Ruairi O'Connell

Mitrovica

A flying visit to Mitrovica, yesterday, allied to our 'outreach' efforts.

I've mentioned Mitrovica before. This Northern Kosovo city is a symbol of Kosovo's ethnic divisions. Put very simply, Mitrovica was Kosovo's most prosperous city, built on the mineral wealth in the nearby Trepca mining complex. The city had an identity - based on the mines and its successful football team - that transcended ethnicity. However, following the war, Mitrovica has been split in two. Essentially, ethnic Albanian extremists expelled Serbs from the southern part; Serb extremists expelled the Albanians from the North (except for two parts of the town - the 'Little Bosnia' area and three tower blocks beside the river Ibar/Ibri which divides the town). Nowadays, for the most part, Serbs keep to the North, Albanians to the South, many living in properties occupied by displaced people just a few hundred metres away across the river. In the North, leather-jacketed thugs make sure that no Albanians enter 'Serb' areas; few Serbs want or feel safe enough to cross South of the river.

The town has repeatedly been the scene of clashes following the war, most seriously in March 2004, which helped to trigger riots across Kosovo that left 19 dead (both Serbs and Albanians).

Unsurprisingly, there is a lot of media interest in the situation in the town; it's hard to take two steps down the main street without bumping into a camera crew. Community leaders on both sides of the river, however, have grown more savvy - they understand that whichever 'side' makes the first 'mistake' will lose the media fight. They are at pains to show that they have taken all measures to ensure that there is no violence or intimidation over the coming days. I think this message has got across - but people are still nervous about what could happen. In any event, it was clear to me from my visit yesterday that KFOR and the KPS are ready - and more importantly, determined - to deal with any problems (in response to Howard's comments earlier, I agree fully that the community itself must take action for dealing with its own thugs: the 'internationals' can support this process, but local ownership of, and responsibility for, justice is vital). Still, Mitrovica will remain under the international media glare in the coming days.

Posted at 18:49 15 February 2008 by Ruairi O'Connell  |  Comments[2]