Albanian Language Media:

• Osmani to all women: Never stop dreaming, but especially, never stop believing (media)
• Kurti appreciates the role of women who spoke publicly about sexual violence during the war (Koha)
• Government appoints Gazmend Hoxha as director of the Kosovo Police (media)
• Hill about the meeting in Ohrid: Too early to make assessments (Express)
• The opposition parties leave the Assembly hall, government waiting for its MP (Koha)
• Haradinaj: The European plan also includes recognition, it will have the vote of AAK (media)
• Tahiri: I hope the MPs today understand the danger of “self-management” (Paparaci)

Serbian Language Media:

• Office for KiM: Arrested Arsic member of Kosovo police, declared guilty before trial (Radio KIM)
• Serbian List: The arrest of Arsic is intimidation aimed at expelling the Serbian people (Kosovo Online, KiM radio)
• Students in Belgrade protested the European proposal for Kosovo (KiM radio, Danas)
• Novosti: Vucic to form People’s Movement for state, start touring Serbia (N1)
• Tanjug: Kosovo special police beat up two Serbs near Leposavic
• Aktiv survey says Serbs in north feel unsafe, majority of respondents want to leave (Radio KIM)
• Kovacevic: Reconciliation between two peoples is solution (Radio KIM, N1)
• On 8 March women in Pristina and Belgrade march (KoSSev)

Opinion:

• More on the European agreement, Waiting for March 18/24 (KoSSev)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Regional documentaries on media and journalism you must watch: What makes a good documentary? (seenpm.org)

Albanian Language Media  

Osmani to all women: Never stop dreaming, but especially, never stop believing (media)

The President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani said that on International Women’s Day, ‘let us remember the extraordinary strength, courage and endurance of our women and girls.’

“On International Women’s Day, let us remember the extraordinary strength, courage and endurance of our women and girls. In education, sports, culture, business, science or politics, women have proven that they are capable of reaching the heights of success. They can, because they have potential.

Let’s all pledge to do our part to ensure that every woman’s voice is heard, that every woman’s potential is fully expressed. Together, we can create a world where women are equal and free to pursue their goals.

To all the women and girls of the Republic, today and every day: Never stop dreaming, but especially, never stop believing,” Osmani said. 

Kurti appreciates the role of women who spoke publicly about sexual violence during the war (Koha)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti on the International Women’s Day today, started the Government meeting with a supportive speech for women and girls in Kosovo.

“We honor and remember the contribution of women in the liberation struggle and throughout history. We do not forget the great pain that does not go away and a great wound that the state has the obligation to heal. We are continuing the application process for recognition of the status of survivors of sexual violence during the war, an important process for our history and country and a prerequisite for building peace in the country. We honor the role of the survivors who have spoken publicly about their cases, and especially Vasfije Krasniqi, who is a vocal advocate in our country and internationally,” Kurti said.

He added that the government led by him will continue to fight for more rights for women.

“On International Women’s Day, we honor the successes they have achieved historically. We honor those women who are no more. We fight with women for many rights and equality. Our government remains committed to democratic and social policies that ease the burden of injustice that women carry on their shoulders. We continue the battle for social and gender equality. From the home to the institutions, let’s make Kosovo more equal”, added Kurti.

Government appoints Gazmend Hoxha as director of the Kosovo Police (media)

Gazmend Hoxha has been appointed director of the Kosovo Police. The decision was made at today’s meeting of the government of Kosovo.

“In accordance with the legal provisions, the Ministry of the Interior has developed the recruitment procedure for the position of the Director of the Kosovo Police.  Five candidates applied for the position, while four candidates were shortlisted for an interview. Three candidates have been recommended to the Minister of Internal Affairs by this commission: Gazmend Hoxha, Granit Fetahu and Bahri Shala,” said the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Bardhyl Dobra.

“In accordance with the competence, the Ministry of the Interior proposes Mr. Gazmend Hoxha as a candidate to the government,” he said.

