{"id":908,"date":"2023-02-03T13:33:39","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T13:33:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/?p=908"},"modified":"2025-12-05T17:58:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T15:58:14","slug":"koha-per-themelimin-e-asociacionit-te-komunave-me-shumice-serbe-qe-nuk-ekzistoi-kurre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/en\/opinion\/koha-per-themelimin-e-asociacionit-te-komunave-me-shumice-serbe-qe-nuk-ekzistoi-kurre\/","title":{"rendered":"The Time that never was for establishing the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities"},"content":{"rendered":"

The government of Kosovo has come under sustained pressure to establish the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities (ASM). On January 30, the US Embassy in Kosovo published \u00a0\u201cThe Time for establishing the ASM is Now\u201d<\/a> by Derek Chollet, Counselor of the US Department of State, and Gabriel Escobar, US Special Envoy for the Western Balkans.<\/p>\n

There are many aspects of the statement \u2013 and the broader pressure applied to the government of Kosovo \u2013 that can be criticised; the focus here is on their claims that the ASM will not undermine Kosovo\u2019s internal cohesion, judicial order and the functionality of the state.<\/p>\n

This article will attempt to deconstruct the most important aspects of the statement published by the US embassy focusing on five key arguments.<\/p>\n

1. Downplaying the concerns of a new Republika Srpska in Kosovo:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cthe ASM would be a structure for municipalities with a majority ethnic Serb population to coordinate on issues and services such as education, health care, urban and rural planning, and local economic development\u2014in other words, functions for which all municipalities in Kosovo are responsible.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Chollet and Escobar are correct to note that \u201call municipalities in Kosovo are responsible\u201d for the functions they cite. This means, however, that the ASM does not provide municipalities with responsibilities they currently don\u2019t have.<\/p>\n

Additionally, there is nothing to stop municipalities from coordinating on \u201ceducation, health care, urban and rural planning, and local economic development.\u201d The ASM cannot, therefore, be justified on the basis that it provides municipalities with responsibilities or coordination rights which they currently lack.<\/p>\n

2. Claiming that Kosovo Serbs need the ASM to develop a Serbian-language curriculum:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, municipalities could develop a Serbian-language curriculum for local schools across several municipalities, rather than laboring in a vacuum and duplicating efforts.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Under Kosovo\u2019s constitution \u2013 Articles 59.3 and 59.4 \u2013 Serbs are already empowered to do this. Local Serb schools have never been instructed to adopt a curriculum drafted by the central government; in practice, the curriculum for local schools is set in Belgrade.<\/p>\n

There is nothing stopping representatives from the Serb-majority municipalities from coordinating revisions to the current curriculum; they do not need the ASM to do this. Defending the creation of the ASM by stating that it will enable Serbs to do things they are already constitutionally empowered to do doesn\u2019t make sense.<\/p>\n

3. Arguing that the ASM will foster cooperation between Kosovo Serbs and the Kosovo Government:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a means to improve the everyday lives of people, create confidence between ethnic Serbs and the central government, provide greater connectivity between the north and the rest of the country, and create mechanisms for Serbs to participate more fully in the civic life of Kosovo.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the original draft, the ASM will have all key institutions of a state. including an Assembly, a President, a Council, a Board, and Administration, and a Complaints Office. In addition, it will have its budget, flag and coat of arms. As such, the institutional composition of the ASM is a legally constituted parallel structure inside Kosovo that will diminish the power of the central government.<\/p>\n

The ASM will promote further division by diverting Kosovo Serbs away from the institutions of Kosovo towards the new institutions of the ASM. The progress made to date in convincing Serbs south of the River Ibar to integrate with the central government would be immediately imperilled.<\/p>\n

Additionally, it is inevitable that the ASM will be heavily influenced by the Serbain government which has repeatedly demonstrated a determination to undermine the capacity of the Kosovo government to function by encouraging Serbs not to cooperate with the central government. The ASM will, therefore, enhance the Belgrade\u2019s capacity to undermine the central government.<\/p>\n

