PRISTINA. Yesterday, dozens of NATO peacekeepers patrolled northern Kosovo to maintain order following the announcement Pristina that 50,000 Serbs living in the Pristina region must change their vehicle license plates to Kosovo within a month.

financial incentive

The government in Pristina tried to impose its will on the Serb minority by putting pressure on seemingly trivial issues of bureaucratic routine. Serbia does not recognize the independence of the former Serbian province. In announcing the commitment to change license plates, Prime Minister Albin Kurti called the decision “nothing more and nothing less than an expression of national sovereignty to which every independent nation in the world is entitled.” In an informational video shown by Kosovo TV, Prime Minister Kurti speaks Serbian and promises to offer “certain financial incentives, such as tax exemptions, for those who change license plates.”

Demonstrations in 2021

Last year’s push to push through a measure to replace license plates sparked protests from Serbian residents of northern Kosovo. Tensions flared last month when Pristina announced the measure would go into effect on September 1, and Serb residents erected barricades in protest. The crisis subsided when Prime Minister Kurti succumbed to NATO pressure and announced a postponement of the measure.