Albanian Language Media:

• Borrell to meet Western Balkans leaders in New York (Radio Free Europe)
• President Osmani meets King Charles and PM Truss (Klan Kosova)
• PDK leader calls on Kurti: Find a solution, for the sake of the children! (Klan Kosova)
• PDK’s Tahiri: Kurti is directly responsible for the situation in education (Klan Kosova)
• AAK MP: Kurti should resign – poor management in all sectors (Ekonomia Online)
• Kosovo Assembly to discuss ongoing strike in education on Thursday (media)
• German ambassador on statement of Germany, France and Poland about visas (Zeri)
• Tirana-based A2 reports on plans to assassinate Prime Minister Kurti (media)
• Haliti on reports about his planned assassination: I was warned (Express)
• PM Kurti’s interview with Vecernji List, reactions from the opposition (media)
• “Open Balkan can be misused by big predators against the small” (Express/Pobjeda)
• Denmark suspends agreement to rent prison cells in Kosovo (media)
• PSD expects Wednesday’s protest to be massive (Zeri)
• EBRD Vice President for Policy to visit Albania and Kosovo (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• EU on the alleged agreement between Belgrade and Pristina published in the media (Blic, KiM radio)
• Hill without comment on the alleged plan for Kosovo and the ”two Germany” model (Kosovo Online, RTV, Tanjug)
• PM Brnabic signs book of condolence for Queen, to attend funeral (N1)
• Kurti: ”Serbia arming itself, war in Kosovo possible”; Petkovic: ”Albin Kurti’s threats and war cries again” (Politika, Kosovo Online)
• Osmani on “genocide“ and other crimes committed by Serbia (KoSSev)
• Petkovic reacts to Osmani’s remarks (Kosovo Online)
• Ischinger: The “two Germany” model can provide a bridge to a solution for Kosovo and Serbia (Kosovo Online)
• Jovanovic: Steel ‘no’ to Pristina in UN, claims that Kosovo is a ‘fait accompli’ no longer stands (Kosovo Online)
• Botsan-Kharchenko: We will support what suits Serbia (Kosovo Online)
• Starovic: Serbia’s highest-level present at UN General Assembly (N1, RTS)

International:

• For Sexual Harassment Victims in Kosovo, Justice is Hard to Come By (BIRN)
• The faces of Europride (Kosovo 2.0)

Albanian Language Media  

Borrell to meet Western Balkans leaders in New York (Radio Free Europe)

EU High Representative Josep Borrell will meet leaders of the Western Balkans countries in New York on September 20, sources in the EU told the news website. They said “it has become a tradition that when the UN General Assembly meets in September in New York, the High Representative summons a meeting with leaders of the Western Balkans”. Sources also said they do not know the level of representation for every country but that they are confident that all countries will take part. The news website notes that President Vjosa Osmani will represent Kosovo in the meetings of the UN General Assembly.

According to the same sources, the leaders are expected to discuss the global situation which changed dramatically after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but also the current situation in the region of the Western Balkans.

President Osmani meets King Charles and PM Truss (Klan Kosova)

President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, has travelled to the UK to honor the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II. “Alongside the @RoyalFamily and other world leaders, we attended HM The King’s Reception at Buckingham Palace to honour the legacy of HM Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen will be remembered as a symbol of strength & resilience, and for her unwavering commitment to public service,” Osmani wrote on Twitter.

PDK leader calls on Kurti: Find a solution, for the sake of the children! (Klan Kosova)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Memli Krasniqi, took to Facebook today to call on Prime Minister Albin Kurti to find a solution to the strike in the educational sector. “Over 300,000 pupils are at home today and they should be in school for three weeks now. The government’s refusal for dialogue is continuing to damage everyone, and mostly the pupils … This blockade, which is a result of the government’s stubbornness, requires an urgent solution,” Krasniqi wrote. “Prime Minister, for the sake of the children, find a solution!” 

PDK’s Tahiri: Kurti is directly responsible for the situation in education (Klan Kosova)

Head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group, Abelard Tahiri, argued today that Prime Minister Albin Kurti is directly responsible for the current situation in the education sector. Following a meeting of the Kosovo Assembly Presidency, Tahiri called on Kurti and Education Minister Arberie Nagavci to urgently meet with the unions and find a solution. “We are entering the fourth week that classes in Kosovo are not being held. There are around 320,000 pupils that are not going to school, and around 30,000 teachers that are not going to work. This is unacceptable and so is Kurti’s stubbornness. Kurti is directly responsible for the situation created in the education sector,” Tahiri argued.

