Albanians Urged to Join Kosovo Border Protest

Albin Kurti during a rally in Pristina | Photo by : Besar Likmeta

Speaking in Tirana on Wednesday, the Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) leader Albin Kurti said the border protest would be peaceful, while defending the planned blockade as an act of reciprocity toward Serbia.

“On January 14 we will block the border crossings in support of the resolution of Kosovo’s parliament demanding complete political and economical reciprocity toward Serbia,” Kurti said.  

The Self-Determination leader told Balkan Insight that he expected hundreds if not thousand of activists from Tirana to join the rally.

“Serbia is neither a normal state nor an ordinary neighbour because its constitution does not recognize the existence of Kosovo and every day they repeat that Kosovo’s statehood will never be accepted,” Kurti said.

“We believe that reciprocity is the essence of equality and only equality can bring dignity and good and lasting relations,” Kurti added.

On December 7 Kosovo's parliament adopted a motion calling on the government to introduce a trade ban with Serbia.

Visar Ymeri, head of Self-Determination’s parliamentary group, noted that despite the vote, Kosovo’s government has refused to ban the import of Serbian goods, disregarding the decision of the highest political authority in the country.

“The government says we are already in conditions of reciprocity,” Ymeri said. “Its refusal [to ban Serbian goods] is destroying the republic from the inside,” he added.

Serbia has not allowed products marked “Made in Kosovo” to enter Serbia since the war of 1999 and economist Shpend Ahmeti says that the end result of this embargo has been an abnormal trade relationship.

According to Ahmeti Kosovo has imported €2.1 billion worth of goods from Serbia since 1999.  If contraband is included, which often accounts for up to 60 per cent of the trade flow, the value of imports rise to 5 billion euro. During the same period Kosovo has exported to Serbia only €92 million in goods.

“Kosovo’s exports to Serbia have had 1,000 barriers imposed on them and in the last three years [there has been] a total ban,” Ahmeti said. “Because Kosovo’s government has bowed to Serbia we have an unequal trade relationship with a country that does not even recognize us,” he added.

Kosovo’s government, led by Hashim Thaci, has made it clear that it will not allow activists to block the border or otherwise disrupt the traffic flow.

Interior Minister Bajram Rexhepi has said that police have received advice permitting them to use proportional force if the borders are blocked by protesters.