BCSP in Pristina

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Maja Bjelos and Bojan Elek have interviewed main institutional stakeholder involved in the integration process, including the Kosovo police representatives, members of the parliament, police officers in the North, OSCE and EULEX representatives. Also, they have visitied the police station in Gracanica, the Kosovar Academy for Public Safety in Vucitrn, and the newly appointed Head of the Regional Command for norhtern Kosovo in Mitrovica. As a result of their research efforts, a publication on the process of police integration will be produced and launched in early April, both in Belgrade and in Pristina.

In addition to the research conducted, Maja Bjelos participated as a panelist at a conference on minorities in the security sector in Kosovo, covering aspects of minority inclusion in the Serbian police, focusing particularly on the Albanian minority in Southern Serbia.

„Proportional representation of minorities is especially important for the police work in local communities, and most of all, in multiethnic communities. The trust of national minorities is gained by their integration in the police force, on all levels and across all job positions. Their integration is not only important for building trust, but it also provides the police with insights and skills necessary for work in multicultural communities“, said Maja Bjelos at the conference.

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During their work in Kosovar Center for Security Studies (KCSS), BCSP’s researchers have also appeared in a TV show on the RTK 2, a newly opened television station with nation-wide coverage that broadcast its content in Serbian language. The audience of this station is mostly the Serbian communities south of river Ibar, and the topic of the TV show covered Serbian-Albanian relations, the upcoming elections in Serbia and the security concerns of the ordinary citizens in both Serbia and Kosovo based on the BCSP public opinion research from October, last year.

The BCSP researchers have also delivered a lecture at the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Pristina, on the Serbian position and security policy in the Balkans from the Regional Security Complex Theory perspective. The audience included members of the Faculty staff and students interested in the security dynamics in the region.

„I believe this lecture was a rare opportunity for the students in Kosovo to be able to participate in an event where the Serbian policies are presented in an independent, rational manner and supported with valid arguments. This is a one step towards desecuritizing Serbia-Kosovo relations and bringing closer young people who frequently lack the opportunities to communicate directly and freely exchange their ideas“, said Bojan Elek.