Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Comprehensive digitization is one of the key objectives of the government (Klan)
• EU concerned over several provisions of new Kosovo Law on Public Officials (media)
• LVV MP: We will not give up on the implementation of the law in the north (Telegrafi)
• Pendarovski: There will be no problem for NATO if situation in north escalates (media)
• Government submits appeal against Court’s decision to suspend reduction of judges/prosecutors’ salaries (Kallxo)
• Trajkovic writes about consequences of her detention at the border (Telegrafi)
• Two minors physically attacked in Mitrovica north by some Serb citizens (media)
• A worker in Leposavic threatened with a weapon by four masked individuals (Telegrafi)

Serbian Language Media:

• Dacic: Peaceful rally at Rudare response to Pristina’s threats, terror (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)
• Pantic’s lawyer: I spoke with him, he is well (N1, Tanjug)
• Kabasic on Self-determination Movement, militarization of north, and institutional crackdown on Serbs (KoSSev)
• Simic on “assessment” that 1.500 people attended protest in Rudare (Kosovo Online, social media)
• Jevtic refutes Kosovo police statement of not obstructing busses from Strpce (social media, media)
• Serbian List, Petkovic react to VV MP published list with names of Serbs (Kosovo Online, Tanjug, RTS, KoSSev, social media)
• Sweden to deal with Pristina’s EU bid once it is on agenda – ambassador (Tanjug)
• Odalovic: Resolution 1244 in function, KFOR to return ”ROSU” from northern Kosovo (Radio Mitrovica sever, TV Prva)
• Drecun: ”Pristina preparing KSF base in the North of Kosovo” (Tanjug, Dnevnik, Blic, TV Pink)

Humanitarian/Development:

• The fate of the missing politicised and neglected topic (KiM radio, Kontakt plus radio, KoSSev)

Albanian Language Media  

Kurti: Comprehensive digitization is one of the key objectives of the government (Klan)

The first meeting of the Committee for Digital Transformation was held today. The Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti said that comprehensive digitization is one of the key objectives of the government program and it is part of all the pillars of the National Development Plan 2030.

Kurti emphasised that through the development of electronic government, ‘we are aiming to increase transparency and accountability and improve our services to citizens and businesses.’

“With digitalization, which is closely related to the reform and modernization of public administration, electronic services which have the citizen at the centre will be created,” he added.

The government is finalising the key strategic documents of the e-government strategy, the cyber security strategy and the digital agenda.

All preparations have been made for the start of the implementation of strategic projects with development partners such as USAID, GIZ and the World Bank, he informed.

EU concerned over several provisions of the new Kosovo Law on Public Officials (media)

Press and information team of the EU Office/EU Special Representative in Kosovo has issued a press release to express concern over several provisions of the new Kosovo Law on Public Officials.

“The EU engages in continuous dialogue with the authorities on all aspects of public administration reform as this is a key precondition for EU integration and essential for the functioning of the institutions and delivery of services to the people of Kosovo. The EU is also Kosovo’s key partner in terms of financial support for these reforms.

To help Kosovo advance on its EU integration path in this reform area, the EU in cooperation with the OECD/SIGMA team of experts, has provided comments on several occasions on the draft law on public officials and draft law on salaries. The comments were intended to best guide and support the government to ensure a depoliticised and professional civil service, with a transparent merit based remuneration system, in line with public administration reform principles and the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between the EU and Kosovo.

The EU regrets that the Kosovo Assembly has today adopted these two laws without taking into consideration the EU and OECD/SIGMA comments, despite the SAA commitments in this area. The new law on public officials is problematic with regard to ensuring a merit-based civil service that can effectively manage human resources, as it adds excessive discretion in the recruitment, transfer and disciplinary procedures of civil servants, potentially making the civil service vulnerable to politicisation.

The EU will continue to monitor developments affecting the public administration reform in Kosovo, will report on these issues in its annual Kosovo reports and may reassess its assistance in this area,” reads the communique. 

LVV MP: We will not give up on the implementation of the law in the north (Telegrafi)

The Vetevendosje Movement MP, Luan Aliu, in today’s session of the Assembly, said that the government of Kosovo will never give up on the implementation of the law in the north.

“Due to the fragility of the situation there and the partnership of our friends, we have tolerated several times the postponement of the implementation of our decisions. However, we have not given up on any decision we have made, and we will never give up on the implementation of the law and the obligations arising from our constitution.

No part of the country will tolerate the lack of law enforcement regardless of ethnicity, religion or region. Kosovo is determined for a democratic, prosperous, and European future. Our citizens from the Serb community in the north of the country are our citizens and must distance themselves from the criminal gangs and the Vucic regime that is seeking war,” he said.

