license plates, reciprocity with ID cards would be a sufficient motive for those who try to overthrow the Government. But a big change has happened and I believe that we should all be happy that the Republic of Kosovo has a Government that does not depend on the votes of the Serbian List for a majority.
Independence from Serbia is also independence from illegal structures and their destructive influence on politics that they have had since they existed.
The extent and protection of sovereignty throughout the territory of the Republic of Kosovo is not something exceptional. It is our constitutional and legal obligation of the security institutions and it is our common oath that we have made in this Assembly. In this sense, Kosovo Police is not doing anything illegal or extraordinary, but is implementing its constitutional and legal mission.
All the activities of the Kosovo Police, including routine patrols to special operations, throughout the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, have never been done with the intention of a certain ethnicity, in certain areas or for certain reasons, never. The police do not follow anyone according to ethnicity, but according to individual and group actions or behaviors.
Of course, in no other country has the fair and legal commitment of the Kosovo Police been fought more than in the north. This has happened because for years the north of the country has been controlled by Belgrade through various criminal groups which in some cases have also had support from the governments, and recently it was openly confirmed that they also had support from the high structures of the police management in the North Regional Directorate.
Our police have implemented the law every day and everywhere their mission for the rule of law, which must target organized crime and corruption, otherwise it makes no sense. It is true that the Police has been challenged like nowhere else in the north of the country. 11 times they were blocked and attacked to be eliminated but they were never stopped. 38 police operations have been carried out, of which 33 are anti-drug operations, 6 drug laboratories with investments of hundreds of millions have been destroyed, over 40 kilograms of narcotic substances, about 110 thousand euros and over 370 thousand Serbian dinars have been seized. That is why police officials were attacked because they shook the foundations of the criminal groups there. And I thank you and I am forever grateful for this sacrificial work that they have done. Those who are against the law, they love lawlessness. They don’t mind the action of our Police, but they do mind the presence of our Police. They love lawlessness.
The Kosovo Police has never been hindered by the local Serbs, due to the commitment in that area, our police officials are thanked every day by the citizens in the north for their work and commitment in providing security for them. The proof that the local Serbs have no problem with us and our institutions is the process of accepting reprimands from their side for using illegal license plates. 1,800 reprimands were distributed until the morning of November 24, and there was no complaint, no remark, or no incident during their distribution at border points nor in traffic, while the registration process, we have all seen, continued with threats and attacks against citizens who have been equipped with RKS license plates. Their cars and property were burned in the evenings of the days they received and placed RKS license plates. So no remarks for our 1800 remarks.
The Kosovo Police has faced resignations orchestrated by Belgrade of police superiors in the north and resignations after threats against other police officials. The police in that area have faced all kinds of challenges, so they are successfully managing this to be up to the task for every citizen without distinction, and not leave a vacuum anywhere.
The Border Police in Leposaviq until we came to the Government had only 1 small work office, and while it is the border line with the most traffic, therefore, earlier there was more smuggling and illegal crossing of the border, but it was absent the will to fight these, and consequently to strengthen police capacities.
Now we have 3 police stations of the green line of the border that engage in fighting smuggling, human trafficking and any illegality there, in Jarinje, Bernjak and Jasenovik. We have 3, we found a small office, now there are 3 stations. 4 new stations have been set up for the rapid border intervention unit, part of the border department. This unit has not existed until now and was established for assistance in cases of smuggling, trafficking and others.
Point two of the resolution states “communication with local Serbs to restore mutual trust”: Communication with local Serbian citizens is happening, and at the same time investments are happening as well. There have been continuous meetings with Serbian NGOs and Serbian citizens to address their concerns and needs. We are saying that there is both communication and investment, after 22 years investment has been made in the north in infrastructure to serve all the citizens there. For the first time, the roads connecting the villages in the north of the country in Ceraj, Koshtovo, Bistrica, Dedin, Batahir and Manxhere are being paved. So, citizens are getting a faster and easier traffic access. Meanwhile, in the coming weeks, we will also support Telekom to expand the network in the northern municipalities of the country, worth 1 million euros. So, order and law, investment and development. This is all that you all need, and we are fully committed to carry out this duty and responsibility that the citizens have entrusted to us.
And finally, the issue of handling the resignations of police officers is not my decision, nor that of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is not a political decision. The political decision was the political resignation, in my opinion for no reason, they said moral and individual and the text was the same for each of them. The same moral and individual crisis had collectively caught each of them together, with the identical text of the resignation, this is a political decision. Now I repeat my call that no Serb should abandon the institutions and this is my constant call, it will be like this in the days to come. The institutions do not belong to the Government and the institutions do not belong only to a community but to all the citizens of the Republic. But where there is a vacuum, there must be new applications for work. The political decision to resign cannot be followed by political calls for return, but by professional application of those who want those jobs, of course everyone is welcome. Neither the Prime Minister nor the Minister of the Interior decides on this, so this is regulated according to the internal procedures and regulations of the Kosovo Police that apply to all officials without any distinction. In spite of this situation, we will continuously commit to the Kosovo Police being in the maximum state of readiness for all citizens regardless of ethnicity, religion, age, gender, but also in the implementation of its constitutional mission in the protection of sovereignty and integrity territorial of our country.
Thank you for your attention and cooperation.
Last modified: December 2, 2022