Political analyst Gani Qarri, in a statement to “Bota sot”, welcomed KFOR’s decision to begin the gradual transition from permanent presence on the main bridge over the Ibar River in Mitrovica. According to him, this development marks an important step towards strengthening Kosovo’s institutions and increasing the responsibilities of the Kosovo Police.

He assessed that the approach of the Kosovo Government and its insistence on extending law and order throughout the territory have created new circumstances of security and stability in the northern part of the country.

Qarri said that the forward-looking policy of Prime Minister Kurti, the executive’s determination to enforce the law throughout Kosovo, the construction of two bridges on both sides of the main bridge over the Ibar, as well as the return of peaceful life and inter-ethnic stability, have changed the situation in Mitrovica. He also attributed this to the work of the Kosovo Police, under the direction of Veton Elshani, which, according to him, has made it possible that for more than three years no incident occurred in this part of the country.

According to the analyst, these developments have taken away from Serbia and KFOR forces the last argument that, 27 years after the liberation of Kosovo, the main bridge over the Ibar should continue to be seen as a symbol of division. He declared that the bridge must now become a point of true and permanent unification of the miners’ city.

Referring to UN Security Council Resolution 1244, adopted on June 10, 1999, Qarri emphasized that the deployment of KFOR in Kosovo was intended to protect state borders and guarantee security from external attacks by Serbian military forces. According to him, the mission was not foreseen to dictate internal developments or determine administrative divisions within the country.

He also mentioned the Serb terrorist attack in Banjska of Zveçan, where a Kosovo police officer was killed in the line of duty. Qarri said that the attack occurred before the eyes of KFOR and proved that, despite the mission’s presence, the security of the borders of the Republic of Kosovo was not at the required level. Meanwhile, according to him, KFOR soldiers continued to stand unnecessarily, day and night, on the main bridge over the Ibar in Mitrovica.

Qarri described the dismantling of the static point and the withdrawal of KFOR soldiers from the bridge as the start of a gradual, but real, transfer of responsibility to local institutions. He noted that this action came after 26-27 years of uninterrupted presence and only after the Kosovo Government began construction of the third bridge over the Ibar River in Mitrovica.

According to him, the transfer of responsibility for Mitrovica’s main bridge to the Kosovo Police is the best possible start of this process and is expected to eventually lead to the long-awaited reopening of the bridge.

Qarri recalled that the sudden deployment of KFOR forces on the bridge was particularly disheartening after the events of the night between February 3 and 4, 2000. Then, 10 innocent Albanians were killed, 25 others wounded, and over 12,000 defenseless Albanians were brutally expelled, overnight, from their ancestral homes in the north.

He said that this action not only created a heavy sense of insecurity but also added the fear that, precisely on the main bridge of the historic miners’ city, new borders were being silently imposed. According to him, this raised suspicion that the territory of Kosovo was being shrunk through force and without the consent of the Albanian people.

For this reason, the announcement of KFOR’s withdrawal from the main bridge over the Ibar River was received, according to Qarri, as very good news by citizens who wish the best for Kosovo and its people, and who support the state-building of the Republic.

The analyst also assessed that the transfer of the bridge under the responsibility of local institutions demonstrates the growth of the Kosovo Police’s capabilities. Taking charge of this point, according to him, shows the improvement of the security level, the enhancement of the police’s operational capacities, and the expansion of opportunities for the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo to take on other responsibilities in guaranteeing political stability.

Referring to information from the NATO mission, Qarri stated that the withdrawal of KFOR members from the main bridge over the Ibar had been discussed for a long time with the Kurti Government. He added that this process is also linked to the improvement of the security situation in Kosovo.

This decision, in addition to Kosovo’s citizens, has also been welcomed and strongly supported by Germany, which Qarri described as one of the main EU and NATO countries, as well as a proven friend of the independent state of Kosovo.

