Albanian Language Media:

• Lajcak tomorrow in Kosovo, on Friday in Serbia (RTK)
• Von Cramon: Kosovo continues to prove its democratic capacities (Kosovapress)
• The European Parliament approves report on Kosovo (Koha)
• Kurti vows to Kosovo Police not to stop seeking justice for war crimes (media)
• Osmani meets Senate Majority Leader; “gratitude for continued US support” (media)
• Kurti: Local governments in some cases used for opposition against central govt (Koha)
• Bislimi on Berishaj: An intellectual’s name is dragged for political profits (Kosovapress)
• Citaku reacts: A totalitarian mindset is a threat, not the Constitution (Nacionale)

Serbian Language Media:

• Stano: Lajcak in Pristina tomorrow, in Belgrade on Friday (N1)
• Decision on expropriation of land in Leposavic and Zubin Potok adopted (Radio KIM)
• Petkovic reacts to Pristina’s decision on expropriation (KoSSev)
• Pantic’s house arrest extended for two months (KoSSev, NMagazin, Beta) 
• Cvijetin Milivojevic: ”The West does not mediate, it commands the negotiations, we must be patient, the solution is a real compromise” (Radio Mitrovica sever)
• Vucic announced ‘’the largest ever’’ gathering on 26 May (media)
• Opposition reactions to Vucic’s gathering on May 26 (media)
• Opposition in front of REM submitted printed resignations; announced new protests (N1, nova.rs)
• Opposition requests Parliament session on security situation (FoNet, N1)
• Rasic and Rexhepi dissatisfied with budget allocated for non-majority communities (Radio KIM)
• Odalovic expects a meeting soon regarding the formation of a joint commission on the missing (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)
• Vucic met USAID Administrator Power (Tanjug)
• Bilcik: Serbia needs to improve in some areas (N1)

International:

• Serbia Imposes Tough Restrictions After Mass Shootings (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media  

Lajcak tomorrow in Kosovo, on Friday in Serbia (RTK)

Just one week after the high-level meeting between Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels, tomorrow (Thursday) the EU emissary for dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, is coming to Pristina.

Except for his meetings with Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Kosovo and President Aleksandar Vucic in Serbia, Lajcak, will also meet with the chief negotiators, Besnik Bislimi and Petar Petkovic, in order to prepare the next meeting at the level of chief negotiators.

This visit comes at a time when the government of Kosovo dismissed from office the management team that drew up the draft statute of the Association and harsh criticisms between the spokesperson of the EU Peter Stano, and the Kosovar officials, regarding this issue.

Stano said that the dismissal of that team should be done after the issue of the Association is completed, while Kosovar officials criticized Stano that he is able to talk about something like this, but not about the lobbying that Serbia is doing to the detriment of Kosovo for new recognition and which is prohibited according to the annex to the Ohrid agreement.

The speaker of the parliament Glauk Konjufca also said that if the Association aims to defunctionalize Kosovo from within, then Kosovo has no reason to participate in the dialogue.

Von Cramon: Kosovo continues to prove its democratic capacities (Kosovapress)

Rapporteur for Kosovo at the European Parliament, Viola von Cramon, said today that Kosovo has achieved important results in the fight against corruption and organised crime and that it is continuing to prove its democratic capacities. 

During a discussion of the report on Kosovo for 2022, she said that the report looks into the reforms and achievements of Kosovo and that Europe is finally opening its doors for Kosovo’s citizens to travel visa-free.

“Last year was a challenging year for all. As we saw the horrors of war returning to Europe, the Kosovo Government, knowing very well these horrors, showed full solidarity with Ukraine, by supporting EU sanctions and welcoming Ukrainian journalists, for which I thank them deeply”.

Von Cramon said: “Our report touches only the surface of challenges and issues that await Kosovo, but it also clearly outlines the successes and what needs to be done in the areas of democracy, fight against corruption and organised crime, energy, and the environment. So I am going to describe only three key processes, the rule of law, freedom of the media, the EU-facilitated dialogue, and the energy transition. Kosovo continues to prove its democratic capacities by having a pluralist political environment, which is demonstrated with free and fair elections. The media setting is also better compared to other countries in the region, but it is important for reporters to remain independent. Important results have been achieved all over Kosovo in the fight against corruption and organised crime”.

