Albanian Language Media:

• Escobar visits Decan Monastery (Nacionale)
• Stano: The investigations on Banjska are in hands of Kosovo authorities (Koha)
• Radar: After Banjska, Serbia gave 8.5 million euros to Radoicic’s company (media)
• Gervalla: Kosovo has proven to be  reliable partner alongside allies (RTK)
• Abdixiku: Kurti came to power with false causes, but decisions of Constitutional Court are uncontested (Reporteri)
• Haradinaj asks Prime Minister Kurti to implement the Franco-German plan (RTK)
• Signs of settlements in Albanian and Serbian placed in the north (Klan)

Serbian Language Media:

• Escobar: The Serbian community is suffering – urgently needed solutions (Radio Gorazdevac, KoSSev, KiM radio)
• Starovic on Pristina’s decision on the Visoki Decani monastery: Attempts to present a small belated step as a big step forward (KiM radio, RTS)
• Bilingual signs placed in northern Kosovo, Albanian version first, Cyrillic alphabet removed (KoSSev, Radio KIM)
• Serbian Democracy: Kosovo Government continues its fight against Serbian identity, by violating its own Constitution (Radio KIM)
• Antonijevic on removal of Cyrillic signs in the north of Kosovo: Open humiliation of Serbian community (Danas)
• Petkovic on removal of Cyrillic signboards (Kosovo Online, social media)
• Comparative Analysis: Numerous challenges in the application of the law on the position of minorities (KiM radio)
• Sekulic: How come raw materials from Serbia are not dangerous for Kosovo security, but biscuits are? (Kosovo Online)
• Klaus, Zeman: Prague should not have recognised Kosovo (Tanjug)

Opinion:

• Kosovo Takes a Crucial Step to Join Council of Europe (Prishtina Insight)

Albanian Language Media  

Escobar visits Decan Monastery (Nacionale)

One day after the government’s decision on the Monastery of Decan, the U.S. emissary for Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar arrived at the premises of the Monastery.

Escobar’s visit to Decan Monastery takes place a few hours before the meeting with Prime Minister Albin Kurti.Emissary Escobar on Wednesday met with President Vjosa Osmani and the leaders of opposition parties in Kosovo.

Stano: The investigations on Banjska are in hands of Kosovo authorities (Koha)

The EU spokesperson for Foreign and Security Policy, Peter Stano has said at a press conference on Wednesday in Brussels that the European Union (EU) is still awaiting the report from the investigation into the attack at the end of September of last year in Banjska of Zvecan and until now it has not received such a report from the Kosovo authorities. He reiterated that the investigations into the attack undertaken by a group of armed Serbs are in the hands of the Kosovo authorities and that the deadlines also depend on these authorities.

“The position of the European Union is that in addition to condemning the attack, we also demand clarification in the form of a full investigation. So, the position is that we are waiting for the official conclusion of the investigations by the Kosovo authorities. When the report is ready and based on it, we will decide on our steps or position. So this is in the hands of the Kosovo authorities”, Stano said.

He added that the attack on September 24, 2023 was brutal and serious and that the EU is aware and interested in seeing clarity on who did it, who supported the group and who is responsible. for her.

“But, to have these answers, we need to see the final report and not documents that are published by the parties. I think it is a normal legal process related to any crime, any attack or incident like this. There are investigations and then conclusions are drawn”, Stano emphasized.

Radar: After Banjska, Serbia gave 8.5 million euros to Radoicic’s company (media)

Two days after the attack in Banska, Serbia awarded several tenders worth 8.5 million euros to the “Rad 028” company from Zvecan, which, due to suspicions that it was controlled by Milan Radoicic, is on the blacklist of the United States, reported the Serbian weekly ‘Radar’.

According to Radar, 8.5 million euros were given to the company “Rad 028” within four days. The tenders were awarded for the “distribution program and the use of incentives for economic development for 2023”.

Radoicic took the main responsibility for organizing the paramilitary attack in Banjska on September 24, where the sergeant of the Kosovo Police, Afrim Bunjaku, was killed. He is wanted by INTERPOL at the request of Kosovo but continues to roam free in Belgrade. Recently, a photo was published where he is seen discussing with the ambassador of Serbia in the USA, Marko Djuric.