AAK MP: Kurti should resign – poor management in all sectors (Ekonomia Online)

MP from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Albana Bytyqi, in an interview with the news website, argued that although the Kurti-led Vetevendosje has the majority in parliament, the government has failed in all sectors. According to Bytyqi, Kurti should resign. “The management of the Kurti government is failing, and I don’t know if we ever had poorer management despite the fact that they have the majority in parliament. Maybe he is creating all these causes to bring himself down. One can see that he is not fit to govern because his work is not functioning,” Bytyqi added.

Kosovo Assembly to discuss ongoing strike in education on Thursday (media)

The Kosovo Assembly will hold two plenary sessions on Thursday. In one of the sessions, MPs will continue their debate about the ongoing strike in the education sector.

German ambassador on statement of Germany, France and Poland about visas (Zeri)

German Ambassador to Kosovo Jorn Rohde said today he hopes that Kosovars will soon travel without visas. “We hope that very soon visas will be liberalised and you will be able to travel without visas. Perhaps you have seen the statement of the leaders of Germany, France and Poland, who stated that it is time for the liberalisation of visas and we hope that this decision will be made very soon,” Rohde said.

He made this statement during the opening of the Unlimited Education Summer Camp at the Loyola Gymnasium in Prizren, in which 80 students from Europe will participate. 

Tirana-based A2 reports on plans to assassinate Prime Minister Kurti (media)

The Tirana-based A2 reported today that in 2021, the Anti-Terror Unit in Kosovo found out about plans to assassinate Prime Minister Albin Kurti and two other persons. The assassinations would have been carried out by a citizen of Albania. This is said in a document published today by hackers. The document is believed to have been taken from the email of the General Director of the Albanian Police, Gledis Nano, in 2021. The document notes that Kosovo’s Anti-Terror Unit got information about assassination plans against Prime Minister Kurti, former Kosovo Intelligence Service member Ismet Haxha, and PDK MP Xhavit Haliti. The suspect that would carry out the assassinations is Prek Kodra, a citizen of Albania. The document notes that he has good skills in using sniper rifles. He is believed to have been involved in several killings in Kosovo and in Montenegro. Kodra is believed to live in Shkoder, and that he operates in Tropoja, Ferizaj and in Decan. According to the information of the Anti-Terror Unit, his first target would be Ismet Haxha. The second target would be Xhavit Haliti, who would have been killed one month after Haxha, to make it look like revenge. Later, Prime Minister Kurti would have been killed too. According to the information, the purpose of all assassinations would be to destabilise Kosovo. The document also notes that all three assassinations would have been carried over a four-month period.

Haliti on reports about his planned assassination: I was warned (Express)

MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Xhavit Haliti, was contacted by the news website today to comment on reports by Tirana-based A2 that there was a plan to assassinate him in 2021. The report is based on a document published by hackers and according to which the Anti-Terror Unit of Kosovo had found out that there was a plan to assassinate Haliti, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, and Ismet Haxha. Haliti said: “I received warnings; the police too informed me. There was a time when they guarded me. I have had these situations since 1985, so they are quite regular”. Asked if he received information from the police in 2021, he said: “they told me that there was something, but I had no protection. Maybe they were guarding from a distance, and I did not know”.

Haliti also said that around three years ago, he was guarded by the police close protection unit for six months. Asked if he was informed about the possible reason behind the plan to assassinate him, Haliti said: “I don’t know, they do”.

PM Kurti’s interview with Vecernji List, reactions from the opposition (media)

Most news websites covered on Saturday an interview that Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, had with Croatian newspaper Vecernji List. Kurti did not rule out the possibility of a new war and argued that Serbia is arming its army with equipment from Russia and China. He said he believes it would be irresponsible to say that there will never be a conflict or war and expressed concern over the Serbian bases along the border with Kosovo. “If there are no preparations for war, why then last year Serbia and Russia had 104 joint military drills and activities and the two most important military drills known as the Slavic Shield and the Slavic Brotherhood … Serbia is currently arming its army with equipment from Russia and China and wants the Balkans to be put as an alternative to the democratic West,” he said. Kurti was also quoted as saying that “in the Balkans there can be no war without Serbia and no peace without Albanians”.