Von Cramon said that the five non-recognizing EU member states must change their position on Kosovo in order to have long-term stability in the Western Balkans. “It is important that we continue putting pressure on Spain, Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia, because for stability in our continent, it will be important how we act toward our neighbours in the Western Balkans too … It is important that we do our job in order to achieve stability,” she said.

The European Parliament approves report on Kosovo (Koha)

The European Parliament approved on Wednesday the European Commission’s report on Kosovo for the past year. The report welcomed Kosovo’s application for membership in the European Union.

It has also called on the EU member states that have not yet recognized Kosovo, to do so without further delay and pave the way for Kosovo in the European progress.

A day before, MEPs debated the developments in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue. The European Parliament has asked Kosovo and Serbia to prioritize dialogue in order to advance in the European path.

The rapporteur for Kosovo Viola von Cramon, who implied the proposed text, expressed her satisfaction with the completion of the visa liberalization process.

“I have been compiling reports on Kosovo since 2019, constantly expressing the hope that free movement will be ensured. Now I can say that Europe finally opened its doors to Kosovo as well,” she said during the debate.

On Wednesday, the resolution for Serbia was also approved. Regret was expressed for the non-adjustment of this country’s positions in the EU’s policy, especially regarding the EU’s sanctions against Russia.

Resolutions of the European Parliament are not binding on member countries.

Kurti vows to Kosovo Police not to stop seeking justice for war crimes (media)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, today paid a visit to the Kosovo Police, during which he reiterated his commitment not to stop seeking justice for war crimes. He added that the crimes committed during the war in Kosovo are not prescribed nor do they become obsolete.

“Serbia must be held responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Kosovo. “There is no bigger priority than the truth and justice for the crimes committed during the war, not only for this generation, but also for future generations,” he said.

Prime Minister Kurti singled out the importance of implementing the law on trial in absentia as well as the Law on the establishment of the Institute for crimes committed during the war, which the government has sent to Parliament for approval.

Speaking about justice for the victims and society related to the crimes of sexual violence, used as a weapon of war in Kosovo, the Prime Minister said that joint commitment should be increased in overcoming the obstacles towards increasing the number of punishments by the courts in Kosovo.

He emphasized the importance of adopting the declaration for missing persons, with which, after 24 years of denial, Serbia accepts the crime of enforced disappearance during the war in Kosovo.

He singled out the agreement to open the archives from Serbia, ‘since forced disappearances during the war were crimes committed by the state of Serbia.’

He also emphasized the agreement to use satellite data, LIDAR and other technologies in the discovery of potential mass graves in the territory of Serbia.

Osmani meets Senate Majority Leader; “gratitude for continued US support” (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in a Twitter post today that she met with U.S. Senate Majority leader Senator Chuck Schumer. “Always a pleasure to meet Senate Majority Leader Senator Schumer and to reaffirm the longstanding partnership between our two countries. Expressed my gratitude for continued US support and discussed ways in which we can step up cooperation with the Senate,” Osmani tweeted.

After meeting Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, Osmani said they discussed “the potential of strengthening the unique bond between Kosovo and the United States”. “As we look to take concrete steps towards Euro-Atlantic institutions, we are grateful to count on the support of our American partners,” she added. Escobar tweeted after their meeting: “Today I had the honour of meeting with Vjosa Osmani, the President of Kosovo and an inspiring head of state. It was wonderful to speak about our countries’ promising relationship and ongoing defence and security cooperation.”

Osmani also met with the U.S. House Majority leader, Steve Scalise, and said that “coordination between democracies is not only crucial, but paramount to effectively combat threats posed to our shared and hard-earned values … We discussed the potential for even greater cooperation with and support from the U.S.”

Kurti: Local governments in some cases used for opposition against central govt (Koha)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that in some cases the local governments are being used as an opposition against the central government. At the government meeting today, Kurti said that his government has allocated a record-setting budget for the municipalities. He said that from the Grants Commission, over €742 millions have been allocated for municipal funding.

