Albanian Language Media:

• Kosovo Interior Minister Svecla’s interview with RTK
• Serb civil society calls for peaceful solution to crisis in the north (media)
• Bundestag defence committee to discuss situation in Kosovo today (DW)
• Latvian Defence Minister: Tensions in Kosovo initiated by Serbia and Russia (Zeri)
• Serwer: Kosovo acted rightfully, the ball is now with Serbia on September 1 (Nacionale)
• CDHRF: Any backing down from reciprocity will damage Kosovo (media)
• Working group formed for bureau for verification and confiscation of wealth bill (media)
• Two deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours in Kosovo (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Media: Residents in northern Kosovo report mistreatment by special police units
• Petkovic: Serb arrested in Rudare released (KoSSev)
• Drecun on Kurti and violence against Serbs (RTV, Tanjug)
• Serbian Orthodox Church and Montenegro sign Fundamental Agreement (N1, BETA)
• Kisnica: Name is Serbian covered with black paint, “KLA” board set up (Radio KIM)
• Serbian List reacts to Svecla’s statements (Kosovo Online)

Opinion:

• Op-ed by Veton Surroi: We, the residents of Mitrovica North (Koha)
• Operation Storm Anniversary Highlights Croatia and Serbia’s Bitter Mistrust (BIRN)

International:

• Kosovo War-Era General Elected as Serbian Parliament Official (BIRN)
• Montenegro Govt Faces No-confidence Vote Over Church Deal (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Radio Gorazdevac on fake news: “How did another armed conflict in Kosovo break out on TV Pink?”

Albanian Language Media  

Kosovo Interior Minister Svecla’s interview with RTK

Kosovo’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, said in an interview with the public broadcaster on Tuesday that all activities related to the north of Kosovo are supported by Kosovo’s allies and that the latter were informed before and after every action. “We have full legitimacy because this is a result of previous agreements. This is a normal approach because for 11 years now Serbia has been issuing entry-exit documents for Kosovo citizens,” he said.

Svecla said Kosovo authorities made the right assessment and that they agreed to the request from the U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier to postpone the implementation of reciprocity for one month, “because a major propaganda war caused confusion among the Kosovo Serbs”. “We will continue our information campaign and we will neutralise the misinformation coming from Serbia and we will continue with the implementation of our decision on September 1. The Ambassador was clear about this,” he added.

Commenting on the upcoming high-level meeting in Brussels, Svecla said that Prime Minister Albin Kurti has confirmed he will attend. “This however does not mean that there will be discussions about our right to implement the agreements. I trust that the other party will understand the need to remove the obstacles by recognising the documents,” he said.

Svecla also talked about misinformation and called on the media to rely only on official information announced by Kosovo’s institutions. “We are being faced with fake news and their aim is to create confusion … There are some media [in Kosovo] that distributed fake news on Sunday. Imagine a situation in 8,000 families of police officers when they heard reports that a member of the police was killed. There should not be a click-bait war,” he argued.

Svecla said the operations in the north “are not about confronting our citizens there. This is about the police who use legitimate means to fight organised crime, smuggling and Serbia’s influence there.”

Svecla said barricades in the north were set up by “people with masks, armed with long rifles, well-organised, and supported by a propaganda of fake news from Serbian media, and also a cyber attack against the websites of Kosovo institutions”. He added that according to eyewitnesses, the people at the barricades were wearing black uniforms without any insignia. “These people are not from Kosovo. Some of them came from Serbia and they got their orders from Belgrade. This was a long-term plan. Some of them are members of the Serbian Gendarmerie and came to Kosovo earlier. It is only a matter of time before they are identified,” he added.

Serb civil society calls for peaceful solution to crisis in the north (media)

Representatives of civil society and media of the Serb community in Kosovo have adopted a joint statement calling for a peaceful solution to the crisis and the start of a constructive dialogue following the latest developments in the north of Kosovo.

They called on the governments in Belgrade and Prishtina to refrain from any unilateral moves and to replace inciting rhetoric with constructive dialogue which is the only way to find a sustainable solution that will respect the needs of the citizens.