Head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group, Abelard Tahiri, reacted today to Kurti’s remarks. Tahiri told reporters after today’s meeting of the Assembly Presidency that Kurti’s statements are simply aimed at shifting the public’s attention away from Kosovo’s real problems. “It is unbelievable the mental state that our Prime Minister is operating with. In Kosovo, we have the presence of NATO and of the biggest powers that in reality guarantee the sovereignty of our country. This is nothing but an attempt by our prime minister to shift the attention away from the outstanding problems of the government and its inability to address them,” Tahiri was quoted as saying.

Former Prime Minister of Kosovo and senior member of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Avdullah Hoti, took to Facebook on Saturday to react to Kurti’s remarks. Hoti said that there will be no war in Kosovo and the region and that “some politicians mention war to cover up their failures in governance. They do so to shift the public’s attention away from the energy crisis, the high inflation and social dissatisfaction”.

Denmark suspends agreement to rent prison cells in Kosovo (media)

Several news websites report that according to Danish media Ekstrablet, Denmark has suspended an agreement to rent 300 prison cells for a 10-year period in Kosovo. The agreement was met with heavy criticism by human rights associations in Denmark. Kosovo’s Ministry of Justice meanwhile said in a statement to Telegrafi news website that “we have received no official information on this matter”.

“Open Balkan can be misused by big predators against the small” (Express/Pobjeda)

Former Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, Tomas Pojar, said in an interview with Montenegrin newspaper Pobjeda that the Open Balkan initiative could be to the detriment of smaller countries. Pojar, who is now chief advisor to Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, said sometimes trust in beautifully packaged ideas is such that it lacks perception about the implementation. He said neighbours are supposed to help each other but that sometimes cooperation can prove challenging or even impossible.

“Certainly, we must strive for stability, but neighbours must act accordingly, and they must not have tendencies against each other. A country must be very careful when it engages in different forms of cooperation because sometimes, even good ideas can be misused and then they are not the best way forward. The same can happen with the ‘Open Balkan’ where bigger predators can misuse this initiative against smaller and weaker counterparts,” Pojar said.

Asked to comment on the support that the U.S. and some parts of the EU have for the initiative, Pojar said: “I cannot really comment on the positions of the U.S. and individual member states of the European Union or officials. But sometimes trust in beautifully packaged ideas is such that it lacks a clear perception about the implementation. Look at the expectations that some countries had for Putin in the last 10 years or since 2014. It is good to be optimistic and to believe that if we cooperate everything will be ok, but this can also be misused by the real predators. So it is good to believe that everything will end well, but we need to base this trust in reality”.

PSD expects Wednesday’s protest to be massive (Zeri)

The Social Democratic Party (PSD) is making its final preparations for the Wednesday’s protest in Gjilan, to oppose the visit of the Specialist Chambers’ President Ekaterina Trendafilova.

PSD spokesperson Natyra Kuci told the news website that they expect the protest to be massive, as they gained also the support of the KLA veterans.

“Except for the support of the KLA veterans, we also held during these days meetings is the field, in order to prepare for the protest. Our activity will also continue during the following days, in order to oppose Trendafolova’s visit as massively as possible,” Kuci said.

She called each citizen of Kosovo to join the protest, which will be held on Wednesday at 10:00 hours in Gjilan.

EBRD Vice President for Policy to visit Albania and Kosovo (media)

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Vice-President for Policy Mark Bowman will visit Albania on 19-21 September and Kosovo on 21-23 September 2022.

In Kosovo, Bowman will meet the Prime Minister and members of the government, representatives of partner IFIs, diplomats, business association members and private-sector clients. On 22 September, he will speak at the Western Balkans 6 Digital Summit.

In Pristina, Bowman will sign a project under the new EBRD Youth in Business programme for the Western Balkans, which will provide financing and advice to entrepreneurs under the age of 35. The first project in Kosovo will soon be followed by projects in other countries across the region. On the Kosovo leg of the trip, he will be accompanied by Neil Taylor, EBRD Head of Kosovo.

