Loading...
You are here:  Home  >  UNMIK Media Reports - Afternoon edition  >  Current Article

UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, May 25, 2022

By   /  25/05/2022  /  Comments Off on UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, May 25, 2022

UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, May 25, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

• KDI: Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, necessary and of national interest (EO)
• Abazi resigns from parliamentary inquiry committee on energy (media)
• Excavations in Serbia end, no human remains uncovered (RFE)
• Osmani participates at international conference on trafficking of human beings (media)
• Blerim Kuci leaves AAK, resigns from all structures (Reporteri)
• Chairman of Kosovo-Israel Friendship Group Avdullah Hoti, sends request to PM Kurti (Express)
• COVID-19: 8 new cases (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• No remains found near the Stavalj mine (KiM radio, Nova S)
• Jevtic: Serbs do want Community of Serbian Municipalities (Jedinstvo)
• Jeremic: Imposing sanctions on Russia could lead to Kosovo membership in UN (KoSSev)
• SOC recognizes autocephaly of Orthodox Church in North Macedonia (KoSSev)
• Russian official praises Vucic for resisting pressure on sanctions (N1)
• Gracanica mayor met UNMIK chief (KiM radio)
• Vucic, Pendarovski discuss Open Balkan (Tanjug)
• Vucic with Mitsotakis: We thanks Greek people for support to territorial integrity of Serbia (Kosovo-online)
• UNS and DNKiM: Enable journalists to report on protest in Osojane (KoSSev)
• Stefanovic met Wiermann (Tanjug)
• Selakovic speaks with ASEAN Secretary General (Tanjug)

Opinion:

• A distillate of regional fears (KoSSev)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Halt to Waste Collection Leaves Prishtina Covered by Garbage (BIRN)

    Print       Email

Albanian Language Media:

  • KDI: Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, necessary and of national interest (EO)
  • Abazi resigns from parliamentary inquiry committee on energy (media)
  • Excavations in Serbia end, no human remains uncovered (RFE)
  • Osmani participates at international conference on trafficking of human beings (media)
  • Blerim Kuci leaves AAK, resigns from all structures (Reporteri)
  • Chairman of Kosovo-Israel Friendship Group Avdullah Hoti, sends request to PM Kurti (Express)
  • COVID-19: 8 new cases (media)

Serbian Language Media:

  • No remains found near the Stavalj mine (KiM radio, Nova S)
  • Jevtic: Serbs do want Community of Serbian Municipalities (Jedinstvo) 
  • Jeremic: Imposing sanctions on Russia could lead to Kosovo membership in UN (KoSSev)
  • SOC recognizes autocephaly of Orthodox Church in North Macedonia (KoSSev)
  • Russian official praises Vucic for resisting pressure on sanctions (N1)
  • Gracanica mayor met UNMIK chief (KiM radio)
  • Vucic, Pendarovski discuss Open Balkan (Tanjug)
  • Vucic with Mitsotakis: We thanks Greek people for support to territorial integrity of Serbia (Kosovo-online)
  • UNS and DNKiM: Enable journalists to report on protest in Osojane (KoSSev)
  • Stefanovic met Wiermann (Tanjug)
  • Selakovic speaks with ASEAN Secretary General (Tanjug)

Opinion:

  • A distillate of regional fears (KoSSev)

Humanitarian/Development:

  • Halt to Waste Collection Leaves Prishtina Covered by Garbage (BIRN)

 

 

 

Albanian Language Media  

 

KDI: Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, necessary and of national interest (EO)

Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) hosted a discussion on the topic on Kosovo-Serbia dialogue today and tackled the issue of the duration of the process and the fact that there is no final agreement, more than ten years on. The discussion also focused on the licence plates and the impact of the current geopolitical situation in the dialogue. 

KDI’s Violeta Haxholli said the dialogue is in the interest of both Kosovo and Serbia. “With the recent developments in Ukraine we have seen increased demands for Kosovo and Serbia to be committed in the dialogue towards reaching a final agreement. Dialogue in the recent years has had slower progress,” she said, adding that many issues that affect the lives of citizens remain unresolved. “When we talk about dialogue, I believe that dialogue for Kosovo is important internally and externally,” she said. Haxholli underlined that progress in dialogue is important for Kosovo and Serbia integration into the European Union.