Pendarovski: There will be no problem for NATO if the situation in the north escalates (media)

The President of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski has said that based on NATO’s assessments, KFOR troops can keep the situation under control in the north of Kosovo even in the event of an escalation of the situation there.

“The situation is not to be underestimated, but NATO has great power there. If NATO with its military forces can stand behind Ukraine, a country of 45 million people, attacked by a country of 145 million people, without underestimating the situation, I don’t think there will be any problem if there is any escalation of the situation in the north of Kosovo,” Pendarovski stated.

Due to the situation created in this part of Kosovo, he said that every ten days there are talks with the commander of KFOR because 65 Macedonian soldiers also participate in the NATO military mission.

He said that there should not be additional panic in the opinion regarding the situation in Kosovo, as there is no need to convene the National Security Council of North Macedonia on this issue, since according to Pendarovski, “NATO has the situation under control until now and in the future”.

Government submits appeal against Court’s decision to suspend reduction of judges/prosecutors’ salaries (Kallxo)

The Government of Kosovo has exercised its right to appeal against the decision of the Court of Pristina regarding the decision to suspend the government’s decision on reduction of salaries. This was confirmed by the information officer of the Court of Pristina, Mirlinda Gashi.

“We inform you that the Basic Court in Pristina – Administrative Department on 16.12.2022 has received the appeal filed by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, against the Decision” Gashi said.

The Pristina Court at the beginning of December had decided to suspend the execution of the decision of the government of Kosovo to reduce the salaries of prosecutors and judges. After accepting the lawsuit by the Association of Prosecutors against the government, the Court decided to set the security measure and postpone the execution of this decision. The Court approved the request of the Association of Prosecutors for setting the security measure as unfounded and with this decision has postponed the execution of the government’s decision. On November 29, the Court of of Pristina has accepted the lawsuit that opposes this decision.

Trajkovic writes about consequences of her detention at the border (Telegrafi)

Rada Trajkovic, political advisor to the Minister for Communities and Returns, Nenad Rashic, has shown the consequences on her body, after being held at the border, in poor conditions, by the Serbian authorities.

“If we talk about the mistreatment of Serbs in Kosovo, what can we do with the Serbs in Kosovo who remained in the open sky in the middle of December, held for 24 hours without a glass of water, without food and medicine? You are trying to relativize torture. The facts speak,” Trajkovic wrote attaching disturbing pictures that show her condition. 

Two minors physically attacked in Mitrovica north by some Serb citizens (media)

Two minors received medical treatment after being attacked by some citizens of Serb nationality. According to the report of the Kosovo Police, the case happened on Thursday around 16:00 hours, in north of Mitrovica. The police units are conducting investigations in relation to the case.

“Regarding the case, it has been reported that two minor Kosovar male victims have received medical treatment, since according to them they were attacked by some Serb citizens. Police units are conducting investigations related to the case,” the report states.

The Minister of Internal Affairs Xhelal Svecla, announced a case of physical attack on a 14-year-old boy in the Kroi i Vitakut neighbourhood in the north of Mitrovica.

A worker in Leposavic threatened with a weapon by four masked individuals (Telegrafi)

A person, while he was distributing goods with a working vehicle, was threatened with firearms by four masked persons and the same ones damaged the vehicle.

“The Kosovar male complainant informed that while he was distributing the goods with a work vehicle, he was threatened with firearms by four masked persons and the same ones damaged the work vehicle. The case is being investigated by police units,” the Kosovo Police report states. 

According to the 24-hour report of the Kosovo Police, the case occurred on Thursday at around 11:30 hours, in Leposaviq.

Serbian Language Media 

Dacic: Peaceful rally at Rudare response to Pristina’s threats, terror (Tanjug)

Serbian First Deputy PM and FM Ivica Dacic said on Thursday a peaceful protest by Kosovo-Metohija Serbs at Rudare earlier in the day once again demonstrated the strength of a people that was suffering injustice and fighting for freedom and peace.

In a statement to Tanjug, Dacic said the rally had been “magnificent” and that it was also a “clear response to all the threats and the terror coming from Pristina and its helpers and instigators.”

“The Serbs have demonstrated a firm unity with Serbia’s state leadership, giving absolute support to President Aleksandar Vucic in the fight to protect the national and state interests of Serbia,” Dacic added.

He said the international community must realise a solution lay only in respect of international agreements including UN SC Resolution 1244, the Brussels Agreement and the Washington Agreement and that Pristina’s PM Albin Kurti was the biggest threat to peace and stability in the region, reported the agency.

