Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Vucic wants to leave open the possibility of invading Kosovo (media)
• State Department: Kosovo can continue procedures to purchase Javelins (Klan)
• New pamphlets in north, police initiate case for call to resistance (Koha)
• Uglanin: Pamphlets calling for resistance, threat to population (Telegrafi)
• EU: IMC draft law should not negative effect on media freedom (RFE)
• “Postponed prohibition” of dinar, Rohde surprised “how deadlines are given without a plan?”(Nacionale)
• Gjoshi: CBK has become a shelter of Kurti’s militants (media)
• Shala: Situation in north can escalate; protest led by Belgrade-backed SL (EO)

Serbian Language Media:

• Elek: Kurti’s goal is to displace Serbs, I hope reason will prevail (Radio KIM)
• Gogic: CBK measures are phrases, they won’t ensure stable flow of funds to Serbs and Serbian institutions (Kosovo Online)
• Escobar: Unilateral moves in Kosovo will have consequences (Tanjug, RTS, KiM radio)
• Hill: We were clear about the concerns regarding the dinar ban (Tanjug, Radio Mitrovica sever)
• Leaflets for “resistance to Kurti’s police” allegedly appeared in Mitrovica North (KoSSev)
• How will elections in the USA affect Serbia? (Danas, FoNet, ipese.rs)
• Szijjarto: Serbia ready to join EU tomorrow, membership not to be conditioned with Kosovo issue (Kosovo Online, Insajder)
• Livadice victims’ commemoration on Friday (KiM radio, Kontakt plus radio, radio Mitrovica sever) 

Opinion:

• How a German journalist misinterprets unrelated facts: Dragutin Nenezic’s answer to Mihael Martens (Danas)

International:

• Former Allies Argue Over Prishtina Coalition Crisis (Prishtina Insight)
• As Serbian Journalist’s Murder Goes Unpunished, Verdict Comes Under Scrutiny (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media  

Kurti: Vucic wants to leave open the possibility of invading Kosovo (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Monday that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is not signing the Brussels Agreement in order to leave open the possibility of invading Kosovo. Kurti called for the agreement to be signed urgently. During a discussion panel titled A Storm in the Western Balkans organized by Chatham House, Kurti said: “the signing of the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia is more urgent than ever. The agreement that we have is not full because we need a bona fide agreement in order for it to have legitimacy and to be implemented. By not signing it, Vucic wants to keep open the option of invading Kosovo. I cannot see any other substantial reason behind his refusal to sign [the agreement], except this that they want to keep that door open and that they want other windows to repeat the aggression”.

“The security of Kosova and support for it is the bedrock on which our country can continue to grow,” Kurti also wrote in a post on X from the discussion.

Kurti said in his opening remarks that “being part of a new country has its many benefits because the newness is inspiring and gives you the freedom to create. I believe that our government that came out of a big election victory three years ago is an expression of that. But at the same time, being part of such a storied tradition gives you a sense of perspective that issues are greater than individuals.”

“Nowadays, we are in an ideological battlefield with very concrete consequences. Some might argue about its division and how it is exactly split, but we cannot deny that on one side, there is an authoritarian threat. This side is working by manipulating people’s fears to gain and keep more power.”

“The Western Balkans is seeing this dynamic play out very actively and vividly. There is a tendency to treat the Western Balkans like a monolith, as if it is a homogeneous region in terms of governments and people, but to understand the dynamics, I believe that we have to understand the differences. So the Western Balkan countries, although they share a lot of similarities, – social, cultural and historical – are on their individual paths. And this depends mainly from their governments.”

“You have democratic progress in Kosova, combined with economic growth and institutional stability. In contrast, in Serbia, our norther neighbour, under the rule of an authoritarian leader you have a complete captured state.”

“In the last three years, our economy has grown in a steadfast manner, with an average growth of 6.2% of GDP. We have doubled both, Foreign Direct Investments and exports, and tax revenues increased by 2/3 without changing fiscal policies, because when people see there is no corruption in the government they are more ready to contribute and pay taxes. And when they are hopeful, they are optimistic about the future, they rather spend then save which is good for their lives and our economy.”

