belgrade - with a foot on the north and an open hand ... - Koha Ditore

VI. Parallel local government system
Coordinator’s office for the Strategy of North
Four north municipalities of Kosovo operate in a complex reality described in this report.
Three previous north municipalities Zvecan, Zubin Potok and Leposavic were under the
entire system of Kosovo, under UNMIK, as well as prior to 1999. After the declaration of
independence, the mandate of these three municipalities was extended by the president of
Kosovo in cooperation <strong>with</strong> UNMIK. This situation temporary eliminated the created vacuum
as a result of the new reality and the fact that the elections were not held there. Although, it
seams that such a rule was not regarded in the same was during the entire time.
On the other hand, municipality of north Mitrovica created according to Ahtisary Package
was not legitimated by free elections organized according to the kosovar legislation. In fact,
such elections were organized by Serb legislation, at the time when international institutions,
especially the ones in Brussels, looked aside hoping that this will bring the Tadic’s DS
formation in local government, <strong>with</strong> hope that this could break the ice in north Mitrovica.
On the other side, the elections announced several times by ICO and Ministry of Local
Government were never implemented. ICO’s effort to create the so-called preparation groups
for the new MPT municipality was a huge failure. This group, first afraid by the parallel Serb
structures, and then due to the lack of organization of free elections and the impossibility of
their acting or any activity that would etable them in any kind of authority, make this project
to have no hope for acting in the future. On the contrary, the activity of this group for
decorating the Christmas tree for end of year celebrations in the municipality of Zvecan
raised more the reaction of cynics realizing that a single tree cost around 5000 EUR.
In this respect, the UAM operation in north Mitrovica, financed by the budget of Kosovo
<strong>with</strong> a sum of 2.7 million EUR added another element to the administrative complexity of
north Mitrovica. Thus, in north Mitrovica, municipality elections according to Ahtisary were
held, but three systems function there: the municipality one according to Serb elections,
UAM as a combined way of UNMIK <strong>with</strong> permission of kosovar budget, and Kosovo
institutions, if we take into account the open Office in Bosniak Mahala.
Even though local government functions in this manner, sometimes linked <strong>with</strong> the system in
Kosovo, and sometimes cooperating <strong>with</strong> a part of internationals, relation of local
government <strong>with</strong> the mayor of the “north district” Radenko Nedelkovic is quite clear,
sometimes even publicly demonstrated. Nedelkovic, ex-member of MUP, currently
politically related to DS structures, tried to play the role of central facilitator regarding north
in the communication north-Belgrade-international presence.
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