Expert Warns Kosovo Government of Potential Sanctions Over Shutdown of Serbian Institutions

Pristina (Photo: YTPrintScreen)

Shutting down the so-called parallel institutions in Kosovo – i.e. those operating according to the system of Serbia – represents part of the re-election campaign of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s Self Determination Movement and could lead to international sanctions against certain government officials, Pristina political analyst Agon Maliqi said on Jan. 16.

Speaking for Pristina’s T7 TV, Maliqi claimed that the ruling party took such action in an attempt to distract the public from other issues during the pre-election period, redirecting attention instead to the question of Kosovo’s Serb-dominated north.

However, the clearly politically-motivated step, Maliqi said, is likely to come with a “significant international toll.”

On Jan. 15, Kosovo Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla announced that ten “parallel Serb institutions” in Lipljan, Obilic, Pristina, Kosovo Polje, Vucitrn, Novo Brdo, Kamenica, Vitina, Orahovac and Srbica, along with Serbian Postal Service offices and tax offices, were closed in an operation the Interior Ministry conducted in collaboration with Kosovo Police and other ministries.