Demush Shaha from EPIK Institute said that he viewed Serbia as a party obstructing dialogue while analyst Dukagjin Gorani said that although many agreements have so far been reached by the parties, “the dialogue should be seen as a necessary process.” Commentator Visar Ymeri said Kosovo should realise its interest in the dialogue process. He said that sovereign countries need to take decisions. “Sovereign decisions carry consequences therefore one needs to think before acting. One of the problems I see in this Government is that we do not have this awareness. Dialogue is a means to an end,” he said.

Abazi resigns from parliamentary inquiry committee on energy (media)

Haki Abazi, MP from the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV), resigned from the Assembly of Kosovo inquiry committee on energy, media report quoting chairman of the committee, Hajdar Beqa, from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).

 “It is true he resigned; I will inform the committee in today’s meeting,” Beqa said, adding that LVV is expected to appoint another MP to the body.

Excavations in Serbia end, no human remains uncovered (RFE)

Excavations in the village of Staval, Serbia that commenced on 10 May in search of a possible mass grave have concluded without any human remains uncovered.

Veljko Odalovic from the Serbian Government’s Commission on Missing Persons confirmed the news. He added that future excavations will continue based on requests. “There is no difference between the victims. Albanian as well as Serb families have the same right to know what happened to their loved ones,” he said, adding: “This is why we request the work on this process intensifies in Kosovo too.”

Osmani participates at international conference on trafficking of human beings (media)

The President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani, at the invitation of President of Albania Ilir Meta, traveled today to Tirana to participate in an international conference on: Current trends in trafficking in human beings in the Western Balkans. As reported, Osmani will be among the keynote speakers and in her presentation will talk about trafficking of human beings in the Kosovar, regional and global context.

Speakers at the conference, in addition to President Meta and President Osmani, will be U.S. senators and congressmen, representatives of the UN, as well as non-governmental organizations dealing with the fight against trafficking in human beings

Blerim Kuci leaves AAK, resigns from all structures (Reporteri)

Blerim Kuci, former mayor of Suhareka, and deputy leader of Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) has decided to stop his activity in this party.

The news website has learned that Kuci has resigned from all AAK structures and will not participate in the party’s internal ongoing election race.

During his political carrier in AAK, Kuci has held senior leadership positions in the party, as well as in the government, as a minister at the time when his party was part of the ruling coalition with LDK.  It is not known if his political activity will continue to any other party. 

Chairman of Kosovo-Israel Friendship Group, Avdullah Hoti sends request to PM Kurti (Express)

Avdullah Hoti, MP of the Democratic League of Kosovo, in his capacity of chairman of the Kosovo-Israel Friendship Group, has sent a request to Prime Minister Kurti to initiate and bring to the Assembly for ratification several interstate agreements between Kosovo and Israel.

Hoti in the request sent to Kurti reminded him that the recognition of Kosovo by Israel occurred after the signing of the agreement of September 4, 2020 in the White House when he was prime minister.

“In the capacity of chairman of the Kosovo-Israel Friendship Group, I sent a request for support, initiation and bringing to the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo for ratification of several interstate agreements between Kosovo and Israel,” Hoti wrote.

Hoti has proposed, among other things, that the two parliaments ratify the visa-free movement for the citizens of the two countries.

COVID-19: 8 new cases (media)

Eight new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Kosovo in the last 24 hours. There are 138 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.

 

 

Serbian Language Media

 

No remains found near the Stavalj mine (KiM radio, Nova S)

A search of the location of the Stavalj mine near Sjenica has been completed in order to find persons listed as missing during the armed conflicts in Kosovo. After two weeks of searching, no remains were found at this site, reported KiM radio.

According to the Office for Missing Persons, the search is suspended, and the terrain will be returned to its original condition.

The search began on May 10, and the competent state authorities of Serbia worked based on the order of the War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office. Conducting activities at the Stavalj mine location was of special importance for the families of missing persons, who have been trying for years to find and bury the remains of their loved ones with dignity.

”The work lasted for a full 13 working days. Over seven thousand cubic meters of various materials were searched at these locations. And we can definitely say that the remains were not found. We will start restoring the location to its original condition. And we turn to the new tasks. Important for this, and other locations we searched in Serbia, regardless of the source and reliability of the information, is that all were checked. We did not ignore any of them, “said Veljko Odalovic of the Commission on Missing Persons.

So far, the remains of 917 people from Kosovo and Metohija have been found at five locations in Serbia, identified and handed over to their families.