4. Addressing ASM\u2019s transparency and funding concerns:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd any support and assistance Serbia would provide to the Kosovo Serb community would have to be transparent and go through these legitimate, sanctioned channels.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The ASM agreement explicitly notes that funding will come \u201cfrom the Republic of Serbia\u201d. Chollet and Escobar\u2019s stipulation that any support provided by Serbia would \u201chave to be transparent\u201d seems remarkably na\u00efve.<\/p>\n

Serbia\u2019s government is recognised as\u00a0\u00a0authoritarian<\/a>: and it has promoted instability and covertly supported\u00a0criminal gangs<\/a> in Kosovo (and elsewhere) for years. The largest Serbian party in Kosovo \u2013 the Serbian List \u2013 is controlled by Belgrade and the ASM would provide them with more scope to carry out Belgrade\u2019s agenda inside Kosovo.<\/p>\n

The US cannot credibly promise that Serbia will only support the ASM in a \u201ctransparent\u201d way.<\/p>\n

5. Claiming that the ASM will function well because there are 14 similar arrangements in the EU.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are 14 similar arrangements inside of the European Union.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This may be the case, but it tells us nothing. Do these \u201csimilar arrangements\u201d exist in countries which are \u201csimilar\u201d to Kosovo? Specifically, is the existence of these countries a function of the fact that they (like Kosovo) had to separate from a state that engaged in systematic violence against the majority population and continues to deny that crimes against humanity were committed?<\/p>\n

Do the elected political representatives of the communities afforded these \u201csimilar arrangements\u201d in these other states reject the very existence of the host state, like the Serbian List? In addition, does the neighbouring state supporting these provisions deny the host state\u2019s right to exist, as Serbia does?<\/p>\n

In short, because a constitutional\/legislative arrangement works in one country does not mean it will work in every country. However, Chollet and Escobar fail to address such serious concerns.<\/p>\n

The impetus behind the ASM has never been to delegate new responsibilities to the municipalities or enable Serbs to participate more fully with Kosovo\u2019s political and judicial bodies; rather, it has been to enable Serb-majority municipalities to function as a new legislative structure which will in effect operate as an alternative to the central government.<\/p>\n

The only honest case that can be made for the US and the EU supporting the ASM is that Serbia has demanded it; Chollet and Escobar, and all those engaged with this issue, should, however, think carefully before promoting Serbia\u2019s interests in Kosovo.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Qeveria e Kosov\u00ebs ka qen\u00eb n\u00ebn presion t\u00eb vazhduesh\u00ebm p\u00ebr ta themeluar Asociacionin e Komunave me Shumic\u00eb Serbe (ASK). M\u00eb 30 janar, Ambasada e ShBA-s\u00eb n\u00eb Kosov\u00eb publikoi dokumentin\u00a0\u201cKoha p\u00ebr themelimin e ASK-s\u00eb \u00ebsht\u00eb tani\u201d, nga Derek Chollet, k\u00ebshilltar i Departamentit t\u00eb Shtetit t\u00eb ShBA-s\u00eb, dhe Gabriel Escobar, i d\u00ebrguar i posa\u00e7\u00ebm i ShBA-s\u00eb p\u00ebr […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":13568,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[822,669,664,12],"ppma_author":[18],"class_list":["post-908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-asm","tag-dialogue","tag-kosovo","tag-serbia"],"authors":[{"term_id":18,"user_id":8,"is_guest":0,"slug":"aidan-hehir","display_name":"Aidan Hehir","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/aidan.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/aidan.jpg"},"user_url":"","last_name":"Hehir","first_name":"Aidan","description":"Dr. Aidan Hehir is a Reader in International Relations at the University of Westminster. His research interests include transitional justice, humanitarian intervention, and statebuilding in Kosovo. He is the author\/editor of eleven books; his most recent monograph \u2013 Hollow Norms and The Responsibility to Protect (Palgrave Macmillan) \u2013 won the 2019 British International Studies Association \u2018Working Group on Intervention and R2P\u2019 book prize. He has published over fifty academic book chapters and journal articles, is co-editor of the Routledge Intervention and Statebuilding book series and is a regular contributor to national and international television and radio."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=908"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":909,"href":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908\/revisions\/909"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=908"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbunker.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}