Albanian Language Media:

• Osmani: Equality in employment for all, without distinction (media)
• Kurti: There is no increase in energy prices, KESCO and ERO address for complaints (media)
• Osmani: Order for terrorist attack in Banjska came from Vucic himself (RTV21)
• Government considers it difficult to fulfill criteria for removal of mayors in north (media)
• Tahiri: Association’s draft statute, biggest failure of this government (media)
• Rasic: Serbs in north are expressing great interest in being employed in institutions (Telegrafi)
• Kosovo removes “mysterious” cameras in municipalities with Serb majority (media)
• Turkish ambassador on Kosovo-Serbia relations: Dialogue, the only way (media)
• Dick Marty, author of Kosovo War Crimes report, dies at 78 (media)
• Kurti’s bodyguard obstructs journalist, AKJ: Uncertainty for media community (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Serbian List: Kurti’s regime illegally to confiscate the funds of citizens from northern Kosovo (Tanjug)
• Atiq with Hetemi on next year projects (KiM radio)
• KP: The organizers of a local protest involving businessmen were fined for failing to announce it in advance (KoSSev)
• Dragan Mladjovic Telegram group accusations: It will not go unpunished, the police are working on the case (KoSSev)
• Serbia allows RKS plates on its territory, EU welcomes and opposition criticizes the move, Pristina asks for more recognitions (KoSSev)

International Media:

• ‘This Barbie is the president,’ says Kosovo’s Vjosa Osmani (Politico.eu)  

Albanian Language Media

Osmani: Equality in Employment for all, without distinction (media) 

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani participated on Thursday in the meeting organized for the end of the year by the Consultative Council for Communities, where she thanked the members of the Council for their commitment to improving and strengthening the rights of communities in Kosovo. 

On her Facebook account, Osmani wrote that her commitment to the equality of all communities in Kosovo is unbroken. 

“In particular, I would like to express my full support for the latest proposal for changes in the recruitment procedures of members of non-majority communities. It is an important step towards improving their participation in public institutions, and I will be at the forefront of efforts to implement this legal change. So, equality in employment for all without distinction, because this is also my priority, this should also be the cause of our society in general”, she said. 

According to her, during this year, her office has been committed to dialogue and cooperation with the institutions to address the recommendations of the Council. 

“I assure you that this cooperation will continue in the next year and that we will give additional impetus to their implementation. In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that my commitment to the promotion and equality of all communities in Kosovo is unceasing. Together with the Council and the Secretariat, we will work with dedication for a fairer and more inclusive society for all communities”, she said. 

Osmani said that this year that we are leaving behind has been a year full of challenges and achievements, but cooperation and dedication have brought many successes and wonderful moments. 

“Let’s take this time to reflect on all the experiences and benefits of the year that is closing. I wish that your positive memories and successes become a source of inspiration for the coming year. Thank you for your irreplaceable contribution and outstanding cooperation this year. Let’s continue to work together for a brighter and more successful future”, she added. 

After the President’s speech, Deputy Chairman Petar Dordevic handed President Osmani the Recognition on behalf of the Council “For proven leadership in advancing the rights of communities in Kosovo”. 

Kurti: There is no increase in energy prices, KESCO and ERO address for complaints (media) 

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti at the inauguration ceremony of the start of works for the water supply network in the Municipality of Fushe Kosove, spoke about the issue of electricity bills. 

“If there are inflated bills, KESCO and ERO are the addresses that should address all complaints seriously and quickly, but there is no increase in the cost of electricity. When there is higher consumption, of course there is also a higher bill. There is no shortage of electricity”, he said. 

On this occasion, Kurti said that the government did not promise miracles, but correctness and responsibility, adding that they are keeping their word. 

Osmani: Order for terrorist attack in Banjska came from Vucic himself (RTV21) 

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said that some of the allied countries of Kosovo, as early as the first day after the Banjska attack, in meetings with the heads of state of Kosovo, have warned of “harsh measures in relation to Serbia if it is confirmed that Serbia as a state has been involved in this attack”. 

She went on to say that the terrorist attack in Banjska was ordered by the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic. 

“Now I am not mentioning who exactly conducted investigations, but there are completed investigations from several allied countries which have directly witnessed the involvement of Serbian state institutions, now some of them are known… the order came from President Vucic himself. it has already been proven, now we must, as we were told by the allies, wait a little longer because each of them has their own internal procedures when they make the results of investigations or conclusions public, so we are in cooperation with them. I never exclude the possibility that it is too soon to come up with such conclusions, but don’t forget we are Kosovo and we assess our interests, these are the other countries and they assess the moment more appropriately based on their interests and the way they assess the regional interests or the relations they have with both Kosovo and Serbia, as well as the discussions they have within NATO, where unfortunately we are not yet,” Osmani told RTV 21. 