“We call on the international community, the EU, U.S., and the Quint countries, to as soon as possible create room for dialogue at the political level and insist on direct contacts between the delegations from Belgrade and Prishtina. We call on the Serbian List, as a member of the Kosovo Government, Kosovo Assembly, and other local and central institutions, to assume responsibility and to take active part in resolving this problem and to create an institutional channel of communication with the Prime Minister of Kosovo … which is the only right way to act with political responsibility. Serbian List MPs and ministers are the only political representatives of Kosovo Serbs in Kosovo institutions, therefore, it is necessary to replace passive actions with a proactive role in resolving problems that directly affect the citizens. In this process it is necessary to establish direct and uninterrupted communication with the local population, the non-governmental sector and all relevant actors from the Serb community in Kosovo,” the statement notes.

The statement also calls on the Kosovo Government, in the situation of increased tensions, for all information, documents and statements to be published in all official languages in Kosovo and to make sure that they reach all the citizens of Kosovo. “This would help prevent all uncertainties, misinformation and fake news, which can threaten the peace and security of individuals. The lack of communication with the local communities and the engagement of special police units have directly led to increased tensions in the north of Kosovo and they threaten the high level of mistrust between the two biggest communities in Kosovo.”

Bundestag defence committee to discuss situation in Kosovo today (DW)

The Defence Committee of the Federal Parliament of Germany, the Bundestag, will discuss in an extraordinary session today last weekend’s tensions in Kosovo. “Before I make a judgement, I want to be informed in more detail,” the head of the committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), told the news website The Pioneer on Monday. “That’s why I put the issue on the agenda in the special session of the Defense Commission”.

Germany worried about the situation in the region

The German government had expressed concern about the situation in Kosovo since the beginning of the week. The German Minister of Defense, Christine Lambrecht, SPD, who in the spring had the opportunity to familiarise herself closely with the situation in Kosovo, said that “the NATO-led KFOR mission is also closely monitoring the situation and is ready to intervene if stability is threatened”. “The Bundeswehr remains committed to NATO and with KFOR to guarantee a safe environment and freedom of movement for all people in Kosovo,” Lambrecht said, according to a statement from defence minister spokeswoman Nadine Kruger. 

The German military is represented in Kosovo as part of a NATO-led operation, but currently with only about 65 soldiers. According to the mandate of the Bundestag, if necessary, up to 400 German soldiers can be stationed there. According to Pioneer, in an internal Bundeswehr report last week, the security situation in Kosovo was not threatened and the situation was “under control”.

Naive policy in terms of security

Meanwhile, in an interview with DW, Konrad Clewing, expert on the Balkans at the Institute of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in Regensburg, spoke about needed changes in the West’s strategy towards Kosovo, in terms of security policies. “In my opinion, the EU-coordinated dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo is not the right measure to solve this dispute in the long term. Because this is a matter of security policy. Does Serbia have the right to deny or fight the existence of the state of Kosovo, does Kosovo have the right to carry out border controls and demand that its citizens, namely the citizens of Kosovo, use the documents of their state,” said Clewing, adding that “it is naive to think that these such fundamental issues will be resolved in agreement with Serbia”.

Clewing asks Germany and the West in general to end this policy and find a long-term solution for Kosovo. “Since KFOR’s mission does not include the duty of protecting Kosovo’s external borders, the only alternative that would ensure Kosovo’s territorial integrity is its membership in NATO,” he argued.

Latvian Defence Minister: Tensions in Kosovo initiated by Serbia and Russia (Zeri)

Latvian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Artis Pabriks, said today that recent tensions in the north of Kosovo were initiated by Serbia and Russia. “I just had a telephone conversation with Armend Mehaj, Minister of Defence of Kosovo. The recent tensions at the border of Kosovo and cyber attacks were initiated by Serbia and Russia. Such actions diminish every possibility for Serbia’s further integration in the EU,” Pabriks wrote on Twitter.

Serwer: Kosovo acted rightfully, the ball is now with Serbia on September 1 (Nacionale)

Daniel Serwer, U.S. analyst on the Balkans and professor at the Middle East Institute, said in an interview with the news website that he supports the decision by the government of Kosovo on reciprocity at the border with Serbia. “My opinion is that the government of Kosovo is absolutely right to seek reciprocity at the border,” he said. Serwer also expressed support for the government’s decision to postpone the implementation of reciprocity unti September 1 following a request from the U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier. “Yes, it was reasonable given the circumstances to postpone the decision,” he said. “The question now I whether Serbia will be ready to do the right thing in September.”

