• Kurti: Reciprocity on license plates is not a provocation or discriminatory (media)
• Osmani: The region is increasingly being threatened by Serbia’s actions (media)
• EU: Kosovo and Serbia to resolve license plates issue through dialogue (Telegrafi)
• Kamberi: Decision on license plates is just, Presevo Valley citizens to be compensated (KP)
• CDHRF: Reciprocity on license plates does not violate human rights (Zeri)
• Albanian PM Rama comments on license plates measures (media)
• Basha: Relations between two independent countries rest on reciprocity (media)
• “Only Kosovo Police members involved in operation in the north” (media)
• Roadblocks near Bernjak and Jarinje border crossing points remain (media)
• Pyper poll: Over 79% believe reciprocity will have positive impact on Kosovo’s image (Telegrafi)
• Osmani outlines meetings at the sidelines of UNGA session (media)
• Grenell criticises President Biden over his UNGA speech (media)
• Kosovo delegation visits Specialist Chambers at The Hague (media)
• Kosovo War Crime Witness Asks Hague Court for Compensation (BIRN)
• COVID-19: Seven deaths, 173 new cases (media)

Kurti: Reciprocity on license plates is not a provocation or discriminatory (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti commented on Twitter about yesterday’s meeting he and Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla had with Quint ambassadors and the head of the EU Office in Kosovo following the decision to introduce temporary license plates for Serbian vehicles entering Kosovo.

“I informed them that no incidents have occurred & that police are there to maintain order & security,” Kurti wrote, and added: “This isn’t a provocation, nor is it discriminatory. In this reciprocal measure, either Kosova & Serbia are both right or both wrong. Either we keep both types of plates, or they will be removed altogether. Freedom of movement is a right that must & will not be violated by RKS.”

Osmani: The region is increasingly being threatened by Serbia’s actions (media)

President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani warned of Serbia’s role in the region saying it is becoming increasingly threatening.

“Swift integration of Kosovo and of the rest of the countries of the region into the EU and NATO is a precondition for maintaining stability in the region, which, unfortunately, is increasingly threatened by the actions of the Serbian regime which continues with the 1990’s mentality,” she said in her meeting with the Finnish President Sauli Niinisto which she held on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly session.

A press release issued by the presidency further quotes Osmani saying that Kosovo has always been a constructive party in the dialogue with Serbia, despite the fact that Serbia has never apologized for the crimes committed and still holds hostage close to 2,000 forcibly missing people during the recent war in Kosovo.

EU: Kosovo and Serbia to resolve license plates issue through dialogue (Telegrafi)

Peter Stano, spokesperson for the EU foreign policy, said that the EU continues to follow the situation on the ground following the Kosovo Government’s measure on license plates.

He said the EU calls on both parties to refrain from further unilateral actions and immediately reduce tensions. “The EU High Representative Borrell last night was in contact with President Vucic and Prime Minister Kurti, as well as with EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak, who is still in Belgrade and is continuing to work with both sides,” Stano told Telegrafi news website.

Stano added that the EU encourages the two sides to use the EU facilitated dialogue as a platform for addressing and resolving all open issues, including the free movement and license plates. “We are ready to host a meeting in Brussels at any given time.”

Kamberi: Decision on license plates is just, Presevo Valley citizens to be compensated (KP)

Shaip Kamberi, Albanian MP in Serbia’s Assembly, said in an interview with Kosovapress that the decision of the Government of Kosovo on license plates is just and noted that even the EU underlined the failure of Serbia to implement agreement on free movement with Kosovo in its progress report.

“I hope this decision has been agreed beforehand with international friends. I hope that the government is aware of the responsibility it has taken, that Serbia is looking forward to increase tensions to prove that Kosovo is the one that is destabilizing relations between the two countries, but also relations in the Balkans as a whole. In this regard, I believe and hope that the government has held consultations with international actors and informed them in a timely manner about the measures it has taken,” Kamberi said.