“Next week we will hold the fourth meeting with the municipalities. There was a time when the central government was in opposition toward the local governments, and today the local governments are being used as an opposition against the central government. It was wrong then, and it is wrong now. The government belongs to all, including the municipalities, and the municipalities belong to the citizens and not to political parties,” Kurti said.

The news website notes that two days ago, the executive director of the Association of Municipalities of Kosovo, Sazan Ibrahimi, accused the government and Kurti for sidestepping the municipalities in decision-making processes and for failing to address concerns raised by the local governments.

Bislimi on Berishaj: An intellectual’s name is dragged for political profits (Kosovapress)

Kosovo’s First Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, said today that accusations against Kosovo’s Ambassador to Croatia, Martin Berishaj, are an artificial construction by political parties in Kosovo who want to score political points. “There is no court proceeding against him and it is shameful that the name of a renowned intellectual like Martin Berishaj is dragged with the hope of scoring political benefits or points. If Berishaj had a sentence against him, we could talk about this, but this is all speculation and it is apparent there is no substance there, but you can continue doing this if you think it will bring you some political points,” Bislimi said in today’s report to the Kosovo Assembly’s Committee on European Integration, after the committee head argued that Berishaj’s case is a major scandal.

Bislimi said that the Kosovo government has worked with hesitant countries on visa liberalisation and added that the EU country report has concluded that the Kurti-led government is committed to fight corruption. 

PDK MP Blerta Deliu-Kodra in her reaction said that visa liberalisation is not a merit of the current government, and that with regards to the fight against corruption, the best evidence are the arrests and scandals at the Kosovo Power Corporation (KEK) and also appointments in the boards of public enterprises. Bislimi said that there is a need to step up efforts in the fight against corruption, adding that the only sin of the suspended KEK CEO, Nagip Krasniqi, was that he increased the profit of the public enterprise. Bislimi also said that it is not wrong if skilled people who prove themselves are appointed in the boards of public enterprises.

Citaku reacts: A totalitarian mindset is a threat, not the Constitution (Nacionale)

Deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Vlora Citaku, reacted to a Facebook post by Vetevendosje MP Adnan Rrustemi who said on Tuesday that the opposition is continuously threatening the government with the Constitutional Court. Citaku wrote: “So in power have a party which sees the division of powers and the constitutional order of the Republic of Kosovo as a threat. In liberal democracies, the Constitution and the law serve as a vanguard that limit the desires, ambitions and at times delirium of irresponsible politicians. The Constitution is not a threat. A totalitarian mindset is”.

Serbian Language Media 

Stano: Lajcak in Pristina tomorrow, in Belgrade on Friday (N1)

European Commission spokesperson Petar Stano said on Wednesday that European Union envoy Miroslav Lajcak will visit Pristina and Belgrade this week.

“I can confirm that he (Lajcak) will be in Pristina tomorrow and Belgrade on Friday,” he said.

“EU Special Representative Lajcak travels regularly to the region and visits Pristina and Belgrade frequently, especially following High Level meetings in Brussels to follow up on and take forward what was decided or agreed in Brussels and prepare next steps and meetings. In this context I can confirm he will be in Pristina tomorrow and Belgrade on Friday,” Stano told reporters.

Decision on expropriation of land in Leposavic and Zubin Potok adopted (Radio KIM)

The Kosovo Government at today’s session adopted a draft preliminary decision on expropriation of land in Leposavic and Zubin Potok municipalities, necessary for, as they said, implementation of “the projects of public interest”. Decision was adopted by a majority of votes, while Minister for Communities and Returns, Nenad Rasic abstained, Radio KIM reports.

The decision was presented by deputy minister of environment, spatial planning and infrastructure Avni Zogijani and refers to cadastral zones of Sarska Bistrica, Lesak, Kosutovo in Leposavic municipality and cadastral zones of Brnjak, Zubin Potok, Veliki Breg, Banje, Gornji Jasenovik in Zubin Potok municipality. According to him the department for expropriation dealt with complaints of affected owners, made an assessment that “all legal provisions were met” and decided to send the decision to the Kosovo government for further procedure. It was also said that assessment of the value of the affected properties will be carried out.

