Pristina: In response to pressure from influential Western proponents of Kosovo's independence, the country's prime minister on Tuesday unveiled a plan to ease tensions in the region's Serb-dominated north, which would involve holding new local elections and reducing the number of special police.
In the midst of violent Serb unrest over the appointment of ethnic Albanian mayors in their region, Kosovo police reported that they had detained a Serb who had been identified by Pristina as the mastermind of attacks on NATO peacekeepers who had deployed in the north last month.
Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla posted on his Facebook page that three Kosovo Albanian policemen were slightly hurt during the operation to arrest Milun Milenkovic.
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During the clashes late last month, 52 Serbs and 30 peacekeepers were hurt. This was after ethnic Albanian mayors were elected following a local election with a turnout of just 3.5 percent because the majority of Serbs in the area boycotted the election.
The European Union and the United States have urged Prime Minister Albin Kurti to uphold a 2013 agreement for an association of autonomous Serb municipalities in the area and to remove the mayors as well as the special police that were used to install them.
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According to Kurti, "violent (Serb) groups have left Kosovo territory, so the Kosovo police force's presence in three municipal buildings will be reduced."
Kurti addressed a press conference following a meeting with the Quint group, which consists of the ambassadors of the United States, Italy, France, Germany, and Britain. "The government of the Republic of Kosovo will coordinate with all the actors and announce early elections in four municipalities in the north," Kurti said.
In addition to calling for a follow-up meeting between Serbian and Kosovo officials in the Serbian capital Belgrade, he claimed that he had already presented his plan to US and EU envoys.
Kurti made no mention of forming the association of Serb municipalities, which would guarantee increased autonomy for the region with a Serb majority. He has been reluctant to put the agreement into action out of concern that it would encourage the area to seek reunification with Serbia.
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Aleksandar Vucic, the president of Serbia, urged Kosovo last week to give Serbs more autonomy before calling for a new election.
Almost ten years after an uprising by the 90% ethnic Albanian majority against oppressive Serbian rule, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. Serbian security forces were driven from the region by NATO bombing, but Belgrade still views Kosovo as its southern province.