The new EBRD country strategy for Kosovo, adopted earlier this year, focuses on private-sector support, the green economy transition and regional integration.

The EBRD expects to invest €70 million in Kosovo this year.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Unff6s

Serbian Language Media 

EU on the alleged agreement between Belgrade and Pristina published in the media (Blic, KiM radio)

“As a general rule and as a matter of principle, we do not comment on the alleged documents published by the media, neither in terms of authenticity nor content,” said EU foreign and security policy spokesman Peter Stano. He recalled that during his last visit to Kosovo, Miroslav Lajcak himself, the EU’s special envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, spoke about such claims.

At the EU headquarters in Brussels, they do not want to comment on media reports in the region about the existence of a new framework for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, which the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and also the Albanian newspaper Albanian Post have talked about in recent days, claiming that they have access to the document of this framework.

Of all the protagonists mentioned so far as participants in the meetings, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic was the only one to mention the existence of a new dialogue framework, reported portal KoSSev portal, citing Koha. 

Daily Blic recalls that a few days ago in Pristina, Lajcak said that he was surprised by the “new armature” mentioned by Vucic. 

Diplomatic sources in the EU, speaking on condition of anonymity, Blic wrote today, said they were “not aware that there is any document in writing for any new framework in the dialogue”, but acknowledged that there is now talk of a “new approach” or “new strategy” in the dialogue. 

Blic wrote, citing these sources, that “it must be taken into account that anonymous documents can also be presented, which also aim to misinform the public”.

Regarding the joint visit of two high-ranking advisors from Germany and France, who visited Kosovo and Serbia together with the special envoy Lajcak, during which, according to the statements of the President of Serbia, Vucic, “a new framework was presented”, EU spokesperson Stano reminded what the purpose of that visit was. 

“This visit served to send a clear message that difficult political issues related to the path to comprehensive normalization must now be resolved with more determination and speed, so there is no room for escalation of the situation on the ground,” he said.

Stano added that this visit was made “in light of the current general security situation in Europe, and especially the recent tensions between Kosovo and Serbia”.

Hill without comment on the alleged plan for Kosovo and the model ”two Germany” (Kosovo Online, RTV)

US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill did not want to comment on the alleged plan for Kosovo that appeared in the Albanian media, reported Kosovo Online, citing RTV.

“I have heard about it, but all I can say is that we strongly support the EU and its efforts to solve this problem that has been present for a long time. I think it is time for progress and I encourage them to make proposals to both sides, but it is not for me to comment on the content of those proposals,” Hill said, reported the portal.

He did not want to comment on the possible model of two Germanys, which was also mentioned in the media as a possible solution to the Kosovo issue, reported media. 

“The EU has a difficult task, and we support them. It is not easy for them and what they do not need is people who are not sitting at the table with them giving their opinions on it. I can only say that we support them,” Hill said.

PM Brnabic signs book of condolence for Queen, to attend funeral (N1)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic signed the book of condolence for late Queen Elizabeth II at Lancaster House in London where she will attend the Queen’s funeral today, N1 reports.

“The world lost a great leader, a person who embodied tradition and patriotism. Serbia and the world will remember Her Highness as one of the most significant figures in modern history”, Brnabic wrote on her Instagram profile.

The Serbian Prime Minister is in London with her partner Milica Djurdjic.

Kurti: ”Serbia arming itself, war in Kosovo possible”; Petkovic: ”Albin Kurti’s threats and war cries again” (Politika, Kosovo Online)

Kosovo PM, Albin Kurti, expressed his “concern” over, as he stated on Saturday, Serbia’s heavy armament of its army with equipment it receives from Russia and China, and added that he did not rule out “the possibility of a war in Kosovo”, wrote daily Politika.

Kurti told the Croatian “Vecernji list” that “the most dangerous thing was that the leadership of Serbia believed that the country owes too much to Russia and that it was the mother of Serbia” and believed that this was why the circumstances in the Balkans were  “full of risks and anxiety”, reported the daily. 

He claimed, according to Politika, that in order to normalize relations with Kosovo, Serbia needed to distance itself from the Milosevic regime and from Russian President Vladimir Putin, because he believed that “not distancing” was the main obstacle not only for peace in Kosovo but also in the Western Balkans.