“Then we’ve introduced social policies that didn’t exist in our country before. We’ve made public education free at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. We’ve introduced universal benefits for all children. We’ve tackled youth unemployment with a new government platform. Strengthened aid to minorities, and for the first time, the office of the Prime Minister issues all communication in Serbian language as well. This progress has been recognized internationally by different prestigious organizations. In 2023 Freedom House report ranked Kosova 1st in the Western Balkans, 2nd in Europe, and 3rd in the world for advancements in political rights and civil liberties. We improved by 22 places in just two years in the Reporters Without Borders’s World Press Freedom Index, and jumped 21 places in the Transparency International’s Corruption Index since our government took office.”

“The accountability of the government and a drive for social welfare have made integration of the Serbian community feasible. For example, the issue of license plates, which was a very burning issue. It looked very technical but was not really, because technical things get easily politicized. Over 4000 license plates from the Serbian community were registered to Republic of Kosova plates. In preparation for the Schengen visa liberalization which came into effect January 1st this year, we also saw a rise in applications for Kosova passports – for example, over 5800 in the four northern municipalities.”

See full opening remarks here: https://shorturl.at/cxLV1

See full panel discussion here: https://shorturl.at/foHZ8

Jakub Bielamowicz from the Institute of New Europe shared the following video of Kurti’s remarks from the discussion panel: https://shorturl.at/twzDN

Jasmin Mujanovic, political scientist, shared the same video under the caption “imagine just showing this video to someone who does not follow Balkan politics then having to add “the US and EU are maintaining sanctions against the govt of the guy explaining all this, but not the govt which is the most significant Russian satellite regime outside Belarus.”

State Department: Kosovo can continue procedures to purchase Javelins (Klan)

The U.S. State Department confirmed that the 30-day period of informing the U.S. Congress about Kosovo’s request to purchase the anti-tank system Javelin is over. A spokesperson for the State Department told Klan Kosova today that it is now in Kosovo’s hands to decide on plans for purchasing Javelins from the U.S.

New pamphlets in north, police initiate case for call to resistance (Koha)

Kosovo Police initiated a case for call to resistance over the pamphlets that were distributed on Monday in the north of Kosovo with instructions “how to oppose the Kosovo Police and the municipal administration”. The pamphlets were signed by a new organization called “People’s Defense”.

Police said they suspect that the pamphlets were disseminated during a protest by Serb pensioners in the north on Monday. Kosovo Police Deputy Director for the north, Veton Elshani, confirmed that the case for call to resistance was initiated. “We suspect that the pamphlets were disseminated during and after the protest and we saw them later. Following consultation with a prosecutor of the Special Prosecution, a case of call for resistance and inciting hatred was initiated. There are no suspects or arrests,” he said.

Uglanin: Pamphlets calling for resistance, threat to population (Telegrafi)

Chairman of the Municipal Assembly of Mitrovica North, Nexhat Uglanin, in an interview with the news website, commented on recent pamphlets that were disseminated in the north of Kosovo calling for resistance against Kosovo Police and the municipal administration. Uglanin said the messages are a threat to the population and also the security situation in the north of Kosovo. 

“This is certainly a threat to the population, the stability in Mitrovica North and also in other municipalities in the north of Kosovo. Those messages are destabilizing. These are different organizations that are operating and have also a presence on social media, including Facebook. As the [municipal] assembly we don’t deal with the organizations, but with legality. We have an established relationship with the police and the security structures and they guarantee security and stability for the population,” he said.

According to Uglanin, “these organizations are supported by Serbia” and that the latter “is trying to incite new tensions on the ground”.

EU: IMC draft law should not negative effect on media freedom (RFE)

The EU Office in Pristina said that changes to the draft law on the Independent Media Commission (IMC) should be made in a way that does not have a negative effect on media freedom. Ioanna Lachana, spokesperson, told the news website that the European bloc has continuously advocated for Kosovo to review the draft law so that it can be in compliance with the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive. “It is crucial for Kosovo to adopt the law swiftly through an open and transparent process with the necessary consultations that would include civil society and media organizations,” Lachana said.

Lachana also said that the EU is currently analyzing changes to the IMC draft law and would then give comments to the competent authorities. 