The Serbian Commission for Missing Persons says that they have solved and identified over 1,800 cases of missing persons so far. Of that number, about 1,500 were Kosovo Albanian bodies and the rest were Kosovo Serbs. About 1,600 more are missing at the moment.

“This cooperation is crucial, because it is necessary to provide and give answers to the families of the missing on what happened to their loved ones. We are all here because of the families of the missing. A lot of time has passed, and we must hurry to give answers. We know that many members of the families passed away unfortunately during all these years, but it is our duty to provide them with answers,” said Martina Fava of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

In addition to state bodies, judicial and mining-geological experts from Serbia, EULEX, UNDP and delegations from the Pristina Working Group on Missing Persons were present at the location near the Stavalj mine, reported KiM radio.

Jevtic: Serbs do want Community of Serbian Municipalities (Jedinstvo) 

In an interview to Jedinstvo weekly newspaper published on May 23, Strpce mayor and Serbian List Vice President Dalibor Jevtic said “situation in Kosovo and Metohija is very complicated in every sense of the word. The position of Serbian people is getting harder daily. Classic institutional violence and the abolition of the rights of Serbs are still at work, even if it existed on paper, even if the word was written in the local legal regulations and legal norms”.

When asked how the Ukrainian crisis has influenced the situation in Kosovo, Jevtic pointed out that “the authorities in Pristina are using that unfortunate war in Ukraine in a way that creates tensions among the peoples and which deepens the mistrust towards Kosovo intrusions…”

Q: Do you see any progress in the institutional protection of Serbs and the democratisation of society in Kosovo and Metohija?

“The rule of law in Kosovo is a buffet from which the government in Pristina takes only what it suits them. This shows both the condition of democracy and the rule of law, but certainly it’s not the only example in which basic human rights are violated. There are many examples, people are in prisons under various charges based on the statements of “witnesses” and without any evidence. Special units of Kosovo police are being sent to Serbian communities not to really combat the crime, but to intimidate citizens with their presence. The publication of lists of Serbian citizens and political representatives of Serbs is just another example of institutional pressure on the Serbian people that ought to feel intimidated and forced to leave the area (…)”.

Q: How do you see (PM Albin) Kurti’s claims that Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija do not want the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, but Belgrade does?

“When Mr. Kurti tells someone in the West that the Serbs do not want the Association/Community of Serbian Municipalities, he is in fact showing the true face of his relation towards the Serbs, because what he says is not only untrue, but is a classic example of imposing a personal stances and opinions on behalf of others, or in other words, a classic example of autocracy and dictatorship over a non-majority people in Kosovo. In that one sentence, one can read, interpret, read the danger in which the Serbs today are facing the wave of institutional violence in Kosovo. Yes, Serbs want the Community of Serbian Municipalities. We want it so that we can decide our lives in our areas without fear that some autocrats will be able to impose their opinions and stances on us. We want it so that they wouldn’t close the institutions that are of vital importance for us, so that they would not abolish our rights to education and health, so that they wouldn’t abolish our right to life. The political decisions in the legal system that are being made are causing great, enormous damage. Serbs clearly stated by mass protests that they’re opposed to such institutional violence as well. It is clear to us that if there is no concrete reaction from the international community to stop all of this, then the situation will get worse for everyone. That is why I sent a letter to the Quint ambassadors, KFOR Commander and heads of the EU and OSCE missions in Kosovo, in which I clearly highlighted all the problems and dangers in which the Serbian people find themselves”.

Q: What is the specific relation of Pristina towards the municipality of Strpce?

“As someone who is now the head of the municipality of Strpce, I can testify and speak from personal examples about the relation of the central institutions towards the majority Serbian municipality in Kosovo. From banal procedural things concerning communal services to those that are vital for all citizens of our municipality, there was no reply to any of my letters and requests. And then someone can come to me today and say how everything is ideal in Kosovo and how democracy, law and justice rule?

They’re telling us how they are combating crime and corruption and illegal construction in Brezovica, and when someone comes to us from Pristina to construct there without any permits…then there are no “fighters” against illegal construction anywhere. When they ask why there is no trust in the institutions, the best answer lies in all the tests that Serbs have in Strpce, and in Gracanica, but also the last one in Sevce village in our municipality. …Although I was the first to try and try to do my job, the job of the mayor, every day in different ways, it seems that problems are brought to the municipality of Strpce from different levels and sides. But despite that, neither I, and I believe all citizens, would give up our fight for life.

