The barricades in the north are removed

On Thursday afternoon, the barricades in the village of Rudare, which is located in the municipality of Zvecan, have been removed, Radio Free Europe journalists report from the field.

According to information from the field, the barricades were also removed in North Mitrovica.

Barricades were also removed from the roads in the municipalities of Leposavic and Zubin Potok.

People wearing masks were seen at the barricade in Rudare and at the barricade in North Mitrovica.

The main roads leading to Jarinje and Brnjak – the border points connecting Kosovo with Serbia – had been closed since December 10.

Barricades in northern Kosovo were set up by several Serb groups to oppose the arrest of a former Serb policeman from the Kosovo Police.

Dejan Pantic was arrested in early December on suspicion of attacking Kosovar officials.

On Dec. 28, Pantic’s detention was replaced with house arrest.

Kosovo blames the barricades on “criminal gangs” supported by Serbia.

“The barricades are being dismantled. On Sunday we said that it is a matter of days when they will go. Even better that this will happen without the intervention of our police. They erected the barricades themselves, they removed them themselves. In other words: Those who blocked were tired in vain,” said Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti at the year-end reception with journalists.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on Thursday that the barricades would be removed after the meeting with the representatives of the Serbs from Kosovo.

Vučić met with them on the evening of December 28 at the Serbian army barracks in Raska near the border with Kosovo.

He said Wednesday that guarantees had been given that the Serbs demands for removal of the barricades would be met. The Serbs demands are for the release of former police officer Dejan Pantic, that “the people who were on the barricades will not be prosecuted” and that the entry of Kosovar special forces into the north will not be allowed.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said that “diplomacy has won in reducing tensions in northern Kosovo.”

He welcomed Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. “Violence can never be a solution,” Borrell wrote in a Tweet.

“We now urgently need progress in dialogue,” Borrell added.

He also praised the work of the EU, the United States, and KFOR on the issue.

The United States and the European Union announced Dec. 28 that they are working with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbia President Aleksandar Vučić to find a political solution to reduce tensions in northern Kosovo.

In a joint statement, the U.S. and EU welcomed assurances from Kosovo’s leaders that there are no lists for arresting Serb citizens or prosecuting peaceful protesters or setting up barricades.

Otherwise, several trucks blocking the road in the town known as Dudin Krs in northern Mitrovica were burned during the night. According to Kosovo police, apart from property damage, there are no reports of casualties while the case is being investigated.

These trucks were deployed at this location on December 27, when groups of Serbs erected new barricades on the northern roads.

In addition to the north, another barricade was erected on the territory of Serbia near Kosovo’s border with Serbia in Merdare on December 27.

The erection of barricades has fueled numerous tensions between Kosovo and Serbia.

Serbia put the army on alert and increased its military presence on the border line with Kosovo, particularly in Raska in Serbia.

The European Union and the United States of America repeatedly called for the removal of the barricades and compliance with the Brussels agreements.

What preceded the tensions in the north?

The situation in the northern part of Kosovo became tense in recent months because the Kosovo government decided to withdraw illegal license plates from circulation with the acronym KM, as well as other acronyms PR, GL, PE, etc., issued to Kosovo Serbs by the Serbian Ministry of Interior.

The decision was opposed by both local Serbs and official Belgrade. However, the Kosovo government was determined to implement the decision even though the international community, including the United States, wanted more time.

Due to the refusal to implement the decision to re-register cars with illegal license plates, Kosovo institutions suspended the director of the Kosovo Police for the Northern Region, Nenad Djuric.

After the suspension of director Djuric, Srpska lista, the largest political entity of Serbs in Kosovo, announced the removal of Serbs from all Kosovo institutions, until his return to work and, as its chairman, Goran Rakić, said, until the respect of all agreements by the institutions of Kosovo, including the formation of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority.

In the following weeks, Serb officials from the Kosovo police, judiciary, local and central levels resigned.

While the international community has called for the return of the Serbs in institutions, government officials, including Prime Minister Albin Kurti, have stated that their return cannot be a political problem, adding that it is a legal and constitutional issue.