Radio KIM recalled that expropriation of land in Leposavic and Zubin Potok municipalities was conducted without consultations with owners, and public debates on the topic that should be held prior to making a decision were held two weeks after the actual decision was made. Residents and affected owners demanded those decisions be annulled. They also strongly oppose the intention of the Pristina authorities to build bases of the Kosovo special police at their properties, while some of the owners said they will not allow confiscation of their properties. They also engaged a legal team to defend the interests of the owners and filed complaints to the courts.  

Petkovic reacts to Pristina’s decision on expropriation (KoSSev)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic condemned the decision of the Kosovo Government on land expropriation in Leposavic and Zubin Potok municipalities adopted today, KoSSev portal reports.

Petkovic termed the decision as unilateral, illegal and illegitimate, adding that by doing so “Albin Kurti again took a step aiming at destabilisation of the situation on the ground”.

“Obviously Kurti does not care about easing the tensions, dialogue and normalisation, on the contrary with new institutional pressure and threats to survival and remain of the Serbian people, he wishes to expel Serbs from their century-old places”, Petkovic said.

He also said the decision represents “a confiscation of the land owned by Serbs” so that Kurti could “illegally build his so-called military and police bases and fortifications in the north of Kosovo and Metohija”.

He also said it has become clear now that belated public discussions on expropriation in Leposavic and Zubin Potok were just a charade staged by Pristina for the international community.

He added that Serbian people will oppose Pristina’s decision by peaceful and legitimate means.

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija will also inform all relevant international representatives and missions in Kosovo, as well as the EU mediator in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak about this latest Pristina’s decision. 

Pantic’s house arrest extended for two months (KoSSev, NMagazin, Beta) 

Former member of the Kosovo police, Dejan Pantic’s house arrest was extended for two more months, his lawyer Ljubomir Pantovic confirmed for KoSSev.

Pantic was a member of the Kosovo police until November, when the Serbs left the Kosovo institutions, and was arrested a month later at the Jarinje crossing, that portal recalled. 

He was accused, according to earlier statements by the Kosovo authorities, of organising an attack on the premises of the Central Election Commission in the North of Kosovo on December 6, 2022, which he denied.

On the same day that he was arrested, the Serbs in the north erected barricades, and one of the demands for their removal was the release of Pantic, or at least that he be placed under house arrest.

From the moment of his arrest, until December 28, when the court ordered his house arrest, Pantic stayed in improvised detention in the newly built base of the Kosovo police near the Jarinje crossing.

The day after the adoption of this measure, the Serbs began removing the barricades.

Cvijetin Milivojevic: ”The West does not mediate, it commands the negotiations, we must be patient, the solution is a real compromise” (Radio Mitrovica sever)

An essential compromise is the only solution to the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, which means that both sides have to gain something and lose something, they both have to feel as winners and losers at the same time, said political scientist and journalist Cvijetin Milivojevic in Kosovska Mitrovica. He believes that the solution should not be rushed, but rather wait for the unravelling of some larger and far more serious political-military conflicts at the global level. The trouble is when you declare a people a minority unwillingly without their consent, he adds, and evaluates the EU’s mediation in the dialogue conducted in Brussels as – not mediation but commanding the dialogue, reported Radio Mitrovica sever. 

Milivojevic pointed out, participating in the panel discussion “COUNTDOWN – Positions of the Serbian community on current issues”, that there is no essential dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, and that the reason for this is the bad mediation of the EU, i.e., the unwillingness of this organisation to mediate but to serve ready-made solutions.

“We do not have a dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. Unfortunately, we haven’t had it since the moment when the Serbian negotiating delegation, in a race against time, in April 2013, accepted, I won’t say the first, but the second offered a solution. Don’t forget, the Serbian delegation had a promise from Brussels that Serbia would open negotiations on EU membership by St. Vitus. It will turn out later that the Serbian delegation had a promise, and those negotiations were opened almost two years later.”