The Serbian magazine “Radar” reports that the Government of Serbia has been generous with “entrepreneurs” in the north of Kosovo. The company that was suspected to be under the ownership of Radoicic, “Rad 028”, in the last 10 years has won more than 100 tenders, financed by the budget of Serbia.

From 2014 to 2018, this company earned “only” 7.1 million euros from the Serbian budget. But when Radoicic became the deputy leader of the Serbian List in 2018, the value of the tenders won by this company increased 14-fold to 102.6 million euros. So, until the conflict in Banjska, the value of the contracted works reached almost 120 million euros, “Radar” wrote.

Since January of this year, there is no information that the company from Zvecan has received any tender. Unlike “Rad 028”, the companies established in cooperation between Radoicic and Zeljko Veselinovic are continuing their work without problems. The only thing that has changed is the ownership structure. 12 days after the conflict in Banjska, Radoicic left the ownership of the companies, leaving the full shares to the Veselinovic brothers.

Gervalla: Kosovo has proven to be  reliable partner alongside allies (RTK)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gervalla has concluded the visit to the NATO headquarters, with a special meeting at a working dinner with all the Permanent Representatives of the NSATO members of the region, Croatia, Ambassador Mario Nobilo, Turkey, Ambassador Zeki Levent Gumrukcu, Slovenia, Ambassador Andrej Benedejcic, Bulgaria, Ambassador Nikolay Milkov, Albania, Ambassador Ilir Gjoni, North Macedonia, Ambassador Dane Taleski, Greece, ambassador Ioannis Miltiadis Nicolaidis, and Montenegro, Maja Djuric.

“During this meeting where the support for Kosovo was reconfirmed, Minister Gervalla expressed her deep gratitude for the unreserved support of all the Permanent Representatives of the countries of the region to NATO for Kosovo on its Euro-Atlantic path”, the announcement states.

According to the announcement, Gervalla has reiterated the dedication and progress achieved in many areas and the steadfast commitment of Kosovo to the Euro-Atlantic future as well as the fastest possible advancement of NATO membership.

“The Republic of Kosovo has continuously proven itself as a reliable partner and aligned with allies and partners in NATO and the European Union, for peace and security in the region and Europe”, Gervalla emphasized.

Minister Gërvalla further informed the present representatives about Serbia’s ongoing obstructions, attacks and threats against Kosovo, but also against peace and stability in the region and Europe.

Abdixiku: Kurti came to power with false causes, but decisions of Constitutional Court are uncontested (Reporteri)

The leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lumir Abdixhiku, said that the decisions of the Constitutional Court are uncontested and are applicable, when he spoke about the last decision of the government of Kosovo.

“Now the decisions of the Constitutional Court are uncontested and when I say uncontested it means that they are enforceable. It is a sign of democratic maturity first for a state and society and this has always been our position as LDK. Unfortunately, Kurti has chosen with full awareness to build the basis for coming to power in such false causes, and now in power he has realized that false causes do not last, but they are still harmful. So he came to power with false causes, and it is a big consequence for the country, for political and democratic stability”, he said.

Speaking about the meeting with the U.S. emissary for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, on Wednesday evening, Abdixiku said that it became clear that relations between the USA and Kosovo have never been at a lower level than they are now. 

“As for last night’s meeting, it was an informative meeting on the bilateral relations between Kosovo and the USA, to put it simply in what we were told clearly and loudly, they have never been at a lower level than are today. The lack of close cooperation with our main allies, the USA, brings consequences for the Euro-Atlantic integration of Kosovo and this situation is worrying for us. Now Kurti represents the government of Kosovo and these consequences are definitely carried over to the fate of Kosovo. But it is the obligation of all of us to preserve and cultivate this relationship because they are indispensable, they are irreplaceable”, he said.

Haradinaj asks Prime Minister Kurti to implement the Franco-German plan (RTK)

The leader of AAK, Ramush Haradinaj, has requested from Prime Minister Albin Kurti to implement the French-German plan, and criticized the approach to allies, with special emphasis to the USA.

