On 24 October, media in Kosovo reported about an incident involving adolescent children in the village of Kuscë e Epërme/Gornje Kusce in the municipality of Novobërdë/Novo Brdo in eastern Kosovo. It was reported that adolescent children belonging to the Serb community were attacked by another adolescent individual from the Albanian community. Reportedly, the attacker used a piece of wood with a nail on it and he managed to wound a Kosovo Serb fellow child. The wounded child was immediately sent to the hospital in Gračanica/Graçanicë and his wounds were not life-threatening. Kosovo Police confirmed the incident took place, and later on arrested two adolescents, 16 and 17-year old respectively, believed to be the perpetrators.[1]

The youngster was visited by the Director of the Office of Community Affairs within the Office of the Prime Minister, Ivan Tomić, who called on the Kosovo Police to investigate the incident and take appropriate measures. Tomić also added that it is the parents’ responsibility to educate their children not to hate people from other ethnicities, and that incidents of this nature show that “we all need to work more, including parents”.[2] Serbian political representatives in Kosovo quickly condemned the attack, stating that it was another instance of ethnically motivated violence against the Serb community in Kosovo.[3]

Nevertheless, our research in the field and conversations with our contacts from the Serbian and Albanian community in Novobërdë/Novo Brdo indicate that this incident was not a blind ethnically motivated attack but came about as a result of young children playing a game of football and having a fight afterwards. This is confirmed by the official Kosovo Police report on incidents during the day.[4]Although the violence itself should be condemned, it should be treated carefully and rash and premature conclusions when commenting on potentially ethnically motivated incidents should not be a norm. An escalated fight between Serbs and Albanians playing football, although intolerable and a worrisome indicator of the continuing ethnic distance and divide between young Serbs and Albanians even in places where they live close together, it is, nevertheless, not a blind ethnically motivated attack without any occasion.

A separate incident took place in Pejë/Peć when a bus with Serbian license plates was reported to have been stoned on its way to the “Usekovаnjа glаve sv. Jovаnа” (Beheading of Saint John the Baptist) church in Pejë/Peć. Media in the Serbian language report that the bus was stoned even though it was being escorted by Kosovo Police, while media in Albanian report that the bus was stoned after its passengers started chanting pro-Serbian slogans and giving the three-finger salute, commonly perceived to be a provocation by Albanians and other non-Serbs.[5] No passengers were injured in the stoning, and the bus injured material damage.[6] Minister for Communities and Return, Dalibor Jevtić, condemned the stoning of the bus and said that Serbs have a right to visit their places of worship all over Kosovo. He singled out what he called a small number of Serbs working for Kosovo Police in the Pejë/Peć as a problem that needs to be fixed. He said that Serbs in Kosovo want to live together in peace and equality with others.[7]

Whatever the occasion for the attack – and no occasion can justify the use of violence – representatives of all communities, including municipal authorities, representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church and organizers of these visits, and Kosovo Police should sit together and agree on measures that should be taken to make sure that visits to Serbian Orthodox places of worship take place in a peaceful manner.

[1]http://www.rtklive.com/?id=7&r=46342 and http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2015&mm=10&dd=24&nav_category=640&nav_id=1055272

[2] http://www.rtklive.com/rtk2/?id=2&r=3438

[3] http://www.rtklive.com/rtk2/?id=2&r=3429;
http://www.rtklive.com/rtk2/?id=2&r=3428;
http://www.rtklive.com/rtk2/?id=2&r=3430.

[4] http://www.rtklive.com/?id=7&r=46342

[5] http://www.telegrafi.com/lajme/sulmohet-autobusi-ne-peje-pasi-udhetaret-serbe-ngacmuan-ne-baza-etnike-80-11127.html;http://www.rtklive.com/rtk2/?id=2&r=3435 and http://www.rtklive.com/rtk2/?id=2&r=3436

[6] Ibid.

[7] http://www.rtklive.com/rtk2/?id=2&r=3436