Milivojevic states that the platforms on which negotiations and agreements are based, come from a side that has long since decided what the future of Kosovo will look like, and that is independence. As Milivojevic says, Serbia is fatalistically attached to those platforms, and he sees this as a problem. According to the political scientist, in conditions where the Community of Serbian Municipalities has been awaited for ten years to form, as the most important moment in the entire Brussels agreement, Serbia should better ask itself whether it makes sense to negotiate further?

“That is the responsibility of the Serbian negotiators. To ask whether it makes sense to negotiate when we know that the EU does not have any original mandate to mediate. It has a borrowed mandate given to it by the UN Security Council with the consent of all five permanent members. If you did not succeed for ten years, return that mandate to the one who gave it to you,” says Milivojevic.

The further course of the dialogue takes place according to the so-called ”the German-French proposal”, which Milivojevic believes is ”German-French-American”.

“We have seen from the beginning that the chief mediator in those negotiations is not Scholz, not Macron, who are identified as the alleged authors of that proposal, but Escobar. How come Americans when it is a French-German proposal?”.

Compromise, he believes, is the key word, and the best proof that when the Americans decide to reach a compromise solution – they can do it – is Bosnia and Herzegovina, which in every sense is a more drastic example than Kosovo – both in terms of the severity of the war conflict and in terms of ethnic complexity. According to Milivojevic, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a good example when it comes to solving the problem of licence plates. Using neutral symbols in the form of common Cyrillic and Latin letters and numbers that are not related to the municipality of issuing the plates, turned out to be the perfect solution. In fact, Milivojevic considers any solution not imposed as a good one. 

“Even the status quo is a better solution, than an imposed solution,” he says, adding that Cyprus is the best example of that.

“The EU did not mind accepting Cyprus into the EU. When there is a will, a solution is found. If there is a willingness. Now, everything depends on the Western powers because they command the negotiations. That’s not mediation, that’s commanding the so-called. negotiations”.

He says that his advice at this moment would be – patience.

“Let’s be patient, people. As we all know and see, many global conflicts, including the one in Ukraine, what is happening around China and Taiwan, will not be resolved on the Pristina-Belgrade or Kyiv-Taipei route, nor on the Washington-Moscow route. Let’s not rush anywhere,” says Milivojevic.

Professor Aleksandar Corac, a member of the SNF, also participated in the panel discussion, who believes that the entire military-political saga of Kosovo from the beginning to the present is accompanied by hypocrisy.

“It is a word that can mark the entire period after the arrival of the international forces, and when I say that I am not excluding myself, as a member of the Serbian people.

I’m talking about the social framework that led to the point where the Albanian struggle for some rights, through hypocrisy, developed into the restraint of what they fought for among other nations,” says Corac and notes that it is present all the time with all international factors without exception, and finally and with the Serbs, that we are ready to give everything for Kosovo and Metohija, and that, as he says, the limit of the people’s willingness to sacrifice has fallen very low.

The panel discussion was preceded by the presentation of the results of the research conducted in March by the organisation Human Center Mitrovica, about the views of the Serbian community on current issues and opportunities in Kosovo. 

The data show that 29% of respondents currently feel completely unsafe in Kosovo. 38% somewhat unsafe, 32% somewhat safe, while only 1% of respondents consider it completely safe.

When it comes to applying the solution for licence plates, 51% of citizens feel cheated, 40% of them do not support the solution and only 2% think that it is okay.

When asked how they feel about the establishment of police bases in the north, 36% of respondents answered that they are “a serious security threat to the Serbian community.”

Acceptance of the French-German proposal is considered by 35% of people as an “act of treason” and only 1% believes that it is a “good direction to follow”. As many as 79% of the respondents believe that the negotiations should be led by “the most capable with the participation of representatives of Serbs from Kosovo”.

The same percentage of surveyed citizens answered the question of whether they feel safe to publicly express their opinion – with no.

During the research, 300 citizens of Serbian nationality from the entire territory of Kosovo were interviewed – 175 from the north and 125 citizens living in other parts of Kosovo.

Vucic announced ‘’the largest ever’’ gathering on 26 May (media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced last night he will organise on May 26 “the largest gathering ever held in Serbia” outside the Serbian Parliament building or at the Republic Square, reported Serbian media.

In a video message Vucic told the people that “the sadness, grief and pain are not going away.”

