Responsibility for security at the main bridge over the Ibar River in Mitrovica has begun to be transferred to the Kosovo Police, which is also taking on new duties in the area surrounding Deçan Monastery.
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The handover is taking place as part of the gradual transition from KFOR’s permanent presence and the greater integration of the Kosovo Police into the security architecture. This process is being viewed as an important step toward consolidating local security institutions.
In an interview with “Bota sot,” lawyer Gazmend Halilaj discussed the political and institutional significance of this development, the signal it sends to Belgrade, and its potential impact on the domestic political debate in Kosovo.
Halilaj said the gradual transfer of responsibilities to Kosovo’s institutions does not mean a weakening of security or of the international role. According to him, it shows that the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo have expanded their capabilities and are assuming greater responsibility.
He said KFOR’s decision to gradually adjust its permanent presence at the main bridge over the Ibar River in Mitrovica, following an improvement in the security situation, represents a particularly important development for Kosovo. In his view, this move demonstrates that the security structures and institutions of the Republic of Kosovo are growing stronger and assuming increasing responsibility for maintaining order and security throughout the country.
Halilaj stressed that KFOR continues to be of great importance to stability in Kosovo and the region. However, according to him, every democratic state should aim for its own institutions to effectively exercise the responsibilities that belong to them. For this reason, the transition from KFOR’s permanent presence to a more flexible role should not be understood as undermining security, but as an indication of a more stable situation and stronger local capabilities.
The lawyer also emphasized the importance of the gradual integration of the Kosovo Police into KFOR’s security architecture at Deçan Monastery.
According to him, this process shows that the role of the Kosovo Police is expanding and confidence in it is growing, especially in areas where security issues have often been intertwined with political and ethnic tensions.
Halilaj said the gradual integration of the Kosovo Police into KFOR’s security system at Deçan Monastery carries significant institutional weight. He said the police are increasingly being regarded as a professional and important security institution in the Republic of Kosovo, something that takes on particular significance in areas where security has often been used as a tool to fuel political and ethnic tensions.
Speaking about the message to Belgrade, Halilaj emphasized that recent developments make it clear that responsibility for security in Kosovo belongs to the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo.
He added that institutional strengthening should not be interpreted as an action against any community, but as a reinforcement of the country’s constitutional and institutional order.
According to Halilaj, Belgrade must clearly understand that every step strengthening the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo contributes to long-term stability. He reiterated that this process is not directed against any community, but is intended to consolidate Kosovo’s constitutional and institutional order.
He also said this development should serve as an argument for political actors within Kosovo who oppose or downplay the strengthening of state institutions. According to him, building professional and functional institutions is in the interest of all citizens, regardless of their ethnic or political affiliation.
As for its political impact, Halilaj said the Kosovo government could present the development as a political success. However, he emphasized that the strengthening of security institutions cannot be credited solely to one government or one party.
In his assessment, security is a matter of state interest, and progress in this sector should therefore be regarded as an achievement of Kosovo’s institutions as a whole.
Halilaj said the strengthening of security institutions and growing confidence in local capabilities are positive developments for the state, and the Kosovo government may therefore also view them as a political success. However, according to him, it would not be right for such an institutional process to be treated as the exclusive property of a political party or government, because the security of the Republic of Kosovo is a state interest and successes in this area belong to the country’s institutions as a whole.
In conclusion, Halilaj called on the opposition to approach this development with a sense of responsibility toward the state. He said criticism of the government should not turn into opposition to processes that strengthen security institutions.
He stressed that the state interest must be placed above party interests because governments and parties change, while state institutions remain.
According to Halilaj, the opposition may criticize the government on many issues, but the strengthening of the Kosovo Police, improvements in security, and the increased responsibilities of the Republic’s institutions should not be turned into a routine partisan dispute.
“Bota sot” concluded the interview with Gazmend Halilaj’s position that this is precisely a case in which the state interest must prevail over party interests, since governments change and parties come and go, while state institutions remain.