“The way he is treating the allies, the obligations he has taken with the allies will cost Kosovo. We will have constant pressure on other topics. It would have been right after what happened yesterday, for Kurti to return to the French-German plan, because for membership in the Council of Europe, a package of measures is requested”, he stated in the lobby of the Kosovo Assembly.

He has accused the government of “wasting the cards in his hands” in order to protect “its own populism”.

“You can’t save your name when you don’t save your country. What is happening in Kosovo is a punishment towards him. But unfortunately we will all pay the consequences. Yesterday I repeated as well that the way out of this situation and the establishment of relations between Kosovo and the USA is a strategic dialogue and a security agreement”, he said.

Signs of settlements in Albanian and Serbian placed in the north (Klan)

Signs of settlements written in the Serbian language have been removed in the north of Kosovo, in order to place the official signs of settlements in Kosovo. This was announced by the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) through a video posted on the official Facebook account.

“The Serbian signs are removed and the official signs of the settlements in Kosovo are installed,” reads the LVV’s post.

Until now, in the settlements of the northern municipalities, the notice boards were only in the Serbian language, and in the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets.

Serbian Language Media 

Escobar: The Serbian community is suffering – urgently needed solutions (Radio Gorazdevac, KoSSev, KiM radio)

The US Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, spoke today in Pec with representatives of civil society and media from Gorazdevac about the influence of the Central Bank of Kosovo on the local population. During his visit to the municipality of Pec, he spoke with young people from the Albanian, Serbian and Bosniak communities. At the end of his visit to Pec, he also met with the mayor, Gazmend Muhaxheri. 

“I wanted to come to this city, to hear first-hand people’s stories about how they are affected by the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo. It is difficult to hear these stories and remain indifferent,” Escobar said in a statement to Radio Gorazdevac.

At the meeting with the local Serbian community, Escobar was able to hear firsthand how the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo affects them, as well as the latest actions of the Kosovo authorities in Gorazdevac.

“There is a community here that is really suffering. There are people who face real problems because of the lack of possibility to receive pensions. So, I really want to work with the government of Kosovo in the hope of trying to find an urgent solution,” Escobar told Radio Gorazdevac.

In his interview, the US special envoy for the Western Balkans briefly referred to the French-German proposal in the context of current problems.

“Meanwhile, in the longer term, we still have to work hard to implement the historic normalization agreement we reached last March. So, we will continue to work,” said Gabriel Escobar.

He said that all citizens living in Kosovo have the support of the USA.

“I think that all people in Kosovo can count on American support for Albanians, Serbs, Bosniaks, everyone who lives in this country. I hope they can feel American support and American partnership,” Escobar said.

In the interview, he had a message for the Serbian community he met, but also for the authorities in Kosovo.

“As for the community that lives here, I want the community to feel and know that the American government wants Serbs to live in Kosovo in conditions of safety, security and dignity. And we will continue to work on it. And as for the Government of Kosovo, they have the responsibility to make it happen, and for that we will hold them accountable,” said the US Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, in an interview with Radio Gorazdevac.

Starovic on Pristina’s decision on the Visoki Decani monastery: Attempts to present a small belated step as a big step forward (KiM radio, RTS)

Pristina’s decision to return part of the land to the Visoki Decani monastery should be taken as good news conditionally, State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense Nemanja Starovic told RTS this morning and added that “Pristina is trying to present the decision to abolish the dinar in Kosovo and Metohija as a mere monetary decision, which is much more than that.”

The special American envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, is in Pristina. Yesterday, the government in Pristina ordered the Cadastral Agency to register 24 hectares of land for the Visoki Decani monastery and thus implement the decision of the Constitutional Court, which confirmed the monastery’s ownership of the property disputed by the local authorities.

Starovic said, as a guest on RTS morning program, that it was news that in some way marked yesterday’s day, and which we can conditionally understand as good news, as eight years have passed since the final decision of the Kosovo Constitutional Court, by which the part of the land must be returned to the Serbian monastery.