“What for us is an additional concern for the residents of the Presevo Valley is that I believe that this will complicate the free movement of people. Because I do not know how prepared the relevant ministry is regarding the administrative procedures for not creating ques at the border. Otherwise I hope that the public promise will be kept that the citizens of the Presevo Valley will be compensated for all payments made as part of this measure,” he continued.

CDHRF: Reciprocity on license plates does not violate human rights (Zeri)

The Kosovo-based Council for Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) issued a statement on the Government of Kosovo’s decision to implement reciprocity measures towards Serbia regarding license plates saying they do not violate human rights. It also said the move is not unilateral and called on all political parties to unreservedly support the Government in this regard.

CDHRF said that the agreement on license plates and free movement signed in Brussels expired a while ago and that in the absence of another agreement, the Government of Kosovo bears no obligations towards Serbia which in turn makes all citizens from Kosovo remove license plates and pay for temporary ones. “There is no country in the region that has not unified vehicle license plates while Kosovo has been imposed on having three of them: of Serbia, KS as inherited by UNMIK, and lawful and regular RKS ones,” CDHRF said.

Albanian PM Rama comments on license plates measures (media)

Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama has reacted to the Government of Kosovo’s measures on Serbian and KS license plates.

“Kosovo rightfully raises the problem. Now that the problem is resolved and license plates reciprocity guaranteed, the boomerang of the frozen conflict at this point (as was the case with 100% tariff) should be avoided. Kosovo should dialogue, Serbia should cooperate, the EU to facilitate,” Rama wrote on Twitter.

Basha: Relations between two independent countries rest on reciprocity (media)

Albania’s opposition leader, Lulzim Basha from the Democratic Party, took to Twitter to comment on the Kosovo Government’s measures on license plates.

“Kosovo is an independent country and relations between two sovereign countries function on the basis of reciprocity. This is an undeniable right of Kosovo. The sooner Belgrade realises this, the better for Serbia and for relations between countries in the region,” he said.

“Only Kosovo Police members involved in operation in the north” (media)

Kosovo Police issued a statement saying that only its members, and not of other security agencies, are involved in the operation in the north following the Government of Kosovo’s decision on license plates.

“It is worth mentioning that in the police operation which is being carried out at the country level, including in the northern part of the Republic of Kosovo, only officials of the Kosovo Police are involved, whereas reports and speculations of some Serbian media that in this operation are other security agencies involved are untrue,” the police said.

Roadblocks near Bernjak and Jarinje border crossing points remain (media)

Media report that the roadblocks put up near the border crossing points of Bernjak and Jarinje remain for the third day in a row as Serbs continue to protest over Kosovo Government’s decision to introduce temporary license plates for Serbian vehicles. They also state that the situation is calm and no incidents have been reported over night.

Online media report of a smaller number of protesters that spent the night outside the roadblocks, compared to the previous nights and also that for the first time, Kosovo Police displayed new machine guns which it mounted on the armoured vehicles stationed near the border crossing points.

Pyper poll: Over 79% believe reciprocity will have positive impact on Kosovo’s image (Telegrafi)

The polling platform, Pyper, carried out a most recent survey on the developments in the north of Kosovo and presented the results during a debate on RTV Dukagjini.

The poll found that over 79% of citizens think that introduction of reciprocity on license plates will positively affect the image of Kosovo. 6% think that this action of the Kosovo Government will negatively affect the image of Kosovo and around 15% think that the decision will not have an impact on the image of Kosovo.

Further, over 66% of citizens consider that introduction of reciprocity will have a positive impact on the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue while 17% think that the decision badly affects the dialogue. At the same time, 17% think that this decision will not have an impact on the dialogue.

An overwhelming 90% of citizens think that the Government of Kosovo should implement other stages of reciprocity and about 10% think that the Government should not implement any other measures of reciprocity.

