When it comes to the present and future of Kosovo, there are two outcomes that are fairly certain: It’s highly unlikely that Kosovo as a whole will ever again come under the full sovereignty of Serbia (as its southern province), just as it is highly unlikely that Kosovo will become a civic nation under Albanian rule. A solution should be sought, even including within the framework of the German-French (American and European) plan, in practice between those two unrealistic, utopian, outcome, i.e., the return of Kosovo to Serbia versus the building of a model civil society in Kosovo
It is absurd when Albin Kurti states that the Community of Serb Municipalities, the creation of which was stipulated under the Brussels Agreement ten years ago, is not in accord with Kosovo’s multi-ethnic and civic constitution, because it was precisely against the multi-ethnic and civic constitution of Serbia that the Kosovo Albanians rebelled and, with the decisive help of NATO, achieved the aim of the demonstrations of 1981 – with the slogan ‘Kosovo Republic’.
And so, the famous Community of Serb Municipalities means minority ethnic autonomy for the Kosovo Serbs, as opposed to the authority of the majority ethnic Albanian Kosovo. And such an agreed upon, but yet to be formed, creation of Brussels (though it does mean Vučić’s abandoning his maximalist policy on Kosovo) is unacceptable to Albanian ethno-unitarism. The Serbian side could cynically say that the Community would have a civic character, on condition its authorities have the qualities of essential autonomy. At least Republika Srpska “Lite”. The elections organised by Kurti’s regime in North Kosovo, with voting in shipping containers and a general boycott among Serb voters, showed all the obscurity of faking democracy and ignoring ethno-democracy.
The Brussels Agreement provided Vučić with a decade of a development policy for Serbia, but simultaneously also provided a decade of Western tolerance for democratic deficits in Serbia. With the Ohrid Agreement, Vučić would like another one of those decades, and practice has already demonstrated that the West still won’t be too concerned over democratic deficits in the case that there are any shifts in Kosovo. The war in Ukraine, which hadn’t started at the time of the Brussels Agreement, provides the dynamics to today’s events. And to Vučić’s wiggle room.
It is absurd when Albin Kurti states that the Community of Serb Municipalities, the creation of which was stipulated under the Brussels Agreement ten years ago, is not in accord with Kosovo’s multi-ethnic and civic constitution, because it was precisely against the multi-ethnic and civic constitution of Serbia that the Kosovo Albanians rebelled and, with the decisive help of NATO, achieved the aim of the demonstrations of 1981 – with the slogan ‘Kosovo Republic
In commenting on the “container elections”, Vučić has said that “at one point the occupation must come to an end”. And he clarified by saying that if there is any advantage in this situation, it is that we (Serbs) are choosing the moment when the occupation will meet its end. “They (Albanians) decided to occupy both the people and territory where they’d never been present and where nobody wanted them, and that has never ended well for the occupier,” said Vučić. But, wait: Vučić must be referring to the occupation of North Kosovo, because since coming to power in 2012, he has never stated that the whole of Kosovo is under occupation. He has never said, as some right-wingers in Serbia seek, that he has “declared an occupation”. As far as Vučić is concerned, a policy of compromise remains on the table. And it can be implemented, even if it is not officially signed. And okay, Vučić wouldn’t be Vučić if there were no figures of speech, which is why he said of Kurti that he would become an “occupational Gauleiter”. Gauleiter being the term for the political governors of districts under the rule of Hilter’s party. Again, let’s be precise: Vučić isn’t suggesting that Kurti will be the “occupational Gauleiter” of the whole of Kosovo, rather only of the areas designated for the Community of Serb Municipalities, nor does he think that Kurti is the “Gauleiter” appointed by what is colloquially referred to in Russian slang as the “collective West”, or “collective Hitler”.
Kosovo has now been admitted into the Council of Europe. Vučić was particularly delighted that Hungary voted against it. Before becoming part of any EU, it seems Vučić would prefer Serbia to become part of some new “Austro-Hungary”. Though this time, if somehow possible, without Croatia.