 She admitted that they are disappointed with the non-response of the allied countries for measures against Serbia.  

“But of course, we do not lose hope from the discussions that I constantly have on this topic with our allies, they give us hope that such a thing will take its lead, I would say in the future, but they also have their own assessments”, Osmani said. 

Speaking about the Brussels agreement, she said that although the agreement is not perfect, it brings de facto recognition from Serbia, while repeating the position of the government of Kosovo that only the signing of the agreements guarantees implementation. President Osmani also spoke about the Association of Municipalities with a Serb Majority and the latest EU draft statute for this mechanism.   

“I do not consider it neither bad nor good but worrying about the competences of the Association of Municipalities with a Serb Majority and concerns about how to evaluate the decisions of the Association of Municipalities with a Serb Majority, but I am convinced that The Constitutional Court of Kosovo will eliminate ambiguities”, she said. 

“The content has not been accepted in its entirety without the precondition of signature, but we have comments on the draft statute and the comments have been submitted by the government of Kosovo. I have comments beyond those of the government. I think that some things are important, but I have shared them in detail with the United States of America”, she added. 

Government considers it difficult to fulfill the criteria for the removal of the mayors in the north 

Based on a report approved in the last meeting, the government considers it difficult to achieve the fulfillment of the criteria for the removal of the mayors of the municipalities through the petition. The government considers the 20% quota, which is required to give impetus to the initiative, and the voting procedure for removing the mayors, which requires the approval of the majority of registered voters, as difficult criteria. 

In the analysis report on the mechanisms of local democracy, the instruction that paves the way for the removal of the mayors through the petition, the approval of which is justified by the situation created in the north, is also addressed. 

According to the document, the practical implementation of the provision deriving from the Law on Local Self-Government is very difficult to achieve for two main reasons. 

“First, the initiative for dismissal requires a quota of 20% of registered voters, which is quite challenging to achieve. While the second, the dismissal voting procedure requires the approval of the majority of registered voters which is unattainable and can be based on the number of voters who voted in the local elections. As a result, the rigorous criteria for taking initiatives for dismissal made the strong position of the mayor of the municipality, which could be one of the factors for not undertaking an initiative for removal”, it is written in the analysis. 

The document also provides a description of the situation created in the north as a result of the boycott of the elections by Serbs, and the necessity for the creation of a legal basis that paves the way for the dismissal of the mayors. 

However, it is stated that until the drafting of this report, there is no data regarding the initiation of any initiative for dismissal of the mayors pursuant to the Administrative Instruction. 

But there have already been initiatives for the dismissal of the mayors in Leposaviq, North Mitrovica and Zubin Potok, based on the administrative instruction. 

Tahiri: Association’s draft statute, the biggest failure of this government (media) 

The Chairman of the AAK Parliamentary Group, Besnik Tahiri, held an end of the year press conference,  where he mentioned some of the key points that marked the year 2023. 

He said that the government of Kosovo has failed in several sectors, such as education, health and diplomacy. 

Tahiri mentioned the results of the PISA test, which he said were the weakest ever, and that these results represent the government’s logic in strengthening education in Kosovo. He said that the government has failed in the sector he spoke about the most. 

Tahiri also spoke about the Salary Law, which he said has reduced the salary for some categories, and for some others has increased the salary by only 10 to 20 euros. He noted that the public officials of Kosovo have the lowest salary system in the Balkans, as he added that the government of Kosovo has impoverished thepublic officials. 

The AAK MP also mentioned the Association’s draft statute, which he said is the biggest failure of this government, as he added that Prime Minister Kurti has seriously challenged the governing system of Kosovo.He expressed his conviction that the Constitutional Court will correct these mistakes. 

Rasic: Serbs in the north are expressing great interest in being employed in institutions (Tëvë 1) 

The Minister for Communities and Return in the government of Kosovo, Nenad Rasic, has said that the four northern municipalities of Kosovo, inhabited by a majority of Serbs, are facing a lack of adequate staff in institutions. He said that they are working to solve this problem and that the municipalities are helping each other with qualified staff. 

“They have the problem of engaging adequate and licensed people for the approval of new workers, and that’s where we need cooperation between municipalities with help in personnel”, Rashiq told Tëvë 1 news. 

He has expressed belief that this situation will be overcome, since according to him, every day there is a large number of citizens in the north interested to be employed in institutions. 

According to Rasic, Kosovo Serbs have not responded in large numbers to the invitation of the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, to participate in the parliamentary elections on December 17. 