The news website notes that the Kosovo Journalists Association, the Kosovo Press Council, and a group of international organizations have called on the Kosovo government to withdraw from changes to the draft law which aims at the regulation of online media. They argue that the draft law is an attack against the media and expressed their concerns that the government could use this law for media censorship. The draft law was adopted by the Kosovo government in late December last year and was sent for approval to the Kosovo Assembly. The legislation foresees that online media that publish video content must be registered as businesses. With the changes, the IMC would have the mandate to monitor the work of online media that produce audiovisual content.

“Postponed prohibition” of dinar, Rohde surprised “how deadlines are given without a plan?”(Nacionale) 

The German ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde , in an interview with Nacionale said that the core of the issue is “will the Serbs receive their pension or salary this week or next week?”, and not the “unclear” declarations for a transitional period of one month, two months or three months, and that after the publication of the latest announcement of the Central Bank of Kosovo, which states that there will be a transitional period of (at most) three months for the full implementation of the new regulation that removes the dinar as a legal means of payment.

Asked by Nacionale if he does not consider the three-month postponement as a solution, Rohde said ‘I still cannot judge.’

“If you have a solution, I am the last one who would criticize it. But, until now, we have seen, on the demands of internationals, and those affected, we have seen demands; and suddenly, step by step, new announcements are appearing: One month, now three months. What we need is clarity for everyone,” Rohde told Nacionale.

See the interview here: http://tinyurl.com/mrx2drhf

Gjoshi: CBK has become a shelter of Kurti’s militants (media)

Betim Gjoshi, organizational secretary of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), in a Facebook post today claims that the Central Bank of Kosovo has “turned into a shelter of [Kosovo Prime Minister] Albin Kurti’s militants”. “Since the end of last year and during January and now in February, the CBK has worked with political orders that serve the political agenda of the ruling party. The CBK raised the white flag and handed over (the false) independence after Albin Kurti’s political order,” he said. According to Gjoshi, CBK’s independence “served Kurti to clash with Kosovo’s allies” and that it led to a session of the UN Security Council “which was like a gift from the skies for Serbia, Russia and China”.

Shala: Situation in north can escalate; protest led by Belgrade-backed SL (EO)

Drizan Shala, security commentator, argued in an interview with the news website that the protest in the north of Kosovo on Monday was not organized by Serb pensioners but by the leaders of the Belgrade-backed Serbian List, and according to him “they want to use all means to oppose every legal and legitimate decision by the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo”. 

Commenting on the recent UN Security Council session, Shala said there was a firm position by internationals that Brussels and the EU-facilitated dialogue is the venue to discuss issues between Kosovo and Serbia, including the issue of the Serbian Dinar.

Serbian Language Media

Elek: Kurti’s goal is to displace Serbs, I hope reason will prevail (Radio KIM)

Serbian List President and Clinical Hospital Centre (CHC) in Mitrovica North Director, Zlatan Elek, said Serbs during the protest yesterday sent a message that they are against all decisions of Pristina authorities, in particular against the decision to abolish dinar in payment transactions. Elek also said the goal of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurit is “to displace the Serbs and exodus to follow”, adding he hopes the reason will prevail, Radio KIM reports.

Speaking for RTS news edition Elek said Serbs have shown in the protest yesterday what they think, adding that according to the estimates they have between 6000 to 7000 people participated.

He recalled decisions and acts of Pristina authorities impacting position of the Serbian people in Kosovo, including the ban on vaccination during Covid pandemic, sports events in which clubs from central Serbia take part, newspapers, books, import of Serbian goods and food, construction of University and premise for socially vulnerable groups and at the end – abolishment of dinar and payment transactions.

We expect harsher reactions

Elek told RTS he expects adequate reactions from the international community. “International community is a guarantor of multiethnicity. We expect a harsher reaction of Quint states to influence Pristina to give up on the decision to ban dinar and allow Serbs in Kosovo to live dignified lives.

No response to petition

Elek also spoke about petitions to oust the mayors in northern municipalities. “It is with regret that I need to assess that there is no response to petitions, although more signatures than needed were collected”, he said. He added Albin Kurti does not respect his own Constitution, and that the land had not been returned to Visoki Decani Monastery yet. He also accused Kosovo Prime Minister of wanting to make the Community of Serbian Municipalities meaningless.

“Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija live in ghettos. It is a militarized zone. Serbs are mistreated, health institutions raided”, he said.

