The Director of Radio Belgrade Milivoje Mihajlovic told RTS that Kosovo is further from independence than it was eight years ago, when independence was unilaterally declared. According to Mihajlovic, the authorities in Pristina have spent their time diverting attention away from the economic situation by building animosity towards the Serbs, adding that at 50 percent, Kosovo has the highest unemployment rate in Europe, almost non-existent exports, with around 150,000 people having fled Kosovo. Mihajlovic said that even EU officials have claimed that religious extremism flourishes in Kosovo. He agrees with some analysis suggesting that the number of countries that support the independence of Kosovo is much lower today than it was in 2008.
According to him, Kosovo cannot join the European processes, because local authorities do not support regional stability. “All the street protests are directed against the establishment of the Special Court for the KLA crimes, since it is obvious that senior Kosovo officials will be tried by that court. Their functions cannot grant them amnesty for committed crimes,” says Mihajlovic. He pointed out that the position of the Serbs in Kosovo will not be weakened, as long they have the support Belgrade, the reputation of which is growing in the world. According to Mihajlovic, the current political crisis in Kosovo will end with early elections.