Hoxha is currently the director of the Department for Operations in the Kosovo Police.

Hill about the meeting in Ohrid: Too early to make assessments (Express)

The U.S. Ambassador to Belgrade stated today that it is too early to make an assessment about the High Level meeting in Ohrid between the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti and the President of Serbia, Aleksnadar Vucic.

“I think it is moving in the right direction, but we have to wait and see because nobody agreed on anything yet. I would not like to talk about specific issues and timelines, I think it is important that the issues are resolved,  that after 10 years the Association of Municipalities with a Serb Majority is finally formed and that many people see this as a test of how serious is the international community about solving this issue and I can say that they are. You just need patience,” Hill said.

Speaking about the sanctions against the Russian Federation, the American ambassador estimated that it is still not too late for Serbia to impose them.

We recall that Hill has been one of the most vocal U.S. diplomats regarding the Association of Municipalities with a Serb Majority, where even in an interview given to Insider TV in December of last year, he stated that “you can be sure that there will be no new agreements, without solving the issue of the Association”.

The opposition parties leave the Assembly hall, government waiting for its MP (Koha)

The opposition parties of the Assembly of Kosovo have left the Assembly Hall, where the continuation of the previous nine sessions was planned.

The head of the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Abelard Tahiri said that it is pointless for them to continue to stay in the session, when for an hour and a half, it was not possible to approve even a single point.

“We’ve been here for an hour and a half, and we can’t pass even a single point. You have put us in front of a parliamentary chaos and now we have open sessions for months, since last year, and this is unacceptable and we as a parliamentary group will not continue to stay in this session. Our staying in this session is meaningless… we tried to give you support with international agreements, but you still don’t have 61 MPs, so we as a group will not continue to stay in this session”, Tahiri said.

The head of the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Arben Gashi, has said that they will not stay in the session.

“In the wake of the irresponsible behavior of the LVV regarding international agreements, by removing them from the agenda, it makes the work of the Assembly impossible, so we as a Parliamentary Group will not continue this session,” Gashi emphasized.

The MPs of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) also left the hall.

Meanwhile, the Assembly is currently waiting for the MPs of the government in order to make the quorum for the continuation of the session, which is scheduled to start at 12:00.

Haradinaj: The European plan also includes recognition, it will have the vote of AAK (media)

The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj expressed his conviction that the European plan includes the recognition of Kosovo, and added that the political entity he leads will vote in favor of this agreement. 

Further, he said that time is a key factor for Kosovo, and if the agreement is reached within this month, the regular elections will be held in the north, as planned.

“I believe that since there is an agreement on the plan, the work on the annex for implementation is on its conclusion. So, it is expected that in the coming days, an agreement will be reached on the annex for implementation.”

“It is important for Kosovo to gain in time because if the agreement is reached during this month, then we will be able to hold the regular elections in the north as planned,” he said.

According to Haradinaj, there is recognition by Serbia in the European agreement. “So, Serbia recognizes the independence of Kosovo, the rights as an independent, equal state based on the UN charter and the international plan,” Hasradinaj said.

The two other opposition parties, LDK and PDK, have come out against the content of this agreement.

Tahiri: I hope the MPs today understand the danger of “self-management” (Paparaci)

The former negotiator of Kosovo for the dialogue with Serbia, Edita Tahiri, through a status on Facebook, has commented on the content of the European plan for solving the problem between Kosovo and Serbia.

In a short post on Facebook, to which she has attached a photo of herself, she says that she hopes that “MPs today in the Assembly will understand from Kurti about the damage caused by the self-management of the Serbian minority, plus the association.”

She reminded Prime Minister Kurti about his objections to the Association of Municipalities with a Serb Majority when he was in the opposition.

Serbian Language Media 

Office for KiM: Arrested Arsic member of Kosovo police, declared guilty before trial (Radio KIM)

“Arrest of Zlatko Arsic, father of three children from the village of Ajnovce, in Kosovska Kamenica represents a new sort of pressure and mistreatment Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija are exposed to, in particular south of the Ibar River to whom Pristina renders verdicts in public even before the closure of the very judicial process”, Office for Kosovo and Metohija said in a statement reacting to the latest arrest of  Serb in Kosovo, Radio KIM reports.