“Sadness for the lost children, sorrow for the lost people, wonderful people who were not guilty of anything. Following a heavy blow, we had to launch an operation and we collected almost 3,000 pieces of weapons today alone and proved that we are capable of fighting for peace, saving human lives and changing many things,” said Vucic, reported Vecernje Novosti.

The President accused his political rivals of “brutally abusing the tragedy” and of “scheduling their political gatherings during the days of mourning with one goal only, and that is to use violence and grab power through violence.”

“They made no effort to hide it, they just showed their true face to everyone, one that we once often used to talk about. In spite of everything we again said we stand at their disposal; we are prepared to talk about big and important changes in the state. They did not want to hear us, they wouldn’t listen because they think that now is the time for them to come to power without elections and the people’s will, knowing that the people in Serbia never wanted them and never will,” said the Serbian President.

He added that he is prepared to discuss “all topics, the media, reality shows, police participation, police non-participation, resignation of various officials or not, and for this also to be discussed in the Parliament.”

“None of this sufficed and will never suffice. Their only goal is to violently seize power and to lead Serbia into chaos, instability, unrest, and riots. This is precisely why we reached an agreement this evening and we invite all Serbian citizens to come on May 26, a day before major and important decisions for Serbia, to the largest gathering ever held in Serbia. It will take place outside the Parliament building or at the Republic Square,” said Vucic.

Opposition reactions to Vucic’s gathering on May 26 (media)

The president of the Movement of Free Citizens, Pavle Grbovic, assessed that the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, invited “one group of citizens to oppose another group of citizens” by calling for a rally on May 26 in Belgrade.

“The president of all citizens called one group of citizens to gather in order to oppose another group of citizens. No nation deserves this,” Grbovic wrote on Twitter.

Democratic Party MP Srdjan Milivojevic stated that Vucic, by announcing the biggest protest ever in Belgrade, “invites all opponents of this mafia regime to protest on Friday, May 12.”

He stated on Twitter that “fear has paralyzed the regime”, and that, as he wrote, “this (Serbia) is no longer his private state as of yesterday!”

People’s Party MP Vladeta Jankovic told N1 today that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Sapic, even though the mass crime happened a few hundred metres away from their offices, did not appear in front of Elementary school “Vladislav Ribnikar”, to light a candle and sign into the book of mourning. 

”Exactly seven days ago, the greatest horror that we could not even imagine happened to us. For the first time in Serbia, a child killed children. Experts, analysts, politicians, experts discuss what causes and consequences are. As the only adequate reaction, citizens in several cities in Serbia took to the streets in the fight against violence, and its promotion in the public. On the same day, instead of offering a solution and appeasing the public, the state counts the participants of the gatherings and reduces their number. Just a day after that, the president, in an address on social networks, invited his supporters to the largest gathering in Serbia ever on May 26. Why? Do we still need new divisions, proving and showing power after tragic events?” reported N1

He believes that Vucic’s motive for every address is only one – how to stay in power.

“He is constantly watching how public opinion reacts. And in the last half year, one year, it has shifted a lot from those who are against the death penalty to those who are in favour of its reintroduction. And then, listening to that, to please the voters, he said that he would be in favour of bringing back the death penalty. By the way, it’s excluded, it can’t be done. When you add it all up, you see that it was a dangerous and wicked message,” Jankovic points out.

“That man did not deign to go and sign the mourning book and light a candle in front of that school. He can go to embassies, Russian, English, after accidents, and write in the book of mourning, but here he does not have the courage to appear. This is because he is afraid to appear in front of the people. He is afraid of being whistled at. There would have to be a huge amount of security. Look at Ana Brnabic, that martyr. Eight children are killed 150 metres from her office, and she does not deign to come, light a candle, and write in the mourning book. But she will go to Buckingham Palace. A mass murder happened a few hundred metres from her office, and she did not appear at the scene of the crime to sign in the book of mourning. And what about Sapic? Where is he… Those are the wretches,” said Jankovic.

He believes that the protests must continue and that “we must not go for too broad list of demands.”

