Alongside the negotiations on forming a parliamentary majority in Pristina, preparations are being made to transform the Kosovo Security Force into an army.
Sputnik is reporting it learned unofficially that the formation of the Kosovo army will be an item of the agenda of a future government, and of the Assembly in Pristina.
Namely, according to the agency’s well-informed sources, Albanian parties, above all Hashim Thaci’s PDK, led by Kadri Veseli, has secured three of the four minority votes needed to pass a law on the formation of the Kosovo Army.
For now, two are safe – one from the Bosniak community, the other from a Serb, who is not a member of the Serb (Srpska) List ticket. Both deputies will be given functions in the Kosovo Assembly as soon as it is constituted. Thaci’s third vote is expected to come from the Montenegrin community.
Thaci announced in February that he would, immediately after the Assembly has been constituted, pass a decree recognizing the Montenegrin community in Kosovo, which will entitle them to one seat in the Assembly.
Sputnik is also reporting that Milo Djukanovic and Hashim Thaci agreed ahead of the elections in Montenegro that Albanians in Montenegro would vote for Djukanovic’s party, while in return Montenegrins in Kosovo would be recognized as a community and given one seat in parliament -which as early as back then opened the door for the formation of the army.
Although it does not seems to be the case now – a political deal can be expected to be made in Pristina in the first week of September, if not earlier. The Kosovo Army Law could be on the table before local elections in Kosovo, scheduled for October 22.
Given that some political representatives of Montenegrins from Kosovo have already participated in elections through Albanian lists, i.e., the PDK-led coalition PAN, it is expected that, immediately after the formation of the Assembly and the government, Thaci’s decree will be adopted, which would automatically give the Montenegrin minority a seat in parliament (one of those currently held by the PDK party).
Representatives of Montenegrins from Kosovo did not wish to talk about this topic for Sputnik, remarking that one should wait and first see whether “the Albanians will keep their word”. According to Sputnik’s interlocutor, this “word” is the agreement made by Djukanovic and Thaci before the Montenegrin elections, during Djukanovic’s visit to Pristina.
Sputnik recalled that the verbal clash between Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, and the representative of Kosovo in the US, Vlora Citaku, during a recent UN Security Council Dedicated to Kosovo could be interpreted in this context – when the Association of Montenegrins from Kosovo took the side of the Kosovo representative. They agreed with the words of Ambassador Citaku, who said that Kosovo was “an independent state that belongs to Albanians, Serbs, Montenegrins, Roma, Turks and all other citizens.”
Sputnik further recalled that NATO and the international community have clearly made Pristina aware that it will not be able to form an army unless this is also supported by minority communities in parliament, as the Kosovo Constitution requires.
See at: http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2017&mm=08&dd=25&nav_id=102160
