Albanian Language Media:

• Maqedonci to Viehe: Deployment of Serbian military troops around border, threat to stability (Reporteri)
• Rohde on Kurti-Sarrazin meeting: Berlin process is key element (media)
• Paris conditions Serbia’s purchasing of combat aircraft with normalization of relations with Kosovo (Klan)
• Gervalla calls on diaspora to participate in population census process (Klan)
• Krasniqi repeats call for early elections: main race will be between PDK and LVV (media)
• Specialized Chambers clarify rejection of Thaci’s request to replace Judge Guillou (Reporteri)
• Analysts: Dialogue needs mediators from powerful European states (RTK)
• Indictment against a Kosovar for crimes against humanity committed in Syria and Iraq (Koha)

Serbian Language Media: 

• Vucic to Troccaz: Pristina’s membership in the CoE a reward for discrimination and pressure on Serbs (Kosovo Online)
• Mali: Vucic sent letters to European leaders this morning regarding the reception of Kosovo to the CoE (Tanjug, TV Happy, media)
• Petkovic and Dacic today to meet the head of UNMIK (Kosovo Online)
• Hill: Serbia faces very difficult political issues (N1)
• The British Telegraph editor in bulletproof vest and without a helmet from the Leposavic hill determines whether there will be a “Serbian invasion of Kosovo” (KoSSev, N1, X)
• Vucic met Chinese Ambassador, discussed challenges awaiting Serbia (Tanjug, media)
• Vucic receives Ghanaian FM (Tanjug)
• Serbian leadership with Dodik, Cvijanovic: Vucic to ask UN to review procedures (N1, RTS)

International:

• Police Disperse Protest for Kosovo Professor’s Firing over Harassment Claims (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media  

Maqedonci to Viehe: Deployment of Serbian military troops around border, threat to stability (Reporteri)

Kosovo’s Minister of Defense met today with the Head of current operations, Operations Division of the NATO General Staff, Ariella Viehe. He said that he informed her of the current developments in the Ministry of Defense and the Kosovo Security Force, as well as the plans for the future.

“During the meeting we also talked about the security situation in Kosovo, and I emphasized the fact that the deployment of Serbian military troops around the border with Kosovo constitutes a constant threat to the stability of the Balkans, and that such moves by Serbia should be treated seriously by NATO as well”, said Maqedonci through a post on Facebook.

Further, he said “I underlined that we continue to coordinate and cooperate closely as a Ministry with KFOR and the NATO Advisory and Liaison Team (NALT)”.

“I reiterated that our objective is membership in NATO, so that the KSF can offer an active contribution to missions for maintaining stability and peace, and we are committed to this every day,” he said.

Rohde on Kurti-Sarrazin meeting: Berlin process is key element (media)

German Ambassador to Kosovo Jorn Rohde, while commenting on the meeting of Germany’s special representative for the Western Balkans, Manuel Sarrazin, with Prime Minister Albin Kurti, emphasized the importance of the Berlin process.

“Today, I welcomed Manuel Sarrazin, the German Special Representative for Western Balkans. As the Berlin Process celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, it underscores its significance as a platform for cooperation and the importance of honoring past agreements, including on free movement between Kosovo and Bosnia.

By meeting with PM Albin Kurti, German Special Representative Manuel Sarrazin concluded his visit to Kosovo. While expressing Germany‘s steadfast support to Kosovo‘s path forward on Euro-Atlantic integration, he emphasized what needs to be done from Kosovo‘s side as well. Berlin Process is key element for way forward!” Rohde wrote on X.

Paris conditions Serbia’s purchasing of combat aircraft with normalization of relations with Kosovo (Klan)

Based on Serbian media, the news website reports that the battle of the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic, against his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, for the purchase of fighter jets, has not yet been won.

According to Nova, Paris has set conditions for Belgrade, as certain guarantees for political development are still needed. “Serbia wants Rafale planes and a nuclear power plant, while President Macron insists on the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Kosovo,” the Serbian daily reported.

After his visit to Paris, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic was very confident about the success of his country’s negotiations with France to buy fighter jets from Dassault. However, the French president, Emmanuel Macron reminded him that the terrorists of Banjska must be held accountable and he must do his best so that what happened last fall in Kosovo does not happen again.