“You must not ask for things that are impossible. What they are looking for is too broad. You cannot ask for the resignation of Vucic, you cannot ask for the resignation of the government. But you can get some other things. You should concentrate on one or two things that can be obtained. It’s REM, to stand in REM’s way. That the national frequency should be freed up and given to a television station that is not affiliated with the government. That would be something that can be achieved,” warned Jankovic.

He recalls that the protests during Milosevic’s time to admit the theft of the election lasted as long as three months, and he wonders how long the new one against Vucic will last, with such “broad” demands. He also estimates that protests can spread throughout Serbia.

“Each of these people who were at the protest in Belgrade are going somewhere inland. Everyone has someone. That voice travels. There are also clips on social networks. There are also pictures of how it really was. I believe it can be expanded. But it is a very important condition that the opposition cooperate with each other,” said Jankovic.

He warns that this power (government) is “poisonous” and that “gentle grounding can hardly be achieved”.

“They know that. And there is the main danger. This is the reason for their deep anxiety… It is obvious that their support is declining. Research says so. It is clear that they are falling apart. They also have mutual problems. It’s all related,” said Jankovic.

As a key issue in the negotiations between the opposition and the authorities, he sees the question of whether it is possible to get a free frequency.

“It is a key thing, because the government will rush to the elections before the channel is freed. If the channel is freed, then the possibilities are open for Vucic to fall from power peacefully,” Jankovic concluded.

The opposition in front of REM submitted printed resignations; announced new protests (N1, nova.rs)

Media reported that today representatives of the opposition parties gathered in front of REM, where they handed in the resignations of the Council members of that institution.

“We gathered in order to hand over the printed resignations of that institution to the members of that institution. It’s about a request from the Protest Against Violence,” said Radomir Lazovic, one of the leaders of ‘Ne davimo Beograd’.

He stated that the only response that the members of the REM Council can do is to resign and stated that the TV Pink and Happy subtraction of frequencies were requested.

Lazovic also recalled all the demands that the opposition presented at the protest and recalled that on Tuesday they asked the President of the Assembly, Vladimir Orlic, for an emergency session of the Assembly of Serbia.

He announced that on Thursday they will go in front of the Government building during the session and present the resignations to the MIA Minister Bratislava Gasic and BIA (Security Information Agency) Director Aleksandar Vulin at Nemanjina 11.

All the time, they will be calling citizens to a new protest, which is planned for Friday, reported Nova.rs.

“Let Serbia stop on Friday at 6 p.m. Please convey the request to the citizens to actively join the protest, to inform all neighbours, friends, colleagues that it is necessary to fight. The protest was organized by everyone who organized the previous protest,” said Lazovic and added that he did not want to talk about the details because of the “manipulation of the protest in the public”.

All the details of the protest, the route it will take and the plans, he says, will be announced at a press conference in front of the Government of Serbia on Thursday.

“I would ask everyone not to deal with who is there, who is not, the citizens understand that they should be there. There will be protests in other cities as well, Serbia will really stop if the demands are not met,” Lazovic emphasized.

Opposition requests Parliament session on security situation (FoNet, N1)

MPs of a number of opposition parties submitted Tuesday an initiative to the Parliament Speaker for an urgent session of the Parliament to discuss the Serbian Government report on the security situation in the country following the tragedies in Belgrade’s Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school and in the town of Mladenovac, FoNet news agency reports.

Heads of MP caucuses of the People’s Party, Democratic Party, the Green Left Front, Don’t Let Belgrade D(r)own – We Must and United assembled outside Parliament speaker Vladimir Orlic’s office to hand in the initiative, which, they say, was signed by 84 MPs, including representatives of the Dveri Movement, Hope and Oathkeepers.

According to People’s Party MP Miroslav Aleksic Serbian Parliament speaker Vladimir Orlic refused to receive them in his office so they could discuss scheduling the session. Prior to the media conference the opposition MPs pasted their request on the wall outside Orlic’s office.

Aleksic called on the people to attend in large numbers the ‘Serbia Against Violence’ protest scheduled for Friday, May 12, if the protest organisers’ demands are not met.