The Office said it provided Arsic with free legal aid, and the president of the Interim Municipal Authority for Kamenica Tanja Aksic visited the family of the arrested person this morning and offered them all support and help.

“Arsic is a member of Kosovo police and a logical question arises as to how he passed all necessary checks and tests to work for the police and all of a sudden he is accused of alleged war crime”, the Office said in a statement.

“This opens a grounded doubt that motives behind Arsic’s arrest are of completely different nature, and the statement of Dzelal Svecla from last night declaring Arsic guilty even before the trial and the court’s decision confirms that. It clearly says that for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija there is neither justice nor rights, that verdicts based on political and ethnic backgrounds are rendered in public, thus violating presumption of innocence and denying them right to a fair trial”, the Office underlined.

The Office said it will inform international institutions active in Kosovo about this case.

Radio KIM recalled that Zlatko Arsic was arrested based on the Kosovo Special Prosecution order. He is accused of allegedly committing “war crimes against the civilian population”. 

Serbian List: The arrest of Arsic is intimidation aimed at expelling the Serbian people (Kosovo Online, KiM radio)

Serbian List said today that the arrest of Zlatko Arsic from Ajnovce village near Kamenica without presenting any evidence of his guilt, in the eyes of the Serbian people, his family and three children, looks like clear pressure and intimidation carried out by the Kosovo institutions and the regime of Albin Kurti with the aim of expelling the Serbian people, reported the media citing the statement. 

“The gloating of Safari Minister Xelal Sveçla, who talks about the satisfaction of justice and Mr. Arsic’s guilt before any court decision, is worrisome for all Serbs and everyone who wants to believe in law and justice, whose basic postulate is that no one is guilty until proven otherwise, which unfortunately does not apply to Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija,” said the Serbian List. 

They called on “on the Kosovo institutions to initiate proceedings and to hold Xelal Sveçla accountable along with anyone else who declares an innocent man guilty in advance by labelling him and his family, as well as the entire Serbian people”.

“We call on the representatives of Quint, the Office of the European Union, EULEX, UNMIK, OSCE, and everyone else to urgently form a legal team that will monitor the cases against Serbs before Kosovo courts, because we express serious doubts that Serbs are being accused without any evidence, and even are being sentenced that way, and that false indictments are being used to persecute the remaining Serbs, especially south of the Ibar,” it was concluded in the Serbian List statement.  

Students in Belgrade protested the European proposal for Kosovo (KiM radio, Danas)

KiM radio reported that yesterday a protest walk was organised by University of Belgrade students, demanding the rejection of the European proposal for Kosovo, gathering hundreds of citizens. 

From the meeting at the Faculty of Philosophy, messages were heard about the betrayal of Kosovo, the rejection of the agreement was demanded, as well as messages against the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities.

Professor Slobodan Samardzic, president of the People’s Freedom Movement Miroslav Parovic, president of the citizens’ association Pokret Luba Vera Nada Nemanja Sarovar, activists of Dveri and New DSS were seen at the protest.

One of the organisers, Filip Kalmarevic from the Faculty of Political Sciences, said that the protest was not partisan and that as long as the protest was organised by them there would be no politicians and parties.

KiM radio reported, citing Danas daily, that Kalmarevic was a member of the Serbian movement Dveri and a former member of the Progressive Club of Cedomir Antic.

Speakers from the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Political Sciences, the Faculty of Philosophy, and the Faculty of Agriculture, pointed out that the Franco-German plan meant ”seizure of Kosovo from Serbia”, and it must not be agreed to.

“We have gathered to defend our identity and our essence”, said one of the speakers, with the crowd chanting “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia”, “No surrender – next year in Prizren”…

The speakers told the Serbian authorities that it did not receive legitimacy for “accepting the Franco-German plan”, that is, as they said – for treason, violation of the Constitution of Serbia and the provisions of international law, reported Kontakt plus radio, citing N1.