We are decisive to remain

Elek said Serbs are disenfranchised in all ways in Kosovo. “Their land is violently taken over. There is no as much as police patrols like in KiM – checkpoints where vehicles are searched are constructed. This happens in front of UNMIK eyes, there is no return of Serbs to Kosovo even after 25 years. International community and Quint states are guarantors”, he said.

“I hope the reason will prevail. For us, Serbs, Kosovo and Metohija is not a word only, but spiritual inspiration and our identity. We are determined to remain in Kosovo and Metohija”, he said.

Gogic: CBK measures are phrases, they won’t ensure stable flow of funds to Serbs and Serbian institutions (Kosovo Online)

Political analyst Ognjen Gogic said today “it is too little and too late” what Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) introduced as measures for transition period in relation to its decision to abolish dinar, adding that announced measures could have make some sense if they were implemented before decision came into force, Kosovo Online portal reports. 

He told the portal that information and adjustments for the citizens in any situation is conducted before some measure comes into effect, and then along the way some provisions or particularities are corrected.

He opined this is more a crisis management or crisis PR by the Central Bank of Kosovo by which they try to amortize the huge dissatisfaction they faced from different parts of the world, including from the states that support Kosovo and the right of CBK to regulate the currency.

According to him it will in no way contribute to the citizens and will not make the situation of Serbs easier in this case.

“Firstly, it sounds cynical that upon confiscation of dinars meant for payment of pensions and social aid, you tell citizens they can send an email. This looks like cynicism, mocking. Other things such as some measures to make it easier to open accounts, to open new branch offices, banks and other institutions in the north, all require time, these are not things that can be solved over the night. And no one said that decision will be suspended, so you are still remaining without flow of funds. And when you need to pay the bills or buy groceries no one offers a transition period to you”, Gogic siad.

He also said this issue should be discussed within the dialogue and only then we can speak about the ways to find some sustainable solution. He also warned that during the upcoming three months some provocative acts could be expected, such as preventing the work of Serbian institutions, post offices.

“Also, what has been announced, it will hardly be achieved in the upcoming three months. The issue of licensing institutions that could receive dinars, no one talks about that. Those three months are not the D Day, because the dinar has been abolished already and this period as such means nothing”, he said, adding that the main thing is to tighten the grips around dinar and Serbian institutions, and at the end around Serbs in Kosovo and cut flow of funds from Serbia to them in this or that way.  

Escobar: Unilateral moves in Kosovo will have consequences (Tanjug, RTS)

The US special envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar told Tanjug agency the country was completely clear that there could be no unilateral moves in Kosovo, and that such moves would have consequences,  reported RTS. 

Gabriel Escobar pointed out for Tanjug that, regarding Pristina’s decision to ban dinar in Kosovo, these issues should be communicated with deadlines that do not affect the population.

He said the US was completely clear that there could be no unilateral moves, and that such moves would have consequences.

“We are ready to help solve the problem, but Belgrade and Pristina must return to dialogue and respect existing agreements,” Escobar said.

According to Escobar, many of these issues could be solved by establishing the Community/Association of Serb-majority Municipalities, reported RTS. 

When asked whether the address for assistance to Serbs in Kosovo is in Brussels or Washington, he emphasizes that the USA fully supports the dialogue under the auspices of the EU, and invests all efforts to continue it, as well as that the dialogue is the only channel for solving “bilateral questions”.

“Our technical support, our economic support, and our political influence are behind it, because at the end of the day, our greatest aspiration is for Kosovo and Serbia to join the European Union. And in the meantime, to develop peaceful, productive, and efficient bilateral relations,” Escobar said.

Escobar also said on the occasion of Serbia’s Statehood Day that his wish is to continue developing friendship with the USA.

“We have done a lot in the past three years with Marko Djuric here and we want to continue with it. He has done a lot for Serbia, and we will miss him,” said Escobar, who was a guest at the reception organized by the Embassy of Serbia on the occasion of the Statehood Day in Washington, reported RTS.

Hill: We were clear about the concerns regarding the dinar ban (Tanjug, Radio Mitrovica sever)

US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill said the US government has been very clear about its concerns regarding the intention to ban dinar in Kosovo, and what it means for the people living there, reported Radio Mitrovica sever, citing Tanjug agency. 

