Despite the fact that UNMIK is repeating that the elected representatives in Serbia and the 11 May elections are illegal, it appears that officials from this administration are behaving in a way that legitimizes them quietly, urging Albanian municipal officials to meet with representatives of Serbian parallel structures.

The offer for cooperation between the two sides only one week after the constitution entered into force,  was made by the international administrator of the Leposavic municipality, Monoutchehr Marzbanian.

Marzbanian requested from the representative of the Office for Communities in Leposavic, Haki Imeri, to meet with the newly elected Serbian representative of this municipality, Vladimir Ratkovic. Imeri explained that the offer for cooperation with the representatives of the Serbian parallel structures was done by the international administrator, Marzbanian, during a meeting, when the joint budget plan was being discussed.

Serbian parallel structures efforts to constitute their parallel assembly on June 28, in the Gjakova municipal building have failed on Saturday. This happened because UNMIK’s administration refused to offer support to the Serbian leaders elected on May 11 elections held in Kosovo.

“UNMIK is not able to offer escort to the participants of the inauguration session of the “Municipal Assembly” in the building of the Municipal Assembly of Gjakova,” was UNMIK’s answer to the request of the newly elected head of the “Gjakova Municipal Assembly” Milenko Jovanovic.

Further UNMIK’s justification, signed by the Chief of Department for Local Governance and Civil Administration, Leonid Markaryan, read: “I would like to emphasize the fact that the Serbian local elections held in Kosovo were declared illegal by the SRSG and UNMIK is the only authority, according to 1244 that can authorize elections in Kosovo. Therefore the local elections and their results, including the establishment of the parallel institutions, have no legal basis and no effect on Kosovo,” said the official letter that Koha Ditore is in possession of.

This reaction was welcomed by the Gjakova municipal mayor, Pal Lekaj, who assessed UNMIK’s reaction as right.

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