“Why do I say that it is only conditionally good news? This is due to the terrible manipulation that has been carried out since yesterday by Pristina and its international sponsors, where this small, belated, implied step is trying to be presented as some kind of great step forward or concession to the Serbian community and the Republic of Serbia that deserves some kind of great reward from the international community, despite all those terrible and horrible moves that Kurti carried out in the previous three years, since he became the head of the temporary institutions of self-government,” Starovic said.

He reminded that it is about “a kind of occupation of the north of Kosovo and Metohija by his special monoethnic militarized forces, the Kosovo police, the ban on importing goods produced in central Serbia and the abolition of the right of Serbs living in KiM to vote, and finally until up to the last decision from December last year, trying to take bread from the table for our compatriots”.

All that is not important now, said Starovic and added that according to this interpretation, Kurti should be rewarded with an accelerated process of admission of Pristina to the Council of Europe.

According to him, this is something that actually offends the common sense of all citizens of Serbia.

“Parent from Hell”

“It reminds me of that situation when you have a parent from hell who mistreats and beats his children every day for eight years and when he finally decides to stop doing it, he receives the father of the year award on the same day. Although he still mistreats his children in other ways, he insults them, humiliates them, neglects them, does not send them to school, starves them, beats their mother, drinks, and gambles,” he added.

Starovic also said that “maybe that father will change his mind tomorrow, his will will change, but he will continue to beat his children”.

“It is a spitting image of what Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija is facing with, and it is something that we must present to our interlocutors every day in the clearest and most explicit way possible, especially from the western part of the international community,” he said and added:

“I have no illusions that this will lead to some kind of epochal change in their approach. Often, they will just shrug their shoulders. But you know, if history teaches us anything, it teaches us that eventually some ethical dividend always turns out in the end. Because evil, corruption and injustice always eat up their own substance in the end. This is what the history of world wars has taught us.”

The ultimate goal of Kurti

Speaking about Pristina’s decision to abolish the dinar, Starovic stated that Pristina is trying to present it as a mere monetary decision, and it is much more than that.

Albin Kurti’s ultimate goal is to shut down vital institutions necessary for the life of the Serbian community, he pointed out.

He added that we are coming to the question of whether Serbs from Kosovo are less equal than anyone else, whether they are human beings of lower value.

“Without punitive measures against the Pristina administration, there will be no change in Kurti’s behavior patterns,” concluded Starovic.

Bilingual signs placed in northern Kosovo, Albanian version first, Cyrillic alphabet removed (KoSSev, Radio KIM)

The Kosovo Ministry of Infrastructure has started today to place road signs with the names of places in northern Kosovo. The names of the places on them are written in two languages, first in Albanian, then in Serbian, KoSSev portal reported.

Kosovo police are also present on the ground, the portal added. The workers wearing yellow uniforms are removing the road signs containing the names of the places written in Cyrillic alphabet, then in Latin alphabet in the Serbian language. Kosovo police is providing security to these teams removing existing road signs with the names of the places along Rudare-Jarinje road. A police vehicle, along with a civilian vehicle are accompanying the workers.

With new Albanian leadership in the north, change of language

Serbian and Albanian languages are official languages in Kosovo and as such, their use is symmetrical, Article 5 of the Kosovo Constitution says.

With the change in ethnic structure of the municipal leaderships in the north, at the very beginning of the mandate of new Albanian mayors, signs on the municipal buildings have been replaced, by placing the Albanian name first in a highlighted font, followed by Serbian in Latin alphabet, and then in English, both in unhighlighted fonts.

Also Kosovo in Serbian is written as “Kosova”. Moreover, the portal further writes over the last two years a change in removing Cyrilic alphabet is also noticeable, and the names of some central level institutions in Pristina have been written in Latin alphabet. Neither Kosovo authorities nor Serbian List made any announcements about this.

Sentic: Use of Serbian language in Kosovo institutions paradigm of position of Serbs

Respect for the Article 5 of the Kosovo Constitution and the Law on use of languages, same as use of Serbian language in institutions are a paradigm of the position of the Serbian and other non-majority communities in Kosovo, deputy Ombudsperson Srdjan Sentic told KoSSev.

