The 13th anniversary of the NATO bombing in Serbia found Kosovo with
less international troops, but closer to the realization of the dream
for creating its own army.
The strategic goals of the military intervention 13 years ago was not only to end the war and remove from Kosovo an army that was committing genocide on the civilian population.
The establishment of the infantry and the creation of the governing institutions oriented Kosovo towards a process that would be crowned with the declaration of independence.
NATO is still contributing in the creation of the Kosovo Security Forces, which today is openly called Kosovo’s Army, a fact that until a few times ago was discussed only behind closed doors.
“You must feel proud for being a glorious part of this great meaning, an independent and sovereign state. Yesterday you were part of the Kosovo Liberation Army and Kosovo Protection Corps, and today you are soldiers of the Kosovo state. Same as the Kosovo state will live forever, the Kosovo Army uniform will live forever”, declared the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, in the anniversary of independence on February 17th.
Experts of Kosovo matters think that Kosovo is closer than ever to the creation of the national army, and this is related with the shorter time that was granted to Serbia’s EU integration, in exchange of giving up her claims on Kosovo.
“The fate of the Kosovo Security Forces will be completely depended from Kosovo, as a state that can be affirmed through the democratic states. Kosovo has never been closer than today to the creation of its own national army. I think that the next year will be the one when Kosovo will have its army”, declared the analyst Halil Matoshi.
Will KSF be the army that will resolve the problems in Northern Kosovo? In fact, the creation of the KSF was not by chance, although the Ahtisari package that foresees the creation of this force resulted to be a long negotiating process.
KLA handed the weapons over after the war, but they were the same people that worn the Kosovo Protection Corps uniform, created by the UN with the only goal to guarantee the public law and order.
The KLA soldiers practiced a search and rescue mission for eight years, removing mines from the Kosovo territory and offering humanitarian help in the isolated areas. Part of the KPC passed to the KSF, which now has only light armament, but is preparing to fulfill the necessary functions of state security.
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