KDI, in cooperation with the Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC), held today the roundtable discussion “Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue in the Mitrovica Region” in North Mitrovica. At this roundtable was discussed about the impact of the dialogue agreements on the lives of the citizens of Mitrovica region and their expectations for the future of this process.

Part of the discussion panel was the deputy of the Kosovo Assembly, Ilir Deda, journalist and analyst Mr. Bransilav Krstic, journalist Mr. Nexhmedin Spahiu and Dusan Radakovic from ACDC.

At the opening of this debate, Jeta Krasniqi from KDI, emphasized that Kosovo-Serbia dialogue was a process that was not transparent and distant from the citizens, without clearly articulating the impact on their lives. She said that the purpose of this round table is to dialogue together Albanians and Serbs, without facilitators, to talk about the perspective of dialogue and impact on interethnic relations and to articulate the attitude and expectations of citizens about the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.

Ilir Deda, deputy of the Kosovo Assembly, underscored the lack of transparency that characterized the Brussels dialogue in these seven years. According to Deda, apart from the citizens, the Assembly, which oversees the work of the government, was largely uninformed about the process of dialogue.

Regarding the future of the dialogue, Deda emphasized that there are two possible scenarios about the future of the dialogue. He estimated that one scenario would prove that there is political consensus in Pristina and that, after reaching the final agreement with Serbia, the antagonisms between the two countries would be avoided. He added that this scenario would enable Kosovo’s membership in international organizations including the United Nations, replacing the current UN Security Council resolution (1244) with a new resolution.

While the other scenario which the deputy Deda described it as negative, finds Kosovo politically divided and without consensus entering into the final phase of the dialogue. Under these conditions, he said that the agreement would not end antagonisms and controversy with Serbia, which would prevent Kosovo’s membership in international organizations, including the UN.

Branislav Krstic, a journalist and analyst, estimated that the lack of transparency, information, or what was discussed by both sides was one of the key problems of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue. Krstic expressed disappointment at the results of the dialogue by saying that apart from the dissolution of few parallel structures, dialogue has not brought positive results. Krstic also expressed skeptical about the new phase of dialogue, stressing that this stage will be long and the final outcome will be unsatisfactory for both Albanians and Serbs. Nexhmedin Spahiu, a journalist, said the talks at Burksel have brought only few results. In addition to the common problems that are present throughout Kosovo, Mitrovica faces additional problems as it is seen as the key to improving relations between Albanians and Serbs. Spahiu stressed that it is necessary for the talks to take place locally and instead of Brussels, the meeting place should be Mitrovica. Concerning the implementation of the agreements reached, Spahiu stressed that the agreements have not been implemented to a great extent, and even those that are being implemented have brought problems for the citizens of this region. For the new phase of the dialogue, Spahiu expressed skeptic that this process will be concluded with mutual recognition.

Meanwhile, Dusan Radakovic, executive director of the Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture, underlined the importance for citizens to be informed about what is being discussed in the dialogue. Radakovic stressed that it is important that the talks go down to the local level because high level talks have not addressed the real problems of the inhabitants of this region.

Participants discussed with panelists where it was highlighted the need for local level involvement and public consultation on the future of the dialogue, underlining the need to increase transparency, accountability and direct involvement of citizens during the process of topic definition and during the negotiation process of the agreements of the Kosovo- Serbia dialogue.

This debate was organized in the framework of the memorandum of cooperation signed between KDI and the Assembly aimed at increasing citizen participation in the framework of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue and strengthening the Assembly’s oversight role towards the Government, with the financing of the Swiss Embassy.