In Washington, attending a reception on the occasion of Serbia’s Statehood Day, Hill, when asked by Tanjug to comment on Pristina’s decision that the transitional phase of the implementation of the decree banning the dinar cannot last longer than three months without withdrawing the decree, said that he did not want to enter in the details of what is currently happening in Kosovo, but that there must be an improvement in the relations between Belgrade and Pristina, i.e. “to achieve normalization”.

“We will continue to make efforts through dialogue to normalize relations, and we will see about the rest,” Hill said.

When asked if the dialogue is in the dark after Pristina’s latest moves, Ambassador Hill says that he does not want to characterize the dialogue and he leaves that to the EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak, but he believes that many problems, including the dinar, must be solved through dialogue. Hill added he thinks Serbia should be in the EU and the US wants to help it on that path.

“It’s already a long way for you and it will be until the moment you become a member, we share your aspirations and want to help,” Hill pointed out. Hill wished Serbia success, adding that Marko Djuric, who the President of Serbia announced would return to Serbia, where he will perform one of the most important functions, was an outstanding ambassador in Washington.

“I think that Ambassador Djuric created and set a positive course for relations between Serbia and the USA, and I think that the Serbian people owe him a great deal of gratitude for what he has achieved here,” said Hill, reported the radio, citing Tanjug.

Leaflets for “resistance to Kurti’s police” allegedly appeared in Mitrovica North (KoSSev)

Several groups on Telegram and later on other social platforms shared the photos of leaflets calling for “resistance to Kurti’s police” signed by “People’s Defence”. The Serbian List in a statement last night said it was a setup and urged the citizens not to fall for provocations, adding that the leaflets appeared in the evening hours yesterday.

Meanwhile, Kosovo police said their officials allegedly found leaflets in the afternoon hours, expressing suspicion that those were allegedly distributed during and after the protest in Mitrovica North yesterday.

Mitrovica North MA Chair Nedzat Ugljanin told KTV that “information from the ground is that the new organization “People’s Defence” appeared in the evening and they distributed leaflets (…)” explaining what means to be used against police and municipal administration.

KoSSev portal recalled that Kosovo police following the protest in Mitrovica North, organized against Kosovo Central Bank decision to ban dinar in payment transactions said the protest went peacefully and there were no incidents.

Where are the leaflets?

And while Kosovo police claims that they found leaflets in the afternoon hours, Serbian List that they appeared on the streets in the evening, same as Mitrovica North MA Chair, KoSSev portal said its journalists failed to find the leaflets last night.

The journalists attempted several times to find the leaflets on the streets in the city, and entrances of the buildings, but did not find them on locations they searched.

Some Telegram groups claim that leaflets allegedly appeared in postal mail boxes in Mitrovica North, but that they are also allegedly distributed in other municipalities. 

How will elections in the USA affect Serbia? (Danas, FoNet, ipese.rs)

The conclusion of the analyses of the Politics and Economy of Southeast Europe (IPESE) was that it is true that the American administration has its own continuous direction, but it emphasized that it was good for Serbia that Washington wants it as a partner and ally in the Western Balkans and in Southeast Europe, reported Danas daily. 

Most of the world’s population expects that the result of the presidential elections in the USA will change the world, some harbor antipathy towards the idea of the return of Donald Trump, others hope that this return will solve some of the world’s biggest problems, highlighted the analysis of the IPESE, reported Danas.

Read  the IPESE analyses ‘’American presidential elections- Event that dictates world trends, Can the rematch between Trump and Biden really change the world and how will it affect the Balkans?” at: http://tinyurl.com/mwtp9uu7

Szijjarto: Serbia ready to join EU tomorrow, membership not to be conditioned with Kosovo issue (Kosovo Online, Insajder)

Membership of Serbia to the EU should not be conditioned with Kosovo issue, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said, adding Budapest opposes European sanctions on Republic of Srpska President, Milorad Dodik, Kosovo Online portal reports citing Insajder.

Szijjarto also said the EU enlargement project is incomplete until all Western Balkans states do not become its members.

“We believe that the European Union needs more Western Balkans than Western Balkans countries need the membership in the EU”, he said. He also argued that with enlargement the EU would get fresh impetus, noting that Hungary during its chair over the EU in the second half of the year would place emphasis on acceleration of this process.