He reiterated that Pristina sought that the result of the dialogue be a legally binding agreement that “will establish a complete normalization of relations through mutual recognition”.

Answering the question why he opposed the formation of the Community/Association of Serbian Municipalities, he repeated the claim that it would be a prelude to the creation of a new Republika Srpska, as well as that the agreement in Brussels was reached by his predecessors ”who did not care about Kosovo’s interests”, wrote daily Politika. 

Petkovic: Albin Kurti’s threats and war cries again

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, said on Saturday that ”when the haters of everything Serbian unite, we witness again the open threats and war cries of Albin Kurti, who in an interview with “Vecernji list” found fertile and suitable ground for his warmongering pretensions”.

“Kurti obviously cannot hide his sick obsession with war and conflicts, nor does he want to hide them, but openly boasts about them, so with each new message we witness new threats to peace and stability in the area, not only in Kosovo and Metohija, but also in the entire Western Balkans,” said Petkovic, according to the Office for KiM announcement, reported Politika.

He stated that what ”Kurti’s darkened mind does not see in all crises and conflicts is that his attacks on Serbs are full of logical errors, violations of agreements and ultimately hatred towards Serbs”.

“While he occasionally brags that ‘Serbia is weak and Kosovo is superior’ (statement of September 8), he now claims that Belgrade is arming itself and demonstrating its strength,” Petkovic said. 

”It is true that the only one who needs to flex his muscles and threaten with conflicts in order to hide his infantility is Kurti, while Belgrade, led by President Aleksandar Vucic, is dedicated to preserving peace and stability, but also protecting the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija from Kurti’s attacks,” stated Petkovic.

“And Kosovo will remain the cradle of Serbia, whether Kurti wants to accept it or not,” said Petkovic.

He added that he hoped that ”his war cry from “Vecernji list” was well read and understood by those who have to restrain him before the area of Kosovo and Metohija turns into a new hotbed of conflict, and force him to form the Community of Serbian Municipalities and the way it was agreed in Brussels, almost ten years ago and no other way”, reported the media, citing KiM Office announcement

Osmani on “genocide“ and other crimes committed by Serbia (KoSSev)

If Serbia wants to join the European Union, it must “face the past and victims“, while the perpetrators of the crimes “must face justice“, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said Friday in a conference on democracy and media freedom in Potsdam, Germany. Osmani also spoke about the victims of the Kosovo conflict claiming that “13,000 innocent civilians were killed, around 25,000 women were raped as a war instrument of the genocidal Milosevic regime, and 125,000 houses were burned“, KoSSev portal reports.

The portal further said that Osmani in her public appearances regularly accuses Serbia of “genocide” and mentions figures that significantly differ from the ones documented by Humanitarian Law Centre and other organizations that deal with reconciliation and war crimes initiatives.  

What does the data of HLC and other organisations say?

According to the Humanitarian Law Center and the Humanitarian Law Center of Kosovo, which developed a database on conflict events that took place from January 1st, 1998, to December 31st, 2000, a total of 13,535 people were killed or went missing during the armed conflict in Kosovo – this figure includes the total number of civilian and military casualties of Serbian forces, the KLA, and NATO bombing (10,812 Albanians, 2,197 Serbs and 526 victims from the Roma, Bosnian, Montenegrin and other non-Albanian communities).

According to HLC and HLC Kosovo data, during the NATO bombing (March 20th-June 14th, 1999), Serbian forces killed 6,872 Albanian civilians. In the same period, KLA members killed 328 Serbian civilians and 136 Roma and members of other communities. In the clashes between the Serbian forces and the KLA, 1,204 members of the KLA and 559 members of the Yugoslav Army and Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia were killed (108 of whom were under the age of 25 – most of them were active-duty soldiers).

Also, according to HLC data, 756 people died in NATO attacks – 452 civilians and 304 members of the armed forces. Out of the civilian victims, 206 were of Serbian or Montenegrin ethnicity, 218 were Albanians, 14 were Roma, and 14 were civilians of other ethnicities. A total of 275 members of the Yugoslav Army (VJ) and MIA, and 29 members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) died in the bombing. A total of 261 people were killed on the territory of Serbia, 10 in Montenegro, and 485 in Kosovo. 