We have the great support of President Aleksandar Vucic, we have the concrete and direct help of Director Petkovic and the Office for Kosovo and Metohija of the Serbian Government, and without that help and support, our position would certainly be far more difficult. For one thing, we are fighting to persevere on the path of justice and truth, even though the situation is really difficult. When a mayor cannot do his job, when he cannot dedicate himself to solving some local issues, above all communal and economic ones, then it is clear what the institutional position of Serbs in Kosovo is. Almost nothing in Kosovo is decentralised, essentially everything is centralised and that is why Serbs are looking for and insisting on the Community of Serbian Municipalities”.

Jeremic: Imposing sanctions on Russia could lead to Kosovo membership in UN (KoSSev)

Leader of Serbian opposition Peoples’ Party (NS) and former President of UN General Assembly, Vuk Jeremic said Tuesday that imposing sanctions on Russia “would most probably lead to accession of self-declared Kosovo in UN”, while economic consequences “would be very dire”, KoSSev portal reports.

“I have not heard, so far, of an argument convincing enough to impose sanctions on Russia, and that is why I think it is necessary to discuss openly and transparently about such an important issue with such huge consequences at the Parliament of Serbia”, Jeremic told Serbian public broadcaster RTS.

He added citizens of Serbia by majority are against imposing sanctions, and it was necessary to talk about politics in the Parliament, so the Government of Serbia which makes decisions through an executive branch, could do so with full institutional support and that implied by the Constitution.

“Those supporting the introduction of sanctions talk about some moral and virtuous reasons. When it comes to moral reasons, Serbia based on its own experience and history can claim with full accountability that sanctions do not affect those they are intended for, but ordinary people and that is why Serbia out of principle should be against imposing sanctions on any state”, Jeremic said.

He also said that very few states in the world imposed sanctions on Russia, apart from EU member states and some of US closest allies.

“The majority of the world decided to stay aside, including some very close allies of the US, such as Israel, and there are also NATO member states which have not imposed sanctions on Russia, such as Turkey, so the things are not really that much black and white”, Jeremic said.

He opined it is very important to say openly what could be possible consequences of Serbia’s decision not to impose sanctions.

“Is anyone threatening us as a state and in what way? Do they threaten us economically, or God forbid by the military? So we can simply understand what is on the table”, Jeremic added.

“For the time being we do not know what is on the table. The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic spoke with the German Chancellor, French President and other statesmen. He often talks about strong international pressure and let us talk openly about that, what pressures are at stake in an open and transparent discussion and let citizens become aware of it”, Jeremic, who is also former Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister, said.

He noted it was important not to have distortion of the pre-electoral promises, as some parties from both ruling coalition and opposition were against sanctions on Russia and today there are different tones coming from those addresses.

“The Peoples’ Party acted with utmost attention on this matter during the campaign, as we were aware how much the matter was complicated and how it could evolve further”, Jeremic underlined.

SOC recognizes autocephaly of Orthodox Church in North Macedonia (KoSSev)

The Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) recognized the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in North Macedonia. The SOC Patriarch Porfirije announced the news in Skopje, emphasising that the decision was made unanimously at the recent Holy Assembly of Bishops of the SOC, KoSSev portal reports.

The decision arrived only days after the Ecumenical Patriarchate recognized the Ohrid Bishopric with no mention of Macedonia in its name, noting that the status issue should be resolved with the SOC. In order to become self-autonomous, the Orthodox Church in North Macedonia needs to receive consent from its canonic church, in this case the SOC.

The SOC soon approved canonical unity with the Ohrid Bishopric, authorising the Orthodox Church there the widest possible autocephaly.

The recognition of the autocephaly marked a canonical end of the half-century-long rift between the SOC and its former branch – which called itself the Macedonian Orthodox Church – but one that the Serbian Orthodox Church had not recognized until yesterday, the portal added.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/38jUFAW

Russian official praises Vucic for resisting pressure on sanctions (N1)

A senior Russian Duma official praised Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic for resisting Western pressure to impose sanctions on Moscow on Tuesday, N1 reports.

Alexander Babakov, deputy Chairman of the State Duma, told Belgrade-based daily Politika that Vucic “demonstrated great courage when he opposed the colossal pressure from the West that wants to force Belgrade to join in the sanctions against Moscow”.