He said Serbia is ready “to join the EU tomorrow”, adding that without it, as the biggest and the strongest country in the Western Balkans there is no stability in that area.

“Alienation of Serbia is the worst possible tactic”, he said. He also opposed connection between Serbia’s EU membership with normalization of relations with Pristina, stressing it is unjust towards Belgrade as the issue of normalization does not depend only upon Belgrade.

Livadice victims’ commemoration on Friday (KiM radio, Kontakt plus radio, radio Mitrovica sever) 

Friday, February 16 marks the 23rd anniversary of the attack on the Nis-Express buses in Livadice near Podujevo, in which 12 people lost their lives, reported KiM radio. 

In the attack, Zivana Tokic, Slobodan and Nenad Stojanovic, Suncica Pejcic, Mirjana Dragovic, Milinko Kragovic, Veljko Stakic, Dragan Vukotic, Lazar Milkic, Nebojsa, Snezana and Danilo Cokic lost their lives, and forty-three displaced Serbs who were going for the Memorial Day from Nis to Gracanica were injured.

The attackers on the buses in Livadice are not known. 

The only suspect, Florim Ejupi, was acquitted by the Supreme Court, even though he was sentenced to 40 years in prison in the first-instance proceedings.

The commemoration of the murder of 12 Serbs will be marked in Laplje Selo, first with a commemoration in the Church of Saint Petka, and then family and friends will pay their respects to the murdered girl Mirjana Dragovic at the village cemetery.

The commemoration of the martyred Serbs on the Nis-Express bus is being organized again this year by the Cultural and Educational Community and the Diocese of Raska-Prizren, recalled KiM radio.

Opinion

How a German journalist misinterprets unrelated facts: Dragutin Nenezic’s answer to Mihael Martens (Danas)

Op Ed by Dragutin Nenezic

Given that Mihael Martens has blocked me on X, thanks to the courtesy of the Danas editors, I have the opportunity to refute his claims made on the social platform, in the article “Journalist Mihael Martens: How Serbian state statistics refute the Serbian legend about the exodus of Serbs from Kosovo”.

Namely, the claims of Michael Martens are a textbook example of a logical fallacy that his compatriot Arthur Schopenhauer called “fallacia non causae ut causae” (false cause fallacy that means deceiving by accepting a non-reason as a reason). By randomly connecting two phenomena that coincide (in this particular case, the reduction of the number of Serbs in two places – more about it later), he draws a conclusion that is wrong (“Those who talk about the exodus of Serbs from Kosovo should also talk about the exodus of Serbs from Serbia”).

If his claims are carefully analysed, the number of not only logical errors is simply frightening. Let’s review them in order.

“First, Martens doesn’t use primary sources (which he cites anyway), but secondary – research from something called the “ESI European Stability Initiative”. If he had used primary sources, he could have learned that health insurance in Serbia is not linked to the territory, but to the basis of insurance.”

“Thus, for example, someone who is insured based on the employment in one of the institutions of the Republic of Serbia located in the territory of the AP Kosovo and Metohija, is recorded in the statistics as an “insured in Kosovo” person, even though he or she may not be physically there (for example, because Pristina has issued a warrant for this person). Therefore, the number of insured persons in Kosovo that Martens cites does not tell us anything about where they are, and whether and why they left Kosovo.”

Martens is somewhat aware of this, but only when it benefits him. Thus, when he talks about the decline in the number of pensioners, he literally says “however, this gap does not say anything about the reasons behind the decline”, but for some reason he does not point to those reasons when it comes to health insurance, as we have already seen.

Then, he also says “the fact that Serbs are moving out of Kosovo after retirement is not a new development”, although he denies us the source of this erroneous claim – anyone who has ever visited any Serbian area in Kosovo knows that this is simply not true.

To illustrate, I will apply Martens’ approach to a topic close to his own. On December 19, 2016, a terrorist attack took place in Berlin in which 12 people lost their lives. In the same year, according to official statistics (which, unlike Martens, I took from a primary source), 34,050 people died in Berlin, while in 2015 the figure was 34,278. At the level of the entire Germany, the number of deaths in 2015 was 925,200, while in 2016 it was 910,902.

To paraphrase Martens, those who talk about the death toll in Berlin (or its reduction in 2016) should also talk about the death toll in the entire Germany (and the same reduction).

