Tensions between the country’s ethnic rhythms have intensified as Kosovo prepares for parliamentary elections in February.
Kosovo raided and shut down ten Serb-run shadow agencies in ethnic Serb areas on Wednesday, the country’s interior ministry said.
The incident was part of a recent move by the Kosovo government to target the Serbian government-backed so-called shadow government, which covers social services and political agencies. Tensions between the country’s ethnic rhythms have intensified as the country prepares for the parliamentary elections to be held in February.
The agencies targeted on Wednesday had not provided real services, but acted as a symbolic representation of Serbia’s political institutions inside Kosovo.
– The era of Serbian criminal shadows and institutions in the Republic of Kosovo is over, Minister of the Interior Xhelal Svecla said on social media.
According to the minister, Serbian post offices and banks were also closed in the operation.
– As we have sworn, we will not accept any parallelism with Serbia, especially crime that violates our country’s constitution and legal order, the minister continued.
“The company weakens the identity of Serbs”
Serbia’s Foreign Ministry called Kosovo’s actions a dangerous escalation.
– These aggressive actions are not only an attack on institutions, but a blatant attempt to undermine the rights and identity of the Kosovo Serbs, Foreign Minister Marko Djuric quoth.
The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has included in his election program the reining in of the Serbian institutions still operating in the country. Over the past year, Kosovo authorities have banned the Serbian dinar and closed banks that used the currency, as well as closed post offices where pension payments could be redeemed.
Kosovo Serbs are also no longer able to drive cars with Serbian license plates and must have local licenses.