UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, October 22, 2025

Albanian Language Media:

EU: Inclusive elections, positive sign for further lifting of measures (Telegrafi)
Basha: The fight of the KLA was the most glorious of Albanians (media)
KLA veterans to organize another protest in one of European capitals (media)
Report: Huge gulf in military and financial balance of power between Kosovo and Serbia in favor of the latter (AP)
German Embassy urges focus on the Berlin Process: London Calling! (Klan)

Serbian Language Media:

Serbian President in extraordinary address to public says terrorist act took place near Serbian Assembly (RTS)
Tents burn; man arrested in front of Serbian Assembly in Belgrade (N1, FoNet)
Djuric: Serbia continues fight for rights of Serbs in Kosovo (Tanjug)
Russian Mission to the UN: Moscow supports full implementation of UNSC Resolution 1244 (media)
Macut to tell W Balkans Summit political conditioning by Pristina is unacceptable (Tanjug)
Gervalla: No closures of health institutions in north, dialogue with Serbs underway (KoSSev)
Simic reacts to Gervalla’s remarks on ‘dialogue about integration of health, education and infrastructure’ (Kosovo Online, social media)
Miller: EULEX is not involved in actions in north, closure of institutions can destabilize situation (Kosovo Online)
Radosavljevic: Good election results brought optimism, but there will be many obstacles (RTS)

Opinion:

Eyeing snap elections, Kosovo’s Kurti runs down the constitutional clock (BIRN)
Key lessons from the debate at the UN Security Council (Koha)
The double standards of Brussels (Dukagjini)
The sword and court: How moral absolutism is revising Kosovo's history (media)
Progressive except for Kosovo (Kosovo 2.0)

International:

“Kosovo offers to become first country to accept Britain’s refused asylum seekers” (The Guardian)
Western Balkans leaders meet in London for talks on migration and security (The Washington Times)

Albanian Language Media

EU: Inclusive elections, positive sign for further lifting of measures (Telegrafi)

EU spokesperson Anitta Hipper said in a statement to the news website that the EU is aware and is looking into the letter that civil society organizations in Kosovo sent asking for the further lifting of penalty measures against Kosovo. “We are aware of the letter from civil society organizations and we are looking into it,” she said.

The European Union has welcomed the peaceful conduct of the first round of local elections in the four northern municipalities which were held with the participation of all communities. “We welcome the first round of local elections which was held in a peaceful, competitive and inclusive atmosphere, with participation from all communities,” Hipper said. “This is an important sign of de-escalation in the north, and it will be taken into account in the context of further lifting of measures”.

Hipper also said that the EU expects the second round of elections to be held in the same atmosphere and highlighted a regular transition of local power.

Basha: The fight of the KLA was the most glorious of Albanians (media)

Most news websites cover an interview that Kosovo Assembly Speaker Dimal Basha gave to the Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) on Tuesday. On the trial against former KLA leaders in the Hague, Basha said that “the Kosovo Liberation Army had nothing to do with a joint criminal enterprise, because you cannot be a criminal when you protect your own home”. He said that the fight of the KLA was the most glorious fight of Albanians. “The KLA was the peak of our glory and history”.

Basha said that it would have been unconstitutional if he did not allow MP Nenad Rasic the right to be elected deputy speaker of the Kosovo Assembly. “In the last session, I offered the Serb majority the opportunity to nominate their candidates and nine of them did not get the sufficient number of votes. It would have been unconstitutional from my side if I had not allowed the same right to Nenad Rasic. He was the tenth Serb MP. I asked MPs to vote on his nomination because otherwise it would have been discriminatory,” he said.

Basha said that the right to complain to the Constitutional Court exists but the legal right to win does not exist. He said that Rasic’s election was in full compliance with the Constitution, the laws and the regulation of the Assembly. “I don’t think that the Constitutional Court has a case [for an interim measure]. I don’t believe there will be an interim measure by the Constitution because nine MPs were given the opportunity, and they didn’t get enough votes, and the tenth MP got the required number of votes,” he said.