Pantic’s lawyer: I spoke with him, he is well (N1, Tanjug)

Ljubomir Pantovic, the lawyer of former Kosovo police officer Dejan Pantic over whose arrest Serbs erected barricades in north Kosovo 13 days ago, told N1 that he spoke to Pantic on the phone, that Pantic feels well and has no complaints, “except that I felt he was nervous because he has been in a container for 13 days now, a narrow space without the possibility to get out into the fresh air and to communicate with his lawyer and his family.”

Pantovic said he has been to the Pristina Basic Court, which had ordered Pantic into custody, where he submitted a request for Pantic to be allowed visits by his lawyer and family, and at least a phone call, and this last request has been granted.

The lawyer said Pantic confirmed that he has everything he needs, including his medication.

I hope that he will soon be in a normal detention facility, and that he will soon be released from custody because there were no legal reasons for him to be remanded in custody, said Pantovic, and confirmed that Pantic is being held in a military base near Jarinje.

Lawyer Pantovic said his client’s stay at the base is against the law, because, under the Kosovo Law on Criminal Procedure, he should be detained in a proper detention facility.

“The Kosovo authorities justify this with the emergency situation caused by the barricades, that is, they say the barricades are to blame for the fact that Pantic cannot be in a detention facility,” said Pantovic, adding that nine police officers were transferred from that base to Pristina by helicopter on Wednesday, but not Pantic, and that he is now a kind of a hostage.

The lawyer said a Basic Court judge told him that he cannot allow Pantic regular visits as long as the situation with the barricades continues.

Pantovic said his client is accused of “committing a terrorist act”.

“He allegedly took part in a terrorist act – an attack on a polling station in the vicinity of the building he lives in, in order to prevent the holding of the local elections scheduled in north Kosovo and then postponed,” said Pantovic.

Kabasic on Self-determination Movement, militarization of north, and institutional crackdown on Serbs (KoSSev)

The institutional crackdown of Albin Kurti’s government against the Serbs is underway, Dejan Pantic is an example of the grossest violation and bending of the law in Kosovo, a former judge in the Serbian and Kosovo systems, as well as the former president of the Basic Court in North Mitrovica, Nikola Kabasic, said in a protest held in Rudare yesterday, KoSSev portal reports.

Barricades are not the problem – but those at the head of the Pristina government are

“These are not barricades, and they are not a problem between the Serbian and Albanian people“, Kabasic said.

“These are just two or three buses and trucks that we can move and it will not be a problem to live together and we lived with Albanians. We even worked together, we had good cooperation. There were no inter-ethnic incidents and conflicts neither in the Bosniak Mahala nor anywhere else“, he noted, adding:

“We have a problem with the government, which is discriminatory with the instrumentalization of the special prosecutor’s office, which prosecutes young Serbian men just because they wear shirts with the Serbian flag“.

In his words, the barricades can actually be found in the minds of the politicians in Pristina.

“Those barricades are mental barricades, they are civilizational barricades, non-democratic barricades in their heads and they cannot understand that Serbs should be talked to and negotiated with, and conflicts should not be resolved by armed means“, he warned.

Read Kabasic’s full address at: https://bit.ly/3VouqLY

Simic on ‘assessment’ that 1.500 people attended protest in Rudare (Kosovo Online, social media)

Serbian List Vice President Igor Simic in a post on Facebook asked who is bothered by the unity of the Serbs and photos of a massive protest in Rudare. He reacted this way to the assessment of Kosovo police that only 1.500 people took part in the protest in Rudare.

“Who is bothered by the unity of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija? Who is bothered by photos of a massive and magnificent protest in Rudare today? Who does not know how to count? Let us help you a bit, so you start counting again 1,2,3,4,…..1.500,…..2.500,…..7.000,….10.000+”, Simic said in a post, along with photos from the protest.

Jevtic refutes Kosovo police statement of not obstructing busses from Strpce (social media, media)

Strpce mayor Dalibor Jevtic in posts on Twitter said the statement of Kosovo police that it didn’t stop residents of this municipality on their way to the protest in Rudare was inaccurate, adding buses were stopped on two occasions.

He said during the first stop Kosovo police issued a fine for a bus topograph.

“The truth that KS police “didn’t stop and returned the buses from Strpce” equals the truth that “1.500 Serbs attended the protest in Rudare”. The buses were first stopped at the Silkapor factory where the fine for a topograph was issued”, Jevtic said.

After that, he says, one hundred metres from there the buses were stopped again and returned.

