Jarinje border crossing

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Coordinates: 43 ° 13 ′ 7.1 ″  N , 20 ° 41 ′ 29.6 ″  E

Map: Kosovo
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Jarinje border crossing​
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Kosovo

The border crossing Jarinje ( Albanian  Vendkalimi kufitar Jarinja , Serbian Административни прелаз Јариње Administrativni prelaz Jarinje ) is located in the north of Kosovo and connects it with Serbia . It is located on the main road to Raška northwest of the village Jarinje on the northern edge of the large municipality of Leposavić in northern Kosovo, which is mostly inhabited by Serbs . Since the declaration of independence of Kosovo in February 2008, the border guards had repeatedly scene of violent clashes between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians .

From Serbia's point of view, it is not an international border crossing, but merely a police checkpoint within Serbia.

history

Riots in 2008

The village of Jarinje , located in the river valley of the Ibar on a main road , has been a border crossing between Serbia and Kosovo since Kosovo's declaration of independence on February 17, 2008. Immediately after the declaration of independence, riots broke out in Jarinje and at the border station in Brnjak , during which Serbs living in northern Kosovo stormed the border post and set it on fire. Only when NATO troops took over the post could the unrest end. Under the supervision of the European EULEX mission , the Jarinje border crossing was again placed under Serbian control and operated by Serbs residing in northern Kosovo on the service of the Kosovo police.

Customs conflict

Takeover attempt

On the night of July 25th to 26th, 2011, Kosovar special police forces were supposed to occupy the checkpoint on behalf of the government of Kosovo in order to restore "legal order" . The background was a conflict over import bans between Serbia and Kosovo. Only at the Jarinje border crossing did the Serbs who control the border not enforce the border ban and continued to let Serbian goods pass through to Kosovo. The Kosovar special police unit dispatched as a result was stopped by roadblocks on the Pristina - Kraljevo - Belgrade road by Serbs, who had obviously been warned . Confrontations broke out in the course of which a police officer from the special unit was killed. Units of the international protection force KFOR then secured the border crossings. Soldiers rallied in northern Kosovo to avoid escalating violence.

negotiations

Negotiations between the parties followed, which, according to KFOR, ended with an agreement that included three points:

  • Return of the special police to southern Kosovo
  • Dissolution of all roadblocks
  • The Jarinje customs post is operated by Serbian and Albanian Kosovar police officers.
The burned down border crossing on July 29, 2011

On the evening of July 27, 2011, around 50 masked Serbs who rejected the outcome of the negotiations stormed the Jarinje border crossing and set fire. Around 25 customs officers and police officers, including representatives from EULEX, fled to Serbia. The attackers also attacked a KFOR post in the area. Shots were fired at NATO soldiers at the border post and at one of their helicopters .

On the same day, the Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi accused the Serbian government of ordering the violent riots. KFOR moved units to the region and took control of all of northern Kosovo. The Serbian Prime Minister Boris Tadić called on the population to calm down and stressed that the violence would damage the interests of Serbia. He called the attackers " hooligans " . Serbia also submitted a motion to the UN Security Council to condemn the Kosovar police taking over the customs posts.

In view of the situation in northern Kosovo, KFOR demanded reinforcement of the protection force, which was then expanded by around 700 soldiers.

On the morning of September 16, 2011, Eulex officials took over the border crossing. Because of the many barricades, they were flown in by helicopter. As a result, the crossing was officially open, but de facto not to pass due to the locks for vehicles.

Eviction attempt

On the evening of September 26, 2011, KFOR cleared a barrier on the access road, whereupon a new barrier was immediately erected nearby. The following morning, September 27, KFOR closed an illegal crossing near the Jarinje border crossing. Tear gas was used, a local Serb was injured and four others were arrested. According to the Bundeswehr, eight KFOR members were injured during the operation. The demonstrators allegedly used explosive devices and stole a handgun from a soldier. As a result, KFOR fired warning shots. After the incident, Serbia canceled the negotiations with Kosovo, which were supported by the European Union, until further notice.

Shortly after the incidents, activists set up roadblocks again. According to Serbian media, the border crossing was cut off from the environment on October 2nd.

Clearance of some barricades

On October 27th, the mayor of Zubin Potok , Slavisa Ristic , announced that some barricades at the border crossings Jarinje and Brnjak had been cleared to give KFOR access to supplies for their soldiers. The passage is still prohibited for EULEX officials.

Block alternative roads

On April 4, 2012, KFOR announced that it had received an order from the NATO command in Naples to close the alternative roads at the Brnjak and Jarinje border crossings in order to stop illegal border traffic.

agreement

Since December 2nd, a group of Serbs protested at the Jarinje border crossing against the " introduction of the border with the motherland ".

On the night of December 4-5, 2012, Catherine Ashton announced that Ivica Dačić and Hashim Thaçi had agreed on joint border posts in the third round of talks on the customs conflict. The Jarinje border crossing and the border crossings in Končulj , Merdare and Brnjak were to be managed jointly by the Serbian, Kosovar police and Eulex until the end of the year . In Jarinje and Merdare, the joint controls should start on December 10th.

Blockade March 2013

On March 31, 2013, demonstrators blocked the crossing again. Participants stated that this was done as a warning to the Serbian government. This should prevent too big compromises at a negotiating meeting between the heads of government of Serbia and Kosovo, Ivica Dačić and Hashim Thaçi , the next day.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ NATO troops close Kosovo border. In: BBC News . February 20, 2008, accessed July 28, 2011 .
  2. ↑ a b Zündeln in Kosovo. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . July 28, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e A stamp and a dead person. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . July 28, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011 .
  4. ↑ KFOR takes over the devastated border post. In: ORF . July 28, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011 .
  5. ↑ The Federal Army sends 150 soldiers to Kosovo. In: The press . August 2, 2011, accessed August 2, 2011 .
  6. ↑ Serbs call for the barricades. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. September 16, 2011, accessed September 16, 2011 .
  7. ↑ a b Illegal border crossing closed. In: ORF. September 27, 2011, accessed September 27, 2011 .
  8. ↑ Kosovo: Escalation at the Jarinje border crossing (3rd update). In: bundeswehr.de. September 28, 2011, accessed September 28, 2011 .
  9. ↑ Serbia stops talks with Kosovo after clashes  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in: Freie Presse , September 28, 2011@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.freipresse.de  
  10. ↑ New roadblocks in northern Kosovo. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. October 2, 2011, accessed October 3, 2011 .
  11. ↑ Kosovo Serbs allow Kfor passage. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . October 27, 2011, accessed October 27, 2011 .
  12. ↑ NATO closes green border. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. April 4, 2012, Retrieved April 5, 2012 .
  13. ↑ a b border dispute settled
  14. ↑ New attempt to solve the Kosovo crisis