Kosovo Serbs rally after leaving office in protest over license plates

Thousands of Serbs have rallied in Kosovo as a license plate dispute has heightened tensions between Serbia and its former province.

The government’s decision to gradually ban Serbia from issuing license plates has angered Kosovo Serbs, most of whom do not recognize Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence.

Members of the Serb minority have resigned from government jobs in protest of the directive.

The Serbian government, backed by China and Russia, has also refused to recognize Kosovo’s statehood. The United States and its allies recognize Kosovo as an independent country.

During protests in the northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica, Serb political leaders said police, judges and other public officials would not return to work unless the Kosovo government changed its license plate policy.

“We are on our soil and we will not give up,” said Serbian politician Goran Rakic. “No withdrawal. Long live Serbia.”

The issue of Kosovo’s independence sparked the 1998-99 war in which about 13,000 people died. Serbia launches brutal crackdown to curb ethnic Albanian separatist insurgency. In 1999, NATO bombed Serbia to end the war.

Both Serbia and Kosovo have been told they must normalize relations as part of their efforts to join the EU. However, negotiations mediated by the EU have stalled.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić further dashed hopes of a quick solution, saying the country’s leaders rejected the latest proposal. It reportedly offered Serbia a faster path to EU membership in exchange for Kosovo’s membership in the United Nations.

Dačić told pro-government broadcaster Prva TV that the proposals submitted by France and Germany “start from the position that Kosovo’s independence is a foregone conclusion”.

“Serbia cannot accept this,” he said.

The Kosovo government had previously delayed requiring vehicles with old or Serbian license plates to be replaced with Kosovo plates. For 11 years, Serbia has demanded the opposite for vehicles from Kosovo.

EU and U.S. officials have stepped up efforts to bring Serbia and Kosovo closer to a deal on full normalization of relations between the two countries. The West fears that Russia may try to destabilize the Balkans to avoid at least some concern about its invasion of Ukraine.