CDHRF: Any backing down from reciprocity will damage Kosovo (media)

The Prishtina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) said in a statement today that postponing the implementation of reciprocity on licence plates and ID cards with Serbia will encourage parallel structures in the north to test the determination of Kosovo’s institutions to implement the law and reciprocity. The Council argues that any backing down from the decision will damage Kosovo and create conditions for increased demands by Serbia. “Serbs in the north of Kosovo, and in other regions in Kosovo, are not discriminated against in any way, therefore, they must act as all citizens of Kosovo, with the rights and the responsibilities they have,” the statement notes.

Working group formed for bureau for verification and confiscation of wealth bill (media)

Kosovo Assembly’s Committee for Legislation formed today the working group for the draft law on the State Bureau for the verification and confiscation of unjustifiable wealth. Opposition representatives were not involved in the group as they asked for the draft law to be sent back to the government for review.

Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, took to Facebook to welcome the formation of the working group. She said every recommendation from the Venice Commission will be addressed one by one and that the Ministry of Justice will be actively involved in the review of the draft law and in addressing the recommendations. “I also call on all actors to give their contribution so that Kosovo can serve as a model on how a mechanism of civil confiscation functions and how wealth that cannot be justified is returned to the state,” Haxhiu said.

Two deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours in Kosovo (media)

Kosovo’s National Institute for Public Health said today that two deaths from COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours. The Institute issued a statement on Facebook calling on citizens to wear masks in closed premises and to get vaccinated. 1,562 new cases with COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours and the number of active cases with the virus is 10,288.

Serbian Language Media 

Media: Residents in northern Kosovo report mistreatment by special police units

Kosovo Online portal reported last night that Kosovo special police units blocked the traffic in the village of Varage, in Zubin Potok and carried out searches of all vehicles moving from Zubin Potok in the direction of Mitrovica North.

According to the portal, people who were stopped said police requested all passengers to step out of the vehicles and then carried out complete searches. One person, who wished his name not to be disclosed, reported he was at unease given that he and his passengers were held “at the gunpoint” while the search was ongoing. The searches were carried out at Dudin Krs near the bridge connecting Mitrovica North with regional Pristina-Raska road, and the drivers reported that after the search was done they were told by the police “See you in a month time”, the portal said. 

Meanwhile, Kosovo police late last night refuted some Serbian media reports about arrests and mistreatment of people in northern Kosovo, adding “it carries out its police tasks within legal authority and in the interest of the population”.

KoSSev portal wrote it was not mentioned concretely what media reports Kosovo police was referring to in its rebuttal. The portal also said there were reports on a number of social media accounts about alleged searches, shoots and arrests, mainly in Zubin Potok municipality but also about the threats. The portal said it also directly received similar reports on police acts, but also some containing information differing from previous ones. 

Petkovic: Serb arrested in Rudare released (KoSSev)

A driver of the ambulance arrested in Rudare near Zvecan yesterday and then taken with a vehicle and medications toward Mitrovica South, was released last night, Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic said, KoSSev portal reports.

“After more than seven hours of mistreatment and humiliation by Albin Kurti, Kosovo police and special units, driver of the ambulance Dejan Spahic has been released. I have talked to him just now and despite everything he went through, he is holding up well”, Petkovic wrote on Twitter last night. He added Belgrade provided a lawyer to Spahic.

Following arrest, Petkovic, Clinical Hospital Center in Mitrovica North Director Zlatan Elek and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in separate statements said that “driver was hijacked by the police”. While Petkovic claimed Spahic was arrested by special police units, President Vucic alleged that he was arrested by “an intelligence unit, under direct command of the Kosovo government”.

Several hours after the arrest of Spahic and Serbian media reports on it, Kosovo police came out with a statement saying the ambulance vehicle was “stopped” and medications found for which the driver didn’t have “appropriate documentation”. Last night at the time of issuing the statement, the police didn’t say what happened with the vehicle, medications and the driver.

KoSSev portal said it attempted several times to obtain additional information about this case, and while police directorate in the north said they have nothing to do with the case, those in Pristina didn’t answer the calls or respond to the KoSSev query. 

SRNA news agency reported today that police said “the vehicle with medications will be confiscated and the driver will undergo proceedings at a competent prosecutor”. It was also said that a rapid intervention police unit stopped the vehicle and took the driver and a vehicle to the police station in Mitrovica South. 

Drecun on Kurti and violence against Serbs (RTV, Tanjug)

Chairman of the Serbian Assembly Committee for Kosovo and Metohija, Milovan Drecun told Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV) that large number of ethnically motivated attacks against Serbian population in northern Kosovo over the past years and endangerment of their security was part of “long-term Albin Kurti’s policy”.

