KFOR Begins Transferring Responsibilities to Kosovo Police at the Ibar Bridge and Deçan Monastery, Halilaj Explains the Significance

Security at the main bridge over the Ibar River in Mitrovica has begun to pass into the hands of the Kosovo Police. At the same time, the institution is also being entrusted with new duties in the area surrounding Deçan Monastery.

The changes are being implemented as part of a gradual transition from KFOR’s permanent presence toward greater involvement by the Kosovo Police in the security structure. The process is being viewed as an important step in strengthening the local institutions responsible for law and order and security.

In an interview with “Bota sot,” lawyer Gazmend Halilaj discussed the political and institutional significance of this development, the message it sends to Belgrade, and its potential impact on domestic political discussions in Kosovo.

Halilaj said the phased transfer of responsibilities to Kosovo’s institutions does not represent a weakening of security or the international presence. According to him, it shows that the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo have increased their capacities and are ready to assume greater responsibility.

Referring to KFOR’s decision to gradually modify its permanent presence at the main bridge over the Ibar River in Mitrovica, in line with the improved security situation, he described it as a particularly important development for Kosovo. According to Halilaj, the process demonstrates that the security structures and institutions of the Republic of Kosovo are consolidating and assuming an increasingly significant role in guaranteeing law and order and security throughout the country.

He emphasized that KFOR continues to be of great importance to stability in Kosovo and the region. However, according to him, the objective of every democratic state is for local institutions to be capable of efficiently fulfilling their responsibilities. For this reason, KFOR’s gradual shift from a permanent presence toward a more flexible role should be understood as an indication of greater stability and stronger local capacities, rather than as a threat to security.

The lawyer also attached particular importance to the gradual integration of the Kosovo Police into KFOR’s security architecture at Deçan Monastery.

In his assessment, this step shows that the Kosovo Police’s role is expanding and trust in it is growing, especially in places where security issues have often been intertwined with political and ethnic tensions.

Halilaj said the phased integration of the Kosovo Police into KFOR’s security system at Deçan Monastery carries considerable institutional significance. He stressed that the Kosovo Police is increasingly being treated as a professional institution of importance to security in the Republic of Kosovo, which is particularly significant in areas where security has often been exploited as a tool to fuel political and ethnic tensions.

According to Halilaj, the latest developments also contain a direct message for Belgrade: responsibility for security in Kosovo rests with the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo.

He explained that institutional strengthening should not be presented as a measure directed against any community. On the contrary, according to him, it is about strengthening Kosovo’s constitutional order and institutional organization.

The lawyer said Belgrade must clearly understand that every step that strengthens the institutions responsible for security in Kosovo contributes to long-term stability. He reiterated that the process is not directed against any community but aims to consolidate the country’s constitutional and institutional order.

Regarding political actors within Kosovo that oppose or downplay the strengthening of state institutions, Halilaj said this development should serve as evidence that building professional and functional institutions benefits all citizens, regardless of their ethnic or political affiliation.

Speaking about the political impact, he said the Kosovo government may also present this development as a political achievement. However, Halilaj stressed that strengthening the security institutions cannot be considered the achievement of only one particular government or party.

According to him, security is a matter of state interest, so any progress made in this regard should be regarded as a shared success of Kosovo’s institutions.

Halilaj said that growing confidence in local capabilities and the strengthening of security structures are positive developments for the state, and it is therefore natural for the Kosovo government to also regard them as a political success. Nevertheless, he called it unfair for such an institutional process to be appropriated by one government or political force, because the security of the Republic of Kosovo is a state interest and the results in this sector 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 opposition to the government should not become an obstacle to processes that strengthen the security institutions.

According to him, the interests of the state, rather than party gains, should take priority because governments and parties change, while state institutions continue to exist.

He stressed that the opposition may criticize the government on many issues, but improved security, the strengthening of the Kosovo Police, and the expansion of the responsibilities of the Republic’s institutions should not be turned into an ordinary clash between political parties.

Gazmend Halilaj concluded his statement to “Bota sot” by reiterating that parties enter and leave the political stage and governments change, while state institutions remain. For precisely this reason, according to him, this is a case in which the interests of the state must be placed above party interests.