Osmani outlines meetings at the sidelines of UNGA session (media)

President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani gave details of her meetings in New York with representatives of different countries and organisations in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly session.

Osmani met President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda with whom she discussed bilateral relations and challenges threatening the peace and stability in the Balkans and the Baltic regions. She also met President of Costa Rica Carlos Alvarado Quesada and discussed ways to deepen cooperation.

On the same day, President Osmani also met Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen and raised the need for Kosovo to be recognise by all members of the organisation. She then met Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi and spoke of the support this country has given to Kosovo in efforts to join international organisations like UNESCO, IMF, World Bank. Osmani then attended a ceremony hosted by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and also met former U.S. congressman Eliot Engel.

Grenell criticises President Biden over his UNGA speech (media)

Former U.S. presidential envoy for Kosovo-Serbia negotiations, Richard Grenell, criticized the U.S. President Joe Biden for not mentioning the dialogue in his remarks at the UN General Assembly.

“Joe Biden fails to even mention the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue in his UN speech. It is clearly not a priority for this White House to partner with the Balkans in any way.”

Kosovo delegation visits Specialist Chambers at The Hague (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Minister of Justice Blerim Sallahu led a delegation in a visit to the Kosovo Specialist Chambers at The Hague where they were received by President Ekaterina Trendafilova and Registrar Fidelma Donlon.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry, the topics discussed in the meeting included KSC’s legal aid scheme, family visits for the detainees and facilitation of visas in this regard. “The conditions of the detention were also discussed which should be in line with international standards and conventions.”

Kosovo War Crime Witness Asks Hague Court for Compensation (BIRN)

In his second day of testimony at the trial of Salih Mustafa at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, a protected witness codenamed 3593 spoke about the conditions in which he was held at a Kosovo Liberation Army detention centre, and said he deserves compensation.

Mustafa is accused of involvement in murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detentions during the Kosovo war in April 1999 at a KLA-run detention compound in Zllash/Zlas, which was allegedly run by a unit that he commanded.

He is the first ex-KLA fighter to be tried by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, and has pleaded not guilty.

“I had my arm broken in three places because of beatings. I have had an intervention in the head, my middle finger is broken, my teeth were broken as a result of kicks and I am asking the court for compensation,” said protected witness 3593.

The witness was shown a photograph in court, which he confirmed showed the place where he was held.

“In what we see on these two floors, there is a basement below and I was being held at the basement. [KLA] soldiers were upstairs,” he said.

He added that he was beaten by two people who he could not identify.

He also recalled the moment when he was released from detention.

“When I went out of the house where I was being held, I saw a lot of people in the courtyard but I was not interested in anything else but getting away from there,” he said.

He was presented with another photograph and said he could identify the people in it.

“This was the KLA commander Fatmir Sopi and on the right side is the defendant, whose name I do not even want to mention,” he said, referring to Mustafa.

Mustafa allegedly committed his crimes against prisoners accused by the guerrilla fighters of collaborating with enemy Serbs or not supporting the KLA’s cause.

The witness told the court that he was detained because he was “accused of collaborating with the Serbs”. At Monday’s hearing, he said that Mustafa was the man in charge at the detention compound in Zllash/Zlas.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers were established to prosecute KLA fighters for crimes committed during the guerrilla force’s 1998-99 war of resistance against Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic’s repressive rule.

They are part of Kosovo’s justice system but are located in The Hague and staffed by internationals. They were set up under pressure from Kosovo’s Western allies, who feared that Kosovo’s justice system was not robust enough to try KLA cases and protect witnesses from interference.

But the so-called ‘special court’ is widely resented by Kosovo Albanians who see it as an insult to the KLA’s war for liberation.

COVID-19: Seven deaths, 173 new cases (media)

Seven deaths from COVID-19 and 173 new cases from the virus were recorded in Kosovo in the last 24 hours. 1,434 persons recovered from the virus during this time.

There are 7,635 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.