UNMIK ON AIR

KOSOVO PLATES NO GO IN SERBIA

3 February 2003

(David Balham)

Hello and welcome to this edition of UNMIK on Air with David Balham and Luan Qorraj

Freedom of movement – it’s one of the biggest problems faced by minorities in Kosovo. Particularly for Serbs in the southern enclaves, travel can be frustratingly restricted. Many never leave the outskirts of the often, tiny areas where they feel safe.

One of the biggest problems has been car license plates. Under the old Yugoslav system, the plate on your car says very clearly where you’re from. And if you’re a minority that can put you at risk.

Since last year Serbs have been signing up for the new Kosovo plates in increasing numbers. With nothing but a series of numbers and the letters KS, there’s no way of telling where a car comes from.

And that’s a big advantage when traveling around Kosovo, according to this driver from the enclave of Gracanica.

VOX POP: for the sake of security, you are less visible with KS plates

But the KS plates still aren’t recognized by Belgrade. And that means that if Kosovo Serbs want to drive to Serbia proper they have to change plates when they leave Kosovo. Inconvenient, and with two lots of insurance and registration fees to pay, expensive.

That’s starting to frustrate people in Gracanica.

VOX POP: It is good, for us it is better, for we can move to Pristina and other areas, but it is not good for Serbia So, it can be good inside Kosovo, but in Serbia – no.

Last year Belgrade agreed a protocol recognizing the KS plates in Serbia proper. Belgrade’s envoy to Kosovo, Nebojsa Covic, even visited Pristina in January… but didn’t sign the protocol. So what’s the deadlock? Oliver Ivanovic, a member of the Kosovo Assembly and a high-ranking official in Mr. Covic’s party:

OLIVER IVANOVIC: In any case KS plates can improve freedom of movement, because the people would be less visible, to say so, or they would not be recognized by car plates. But it is certain that that issue won’t be agreed upon easy, because it is not just a question of freedom of movement of the Serbs here, but it is also a matter of inter-relationship between Republic of Serbia and UNMIK.

The Albanians are blunter. Ramadan Avdiu, senior adviser to the Kosovo Prime Minister, says Mr. Covic is just stalling.

RAMADAN AVDIU: when it comes to why Covic didn’t want to sign the agreement, and it happened after Serbia actually accepted, in principle, the license plates. When it came to signing the agreement he didn’t sign it only to play political games and ask for something. He usually asks for things in the north of Kosovo, in Mitrovica.

Like amnesties for the criminal gangs, especially the incorporation of bridge watcher gangs or something like that. He usually put up conditions like that, which were sometimes completely unacceptable even for UNMIK.

Whatever the political wranglings, Serbs in Gracanica are fed up. They want to be able to get into their cars and drive in safety to Serbia proper. And they want Belgrade to do something about it.

VOX POP: it must be on the level of state, Coordination center and Government of Serbia to reach an agreement and to make it possible to drive in Serbia with KS plates. Maybe it is good to have KS plates, but to be recognized by Serbia, Macedonia and others, so we could travel anywhere.

And UNMIIK spokesman Simon Haselock says allowing KS plates in Serbia is something Belgrade should be doing for its people in Kosovo. It’s the single biggest thing they can do, he says, to increase freedom of movement.

Simon Haselock: The question is, is there a realistic desire to do something which benefits the people they claim to represent in Kosovo, i.e. the Kosovo Serbs. And the simplest way it seems to me to do that is to sign this protocol, which has been ready for signature since August last year.

Of course, giving minorities license plates they can use in Kosovo and beyond isn’t going to solve freedom of movement overnight. That’s a much bigger problem, involving fundamental changes in the relationship between Kosovo’s minority and majority populations, something Gracanica residents are well aware of.

VOX POP: Is it good, it is not good, if you have not a freedom of movement everything else isn’t worth much, the plates or anything else. Kosovo plates we do not need for Gracanica only, what does it mean KS plates for us if we are driving only in Gracanica, if we have not a freedom of movement.

But in a part of the world where progress is often slow, being able to drive around safely is an important step in the right direction.

That’s all for today, thanks for listening and stay tuned.