“Rare are institutions that consistently and fully implement Article 5 of the Kosovo Constitution and Law on use of languages, and unfortunately, those institutions where language rights are violated on a daily basis are in majority”, he added.

He stressed the signs with the names at central level must be the same or similar, as is the case with Ombudsperson Institution or Constitutional Court, while at the local level they should reflect the population living in those areas.

“In any case the letters and font must be of the same size in accordance with the principle and logic of equality”, Sentic said.

The Law on use of languages has been violated in Kosovo for years, and numerous international reports note this issue as well. 

Serbian Democracy: Kosovo Government continues its fight against Serbian identity, by violating its own Constitution (Radio KIM)

Kosovo Government continues its fight against Serbian identity in Kosovo, grossly violating its own Constitution and the laws that allegedly protect the Serbs from that, Serbian Democracy said in a statement in relation to the removal of the signs in the north of Kosovo on which the names of the places were written in Serbian language in Cyrilic, Radio KIM reports.

“Today the turn has come to Cyrilic and Cyrilic road signs, and imposition of Albanian language as a primary language in the majority Serbian municipalities, although based on Constitution and the law, Albanian and Serbian languages are equal, and Constitution and the law obliged institutions to promote the rights of people to nurture and strengthen essential elements of their identity, respectively their religion, language, tradition and cultural heritage”, the Serbian Democracy said in a statement.

They added that “aggressive attempts of assimilation and subjugation of Serbian identity were in place, by the very same institutions who should fight against it”.

They requested an urgent reaction from responsible institutions and the international community. At the same time, they listed in the statement articles of the Kosovo Constitution and provisions of the laws, that Kosovo institutions are violating, including the Article 59 of the Constitution on the rights of communities and their members, the Law on use of languages, stipulating that Albanian and Serbian languages and respective alphabets have an equal status in Kosovo institutions and the Law on protection of communities and their members.

Antonijevic on removal of Cyrillic signs in the north of Kosovo: Open humiliation of  Serbian community (Danas)

Milan Antonijevic, a lawyer, and expert on European integration, reacted to the fact that the Pristina authorities are putting up new signboards with the names of places in the north of Kosovo starting this morning, reported Danas.

“This is really an open and unnecessary humiliation of the Serbian community in Kosovo,” Antonijevic wrote on X, sharing a video of the Kossev portal.

Petkovic on removal of Cyrillic signboards (Kosovo Online, social media)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic reacting to the removal of signboards with the names of places in the north of Kosovo, written in Cyrillic alphabet said that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti “can conflict with Cyrillic alphabet but cannot break unbreakable bond of the Serbian people with their state of Serbia”, Kosovo Online portal reported.

Referring to Kurti, Petkovic said in a post on X media platform that the one who knows about violence only, will never know what peaceful co-existence means.

“(Albin) Kurti can conflict with Cyrillic road signs, but he cannot break the unbreakable bond of the Serbian people with their state of Serbia! He who only knows violence will never know what peaceful coexistence is. Serbian Cyrillic overlived for centuries, it will also survive a petty tyrant”, Petkovic said in a post.

Comparative Analysis: Numerous challenges in the application of the law on the position of minorities (KiM radio)

The non-governmental organization Aktiv and its partner organizations, the Matthias Bell Institute (Slovakia), the Institute for Modern Development (Czech Republic) and the Republikon Foundation (Hungary), presented yesterday in Pristina, the findings of research into legal and political mechanisms on the position of non-majority communities in Kosovo, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. 

“Comparative analysis: Rights and participation of minorities, views from Kosovo, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary”, provides an overview of strategies for improving the inclusion of minorities, analyzes the effectiveness of existing mechanisms, and identifies ways for joint action.

At the conference, which was organized as part of the project “Improving the participation of minorities in decision-making processes through exchange and work on practical policy proposals”, it was pointed out that the legal framework and policies mainly regulate the issue of the protection of minority rights, but that during the implementation of the regulation, a certain number of challenges.

“In many cases, minority communities continue to face discrimination, marginalization and socioeconomic disparities,” the analysis found.