From the protest could be heard that they also expect from the Radio Television of Serbia as the public service to provide an opportunity for another opinion to be heard. 

The protest was held under the slogan “Students for Kosmet”, and next week’s protest was also announced.

Novosti: Vucic to form People’s Movement for state, start touring Serbia (N1)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will start forming the People’s Movement for state and plans visiting all parts of Serbia in the upcoming period, Vecernje Novosti daily reports.

According to the daily, Vucic will request support of people for defence of Serbia, and on March 11 began talks with the population in southern Serbia, most probably in Vranje.

N1 recalled that Vucic announced in September last year creation of a large state-building and national movement for survival and progress of Serbia. The opposition back then termed the announcements as a marketing and rebranding of Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

Vucic’s opponent at the last presidential elections and leader of Serbia Centre (SRCE) Movement Zdravko Ponos said Vucic’s announcements of creating a large state-building and national movement represent “changing the coat” and an attempt to avoid responsibility for what he has been doing and “blaming his bad associates for that instead”.

Tanjug: Kosovo special police beat up two Serbs near Leposavic

Tanjug news agency reported that Kosovo special police beat up two Serb men in the Josanica village, near Leposavic, late on Tuesday.

The men, aged 23 and 24 and identified with the initials L.DJ. and DJ. M. were then hospitalised at the surgical ward of the Clinical Hospital Centre in Mitrovica North.

In a statement to Tanjug, the Clinical Hospital Centre Director Zlatan Elek said the two men were in stable condition and had been discharged to home care.

In the incident, Kosovo special police pulled over a car carrying the men, who are residents of the village, and beat them up, inflicting visible head and chest injuries to them, the agency added.

Aktiv survey says Serbs in north feel unsafe, majority of respondents want to leave (Radio KIM)

The biggest problems of Serbs in the four northern municipalities in Kosovo include personal insecurity, corruption and crime, but also an increasing migration of young people, non-governmental organisation Aktiv said while presenting the findings of its survey, Radio KIM reports. The survey was conducted jointly by the NGO Aktiv from North Mitrovica and the Centre for Democracy and Education of the Valley from Bujanovac.

On the other hand, in three municipalities in southern Serbia where members of the Albanian community reside, Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, the burning issue for Albanians there, according to the survey is non-recognition of diplomas obtained in Kosovo, and therefore the departure of young people.

Presenting the data from northern Kosovo, Aktiv Executive Director Miodrag Milicevic highlighted the safety of citizens as the main problem. This concern has been particularly emphasised since the middle of the last year, when tensions rose due to licence plates issue, barricades, and arrival of Kosovo special police units to the north as well as departure of Serbs from all Pristina institutions in northern Kosovo.

“More than 60% of respondents in the north of Kosovo believe that they are definitely threatened and that the security situation has very much deteriorated. In the south, i.e. in Presevo, that percentage is four times lower and the safety of citizens is not an issue in that sense”, Milicevic said, adding that the inflammatory rhetoric of representatives of Pristina and Belgrade has a significant negative impact on relations between Serbs and Albanians.

He also said data from the survey show that respondents do not see a better future even in the next three years. “In the north, the majority of citizens said that life will be more difficult, only 24 percent of respondents said that it will be the same, and there is a small number of those who believe that it will be better.” “73% of Serbian respondents aged 18 to 29 do not see their future in the north”, he added.

Agon Islami from the Centre for Democracy and Education pointed out the verification of diplomas and subsequent youth migration as the biggest problem.

“The mutual recognition of diplomas would have a significant impact on their lives, 51% of respondents in the Presevo Valley have opined”, Islami said.

When it comes to trust in the Kosovo Government, the survey says Albanians from Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac trust this institution more than Serbs in the north of Kosovo. That difference is huge, 64.3% compared to 1.28%. Residents in the north trust the Government of Serbia more, but that level is also low, while trust in Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is low in both regions, according to the survey.