In the period from June 15th, 1999 to the end of December 2000, approximately 1,257 people were killed, abducted, or went missing in Kosovo (a recent figure of 1,306 is also being mentioned) – 717 Serbs, 307 Albanians, and 233 Roma (the figure of 273 victims of Roma and other ethnicities is also mentioned). These crimes are mostly attributed to the KLA.

In 2015, the Kosovo Special Chambers were opened in The Hague dealing with crimes against humanity and war crimes initiated or committed in Kosovo from January 1st, 1998, to December 31st, 2000, by or against residents of Kosovo or the former FRY. Currently, four proceedings against the eight defendants, former members of the KLA, are ongoing.

In February 2018, Kosovo Government started the process of registration of rape victims. According to the data of the Kosovo Commission on Recognition and Verification of the Status of Sexual Violence Victims, as of the end of 2021, around 1,000 citizens have acquired the status of victims of sexual violence during the Kosovo war. The number of those registered so far is significantly smaller compared to the mentioned figure of 20,000 victims of sexual violence, the portal further said.

According to Kosovo law, a war victim of sexual violence is a person who survived sexual abuse and rape in the period from February 27th, 1998, to June, 20th 1999.

According to UNHCR data from November 1999, almost 40% of all homes in Kosovo were severely damaged or completely destroyed. Out of a total of 237,842 homes, 45,768 were severely damaged and 46,414 were destroyed.

Two years ago, the Humanitarian Law Center of Kosovo warned the Kosovo Assembly to be cautious with legal qualifications, considering that even after 20 years since the end of the conflict, no verdict has qualified the crimes in Kosovo as genocide. The Kosovo authorities have yet to initiate international court proceedings, although they stress that they are preparing for it, the portal recalls.

See at: https://bit.ly/3Lo7toO

Petkovic reacts to Osmani’s remarks (Kosovo Online)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic in his reaction to the Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani remarks on “genocide” and other crimes committed by Serbia during the conflict in Kosovo, said that “Osmani continues to utter heinous untruths”, Kosovo Online portal reports.

“Vjosa Osmani persistently continues to utter heinous untruths. Those who do not know them may get deceived. Stop the fake news”, Petkovic wrote in a post on Twitter.  

Ischinger: The “two Germany” model can provide a bridge to a solution for Kosovo and Serbia (Kosovo Online)

German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger said that the “two Germany” model that he proposed in 2007 as a solution for Kosovo and Serbia can still enable bridging in the right direction, reported portal Kosovo Online. 

Ischinger responded on Twitter to the former Kosovo FA Minister, Petrit Selimi, who commented on the “new framework” of the dialogue allegedly planned by Germany and France and which appeared in the Albanian media. According to that plan, Serbia would not formally recognize the independence of Kosovo in the next ten years but should accept Kosovo as a legal and political reality.

“Indeed. At the end of 2007, we, the Kosovo Troika, almost succeeded with the “two Germany” model that I proposed. It could still provide a bridge to a solution in the right direction,” Ischinger wrote on Twitter. 

Ischinger was the EU representative in the negotiating troika in which the representative of Russia was Aleksandar Bochan Kharchenko, the current ambassador of Russia in Serbia, while the representative of the USA was Frank Wisner.

Selimi reminded on Twitter that West and East Germany never recognized each other, but that they were equal members of the international community.

” It’s a “2 Germanies” model proposed several years ago by @ischinger. West, East Germany never recognized each other but both were equal members of international community. Not exact analogy but for the lack of carrots (EU enlargement guarantee) it is what EU is warming itself to,” said Selimi on Twitter, reported the portal. 

Jovanovic: Steel ‘no’ to Pristina in UN, claims that Kosovo is a ‘fait accompli’ no longer stands (Kosovo Online)

If Kosovo would join the United Nations, no one would ever expel them from there and they would have an open door to unite with Albania. That is why Serbia should ignore proposal to allow Pristina to join the UN, without formal recognition, based on the model of “two Germany” and ask – do you have any other proposal, former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia foreign minister and ambassador to the UN, Vladislav Jovanovic said, Kosovo Online portal reports.

He added the West is in haste to make Serbia give its consent for international recognition of Kosovo, because they know that this independence is legally questionable, the result of the use of force, without  UN approval.

Jovanovic also said that the Western partners should finally realise that “under no circumstances, pressure, deceptions, psychological and political combination they can penetrate that steel wall of Serbian ‘no’”.