“When one looks at the number of special police units incursions to the north of Kosovo, mistreatment of the Serbian people, use of firearms, endangerment of the security of our people there, you could not say it was not a prepared long-term policy implemented by provisional Pristina institutions. Kurti conducts violence against Serbs living there in order to achieve his goals – expelling the state of Serbia from those areas and forcing the Serbian population to recognize the fake state of Kosovo”, Drecun said.

He also opined that the latest events in northern Kosovo, including the arrest of an ambulance driver only indicates that Kurti postponed decision on reciprocity because of the US intervention and not because he wanted to find a solution.

“After Kurti agreed to prolong self-implementation of decisions on ID cards and licence plates, police continued deployment in the north of Kosovo, stopping and searching vehicles and mistreating people”, Drecun said. He added everything that happened over the last days in northern Kosovo was preparation for what will come on September 1, noting that Kosovo police will continue mistreating Sers in the upcoming period as well.

Drecun emphasised KFOR played an important role in reducing the tensions, and that at the moment the situation in Kosovo is stable, however the question remains how long it will be like that.  

Serbian Orthodox Church and Montenegro sign Fundamental Agreement (N1, BETA)

The Fundamental Agreement between the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) and Montenegro has been signed, the Montenegrin Government said, N1 reports.

The Podgorica daily Vijesti previously reported that SOC head Patriarch Porfirije arrived in Montenegro and that the agreement would be signed in Villa Gorica, in the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica. Some media earlier announced that the signing would take place on August 3, but that information was rebutted at the time by Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic.

Following the signing of the Fundamental aAgreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic said he was honoured and pleased to have had the opportunity to sign this document and to close the issue in a very nice, appropriate and dignified manner, BETA news agency reported. 

Abazovic said the process took too long. “The idea to sign the Fundamental Agreement with the SOC is an old one. I am sorry it was not realized earlier, however, this Government is determined to give identical rights to all religious communities”, Abazovic said, adding he believes that this sends a message of peace and tolerance and turns a new page. 

The Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) announced that it will launch an initiative for a vote of no confidence in the Montenegrin Government. The initiative is open to all those who believe that the Government’s attitude towards Montenegro’s national interests is irresponsible, said the DPS in a Twitter post.

Kisnica: Name is Serbian covered with black paint, “KLA” board set up (Radio KIM)

In the village of Kisnica, near Gracanica, the Serbian name of this ethnically mixed settlement posted on a bilingual road sign has been covered with black paint, Office for Kosovo and Metohija said, Radio KIM reports.

At the same time a board with “KLA” markings was placed on the road leading from the Serbian part of the settlement towards the Albanian part, nearby children’s playground, the Office added. It also said this board represents “an open threat directed against Serbian population (…)” and yet another provocation inspired by Pristina’s anti-Serb policy.

Serbian List reacts to Svecla’s statements (Kosovo Online)

Serbian List said today that latest statements of Kosovo Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla “depict in the clearest manner the anti-Serbian attitude of the Pristina authorities, headed by Albin Kurti, who is not interested in peace, but wishes to cause conflicts that may have unforeseeable consequences for all, both the Serbs but also Albanians”, Kosovo Online portal reports.

Serbian List also said that Svecla uttered “a number of untruths about Serbian List Vice President Milan Radoicic and Serbian List in general (…)” and “that only truth in his statements was that Serbian List does not cooperate with Albin Kurti government, because it works against the interests of Serbian people and that our political goal is to overthrow Albin Kurti from the power, which in the interest of all those wishing to live in peace in those areas”,

Svecla was quoted by the media earlier as saying among others that the Serbian List has been completely politically devalued and that he does not see any mathematical possibility how departure of the Serbian List from the Kosovo Assembly would threaten the government. He said Milan Radoicic was “a criminal who had open doors in Pristina and in the north” and has now become “a fugitive”. He also alleged ties between the Serbian List and criminal groups. 

Opinion

Op-ed by Veton Surroi: We, the residents of Mitrovica North (Koha)

Opinion piece by Veton Surroi, renowned publicist and political commentator 

For 23 years in a row, different models were offered, except that of being European

1.

She is a resident of Mitrovica North, she is of Serbian nationality, she has read and listened to information from various sources throughout the past week and she spent Sunday with sirens announcing air strikes.