The survey also said that the level of trust of Serbs from northern Kosovo in the Serbian List has decreased, both in local and in political representatives as a whole.

Respondents also answered questions about trust in international institutions, so the data show that in the Presevo valley they trust NATO the most, while Serbs in the north have the most trust in the UN and Russia.

A total of 350 Serbs from the north and 700 Albanians from the south of Serbia took part in the survey. 

Kovacevic: Reconciliation between two peoples is solution (Radio KIM, N1)

An author and Chairman of the Serbian Assembly Committee for Culture, Sinisa Kovacevic said today he thinks the solution to the Kosovo issue is reconciliation between Serbs and Albanians, adding that Kosovo is both, Serbian and Albanian, media report.

He also said it was a classical spin that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic accepted the so-called European plan for Kosovo noting “that there can be no political model in which by clearly declared verbal stance before two persons one could draw a line in front of the existence of your country”.

“Do you know what it means for Serbia if we agree to Vucic’s acceptance that Kosovo is not ours any longer? According to assessments of some European diplomats it would take eight to ten years of the implementation of that plan so until 2033 Kosovo to definitely secede. Who will be the biggest guarantor of that implementation, if not the one who has negotiated that and signed it (…)”, Kovacevic said.

Asked what would happen if Serbia rejects the European plan Kovacevic told Novi Dan broadcast – that nothing will happen – despite warnings from President Vucic that Serbia will become isolated and left without investments.

“To my great sadness, there are 15 percent of the citizens of this state who would renounce 15 percent of the territory”, he said.

According to him, reconciliation between Serbs and Albanians is a key to the solution. “Kosovo is Serbian and Kosovo is Albanian”, he added.

Speaking of the planned protest against the European plan scheduled on March 17, a day ahead of the planned Ohrid meeting to discuss implementation of this plan, Kovacevic said he fears there will be and won’t be many participants there.

“When there are a lot of people it is difficult to channel all that energy under circumstances of such a sensitive situation”, he said.

Commenting on the plans of opposition to request stance of Constitutional Court on President’s Vucic acts regarding European proposal and schedule an extraordinary Parliament session to discuss the plan, Kovacevic said it would be very difficult for the opposition to gather signatures of 84 MPs needed for these proceedings to materialise, however, “if you have sworn that by all means you will defend the state integrity, you have no right that 15 percent of your territory secede”, he said. 

On 8 March women in Pristina and Belgrade march (KoSSev)

March the 8, a day dedicated to women and a day that marks their struggle for equality. And women today don’t just get gifts and flowers, they also march. Now traditionally, the March 8th march was announced in Belgrade, and it was already held in Pristina. The goal is to point out the position of women in society and the (dis)respect of their rights.

In the morning, the collective “We march, we don’t celebrate” started a walk through the streets of Pristina, reported portal KoSSev. 

During the march, they shouted the same slogans, and their performance this year was focused on the violence that husbands commit against their wives, which they attributed, among other things, to the negligence of the judicial authorities in Kosovo.

Therefore, the slogan this year was “We march, we do not celebrate, for a life without violence against girls and women.”

“Like every March 8th, this year we are organising a protest against the patriarchal-capitalist, heteronormative, transphobic and racist oppressive system,” Kallxo reported, citing the statement of this collective. 

This year’s participants condemn gender violence in several dimensions:

“Starting from work and the feminization of poverty, sexual, psychological and physical violence to institutional violence that continues to asymmetrically oppress women, turning them into more vulnerable and poorer subjects.”

One of the victims of this type of violence spoke at the march, publicly presenting her story.

“After my report, even though the ex-husband was accused of a criminal offence in 2021, the prosecutor’s office released him into the regular proceedings. He harassed me again in that regular procedure, after which he was sent to detention where he spent three months and was released with an apology and admission of guilt. Still, the worries and provocations did not stop, as did all the violence towards me. Despite the evidence that I provided to the Court, about the violence that was done to me and that I feel, the sentence that my ex-husband received from the Basic Court in Glogovac is too low. Until he is adequately punished, I will not feel safe because his threats, even in the presence of the judge, have not stopped.”