“We also have a new reality now. Serbia has become an internationally reaffirmed, economically consolidated, militarily modernised and strengthened and as such it can no longer be the target of actions that the West was using extensively over the last decades (….)”, he said.

Commenting on the statements that Kosovo is a ‘fait accompli’ case, Jovanovic opined that Serbia has strong legal and political arguments on its side, and that such claims no longer stand.  

Botsan-Kharchenko: We will support what suits Serbia (Kosovo Online)

Russia respects territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia, Russian Ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko told Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV)

“We consider the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija to be an integral part of Serbia. We consistently advocate resolution of the Kosovo issue in an international-legal manner, in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, without deadlines and models imposed from outside”, Botsan-Kharchenko said.

He made those remarks answering the question what stance of Moscow would be if Kosovo membership in the UN will get onto agenda.

“As a permanent UN Security Council member, Russia will support any balanced, just and sustainable solution that would suit the legal interest of Serbia and Serbian people”, Ambassador said.

Starovic: Serbia’s highest-level present at UN General Assembly (N1, RTS)

Serbia’s Secretary of State at the Foreign Ministry Nemanja Starovic said Sunday that the delegation of Serbia led by President Aleksandar Vucic has already travelled to New York and that the President will speak before the General Assembly about the principled positions of the Republic of Serbia among other things, reported N1.

On the eve of the session of the UN General Assembly, Starovic told RTS (Radio-Television of Serbia) that during that week and a half, New York becomes the focal point of world diplomacy.

“Serbia is present at the highest level. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Selakovic have already travelled to New York. They were joined by Marko Djuric, the Ambassador of Serbia to the USA, and they are really starting today with a whole series of meetings,” said Starovic.

He estimated that Vucic will speak in New York about the principled positions of the Republic of Serbia, the need to preserve those basic postulates of international public law and about everything that makes Serbia’s foreign policy constructive, principled, but to some extent predictable.

“Everyone knows, when it comes to the Republic of Serbia, what are the principles by which we are guided and what can be expected from us. On the other hand, it is clear to everyone that we cannot give up our positions, that we will not give up our supreme national interests and that we will literally protect international public law,” Starovic pointed out.

International 

For Sexual Harassment Victims in Kosovo, Justice is Hard to Come By (BIRN)

In Kosovo, sexual harassment is rarely recognised as such by police, prosecutors and the courts.

In 2019, on her 18th birthday, Medine Dauti received a message from a man who had taught her at school, wishing her a happy birthday. It was the first of many messages from the man, 10 years older than Dauti and a friend of her brother, that escalated into what Dauti would later allege was sexual harassment.

It went on for three years – messages that he loved, that he wanted her, that she was his girlfriend.

“Every time I went out in Gjilan, every time I went to the regular cafes, this person came and approached me without my permission. He attempted to speak to me and to hug me without my permission,” Dauti told the BIRN television show Kallxo Pernime. Dauti also blocked him from her social media accounts, where she said he was also harassing her, only for him to begin messaging her friends.

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

The faces of Europride (Kosovo 2.0)

Queer activists converge on Belgrade for a week of celebration.

Despite the government’s attempt to ban the Pride march, weeks of backlash and right-wing protests, the pan-European international LGBTQ+ event, EuroPride, is ultimately taking to the streets of Belgrade today. LGBTQ+ people and supporters from all around the world will join Serbian queer people, activists and allies in the Pride march Saturday afternoon. This is the first EuroPride to be hosted anywhere outside of the European Union.

Due to security reasons, organizers of EuroPride announced a new much shorter route for the walk, a mere few hundred meters long, replacing the original planned route that was supposed to wind its way through the city center. The EuroPride march now starts symbolically at the Constitutional Court before making its way to Tašmajdan Stadium, where a concert will be held.

While the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs repeatedly announced the Pride march was banned this year, organizers were insistent that they would continue with their plans. Midday on the day of the march, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić announced that the EuroPride march may go ahead and that the state would ensure the streets were safe.

K2.0 spoke with eight queer people from all over the world who participated in EuroPride week in Belgrade. They spoke about rising threats to LGBTQ+ people due to a rise in right-wing authoritarianism, as well as their movements of resistance and their victories in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. 

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