The Comparative Analysis: Rights and participation of minorities, views from Kosovo, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary is available at:  https://tinyurl.com/db7k88tx

Sekulic: How come raw materials from Serbia are not dangerous for Kosovo security, but biscuits are? (Kosovo Online)

President of the Serbian Entrepreneurs Association in Gracanica, Sasa Sekulic told Kosovo Online portal that people in Kosovo, because of Pristina’s ban to import goods from Serbia have products which are 20 to 30 percent more expensive and of less quality, adding that small businesses are also affected, in particular Albanian ones who were brand representatives of larger companies from central Serbia.

Sekulic termed as absurd the explanation provided by Kosovo officials saying that the import ban on goods from Serbia was introduced because of security reasons, in particular because the ban on importing raw materials from Serbia was revoked swiftly, while the ban on ready made products remained in place.

“They explained this decision because of security reasons. It is then logical to ask a question – how come that Kosovo even today continues importing raw materials (from Serbia) needed for further production of their products and that those raw materials are not a danger for (Kosovo) security, while ready made products such as (biscuits) Jafa and Medeno Srce or Rosa (bottled water) are danger? It is illogical”, Sekulic said.

He added that the decision made by Pristina is political and that many Albanian analysts do not agree with it either.  

Klaus, Zeman: Prague should not have recognised Kosovo (Tanjug)

In an interview marking 25 years of their country’s NATO membership, former Czech presidents Vaclav Klaus and Milos Zeman told public television broadcaster Ceska Televize that the 1999 NATO bombing of the-then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was a huge mistake and that Prague should not have recognized Kosovo.

Immediately at the beginning of the interview, Zeman said the bombing of FR Yugoslavia was a “gross mistake” by NATO for which he had apologized to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Agreeing with Zeman’s assessment, Klaus said that, at the time, he had been angered by the Czech government’s decision to allow NATO bombers to fly over Czech territory on their way to FR Yugoslavia.

The TV station’s host noted that former NATO Secretary General George Robertson had said in Prague that co-existence in Kosovo existed as a result of a successful NATO intervention, but Zeman disagreed with the claim.

“Former president of Kosovo Hasim Taci currently stands before the Hague international criminal tribunal because of war crimes, as does an entire team of leading Kosovo officials. I have been saying that Kosovo is, in essence, a terrorist state (…)”, Zeman is quoted as saying.

He said similar violence might have been committed on the Serbian side, too, but noted that it had been much smaller in scope and unsystematic.

“It was not a government doctrine, while Kosovo was, and is, a terrorist state. Klaus and I disagreed on many issues, but neither of us had any intent whatsoever of signing our consent to name a Czech ambassador in Kosovo”, Zeman added.

Pointing out Pristina’s treatment of Serbs in the north of Kosovo, Zeman said the Pristina government “is really not a normal democratic regime”. Klaus agreed with this to a great extent.

“I believed it was scandalous that then FM (Karel) Schwarzenberg recognised Kosovo without a government debate and without even informing the president of the Czech Republic – which was me at the time – that something like that would happen. I was very angry with Schwarzenberg, and that should never have happened”, he said.

Opinion

Kosovo Takes a Crucial Step to Join Council of Europe (Prishtina Insight)

By Petrit Selimi

Kosovo seems to have taken a crucial step to ensure membership of an important international organisation. Benefits to membership to CoE will be manyfold, from enabling Kosovans with access to the European Court of Human Rights, to potentially ensuring Kosovo’s globally famous pop stars participate in Eurovision Song Contest!

It is unfair – but Kosovo’s citizens lack one fundamental tool to protect their own human rights from their own unfair, unwilling or uncareful institutions.

This useful tool is used by Europeans from the Balearic Islands to Baku, providing a final legal remedy when everything else fails for various reasons of a nefarious or negligent nature.

I speak of the European Court of Human Rights, ECHR, the final court instance available for European citizens whose countries are members of the Council of Europe.

Kosovo is not a member of the Council of Europe, CoE, and has no access to the ECHR, so its citizens are fundamentally “second class” compared to their peers in the Balkans and the wider continent.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/mvccvhjc