“Again they ask for all documents, identification of passengers starts, and after that a search of the bus “just in case there are no weapons there”. Police then says the buses can not continue, because “the line is not registered”. The buses returned to Strpce at around 11.30. The cherry on the top of the cake – a KP statement”, Jevtic said. 

Serbian List, Petkovic react to VV MP published list with names of Serbs (Kosovo Online, Tanjug, RTS, KoSSev, social media)

Serbian List said today the list, posted on Facebook by Self-Determination Movement MP (VV MP) Armend Muja including the names of high Serbian List officials, former Kosovo police members and close family members of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, calling them criminals and proposing their arrests, reveals what Pristina authorities try to deny and conceal by claiming that such lists do not exist, Kosovo Online portal reports.

Serbian List said that compilation and publication of the lists for persecution of Serbs by Pristina and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s subordinates represents “a public lynch and drawing the target on the foreheads” of those included on the list.

The Serbian List called upon the international community to immediately and publicly condemn this act. “Such statements in the most direct way justify barricades and peaceful resistance of Serbian people”, it added in a statement.

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director, Petar Petkovic in his reaction said this is yet another example that lists for persecution of Serbs do exist. He added this represents the most direct endangerment of the security of Serbs included there, but also of President Vucic’s family. He also wondered if someone from the international community would react to this.

Sweden to deal with Pristina’s EU bid once it is on agenda – ambassador (Tanjug)

Swedish Ambassador to Serbia Annika Ben David said on Thursday her country, which will take over the EU presidency on January 1, would deal with Pristina’s EU membership application once it arose on the agenda and in close coordination with other EU member states, reported Tanjug.

“We have been informed that Pristina has lodged a membership application with the Czech presidency, and we will deal with the matters on the EU agenda as they come,” Ben David told reporters during a conference at the EU Info Centre.

Asked to be more specific, the ambassador responded: “When the matter arises on the EU agenda we will handle these matters and we will do so in close coordination with other member states.”

She also noted that respect for any agreement reached in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue was encouraging.

Odalovic: Resolution 1244 in function, KFOR to return ”ROSU” from northern Kosovo (Radio Mitrovica sever, TV Prva)

Resolution 1244 is in function, and KFOR should stop terror, ensure security, and return ROSU from northern Kosovo to Pristina, said the president of the Commission for the Missing, Veljko Odalovic, reported Radio Mitrovica sever. 

Odalovic recalled for TV Prva that, according to the UN Security Council resolution, KFOR has 16 functions that it should return to and fulfil.

He assessed that the Community Serbian Municipalities should be formed at the same time, which was an obligation under the Brussels Agreement.

He said that if KFOR refuses the return of Serbian forces, it must explain that it is their job and that they will guarantee security.

According to him, the way out of the current situation is to go towards an agreement, in which the international factor and international forces play a significant role.

The big rally in Rudari sent an image of unity and perseverance and the message was sent much further than Pristina, said Odalovic.

He emphasises that in 14 days of protest, despite the enormous risks, there was not a single incident.

“No Albanian had a problem with the Serbs. Serbs are reacting to Kurti’s terror, and they are not the ones causing a problem,” he said.

He pointed out that ”the occupation of the north of Kosovo and Metohija through the incursion of special units of the Pristina police cannot be tolerated”.

He assessed that both the spirit and the form of international documents have been evaded around Kosovo and Metohija.

Drecun: ”Pristina preparing KSF base in the North of Kosovo” (Tanjug, Dnevnik, Blic, TV Pink)

President of the Parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija, Milovan Drecun, said today that Pristina is preparing to open a fifth military base in the North of Kosovo, reported Serbian media, citing TV Pink. 

Drecun told TV Pink that Pristina used the crisis over licence plates for the police ‘ROSU’ bases in the North of Kosovo and their permanent presence.

He also said the similar will be done with permanently installing members ”the so-called Kosovo Security Forces in the North of Kosovo”.

He warned against the statements of the Ministry of Defense in Pristina, that the barricades will be broken, and that the KSF will be in every part of Kosovo.

Drecun said that it was ”also true that they were present on two occasions in the North of Kosovo” and that he thinks that the KFOR commander must explain that. Did he approve, on what basis, he said. He did not have the consent of four mayors from the North, according to Drecun. 

Drecun warned that the KSF already has heavier weapons, that there is a tank training ground in Kosovo and that the acquisition of tanks and drones is planned.

He added that the KSF has increased its number to almost 4,500 members, of which more than 2,000 have already completed military training abroad.

He stated that the Turkish army is already training KSF members in Albania to use “Bajraktar” drones.

