Kosovo 2008 or 2015?

Since Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008, the country has been fighting an internal struggle, baited with ethnic division, corruption, organized crime, and political wrangling. The newly independent state has progressed in the past seven years. Yet, with its seven year birthday looming this month, it would seem that the country, with its continued international supervision and expected future EU accession, is not through the ethnic hatred of its past. Moreover, it would not be difficult to suppose that ethnic division, which led to the death and displacement of thousands in 1999, could potentially derail the country’s future. The dawn of 2015 saw Kosovo’s largest protests since 2008. And it all began with the ethnically charged comments of a government official.

On January 6 2015, the ethnic tension between the majority Albanian and minority Serb populations came to a head. During the Serbian Orthodox Christmas, around 100 Albanian protesters rallied against Serbian pilgrims who were traveling from Belgrade, Serbia, to visit an Orthodox Church in Gjakova. Many of those who rallied against the pilgrims were women who had lost family members in the 1999 Kosovo conflict. The pilgrims consequently called off their visit after their route was blocked and their buses pelted with Ice by the ethnic-Albanian protesters. To put it into context, the location of Gjakova was the scene of heavy fighting in Kosovo’s 1999 conflict. Following both heavy military and civilian bloodshed in Gjakova, the once ethnically mixed town is now a majority ethnic Albanian. The relatively small clash between the Serbs and Albanians at the beginning of January 2015 is far from an isolated incident in Kosovo. Nonetheless, it became the fuel for a series of violent protests in Kosovo.

Following the altercation between the Serbs and Albanians in Gjakova, Serbian Minister for Communities and Returns, Aleksandar Jablanovic, of the recently elected Isa Mustafa’s government, responded by calling the protesters “Savages”. His comments were followed by a public apology days later, in which Jablanovic apologized to the mothers and relatives of war victims for his comment. However, Jablanovic’s statement reopened deep wounds of ethnic hate in Kosovo. National-scale protests for his dismissal swiftly followed.

The protests began on January 16 and concluded in the largest and most violent protest in Kosovo’s independent history on January 27. The protests, comprised of thousands of people, took place across Kosovo, but primarily in the capital, Pristina and were organized by the nationalist opposition movement, Vetëvendosje. Over the course of the protests, police officers were forced to use tear gas and deploy water cannons on protesters as they threw stones, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and damaged government and private property. They carried Albanian flags and chanted “out with Jablanovic”, “Down with the government”. Protesters also attacked journalists who were attempting to report on the fierce demonstrations. Hundreds of protesters and police were injured in the violent clashes, which were for the large part, situated in and around Pristina’s famous Mother Teresa Street. The protests themselves were organized primarily to demand the dismissal of the Kosovo-Serb minister. However, Prime Minister Mustafa’s freshly elected government became an additional source of national dissatisfaction. Protesters also gathered to record their frustration with what they believe is the outgrown role of Serbia in Kosovo’s present and future. Supported by Vetëvendosje, the protesters called for Kosovo’s Prime Minister to carry out the nationalization of the Trepça mining complex. The nationalization of the Trepça mining complex, which is rich in lead, silver, and zinc, has always been met by Serbian contempt. Serbia firmly advocates its claim to the mine, as a result of Belgrade’s management of it during the final Yugoslav years. Subsequently, Mustafa’s dawdling nationalization of the mine has been perceived as not just an economic knock to Kosovo’s future, but also a grave disrespect to Kosovo’s national pride, which Kosovo Albanians fought so hard to achieve.

The run of violent protests during January has now concluded with the dismissal of Minister Jablanovic. Yet, the storm is far from over in Kosovo. The threat of further protests for the nationalization of the Trepça mining complex still remains. What is more, the ramifications of the public movements against the government and a government official are a stark reminder of the national pride felt by the ethnic Albanian majority. They are also a stark reminder of the underlying (most of the time) and constant ethnic division in Kosovo.