Albanian Post covers Basha’s interview with RTK highlighting his remarks that he has information that some Serbian List MPs are being investigated for being involved in organizations that happened in Raska, Serbia, before the attack in Banjska in the north of Kosovo in September 2023. “I am not saying that they were the ones firing weapons, but they were involved in the organizations that were made in Raska,” he said. Basha also argued that “there are MPs that were involved in attacks against reporters in the north”.

KLA veterans to organize another protest in one of European capitals (media)

The Organization of the KLA War Veterans will continue to organize protests in support of former KLA leaders who are standing trial in the Hague. KLA War Veterans deputy leader Gazmend Syla said in an interview with the news website that they will organize another protest around mid-November in one of the European capitals. He said that protests will continue until a final verdict is announced in the trial and he thanked people for their positive response to the protests.

Report: Huge gulf in military and financial balance of power between Kosovo and Serbia in favor of the latter (AP)

The news website covers a report titled “Restoring British leadership in the Western Balkans” which offers policy recommendations for the Government of the United Kingdom ahead of the London Conference of the Berlin Process Summit.

The report notes that “in Kosovo, Serbia and Russia have worked jointly to foment the most significant security crisis in Europe outside of the battlefields of Ukraine. The September 2023 paramilitary attack in Banjska by armed extremists with direct ties to the government of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic resulted in three deaths, including one Kosovo police officer. The events in Banjska resulted in a rare direct rebuke of the Serbian government by the then Biden administration, which feared that a significant troop build-up by Belgrade along the Kosovo border was a prelude to a full-on invasion. The key person behind the Banjska attack, Milan Radoicic, remains at large in Serbia, despite pleas by some Western governments and institutions, such as NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, to bring those accountable to justice. These events follow years of provocations from the Serbian government which continue”.

“Since then, the Prishtina government has been on a major arms-buying spree in response to what it has identified as a clear security threat, purchasing $72 million worth of American Javelin rockets and launchers, and Turkish Bayraktar drones, among other high-ticket defence items. Such increased exports from the US are not likely to have been sanctioned had the Pentagon not shared a similar perception of the potential threat to Kosovo. In August 2025, the country also signed a joint procurement agreement with Albania and Croatia, with the three aiming to secure better offers from the U.S. and other Western arms and munitions dealers. And in September, Kosovo announced it had earmarked a remarkable $1.1 billion for the development of its domestic drone industry and the country’s broader military modernization efforts”.

“Nevertheless, there is a huge gulf in the military and financial balance of power between Kosovo and Serbia in favour of the latter. While the NATO-led KFOR troops provide additional deterrence, there is some strategic ambiguity over how effectively the mission would respond to a territorial invasion of Northern Mitrovica by Serbia, supported by Russia. This is because Kosovo itself is not a NATO country and therefore not subject to Article V. Moreover, the KFOR peacekeeping force does not provide a deterrent to sub-threshold level influencing activity, such as electoral interference by Serbia through its active support for the Belgrade-backed ethnic Serb party in Kosovo”.

Read full report at: https://shorturl.at/BkScE

German Embassy urges focus on the Berlin Process: London Calling! (Klan)

The German Embassy in Kosovo called for renewed focus on the Berlin Process Summit being held in London, emphasizing cooperation and progress for the Western Balkans’ path toward EU integration.

The embassy highlighted that the Berlin Process, launched by Germany in 2014, aims to support EU membership aspirations, boost regional cooperation, and deliver tangible benefits like removing roaming charges and recognizing professional qualifications.

It stressed that the process promotes rule of law, democracy, and anti-corruption reforms, benefiting societies directly. The embassy also noted that close cooperation strengthens both the EU and the UK, concluding that “a secure Western Balkans means a secure Europe.”

Serbian Language Media

Serbian President in extraordinary address to public says terrorist act took place near Serbian Assembly (RTS)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said today during his extraordinary address to the public from the Palace of Serbia, that in a shooting and fire which occurred at the plateau in front of the Serbian Assembly at central Belgrade “a serious terrorist act occurred”.

“Today, in front of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Andjelkovic Vladan, born in 1955, carried out, and this is my political assessment, a horrific terrorist attack against other persons and properties”, Vucic said, RTS reported.