Rasic and Rexhepi dissatisfied with budget allocated for non-majority communities (Radio KIM)

A minister and deputy prime minister in the Kosovo Government dealing with communities, Nenad Rasic and Emilija Rexhepi made remarks regarding a decision on the budget, allocated to the Office for Communities, within the PM Albin Kurti’s cabinet, Radio KIM reports.

Both opined that the allocated funds were not sufficient, adding that such a decision demonstrates what relation towards non-majority communities in Kosovo truly is.

Rasic said that half a million euros, allocated for the support to communities in Kosovo was not sufficient and that this decision would have consequences on the work of the office. He added the funds are not sufficient for the four programs, including media, non-governmental organisations but also personal support.

Emilija Rexhepi agreed with Rasic, adding that the Office for Communities within the PM cabinet does not function.

“It is everything, but the Office for Communities and we are here, Mr. prime minister, to help you as much as we need to be focused and addressed on comprehensive assistance to non-majority communities to feel equal in society and we offer cooperation to the office to make something out of it, not as is now. Considering the demands we have and the objections from all non-governmental organisations from the last year, we are afraid to enter into something like this”, Redzepi  is quoted as saying.

Odalovic expects a meeting soon regarding the formation of a joint commission on the missing (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)

The President of the Commission for Missing Persons, Veljko Odalovic, said today that he expects a meeting very soon at which the formation of a joint Commission of the Missing Persons should be discussed, as it is a prerequisite for continuing work in the field, reported Kosovo Online, citing Tanjug. 

Odalovic told Tanjug that the formation of a joint commission is a prerequisite for continuing work in the field, on locations and on restoring the entire process, which, he says, was interrupted for two years by Albin Kurti’s unreasonable policy.

“A lot of information has been shared between Belgrade and Pristina, there is also new information, and that is why I expect that we will meet as soon as possible at the working group level, and that we will share that information among ourselves, as we did it before; agree on certain dynamics, obligations, according to which dynamic we will search and check the information, and so use the weather that is coming,” he states.

Odalovic adds that the current weather is the time when it is possible to work in the field, and that by late autumn, a good part of the information and locations, for which there is information, will be checked and investigated, reported Kosovo Online.

Vucic met USAID Administrator Power (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with USAID Administrator Samantha Power on Wednesday, reiterating Serbia’s consistent commitment to continue the dialogue with Pristina, as well as its determination not to accept any unilateral decisions that are a direct threat to the rights of the Serb community in Kosovo, reported Tanjug. 

“I expressed gratitude for the assistance provided by the USAID through its programmes in the fields of boosting the competitiveness of the Serbian economy,” Vucic wrote in an Instagram post.

Vucic said the discussion with Power had also addressed “potentials for additional investments in energy infrastructure and for launching new projects aimed at comprehensive and uniform economic progress in Serbia.”

Bilcik: Serbia needs to improve in some areas (N1)

European Parliament rapporteur Vladimir Bilcik MEP said after the adopting of his report on Serbia that it touches on issues and areas where improvement is still needed, reported N1.

He said the independence of the judiciary, the fight against organized crime and corruption and the independent media environment needs to be strengthened.

Bilcik said he is encouraged by the positive signals from all relevant political parties interested in cooperating with the European Parliament to improve parliamentary culture and the recent improvement in relations between Pristina and Belgrade.

He recalled that Serbia remains the only Western Balkans candidate country that does not support EU sanctions against Russia.

“European countries in times of war must stick together on the basis of common values. We expect political leaders in Serbia to take a clear stand and condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and align with EU foreign policy.

Russia’s influence is still extensive in Serbia – in energy, security but also through the spread of disinformation- and this must change,“ said Bilcík.

International 

Serbia Imposes Tough Restrictions After Mass Shootings (Balkan Insight)

In the wake of mass shootings that rocked the country, police have arrested dozens for social media posts, more police will be deployed in schools, gun licences will be slashed and – controversially – some police departments have told schools to compile lists of problematic pupils.

After two mass shootings last week that took 17 lives and injured another 20 people, Serbia has started imposing tough and in some cases controversial restrictive measures, including arrests for social media posts that appear to advocate violence, a push for more police in schools and even demands for lists of “anti-social” school pupils.

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