Kosovo removes “mysterious” cameras in municipalities with Serb majority (media) 

The police began removing cameras in Kosovo’s Serb-majority municipalities, as official Pristina considers that they have been illegally installed in public places. More than 50 surveillance cameras were removed in the last few days only in North Mitrovica and Zubin Potok. 

In the territory of the city of North Mitrovica, which covers an area of about 11 square kilometers, 38 cameras were removed, while in Zubin Potok 13. 

“The police had no knowledge of these cameras and therefore they were removed,” said the deputy police director for the North Region, Veton Elshani, to Radio Free Europe. He said that the Kosovo authorities will install their own cameras, which will be controlled exclusively by the Kosovo Police. 

The cameras that were removed are made in China, but Elshani could not specify their model. 

According to the law in Kosovo, only the Kosovo Police has the right to install and control video surveillance in public spaces. 

In addition to the municipalities in the north, surveillance cameras “without owners” were also removed in Kllokot, Partesh and Ranillug – municipalities with a Serb majority south of the Iber River. 

Turkish ambassador on Kosovo-Serbia relations: Dialogue is the only way (media) 

Speaking about the Kosovo-Serbia tensions, the Ambassador of Turkey in Pristina, Sabri Tunc Angılı, said that “this problem has no military solution, but can be solved through dialogue”. 

Angılı said that their support for strengthening the capacities of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) in certain areas is not against any other country, including Serbia. 

Stressing that the NATO Peacekeeping Force in Kosovo (KFOR) is an indispensable force to ensure a safe environment in Kosovo, Angılı noted that there has been progress in the military capacity of this mission, after Turkey took over the command of KFOR -it for one year, since October of this year. 

Speaking about the trade relations between Turkey and Kosovo, Angılı said that “we think that if we diversify and deepen this economic cooperation, instead of seeing it only as trade, both employment and export of Kosovo will benefit. This will be one of the most important goals in Turkey-Kosovo relations in 2024: deepening and diversifying economic cooperation”. 

Angılı pointed out that Kosovo needs investments in the field of construction and energy in the coming period and emphasized that Turkish companies with their experience can be an important partner in this direction. 

“Turkish companies in Kosovo are already a significant amount of over 400 million euros. In other words, this is a figure of approximately five percent of Kosovo’s gross domestic product. Turkish companies employ more than 10 thousand citizens of Kosovo. This is the reason why a favorable model appears here”, he emphasized. 

Speaking about the importance of the population census that will be held in Kosovo in April 2024 for the Turkish community in Kosovo, Angılı said that he believes that “the Turkish community will approach the issue of the census as a national issue over politics. We hope that we will see the real number of Turks in Kosovo after the end of the census”. 

Dick Marty, author of Kosovo War Crimes report, dies at 78 (media) 

The former Swiss senator and prosecutor, Dick Marty, has died at the age of 78. The news was announced by the Swiss-Italian newspaper “Corriere del Ticino”. 

He is known for his report on Kosovo in 2011, where, as a special investigator for the Council of Europe, he claimed that KLA leaders committed crimes against humanity during the last war in Kosovo, specifically suspected organ trafficking. 

As a result of his report, the Specialized Chambers were established in The Hague by the Assembly of Kosovo a few years later, where the former leaders of the KLA are being tried on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

Some time ago, Marty said in an interview for the Swiss media that the Serbian secret services are offering money to kill him, and then to leave the blame to the Albanians. 

Dick Marty was elected to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 1999 and chaired the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights from 2005 to 2008. He retired in 2011. 

Kurti’s bodyguard obstructs journalist, AJK: Uncertainty for media community (media) 

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo has reacted after the obstruction of TV Klan’s journalist, Blerta Dalloshi – Berisha, by the close protection of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, on Thursday during the inauguration of the start of works on the water supply network in Fushe Kosove. 

“Maltreatment of journalists in this form is unacceptable, and affects the increase of insecurity for the media community in Kosovo. AJK asks the Kosovo Police to investigate the behavior of the person in question, and also from the Prime Minister to condemn this behavior and enable journalists to ask questions in the interest of the public”, says the reaction of AJK. 

Serbian Language Media 

Serbian List: Kurti’s regime illegally to confiscate the funds of citizens from northern Kosovo (Tanjug)

The Serbian List yesterday requested an urgent reaction of international representatives in order to stop the illegal decision of the PM Albin Kurti, to unlawfully take away the funds of citizens and municipalities in the north of Kosovo from the Fund for the Development of the North, reported Tanjug. 