Vucic also said it was a matter of time when something like this would happen, “as hatred was displayed against those who took over one area only, unlike those who took over many other areas”, Vucic said. He added that the ruling party premises of SNS, he is also a member of, were attacked 812 times, and that 29 SNS offices were burned down or destroyed. He also explained why he termed the incident as a terrorist act, because, as he said, the weapon was used and in the statement said that the attack was politically motivated. He wished speedy recovery to the injured man, Milan Bogranovic.

He also denied claims that Milan Bogdanovic was injured in an explosion of a cooking gas container, adding he was injured in direct shooting and is undergoing surgery. He played camera surveillance recordings in which a person who carried out the attack is heard as saying that he committed this act in order for police to kill him and that he was bothered by occupation of the center of the town. The same man is heard as saying he does not know anyone from tents placed across the Serbian Assembly in a park for months.

Tents burn; man arrested in front of Serbian Assembly in Belgrade (N1, FoNet)

A fire broke out in one of the large white tents put up by supporters of the central level authorities on the road between the Serbian Presidency and Parliament buildings on Wednesday, N1 reported.

The FoNet news agency said it was told by Belgrade city emergency medical service that an ambulance crew treated a man with a gunshot wound in front of parliament. The news report added the service also said it was called in by the police and told a cooking gas container exploded.

Multiple social media posts showed the flames spreading to several of the large tents made of synthetic fiber. The tents are known to have wood-burning stoves inside.

A post by opposition MP Marinika Tepic showed the police drawing weapons and arresting a man who came out of one of the burning tents. The police officers carried the man towards the parliament parking lot.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/rM5yl

Key lessons from the debate at the UN Security Council (Koha)

Opinion by Brussels-based correspondent Augustin Palokaj.

Lesson number one: These discussions at the UN Security Council no longer have any value. Lesson number two: The existence of UNMIK no longer has any meaning. Lesson number three: Kosovo’s friends have not changed their positions.

The debate at the UN Security Council on Kosovo on Tuesday was not much different from earlier debates. Ministers from Kosovo and Serbia said their messages, traded accusations and maintained their earlier positions. Both Kosovo’s caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla-Schwarz, and her colleague from Serbia, Marko Djuric, can go back to their jobs and boast that they have successfully defended their national interests and that they spoke the truth. And both will have full support from the respective publics for what they said.

But what was important to hear in this unimportant debate were the positions of the United States of America and Denmark. Because Denmark also spoke in the capacity of the presidency of the European Union. Denmark’s position was strengthened by the EU representative at the UN. The ambassadors of France, Slovenia and Greece – EU member states – spoke in similar fashion. And those messages are that Kosovo and Serbia need to entirely implement all points of the Brussels agreement and the Ohrid annex. This is something that Serbia has publicly said that it will not do. Meanwhile, Kosovo has said that they need to be implemented in their entirety, but its international friends do not believe it, because Kosovo has not shown signs of being ready to establish the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. The formation of the Association was requested at the UN Security Council by EU member states, the Quint countries and even Pakistan and Algeria.

Serbia was clearly asked not to obstruct Kosovo’s membership in international organizations. Something that Serbia does not accept.

From EU member states and the United Kingdom, Serbia got clear messages that it is unacceptable for the perpetrators of the attack in Banjska to be free. The EU representative clearly said that “Serbia has not taken enough measures” to bring the perpetrators of this attack to justice. But the EU should finally sanction Serbia for refusing to meet these demands and for the protection it offers to the Banjska attackers.

The Russian ambassador repeated the accusations against Kosovo and the West. And the impression was that he was reading something written by Belgrade. He was almost alone in insisting that UNMIK must remain in Kosovo and that debates at the UN Security Council on Kosovo must continue. One needs to understand but not accept Russia’s positions. Because the UN Security Council is the only forum where discussions are held for Kosovo and where Russia takes part.