He recalled that on February 3 of this year, more than 26 years were marked since the “Night of Terror”. Almost a year after the end of the war and the liberation of Kosovo from the Serbian occupier, during the massacre of February 3-4, 2000 in northern Mitrovica, armed Serbian criminal groups and members of the Serbian terrorist organization called “bridge guards”, in the presence of international forces, killed 10 Albanians.

Among the victims were innocent women, elderly, and children. In those events, 25 others were wounded, while over 12,000 defenseless Albanians were expelled from the north. Their homes were burned and the inhabitants were persecuted with weapons from their ancestral homes in northern Kosovo.

Qarri described this as a horror that continues to be remembered with pain and as one of the most severe post-war events. According to him, it constitutes one of the most tragic forms of ethnic cleansing of Albanians from northern Kosovo, carried out by Serbian criminals in the first year of the country’s life in freedom.

In honor of the suffering, sacrifice, and courage of the Albanian residents, who were left alone and forced to defend themselves with bare hands that night, the Municipality of Mitrovica has placed a memorial plaque near the new pedestrian bridge. On it are inscribed the names of those killed.

The municipality has also opened an exhibition at the Cultural Center with photographs from the “Night of Terror” and has decided that every February 4, candles will be lit and commemorative activities will be organized for the Albanians killed by Serbian criminal gangs.

As another indicator of improved security, Qarri mentioned the announcement that on the same day as the decision on Mitrovica’s main Ibar bridge, the gradual integration and transfer of responsibility to Kosovo Police personnel for the Deçan Monastery also began. This development, according to him, was undertaken in accordance with the improved security situation in Kosovo.

Speaking about the history of the bridge and post-war developments, Qarri recalled that its opening for traffic had been addressed within the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue. He said that Kosovo and Serbia had agreed that the bridge would be opened for traffic as early as 2014.

The agreement at that time provided for the removal of all barricades placed by the Serbian criminals of Milan Radojçiq, but the bridge was not opened. In 2016, agreement was reached on a new implementation plan, according to which traffic was to start in January 2017.

Although about 1.5 million euros were invested in the project and the revitalization works were completed in June 2018, Qarri pointed out that the bridge has never been opened until now.

According to him, even the efforts of the Kurti Government to reopen the bridge for vehicles did not receive the approval of the international factor. Consequently, the Kosovo Government was forced to build two new bridges on both sides of the main bridge, one for vehicles and the other for pedestrians.

Qarri declared that this action rejected all unfounded reasoning of those who opposed the opening of the bridge with the claim that such a decision could worsen the security situation.

The latest KFOR decision that Mitrovica’s main Ibar bridge will pass under the responsibility of the local security force, according to him, confirms that all hostile efforts and ill-intentioned aims to keep the miners’ city divided have definitively failed. Qarri congratulated all Albanians and internationals who, in any form, helped to reach this day.

He said that the removal of the static point and KFOR members from the bridge, although occurring 27 years after the war, pleases citizens, especially the long-suffering Albanians who were violently expelled from the north by criminal forces and members of Serbian terrorist organizations.

According to Qarri, this is a welcome and long-awaited development, which also proves the growth of NATO’s trust in the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo. He assessed that the decision sends a clear political message to Serbia and other actors who do not wish Kosovo well and still try to destabilize the north at all costs: their aims have failed.

Finally, Qarri expressed concern regarding the announcement that the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian army was also continuously kept informed about the latest developments around the bridge.

He said that linking any process of normalizing the situation in Kosovo and strengthening its statehood with the regime and army of Serbia continues to deeply touch the wounds of Albanians. Qarri recalled that the Serbian army carried out hundreds of massacres, exercised terror, and caused genocide of unprecedented proportions against defenseless Albanians.

According to him, Serbia’s involvement in such processes brings back the bitterest memories, especially at a time when Kosovo continues to discover mass graves and the fate of over 1,600 killed and kidnapped Albanians remains unknown. Qarri declared that Serbia continues to hold them hostage even 27 years after the end of the war, while the martyred Albanian families have been waiting for almost three decades, with open graves, for their loved ones.

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