Although the process of formation of the Armed Forces of Kosovo could last for a decade , the first step towards it is a change of the Constitution, which requires a two-thirds majority, not only of all the members, but also members of minority communities who have the power to block the process.
Parliamentary committee responsible for overseeing the Kosovo Security Forces discussed the strategy of the security sector which envisages the formation of the Armed Forces, and which was previously adopted by the Kosovo Security Council and the Government of Kosovo.
The only representative of the Serbian community in the Committee, MP Goran Marinkovic, believes that the formation of the armed forces is unnecessary burden for Kosovo, because the NATO is sufficient guarantee of security, considering Kosovo is not in danger, especially from Serbia. He believes there is a possibility of conditioning voting for the armed forces with getting reserved seats.
“We need reserved seats in order to protect our interests, at this moment. I think that adoption of the Law on the Armed Forces of Kosovo is not possible without two -thirds votes of the minority communities. We will not allow ourselves to be manipulated, because sometimes we have worked to the detriment of our communities, in order to find a compromise for some solutions,” said Marinkovic.
Minister for Communities and Returns, Dalibor Jevtic, earlier said that amending the Constitution has not been discussed by the officials of the Independent Liberal Party. MP from the Bosniak community, Rasim Demiri, does not see the formation of the armed forces as a threat to anyone, but rather as a factor of peace and step closer to Euro-Atlantic community.
Anton Quni from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) believes that trade with the votes, behind the scene, would bring more harm than good. “Change of the Constitution is inevitable, because the Kosovo Security Forces are constitutional category. It requires majority votes of the members of minorities, but not-transparent consultation and networking with other political issues would cost us a lot. The question is whether this work with such a high cost is worth at all,” says Quni.
Strategy of the security sector envisaged that the Kosovo Security Force receive military instead of civilian role till 2024. For political leaders ten years is too much, while the security sector experts say that the whole process will bring higher costs and could last 15 years.
“We think it will go very slow, since professional security forces that can guarantee the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo requires a lot of time and many resources. This requires additional budgetary resources. Under the current budget, future armed forces will have maximum budget 65 to 75 million. Their assets would be limited, and we should reach NATO standards , whether it is a guarantee of peace in the country, or peacekeeping mission, ” says Skender Prteshi, researcher of the Kosovo Centre for security Studies.
MP from Self-determination movement (Vetevendosja), Rexhep Selimi, says he is pleased with the security sector strategy, adopted by the Government and the Council for security, but he doesn’t believe that government will implement it. “I request from the Government not to negotiate with Serbia about this document, because almost everything that was done so far, was negotiated with Serbia, including security institutions such as The Police,” Selimi said.
The armed forces would be a component of NATO, in intervention and peacekeeping missions outside of Kosovo, and would accelerate the process of Euro-Atlantic integration. For all of that there is the consent of the North Atlantic alliance, since their representatives were present at the meeting of the Kosovo Council for Security, when the decision on creation of the Armed Forces was taken, concluded the President of the Parliamentary Committee for Security, Ahmet Isufi.
According to the recent announcements there is a possibility that in exchange for reserved seats, the minority communities could give the green light for the establishment of the Kosovo army. However, although approval for reserved places exists, the positions on the formation of the armed forces are not aligned, and it is uncertain whether the minority community would condition voting in exchange for the reserved seats.