The US representative was very clear. He said that UNMIK must close down, because it is “a peacekeeping Mission without peacekeepers” and that “over 80 percent of UNMIK expenditures go to the salaries of its staff”. And he very simply and clearly said that these discussions at the UN Security Council have no value, except for being used as a forum for propaganda for domestic publics. And in the end, he concluded that relations between Kosovo and Serbia must conclude with mutual recognition.

Three key lessons emerged from this entire debate: Lesson number one: These discussions at the UN Security Council no longer have any value. Lesson number two: The existence of UNMIK no longer has any meaning. Lesson number three: Kosovo’s friends have not changed their positions.

The positions expressed at the UN Security Council by representatives of the EU and member states will be repeated in other forums these weeks and until the end of the year. So, Kosovo’s friends have clearly not changed their positions. They support Kosovo but they also expect it to meet what they consider to be Kosovo’s obligations. And the nearest test will be handing over local power in the northern municipalities to those that won the local elections, namely the Serbian List.

The double standards of Brussels (Dukagjini)

Opinion by Imer Mushkolaj.

If Ursula von der Leyen and her colleagues want to speak about justice, they should start with Milan Radoicic – the crime that happened in Banjska and the fact that Serbia has turned him into a symbol of untouchability.

The visit by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in the region, has once made apparent the inequality in the European Union’s approach towards Kosovo and Serbia. With soft tones in Belgrade and with a pointing finger in Pristina, she repeated the narrative we have heard many times: Serbia, although it is slipping deeper into an autocracy, is treated as a necessary partner, whereas Kosovo, which stands on the right side of history, is still being punished.

In every official visit, the contrast is clear. In Belgrade, European leaders speak of “strategic cooperation” while in Pristina they give “advice” and “warnings”. This double standard has become the norm, and not the exception. And in its core, there is a naïve fear: let us not anger Aleksandar Vucic because he could ruin the stability. This logic has produced a failed policy – because it gives power to the one that threatens, and it punishes the one that cooperates.

Vucic understood this. He knows that it is enough to speak of “dialogue” while he keeps in force the propaganda of hatred against Kosovo in order to be treated as “a stability factor”. In reality, Serbia has become a source of instability. From media control to repression against the opposition, and all the way to support for criminal structures in the north of Kosovo, Vucic’s regime is a clear example of what Europe says it is fighting against – but in his case it tolerates it.

The most obvious example of this hypocrisy is the case of Milan Radoicic, the man who publicly admitted his involvement in the terrorist attack in Banjska where a Kosovo police officer was kille. In every normal state, such an act would be followed with thorough investigations and serious convictions. The opposite happens in Serbia: Radoicic was “interviewed”, was immediately set free and he lives in freedom today, under the protection of the state. The Serbian prosecution has not even tried handing him over to Kosovo’s judicial system.

This is clear evidence that Serbia not only does not punish terrorists that attack Kosovo but gives them shelter and protects them. But Brussels does not react. No sanctions, no suspension of funds, and no warnings of measures. On the contrary, Vucic is welcomed with smiles in summits, while Kosovo is given endless lectures for “normalization”.

Meanwhile Kosovo, which has built democratic institutions, stood beside Ukraine and the EU on geopolitical matters, still remains under unfair penalty measures. Sanctions that were imposed after the events in the north served for nothing and only damaged the citizens. Projects were suspended, funds were frozen, and the signal that is sent is absurd: “if you protect your sovereignty, you will be punished”.

Von der Leyen’s visit confirms this approach. She repeated that Kosovo needs to deescalate tensions in the country but did not say a word about the need for Serbia to face the reality of the state of Kosovo, or the justice that is still missing in the Banjska case. For the autocrat in Belgrade a careful language was used, whereas for Kosovo the tone of pressure.

Europe, which once preached values and justice, today has turned into a bureaucracy that measures stability with silence. This approach is not only detrimental to Kosovo but also weakens the European Union itself. How can the EU speak of ‘war against autocracies’ when it reaches out to an autocrat that shelters terrorists and threatens its neighbors? How can it ask for respect for the rule of law, when it rewards those that violate it on a daily basis?

