- No one to “discipline” Serbian List (Koha Ditore)
- Police step up presence in the north of Kosovo (Koha Ditore)
- Serwer: Make haste with demarcation or risk having the door closed (Zeri)
- ISIS fighter from Kosovo, Muhaxheri, reported killed (Gazeta Metro)
Kosovo Media Highlights
No one to “discipline” Serbian List (Koha Ditore)
Kosovo authorities have chosen to remain silent in face of an election campaign video sponsored by the Serbian List which proclaims Kosovo part of Serbia, the paper reports on the front page. The 46-second video clip opens with a map depicting Kosovo part of Serbia and goes on to show a Kosovo Security Force parade as well as the leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, dressed in a KLA uniform. The text underneath says: Let us prevent the forming of the so-called Kosovo army in our house”. Members of local organisations monitoring the elections process say the video contains elements that are in violation of the Constitution of Kosovo and that such content was in the past banned by authorities. “The content of this video also represents a threat and intimidation for all Serb candidates running under other political entities not part of the Serbian List”, said Ismet Kryeziu, executive director of the Kosovo Democratic Institute.
Police step up presence in the north of Kosovo (Koha Ditore)
Kosovo Police has stepped up its presence in the north of Kosovo following the increase of incidents between Serb political parties as election day is approaching. The paper reports that members of the rapid reaction unit from the Kosovo Police have begun patrolling the streets of the northern municipality of Leposaviq/Leposavic which saw a number of incidents in the recent days. At the same time, the head of the OSCE mission in Kosovo, ambassador Jan Braathu, also acknowledged the fragility of the situation in the north and called on all parties to ensure a free and fair elections process.
Serwer: Make haste with demarcation or risk having the door closed (Zeri)
In an interview to the paper, the U.S. Balkans analyst Daniel Serwer warned that the door to EU integration could be closed for Kosovo if its leaders fail to fulfill their obligations soon. “It is becoming increasingly more difficult to convince the European public to continue such initiatives such as visa liberalisation”, Serwer said.
ISIS fighter from Kosovo, Muhaxheri, reported killed (Gazeta Metro)
News website Gazeta Metro quotes sources from the Kosovo Interior Ministry saying that Lavdrim Muhaxheri from Kosovo has been killed in a U.S. drone attack while fighting alongside the so-called Islamic State in Syria. The news of Muhaxheri’s death was confirmed by his brother on Facebook. Muhaxheri is believed to command the group of Albanian ISIS fighters and was put by the U.S. on its list of global terrorists. News of his killing circulated also in 2014 but was later rebutted.
