EULEX assessed that some arrests carried out in the north of Kosovo were not fully in line with the law, but that “this practice was thereupon modified,” said EULEX chief Giovanni Pietro Barbano at the UNMIK Trust-building Forum held in Thessaloniki, Greece.
“A commitment to return, restitution of land, protection of cultural heritage, prevention of discrimination, upholding freedom of speech and a degree of self-governance helps rebuild the social fabric and instills a sense of trust in the legal system,” KoSSev quoted Barbano as saying.
He highlighted a case when the decision of the Kosovo Constitutional Court on Visoki Decani land was not respected.
“Such trust is supported by -for example- a strict adherence to Cultural Heritage protection and Language laws, which needs to remain in focus in Kosovo. It is undermined, however, by for example the longstanding failure of Kosovo authorities to implement their own 2016 Constitutional Court decision assigning ownership of land to the Serbian Orthodox Monastery of Visoki Decani,” said Barbano, KoSSev reported.
Likewise, he said, the often-heated debate in Kosovo about the establishment of the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities could be served by an increased focus on community rights in the light of trust-building and reconciliation.
Barbano noted that EULEX remains concerned about the ongoing expropriation procedures in northern Kosovo.
Barbano claimed that the Mission also followed up on all arrests following the Banjska events on September 24 and monitored the Kosovo Police search operations in and around the Banjska Monastery and in several private properties to ascertain strict adherence to procedure and respect for human rights.
“Sadly, though, the sustained series of security crises in northern Kosovo have forced both EULEX and law enforcement into continual crisis management at the expense of more community-oriented policing. Following the retreat of all police officers that represented the majority community in the North, community policing has become even more challenging but remains essential for trust-building,” stressed Barbano.
He noted that it “remains imperative” that the Kosovo Serb community in northern Kosovo re-engages with the Kosovo institutions and contribute to law enforcement that “clearly prioritizes the protection of communities over exerting control through force.”