These, the anti-aircraft sirens that is, were heard in the territories of the former Yugoslavia, if I’m not mistaken, every first Wednesday of the month, at a certain time, to show the readiness of the General Popular Defense and Social Self-Defense (MPP and VMSH) against the enemy. We started hearing them very often in March 1999, when NATO began bombing the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Then, the sirens stopped everywhere, except for the northern part of Kosovo. Now, the citizens of Mitrovica North (Zvecan and other northern parts) are alarmed from time to time with the sirens of the self-defense of socialist Yugoslavia, for 23 years in a row.

For the resident of Mitrovica North, the sirens of Sunday, the last day of July 2022, are an immediate sign of the danger that threatens or is supposed to threaten him; this danger has not ended since the time of socialism. Sirens are, above all, the loud symbol of an unfinished war.

2.

For the resident of Mitrovica North, the siren heard in March 1999, and which can no longer be heard south of the Ibër river, is a sign of the continuation of the war.

It does not matter what the reason is. The sirens began to be heard in connection with the Rambouillet Agreement (not signed by Milosevic) and today they are being heard because an agreement has not been reached on license plates or another one on identity cards. The basic reason for the initiation of sirens is that there is no agreement, so there is a state of disagreement.

In many other countries, disagreement is an invitation to work toward an agreement. For the Serb citizen of Mitrovica North, the disagreement or the lack of an agreement is a signal for the anti-aircraft siren, a sign of belief that all disagreements are punished from the skies.

3.

If the resident of Mitrovica North was born in 1999, she would have spent a whole lifetime made up of anti-aircraft sirens. 

Every time someone will come forward explaining why she and the nation they belong to are in danger. This time, the explanation has to do with an agreement reached in 2011, between Kosovo and Serbia, for freedom of movement. The agreement regulates travel with identity cards and license plates. It’s been 11 years since this agreement is not an agreement. By not being an agreement, it is a disagreement. And any disagreement activates the anti-aircraft sirens.

When the anti-aircraft sirens are activated, her [the Serb citizen of Mitrovica North] mental health is put at risk. For 23 years, the activation of air danger sirens has activated her senses to protect herself from war. Those who are part of the disagreement, the other side, the Albanians, are the side which is identified with the danger against her.

She may not know this, but when the danger sirens are activated in a part of the territory of Kosovo, they are activated throughout the territory of Kosovo. When these sirens tell the residents of Mitrovica North that the war is not over, the war will not be over for anyone in Kosovo. Wars end with agreements, not with disagreements.

When that resident of Mitrovica North lives with air raid sirens, all of us, the other citizens of Kosovo, become residents of Mitrovica North.

4.

The resident of Mitrovica North has been offered complicated solutions, in negotiation processes, which have been held in Brussels. Deep investments were made in diplomatic terminology, which would create many identities for her. She would be a citizen of Mitrovica, a Kosovar, a Serb, a member or not of any future autonomy, a holder of this or that passport, and with a car that would have this or that state identity. Different forms will be invented not to say exactly what she is; if it were to be said what she exactly is, this would mean that an agreement has been reached. And we all know that no agreement has been reached, and that we live in disagreement.

And when even this would not suffice, diplomats and thinkers would engage in inventing compromises on top of the compromises that were built until then. If the solution has not been found for 23 years, the next 23 years of exploration for new formulas, which would describe the unfortunate resident of Mitrovica North who lives with air raid sirens, would be nothing.

At no time was she offered to be a European citizen. Such that, being a citizen of Mitrovica North and a citizen of Kosovo, one day not far away she can run for the Municipal Council of Pontevedra in Spain, Villach in Austria or Košice in the Czech Republic. Or not to move at all from Mitrovica North and spend every day of her life not having to hear even once the air raid siren. And as such, she would laugh at the nonsense of this day, which still deals with license plates and the right or not to cross borders with an ID.

Operation Storm Anniversary Highlights Croatia and Serbia’s Bitter Mistrust (BIRN)

Opinion piece by Boris Pavelic 

Tensions between Zagreb and Belgrade have risen ahead of this week’s 27th anniversary of the Croatian Army’s victorious Operation Storm offensive, while efforts for reconciliation have suffered a setback and war crimes prosecutions remain stalled.

On August 4, 1995, the Croatian Army launched a military offensive called Operation Storm, in which Croatian forces regained almost all the territory seized in 1991 by rebel Croatian Serbs, who had been helped by the Yugoslav People’s Army and Serbian paramilitaries.