“Of course, this does not make any sense, among other things because it ignores the facts that these figures do not reveal – in the German case, that there was a terrorist attack, which has no effect on these movements, while in our case, it is apartheid carried out by Albin Kurti with his party comrades. Yes, Serbs are leaving Kosovo, just as they are leaving Serbia, but for completely different reasons, and that is what Martens persistently keeps silent about.”

“Serbs are leaving Kosovo because their basic rights are violated every day (e.g., life, freedom, property, work, local self-government, etc.), and this has nothing to do with the reasons why Serbs leave Serbia, since the extent of the violation of Serb rights is in Kosovo incomparable to anything in modern Europe.”

“Speaking of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, it is worth raising the question of the methodological merits of Martens’ approach. For Martens, is Kosovo Serbia, and according to Martens, only Serbs live in Kosovo, that is, why does he not use data on the departure of other nations and nationalities from Kosovo?”

“Possibly because it would show that Serbs are leaving more than Albanians, as they are, in proportion to their number, are more present in Kosovo prisons, or else “protected” by a bigger number of police officers, especially in the North of Kosovo in the last three years.”

“Without going into Martens’ motives for writing such nonsense, I would like to point out that this topic is too serious to be written about like this. I personally believe that all estimates circulating in the public are lump sum, and that we will never know the real figures, since the 2011 Kosovo census was boycotted in the North of Kosovo, and for the upcoming census it is not certain whether or when it will take place, especially in Serbian communities.”

“The OSCE probably has the closest estimates, but as far as I know, they do not take into account the pace of emigration, which has visibly increased since Kurti returned to power. Precisely because of this, it is much more meaningful to advocate for the collection of credible facts before drawing any conclusions, than to mix Frösche und Großmütter for dubious motives.”

International 

Former Allies Argue Over Prishtina Coalition Crisis (Prishtina Insight)

Days after the municipal coalition in Prishtina collapsed, former coalition partners, LDK and PDK blame each other for the early termination of their cooperation.

Prishtina mayor Përparim Rama, from Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, and former coalition partners from Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, have shared the blame over the collapse of the Prishtina municipality governing coalition after the dismissal of PDK officials. 

In separate interviews for Kallxo Përnime show, on Friday and Saturday respectively, Rama claimed he dismissed the directors from PDK for sabotaging their duties, whereas former officials from PDK called the decisions “purely political” because the party objected a much-debated issue of a land swap in municipality’s territory. 

“Their (PDK) reasoning was that ‘we are protecting the Badovc area from construction’,” Rama told Kallxo Përnime on February 9, explaining that in fact his Deputy, Donjeta Sahatciu of PDK, was dismissed because of delays in the implementation of projects, mainly in the digitalization of education in the municipality, and Ilirik Musliu for “not properly managing waste disposal in the city”.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/ckY36

As Serbian Journalist’s Murder Goes Unpunished, Verdict Comes Under Scrutiny (BIRN)

BIRN’s analysis of the controversial acquittal verdict in the trial of four Serbian State Security operatives for the assassination of opposition journalist Slavko Curuvija shows how troublesome issues with evidence and witness testimony led the court to clear the defendants.

“Today, first of all, I want to apologise to the citizens of Serbia, to the family of Mr. Curuvija, for the 14-year wait for those who, we suspect, committed the murder of Slavko Curuvija, to finally come to justice,” Serbia’s then deputy prime minister Aleksandar Vucic told a press conference in Belgrade on January 14, 2014.

The press conference was about the arrest of Milan Radonjic and Miroslav Kurak, who were being held on the suspicion that, as State Security operatives at the time, they participated in killing of well-known Serbian editor and publisher Slavko Curuvija in 1999.

Speaking before Vucic, the then chief prosecutor at the Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime, Miljko Radisavljevic, told the assembled journalists that the latest witness in the case was Milorad ‘Legija’ Ulemek, the notorious commander of State Security Service’s Special Operations Unit. Ulemek is serving a prison sentence for killing Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic in 2003 and for his participation in various other crimes during the 1990s.

“I have to point out that [Ulemek’s] testimony was unconditional, he neither asked for nor received any benefits, and he spoke very thoroughly and exhaustively about his knowledge of [the murder of Curuvija],” Radisavljevic said.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/hsIT3