Violence in Kosovo

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2023/05/29/clashes-northern-kosovo/

There are statements from multiple entities such as the EU and NATO condemning these events and yet everyone knows the key player here is the United States. Washington created Kosovo and its government is completely beholden to the United States.

The US has been pushing for the recognition of Kosovo and its integration into Europe for the last twenty years – even while Washington and Brussels have repeatedly tried to get a liberal regime into power in Belgrade, one that will move Serbian policy in a Western-oriented direction.

Since declaring formal independence from Serbia in 2008, Kosovo remains unrecognized by a substantial number of states and it still possesses a Serbian minority which out of frustration over various issues boycotted recent local elections. The Kosovar Albanians pushed through with them anyway and then sought to seat mayors who the Serbs view as illegitimate.

The Kosovars could have dealt with the situation in a more tactful manner, but were insistent and it led to violent demonstrations – eventually the protesting Serbs clashed even with NATO-KFOR Peacekeepers. In a somewhat uncharacteristic move, Washington sent a sharp rebuke to Pristina, urging them to quit antagonising the Serbian population. Trouble for the Serbs in Kosovo will produce a direct consequence in Serbia itself and it could lead to repercussions beyond Serbia, Kosovo, and Albania. It's worth noting that the Serbian population in Kosovo has dropped from almost 200,000 in 1991 to a mere 25,000 today. Within the context of Kosovo they are a defeated people and the past thirty years has generated a great deal of bitterness.

The US doesn't want this trouble right now. They don't want any kind of volatility that Moscow will be quick to exploit and make trouble for the EU and NATO – in the Balkans and away from the Ukrainian front.

The US wants Kosovo to be stable and for Serbia to keep inching toward Brussels. The maneuvers by the Kosovar leadership are not helping to enact this policy.

The trouble has been brewing for some time but as much as Western media likes to blame everything on the Serbs, in this case the Kosovar Albanians are clearly at fault for agitating an already tense situation and if NATO peacekeepers get caught up in violence – it's bad for everyone involved.

One is forced to wonder if the fall (or as some might see it 'betrayal') of former KLA leader and Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi doesn't play a part in this – a manipulative or even defiant response on the part of some within his faction? He can't be very happy with the United States even as Washington is (if the reports are true) aiding him in his defense at the ICC in The Hague. The story of both Thaçi and Kosovo are far from over.