He asked ”what will illegal formation do with offensive weapons, which is contrary to Resolution 1244”, reported the media. 

Drecun assessed that Western countries see, know, and hear everything, but do not care or pay attention to the Serbian protests.

”Serbs are disenfranchised, their human rights and survival are threatened, and the cause is the unilateral behaviour of Pristina. Serbs want a peaceful political solution to the problems created by Pristina,” he said.

He assessed that Pristina’s message was warlike, brutally threatening, and warmongering.

He pointed out that Germany was giving Pristina the strongest wind at its back, while the USA has a somewhat more pragmatic attitude that leaves room for some solutions to be reached.

Humanitarian/Development

The fate of the missing politicised and neglected topic (KiM radio, Kontakt plus radio, KoSSev)

Almost a quarter of a century has passed since the conflict in Kosovo, and slightly more than 1,600 persons are still missing, reported Serbian media in Kosovo. 

The representatives of the families of the missing and disappeared told the authorities that politics should not be a part of this issue.

Silvana Marinkovic from the Association of Missing Persons in Gracanica claimed that the issue of kidnapped and missing persons has been neglected and politicised.

“At every step, this issue is being politicised, to the regret of our families. This issue has become part of big politics, the facts and actions show that. After 23 years, there is no solution, even though we know that there are potential graves in Kosovo and Metohija. There is no response to our requests, those burial places are not excavated. There is always a reason – it will be in the spring, then annual holidays, it will be left for the fall, it can’t be done in the fall because of weather conditions,” said Marinkovic, whose husband disappeared in 1999.

Coordinator of the Pristina Resource Center for Missing Persons, Bajram Qerkinaj, said that the issue of missing persons should have been resolved by now.

“We brought Miroslav Lajcak to our office, we talked for an hour and a half. He promised that the working group that had stagnated would start working and that it would be controlled, but it didn’t work for 15 months. Today we are talking about what we expect from Brussels , and one diplomat like Lajcak cannot convince the politicians in Belgrade and Pristina to start working. We know that everyone went to the mass graves by force, not by will,” said Qerkinaj.

According to the data of the families of the missing, during 2022, around 30 missing persons were found.

“Two Albanians were found in the graves in the northern part of Mitrovica, two Roma were found in Kamenica, and they were returned to their families. A total of 12 that I know of were returned, of which two Serbs were handed over at  Merdare,” said Qerkinaj and added:

“For my son, it is known who took him and where, eight of them, and to this day I do not know anything about him. Should a foreign or our prosecutor’s office work on this, who should give me the answer. Belgrade and Pristina have it in written, 330 codes in drawers,” he said.

Qerkinaj stressed that representatives of the Working Group of the Government of Kosovo should report to the families of the missing what they did this year.

Negovan Mavric, coordinator of the Resource Center for Missing Persons in Pristina, said that the issue of missing persons should be at the top of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels.

Mavric said that the groups have not met for two years. He also reminded that the places where the tombs are located are known and that only good will is needed to excavate them. However, politics must be excluded from that process.

A large number of families of the missing are in displacement, they are in a very bad financial situation, and they are not able to realize the right to reparation that the Government of Kosovo gives to these families.

Mavric added that the families of the victims and the missing do not even have the support of local self-government representatives.

“Me and Silvana had the opportunity to visit a lot of our Serbian representatives of the municipalities. We did not find understanding,” he said.

Marinkovic added that every municipality would have to have lists of the missing.

“The municipality must provide families with a certificate so that they can exercise their rights. Our municipality in Gracanica is unable to issue such a certificate because it does not have any archive on missing persons. We have asked each mayor to create such an archive. However, it is not done so far,” Silvana Marinkovic said.

The special court in The Hague for crimes committed by members of the KLA against ethnic minorities and political opponents in the period January 1998 – December 2000 has started issuing verdicts.

“There are those who have been arrested for war crimes, but not for war crimes against Serbs. Most of the families of the disappeared know who kidnapped their family member, but so far none of them have been arrested. I also talked about my husband that there is a first and last name, who, when and where kidnapped him, but not that no one was responsible for it, but they were also rewarded for it. Someone works in the police, at UNMIK, or EULEX,” said Marinkovic.

“The special court, we all know that it was created politically. However, the court is not, not to say, valid to us, but I am optimistic. All those who are there are not invited to play football or chess, but proceedings are being conducted against them,” said Mavric.

The president of the Kosovo Commission for Missing Persons, Andin Hoti, was also invited to the debate “Missing persons in Kosovo – a political or humanitarian issue”, held in Caglavica, but he did not respond to the invitation, reported Serbian media based in Kosovo.