“The decision of Albin Kurti’s regime to illegally take away funds from citizens and municipalities in the north from the North Development Fund blatantly negates and degrades the Brussels agreements that were reached in the previous period, and which must be protected by the European Union, which was the guarantor of the agreements reached.” stated in the announcement of the Serbian List.

Bearing the above in mind, Serbian List states that yesterday it sent ”a letter to the representatives of the Quint countries and the EU special representative in Pristina with a clear request to urgently stop this illegal decision by the Kurti regime, which does not respect its obligations from the Brussels negotiations, but also is doing everything to put the agreements that came out of the negotiations out of force,” Tanjug reported.

Atiq with Hetemi on next year projects (KiM radio)

The presidents of the municipalities of North Mitrovica and Leposavic, Erden Atiq and Lulzim Hetemi, held a meeting where they discussed plans and projects for the coming year, reported Kim radio. 

Atiq congratulated Hetemi on his dedication in implementing projects for the citizens of that municipality.

“I had the special pleasure of receiving the mayor of Leposavic Lulzim Hetemi for a visit today. We talked about the works that are being conducted in the municipality of North Mitrovica and the projects that we will implement in the coming year. We held discussions on issues of interest to the citizens of both municipalities. I congratulated Mayor Hetemi on his commitment to the implementation of projects for the citizens of the Leposavic municipality,” said Atiq on his FB account.

According to KiM radio, the President of Leposavic municipality Lulzim Hetemi left the municipal building in Leposavic today for the first time in seven months. 

KP: The organizers of a local protest involving businessmen were fined for failing to announce it in advance (KoSSev)

As confirmed for KoSSev, the Kosovo Police fined two of the organizers of this week’s small businessmens’ protest in North Mitrovica today in the amount of 100 euros for failing to announce the gathering in advance.

On Monday, local businessmen from the north gathered in the town square to protest the six-month ban on the entry of Serbian goods into Kosovo, as well as the intensive confiscation of those goods from markets and warehouses by the Kosovo Police and Customs. On the same day, they launched a petition, which calls for the cancellation of this measure by Pristina, which they will then forward to Kosovo and international officials. They received the support of the citizens, who attended the gathering and signed this petition.

Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/2tuvcjtb

Dragan Mladjovic Telegram group accusations: It will not go unpunished, the police are working on the case (KoSSev)

After several residents from the north, who have been singled out by the Kosovo Police as participants in the events in Banjska on September 24, denied these allegations for the KoSSev portal, the topic that has dominated in the north of Kosovo since Friday is the labeling of Serbs and accusations of treason on Telegram groups.

Last week, one of such groups, called “Patriotism” (Patriotizam), offered its followers, more than 3,000 of them, to choose “whether they think they should publish photos of Serbs who have been working against Serbs in the north of Kosovo all this time?”.

Two days after that, they published photos of a total of 13 people. 

Read more at:http://tinyurl.com/yhpaf8d5

Serbia allows RKS plates on its territory, EU welcomes and opposition criticizes the move, Pristina asks for more recognitions (KoSSev)

This week, the government of Serbia decided to enable the free movement of all vehicles from Kosovo with RKS license plates. This was announced by the director of the Office for KiM, Petar Petkovic. He furthermore claimed that it was a product of the Agreement on Freedom of Movement signed in 2011 by today’s opposition leader Borko Stefanovic.

The opposition in Serbia, on the other hand, strongly opposed the decision, interpreting it as another step towards the recognition of Kosovo after previous concessions, reminding that Serbs from Kosovo protested, blocked roads, left institutions and boycotted elections over this very issue.

The EU hailed the decision, describing it as a positive step towards the implementation of the Agreement on the path to normalization of relations. Pristina said that they forced Serbia to recognize RKS and called on the Serbian government to recognize other Kosovo documents as well.

Read more at:  http://tinyurl.com/ms9j468k

International Media

‘This Barbie is the president,’ says Kosovo’s Vjosa Osmani (Politico.eu)  

President Barbie might be the real deal after all.   

Sporting a bright pink blazer on Wednesday, Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani had a message to close out a press conference for journalists. 

“This Barbie is the president,” she said, gesturing at herself as the room erupted in applause. 

Osmani — who was elected as Kosovo’s second female president in 2021 — has been an advocate for gender equality in the small Balkan country, speaking out against violence against women and presiding over the most gender-equal Cabinet in Kosovo’s history. 

“In education, sports, culture, business, science or politics, women have demonstrated that they are capable of reaching the heights of success … To all the women and girls of the republic, today and every day: Never stop dreaming, but most importantly, never stop believing,” Osmani said in a statement on International Women’s Day this year. 

Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/ywu84m7w