'It's the same thing over and again'
This headline is from an UK journalist I was talking to about the situation here.
It does seem like things in Kosovo run in a vicious circle and despite the attack at Banjska nothing politically has changed in Kosovo.
The US/EU are now sending envoys to with a plan for the Association of Serb Municipalities (ASM) despite the Kosovo government sill rejecting it. There are no sanctions against Serbia yet ) US/EU says it is waiting for the results of the investigation; and no one seems to know exactly what happened still). More soldiers have been added to KFOR and the police continue to conduct raids on homes in the north.
What will have a devastating change, in engagement if nothing else, is Israel/Palestine. After the horrific attacks and deep war on Gaza, Kosovo and Serbia - along with the Western Balkans - falls further down the global ladder of importance.
At the Kosovo Peace and Development Summit the EU Ambassador to Kosovo Tomas Szunyog said n Brussels the thinking goes: “Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Moldova, Western Balkans.”
One thing that the Balkans can learn for this horrific state of affairs is how some Middle East discourse is handled. Not from the so-called Leftists who debate the finer details of child murder, or the rabid ultra nationalists who have always wanted an excuse to destroy Palestinians; but from the civil society peace activists from both sides who went into mourning and the debates centred on morality and not using one war crime to excuse another. As well being against collective punishment, collective guilt and collective crimes.
This is what we should be taking from this moment, Balkan or otherwise.
But you need a confident society to have these discussions. And Kosovo - as well as other Balkan societies - are still not there.
Recommendations
Speaking of nuanced discussions, this debate between two Jewish writers on collective punishment, guilt, statehood and mourning in the aftermath of the attacks. Also from Helen Lewis on how some progressives failed the humanity test. All lessons for Balkans discourse.
The latest in New Perspektiva Let’s Talk About… discussions featuring Dani Ilazi from the Kosovo Centre for Security Studies and Dejan Nedeljković for the NGO Green Heart. They discussed reopening the bridge, cooperation between communities and the ongoing politics.
The audio is linked below and is in English, Albanian and Serbian.