“We are aware of that and appreciate it. We understand that the President of Serbia is prepared to pay such a high price not for the Russian spasibo (thanks) but for his personal belief that a state must have a sovereign policy, that this policy simply has no alternative”, Babakov is quoted as saying. He added that “Vucic knows that true sovereignty costs a lot and is easily lost”.

Babakov also recalled that Russia failed to resist the huge US influence and oppose the introduction of sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992.

Gracanica mayor met UNMIK chief (KiM radio, gracanicaonline.info)

The president of the municipality of Gracanica, Ljiljana Subaric, talked yesterday with the head of UNMIK in Kosovo, Caroline Ziadeh, reported KiM radio.

Ziadeh visited the Gracanica municipality and talked to the Gracanica mayor about improving further cooperation. Subaric informed the head of UNMIK about future plans for the development of the municipality of Gracanica and pointed out that cooperation between international institutions and local governments was an important factor in this segment that contributes to a better life for all citizens in the municipality of Gracanica.

Subaric pointed out that the priorities of the municipality of Gracanica were education, health, and social protection.

During the talks, it was concluded that the joint mission of UNMIK as well as local government representatives was to preserve peace and stability in order to continue the development and economic strengthening of all communities.

Vucic, Pendarovski discuss Open Balkan (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday he was pleased to have discussed with his North Macedonian counterpart Stevo Pendarovski the Open Balkan initiative and development of bilateral relations, Tanjug news agency reports. The two presidents met on the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“I am glad we met and had an opportunity to discuss the Open Balkan initiative and further development of the brotherly relations between Serbia and North Macedonia”, Vucic wrote in a post on his buducnostsrbijeav Instagram account that also included a photo from the meeting with Pendarovski.

In a Facebook post earlier in the day, Pendarovski said he had met with Vucic and that they had welcomed a decision by the Serbian Orthodox Church to recognise the autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric as a “step in the right direction”.

Media also reported that President Vucic during the talks with Montenegrin Prime Minister, Dritan Abazovic, invited him to join the Open Balkans Initiative meeting.

“An excellent opportunity to talk with Dritan Abazovic during World Economic Forum about bilateral topics, but also to call upon him one more time to join us at the meeting of Open Balkans Initiative in Orhid”, Vucic wrote in a separate post. This was the first meeting of the two officials, since Abazovic took over as Prime Minister.

The next meeting of regional and economic initiative Open Balkans, will take place on June 7 and 8 in Ohrid, North Macedonia. Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia joined the initiative so far

Vucic with Mitsotakis: We thanks Greek people for support to territorial integrity of Serbia (Kosovo-online)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met during the World Economic Forum in Davos with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and expressed gratitude to the Greek people for the support to territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia, Kosovo-online portal reports.

Vucic wrote in a post on Instagram that there are no open issues between Serbia and Greece.

“From Belgrade, through Brussels, and all the way to Davos – always a great pleasure to see Kyriakos. Serbia and Greece for 150 years have not only friendly but also genuine brotherly relations and there are no open issues among us. I am grateful to the Greek people for the support to territorial integrity of Serbia, and strong support to the European path of our country”, Vucic said in a post.

UNS and DNKiM: Enable journalists to report on protest in Osojane (KoSSev)

Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) and its branch in Kosovo (DNKiM) condemned the act of the President of Istok Interim Municipal Authority Kosta Belosevic, who as they said in a statement, attempted to send the Radio Gorazdevac team away from the protest of local residents in Osojane village who claimed they were dissatisfied with their families’ employment status, KoSSev portal reports. The statement also added that security staff of the institution pushed away the cameraman of this team.  

The journalists’ associations also said that apart from local institutions representatives, representatives of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija were present on the spot where journalists were not able to carry out their duty.

UNS and DNKiM called on representatives of the local institutions in Osojane to enable unimpeded work of the journalists reporting on the protest. They also urge the Office for Kosovo and Metohija to point out to the representatives of the local bodies that they should cooperate with the journalists on the events of public importance and provide them with answers on the matters that fall within their jurisdiction.

Stefanovic met Wiermann (Tanjug)

Serbian Deputy PM and Minister of Defence Nebojsa Stefanovic met on Tuesday with the director-general of the NATO International Military Staff, Lt-Gen Hans-Werner Wiermann, who is visiting Serbia, reported Tanjug agency.