But the Croatian Army’s victory came at a high price: more than 600 civilians were killed during and after the operation, according to the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, and around 200,000 Serbs, citizens of Croatia, fled the country in a long convoy of tractors, buses and cars, many of them never to come back.

Ever since, politicians in Croatia and Serbia have commemorated different parts of those events – the parts that suit them, ignoring the arguments and victims from the other side.

Croatia celebrates a victory which ended four years of occupation of almost third of the country’s territory, allowing Croatian refugees to go back home, but at the same time it ignores Serb victims. Meanwhile Serbia commemorates Serb victims of called Operation Storm, calling it the “biggest ethnic cleansing on European soil after WWII”, ignoring at the same time the causes that triggered the military operation.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3PY31P0

International 

Kosovo War-Era General Elected as Serbian Parliament Official (BIRN)

Bozidar Delic, a retired Yugoslav Army general who was commander of the 549th Motorised Brigade, which was involved in some of the most notorious attacks on villages in Kosovo in 1999, was elected as one of seven vice-presidents of the Serbian parliament late on Tuesday night.

Delic was proposed for the position as the right-wing opposition NADA (Hope) coalition’s candidate. He is one of three opposition vice-presidents and was elected with 197 votes, which included votes from ruling and opposition parties.

The Humanitarian Law Centre NGO published a file in 2013 containing the most comprehensive documentation so far of the eight military offensives involving the 549th Brigade of the Yugoslav Army in Kosovo villages in March and April 1999, which resulted in a total of 885 deaths.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3BD0gOQ

Montenegro Govt Faces No-confidence Vote Over Church Deal (Balkan Insight)

Two of the PM’s coalition partner parties have announced a no-confidence vote, after the government signed a disputed ‘fundamental agreement’ with the Serbian Orthodox Church.

A number of government coalition parties on Wednesday announced a no-confidence motion in Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic’s government, after it signed a “fundamental agreement” with the Serbian Orthodox Church, SPC, the largest religious community in the country.

Abazovic signed the agreement with Church Patriarch Porfirije on Wednesday in Podgorica, stressing that all religious communities should have equal rights.

“The process of negotiating a fundamental agreement took too long, but now this issue is finally closed in a civilized way.  The government does everything with the desire to build a society of justice and equality,” Abazovic said in a press release.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3QeyV9H

Humanitarian/Development

Radio Gorazdevac on fake news: “How did another armed conflict in Kosovo break out on TV Pink?”

Roadblocks in northern Kosovo set up on Sunday, July 31, the day before Kosovo government’s decisions on Serbian documents and licence plates came into force, were the reason for a special program on TV Pink announcing the “beginning of the armed conflict”, which in the end didn’t even happen, Radio Gorazdevac writes.

In the evening primetime, with sirens blaring, the presenter announced, “that according to the director of Clinical Health Centre (CHC) of Kosovska Mitrovica, Milan Ivanovic (note: Milan Ivanovic is no longer hospital director), the first wounded have arrived and their number is unknown” and emphasised that “this is a prelude to the beginning of an armed conflict”.

It is incorrect that on that night, Sunday, July 31, 2022, an armed conflict between Serbs from the north and the Kosovo police began. The claim that, as the presenter emphasised, an unknown number of wounded people arrived at CHC of Mitrovica North was also incorrect. Director of the Clinical Health Center in Mitrovica North Zlatan Elek, confirmed to Kosovo Online portal there were no wounded people, the Radio continues. 

Another example of disinformation aired in a special program on TV Pink is the false citation of the source because Dr. Milan Ivanovic is not the director of CHC in Mitrovica North, which can be checked on the official website.

Radio Gorazdevac goes on to say that “this type of propaganda and a spin on the national frequency, in addition to the existing tensions in the north, additionally disturbed the public and especially the residents of Serbian areas in Kosovo”.

In addition to the spectacle on TV Pink, on the same evening, fake news spread on Twitter and other social media. The fake news that there was a clash between the Serbian Army and the Kosovo police, which was circulating on social media, was refuted in a statement by the Ministry of Defence of Serbia, Radio Gorazdevac further writes.

The overall security situation in the municipalities in the north of Kosovo is tense, KFOR assessed in a statement in which it said that, in accordance with its mandate, it will intervene if stability in Kosovo is threatened.

After the diplomatic intervention of Washington and Brussels, Pristina postponed the implementation of the decisions, and the armed conflict due to high security tensions did not occur.