Kosovo does not ask for privileges. It asks for equal treatment. It wants the EU not to close its eyes before Vucic and not to use Kosovo as an example of political discipline. If Ursula von der Leyen and her colleagues want to speak about justice, they should start with the crime that happened in Banjska and the fact that Serbia has turned him into a symbol of untouchability.

Because without justice there can be no peace or stability. And if Europe continues to reward the autocrat, then it is not safeguarding the stability of the region but only its own illusion.

The sword and the court: How moral absolutism is revising Kosovo's history (media)

Opinion by Petrit Selimi, former Kosovo Foreign Minister.

VV wields moral absolutism as its sword, in every political decision, from the Special Court debate to talks with Serbia. But this is moral laziness masquerading as virtue.

Tens of thousands of Albanians, led by the veterans’ organizations from Kosovo, protested last week against the “grave injustice” unfolding at the Specialist Chambers prosecuting the co-founders of the ragtag guerrilla army that started the uprising against Milosevic regime.

Albania’s Prime minister Edi Rama as well as key Albanian leaders from Balkans strongly endorsed the protest, with few notable exceptions: the President and the former Prime minister of Kosovo stayed mostly silent. As a matter of fact, the former ruling party Vetevendosje of the acting Prime minister Kurti published a harsh statement insinuating that Hashim Thaçi brought this upon himself, that he supported the creation of the Special Court and therefore has no one to blame for being indicted by it. It’s a convenient narrative, one that allows VV to claim prophetic foresight for which Kurti is famous: I told you so. But it’s also a cynical distortion of history, and a perfect example of how Kurti’s permanent state of righteousness can rot into historic revisionism.

VV’s claim of course reminds us of Gospel of Matthew (26:52), where Jesus tells Peter: “Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” It’s one of the most quoted Biblical references and reflects well VV’s intended message to Albanian public, parroted incessantly by VV apparatchiks and their army of trolls across social media. But it’s a fallacy. A dangerous fallacy.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/257uecw7

Progressive except for Kosovo (Kosovo 2.0)

Opinion by Arber Qerka-Gashi.

In Serbia’s student protests, Kosovo remains a limit to the solidarity, progressiveness and the challenge to power otherwise displayed by protestors.

What does solidarity truly mean – especially in contexts where ethnonationalism is deeply entrenched? This question has guided much of my work as a community organizer, creating inter-ethnic spaces for Balkan diasporas in the UK. As someone with roots in Kosovo, I’ve often faced the erasure of my identity – even in so-called progressive circles.

Growing up in the digital age, I was accustomed to slogans like “Kosovo je Srbija” (Kosovo is Serbia) and “Dogodine u Prizrenu!” (Next year in Prizren) – normalized expressions of Serbian ethnonationalism that reveal how deeply such ideologies still run. But perhaps most concerning is their persistence among self-identified progressives, whose calls for peace often echo the very rhetoric that hinders true reconciliation.

No example is more timely than the current protests and demonstrations sweeping Serbian society. Since November 2024 –– following the death of 16 people after the collapse of a concrete canopy in the recently renovated Novi Sad Train Station –– protests, demonstrations and student blockades have erupted across Serbia. These demonstrations have drawn people from all segments of Serbian society, each expressing their own personal qualms with the state. I understand that Serbian citizens, living under an autocratic state led by President Aleksandar Vucic, are focused on their daily difficulties. I do not take these experiences away or wish to diminish them. Their struggles with political repression, economic hardship, corruption and a general lack of democratic freedoms are very real and deserve attention.

However, the persistent silence from various self-proclaimed progressive groups, individuals and organizations in the face of ethnonationalist symbolism is deeply concerning. Among protest signs and calls for political freedom, there are nationalist banners featuring maps of “Kosovo covered by the Serbian flag and the words ‘Nema Predaje’ (No surrender),” a slogan calling on Serbian ethnonationalists to not surrender their claims on Kosovo. In these protests, such signs continue to be displayed, and yet there has been little to no critique from Serbian progressive voices. Video footage from the protests in August this year surfaced across social media, depicting Serbian protestors chanting “Aco Siptare.” Here, “Aco” refers to Aleksandar Vucic, his surname twisted into the derogatory term for Albanians, “Siptari,” in Serbian.