Stefanovic said the cooperation, in which the International Military Staff has an important role, has been good to date, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

“Serbia is satisfied with the results of its participation in activities under the Partnership for Peace programme. Considering our military neutrality, for us it represents the optimal framework for cooperation aimed at accomplishing our security objectives, as well as an advancement of the defence capacities for our military neutrality,” Stefanovic said, adding that Serbia’s cooperation with all partners was proceeding in an extremely transparent manner.

Stefanovic said Serbia was firmly committed to peace and stability as the fundamental preconditions for prosperity in the region and worldwide and was making very concrete and visible contributions to maintaining them.

He said the cooperation between the Serbian Armed Forces and KFOR was good and very significant, noting that, under UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and the Military Technical Agreement, KFOR was the sole security stakeholder in Kosovo-Metohija with non-transferable authority.

Wiermann said NATO highly respected the partnership with Serbia and noted the significance of the military alliance’s cooperation with the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces as part of Partnership for Peace.

Selakovic speaks with ASEAN Secretary General (Tanjug)

On the second day of his visit to Indonesia, Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Nikola Selakovic met with The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi, Tanjug news agency reports.

Serbia’s trade volume with ASEAN member states amounted to 621 mln dollars last year, with Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia accounting for the majority of the total. At the meeting, Selakovic said Serbian imports from ASEAN states had a 95 pct share in the trade volume but that Serbia was interested in changing this and in strengthening the cooperation in many fields.

Serbia is watching with great attention the activities of the association, with which it shares common values and political principles, a statement from the Serbian Foreign Ministry quoted Selakovic as saying.

He said the values and the principles were based on mutual respect of the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of every nation, as well as on non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, efforts towards overcoming all differences in a peaceful manner and encouraging comprehensive development and progress.

The meeting at the ASEAN headquarters wrapped up Selakovic’s two-day visit to Jakarta, where he also spoke with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and representatives of the country’s national food companies on Monday.

 

 

Opinion

 

A distillate of regional fears (KoSSev)

By Milivoje Mihajlovic

Although in the shadow of the war in Ukraine internationally, the “Kosovo case“ is often mentioned in the context of this European crisis. Starting from the fact that the Kremlin often uses Kosovo as an alibi for the latest war, all the way to the fact that we hear assurances from the West that “Kosovo was a special case“.

Since the beginning of the Ukrainian drama, many processes in the Balkans have started to accelerate. Kosovo received a signal to launch an initiative to join the Council of Europe, which raised the political temperature in Belgrade.

Many experts will not hesitate to “explain“ that the complicated “solution“ to the status of the Orthodox Church in North Macedonia is part of a package of pressures on the Serbian president to “choose a side”.

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, traveled urgently to Berlin, where they confirmed their commitment to dialogue, following talks with the new German Chancellor Scholz.

However, no serious changes in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue will likely be made this summer. In Serbia, they are still “counting ballots“, and the government will be formed, probably, at the last moment – at the end of the summer.

For the President of Serbia, the formation of the government is not a big problem, considering that in the past decade he was the one who made the decisions on all important issues. Or at least his media team presented it as such to the public. What poses a bigger problem for him is the pressure from the West to impose sanctions on Russia.

The fear of how Russia would react to that is not only linked to the price and delivery of oil and gas. There is also a fear of a possible political upheaval because the pro-governmental media have been forcing a „pro-Russian orientation“ for years, and now their attempt to „switch“ sides seems unsightly.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3NEw3BX

 

 

Humanitarian/Development

 

Halt to Waste Collection Leaves Prishtina Covered by Garbage (BIRN)

From Monday, the neighborhoods of the capital of Kosovo have resembled a landfill because the responsible trash collecting company, Pastrimi, has not collected the waste.

Pastrimi, which collects waste from seven municipalities in and around Prishtina, says it did not collect the waste because it has been unable to empty the trucks because the Mirash landfill is currently closed.

After almost two days of growing pollution, the head of Pastrimi, Burim Kelmendi, told BIRN that the waste will be removed soon, as it can now empty its garbage trucks at the Mirash landfill once more.

Previously, in a notification, it justified its inaction by saying that the Kosovo Landfill Management Company had closed its access to the landfill in Obiliq and for this reason it had not removed the waste.

According to the Landfill Management Company, the landfill was not closed but the temporary halt to access was a warning measure for Pastrimi, which has not been paying its bills.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3NClr6i

 

    Print       Email

You might also like...

UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, 25 April, 2024

Read More →