“There are still two major challenges for security in Kosovo: the growth of religious extremism and the potential for unrest as a result of the economic, social and political instability. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that security institutions focus their efforts in order to find out the true causes and potentially prevent the eruption of events that could arise from these challenges,” told Florian Qehaja, executive director of the Kosovo Centre for Security Studies.
Our interlocutor points out that he believes that the capacity of security institutions is limited, and that the main problem is related to the lack of will on the managerial and political level to increase the willingness of institutions to cope with security challenges. “Although the current security situation in northern Kosovo municipalities is stable, security environment can easily be called into question by presence of Serbian security structures, though they are present in smaller numbers. Situation in this area is largely dependent on the will of the political elite, whether it is political elite from the northern part of Kosovo or from Belgrade, where in particular has to be emphasized the influence of Serbian PM Vucic,” he notes.
Speaking about the recent arrests of jihadists in Kosovo, Qehaja states that the consequences of such actions can be both positive and negative, so the question is what will prevail.
“According to my opinion, the potential for a violent reaction may occur in case that the judiciary does not verify the prosecution’s evidence against suspected militants. In other words, although it is believed that the police raids and actions led by the prosecution were professional, which means successful at this stage, the success in general depends on the final court judgment, because judgment can cause reactions of suspected extremists. When it comes to the positive impact of these arrests, I would mention bringing into question the intentions of extremists who were counting on the “weak institutions and the situation in Kosovo,” in which nobody can stop or even to prosecute their actions. The positive side of the arrests also refers to the general consciousness of majority of people, who support action against political Islam, and certainly against terrorist suspects.”
Answering the question of how conditions in Iraq and Syria could affect the security situation in Kosovo, Qehaja says that in the event that individuals who participate in those conflicts return to Kosovo could potentially be “used or abused, for particular political or religious purposes”. “These people are considered to be the only non-institutional actors in Kosovo, which has a” combat readiness.” Therefore, their potential to jeopardize the security situation is high,” he says.
Florian Qehaja notes that the question how many people from Kosovo participate in the fighting in Iraq and Syria should be addressed to the institutions, but their number is between 100 and 150. “It is difficult to determine exact figures, since the individual fighters, especially those who come from Macedonia, are wrongly counted as being from Kosovo. However, their number is high compared to the population of Kosovo,” Qehaja said.