Symbolically, the march started in front of the Palace of Justice in Pristina, from where the participants planned to go to the building of the Kosovo Police.

In front of both buildings, they threw torches emitting red and black smoke, as a sign of protest against the “inappropriate treatment given by the Kosovo police to cases of violence against women.”

They continued to the Kosovo government building, where they parted ways.

On the other hand, in Belgrade, the “Informal Network of Feminist and Women’s Groups and Independent Activists” will also organize a protest march today – for women’s labor rights and a salary for life called “Dignity. Salary. Life.”

The planned gathering place is the Plateau on Square Slavija at 5:30 p.m, KoSSev reported, citing Danas daily.

The procession starts at King Milan Milan Street at 6 p.m. and ends at the Prostor Miljenko Dereta at around 8 p.m., where the end of the march and gathering are planned.

As the organizers point out, some of the demands of the protest will be eight-hour working hours, non-working holidays and weekends, dignified wages and working conditions.

They said that also it is necessary for new digital forms of work to be regulated according to fair principles and in the service of labor rights, as well as for society to take over the burden of work in the field of care and health, which until now has “predominantly remained women’s unpaid work on which the reproduction of labor power rests”.

The organizers also state that it is necessary for institutions to adequately and timely work on prevention and adequate response in cases of gender-based violence.

They point out that “the neoliberal state returns women primarily to the role of mother, caregiver and unpaid domestic worker, contributing to the overall oppression and stigmatization of women, lesbians, trans persons, Roma women, women with disabilities and members of other marginalized groups, aiming at limiting the freedom to decide about their own bodies and promoting an exclusively heteronormative form of family”.

The press release reminds that “without adequate wages, dignity and social protection, there is no way out of the situation of violence, and that daily black statistics show us that violence against women is undiminished”, reported KoSSev. 

“Roma women, women with disabilities and trans women suffer a special level of discrimination during employment and work in Serbia – they work in underpaid positions or are not given the opportunity at all. Women are expected to manage the household in times of crisis and to make up for the lack of basic resources for family life with additional work. We are constantly witnessing the collapse of acquired labor rights and an increase in unemployment. Women work in lower paid jobs, advance more slowly, and carry a far greater burden. Public health and education become available to those who can pay for it,” the announcement states, among other things.

Opinion 

More on the European agreement, Waiting for March 18/24 (KoSSev)

By Dragutin Nenezic

Some things about the European agreement have become clearer since last Monday, and I received plenty of comments, criticisms and questions, therefore, I decided to attempt to paint a clearer picture compared to my previous analysis, as well as to answer some questions that were asked. This article is a little longer than normal, but I believe that this topic cannot and should not be dealt with lightly.

For those who like short and quick answers:1) This agreement, which is otherwise poor in content, will be carried out with or without a signature; it was basically accepted, but in order for it to be implemented in its entirety, an implementation plan must also be accepted, which will not change it for the better.2) As a result of Pristina’s implementation, an overall bad deal has the potential to be even worse for Serbs, the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) and property in Kosovo, which other constitute ‘red lines’ for any policy on Kosovo. 3) Should the agreement be implemented as envisaged on paper, Serbia will permanently renounce its sovereignty over Kosovo and Metohija in the international sphere – the harmful consequences of which will become clear only later. 4)Finally, sooner or later, we will have to face the consequences of the discrepancy between the relationship toward Kosovo and Metohija at the level of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council and the international sphere.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/41RinLM

Humanitarian/Development

Regional documentaries on media and journalism you must watch: What makes a good documentary? (seenpm.org)

Film theoretician Bill Nichols wrote of six types of documentaries—poetic, expository, reflexive, observational, performative, and participatory—each with distinctive characteristics. It is about the way you tell your story.

Read more at:https://bit.ly/3Yqo549