Gervalla calls on diaspora to participate in population census process (Klan)

Kosovo has started the online registration of the diaspora within the Population, Household and Housing Registration Process. According to the press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Donika Gervalla called on all members of the diaspora to register themselves and their family members, and become part of this important process for planning the common future.

“Registration of all citizens who were born in Kosovo or who originate from Kosovo, but who live outside Kosovo can be done through the online form found at: ediaspora.rks-gov.net”.

Krasniqi repeats call for early elections: main race will be between PDK and LVV (media)

The leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Memli Krasniqi, has expressed his conviction that the race for first place in the national elections will be between Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) and PDK, writes the.

“PDK and Vetevendosje will compete for second and first place. This is the truth. With all due respect to the other parties, the race will be between PDK and LVV because I am convinced that the day the elections will be announced will be the last days of the countdown for Albin Kurti as prime minister. I don’t believe that Kurti can be prime minister anymore. I don’t even know with whom he can make a coalition”, Krasniqi said.

He said that June is the best month for holding early elections. “Most people are not with this government, regardless of which parties they are with. If we believe the polls, my invitation has been for a year now, today it is even louder. Let us go to the elections. I am ready for the date. If June 9 does not suit you, I am ready to do it on June 2, but also at the end of May”, Krasniqi told Rtv 21. He expressed his conviction that the next prime minister of Kosovo will be Bedri Hamza. 

Specialized Chambers clarify rejection of Thaci’s request to replace Judge Guillou (Reporteri)

The President of the Specialized Chambers, Ekaterina Trendafilova, rejected Hashim Thaci’s request to replace the pre-trial judge, Nicolas Guillou.

“KSP President Ekaterina Trendafilova rejected Hashim Thaci’s request to replace Judge Nikola Giju as the Sole Judge in case number KSC-BC-2018-01, after his appointment as a judge at the International Criminal Court (ICCC). The president explained that she can replace the judges only in the event that the judges are unable to perform their duty due to being engaged in another activity or profession. It is not so in the case of Judge Giju, she said, as he will start exercising his judicial duties at the ICC on August 19. Until then, he is available to exercise his duties at the Kosovo’s Specialized Chambers.

Further, in the communique it is stated that the president of the specialized CHambers rejected without considering the alternative request of the Defense for the removal of judge Giju.

Also, the Chairperson of the SC rejected without considering the alternative request of the Defense for the removal of judge Giju. The chairwoman found, among other things, that the request was unfounded and the defense did not present any argument why the judicial position of judge Giju in another court, which has no conflict of jurisdiction with the SP, could affect his independence”, it is stated in the communique issued.

Analysts: Dialogue needs mediators from  powerful European states (RTK)

Connoisseurs of the political circumstances in Kosovo assess that the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia should be mediated by a diplomat who comes from powerful European states. However, they consider that the principles of the European Union, as far as dialogue is concerned, are clear.

“Even if Mr. Pahor comes, I don’t think there will be big changes in the approach and in the negotiation model because the principles are clear. The requests, both from Kosovo and Serbia, are clear, so I think that in general the current trend will continue”, Muhaxhiri emphasized.

However, analyst Gazmir Raci, said that due to the sensitivity of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, it would be better if the mediator came from powerful European states.

“We know that the political and economic relations with Slovenia are very good, but because of the sensitivity, because of the dialogue problem and because of Serbia, which again claims to be the hegemon over Kosovo, it is difficult for a mediator from the countries of the region to play a powerful role. Therefore, it would be better if for example a career diplomat from Germany mediated the dialogue, or from other powerful countries”, Raci said.

Indictment against a Kosovar for crimes against humanity committed in Syria and Iraq (Koha)

The Special Prosecutor’s Office of Kosovo has announced that it has filed an indictment against a citizen of Kosovo with the initials M.D., due to the suspicion that he committed the criminal offense “crime against humanity”, from article 143 of the Criminal Code of Kosovo and the criminal offense “Serious Violation of the laws and customs that apply in armed conflicts that are not of an international character, from article 147, paragraph 1 and 2, subsections 2.6 and 2.23 of the Criminal Code of Kosovo.

According to the Special Prosecutor’s Office, these crimes were committed against girls and women of the Yazzid community during the conflict in Syria and Iraq in the period 2014-2017.

The announcement states that this criminal case has already passed to the jurisdiction of the Special Department of the Basic Court in Pristina for further proceedings. Also, the Prosecutor’s Office has announced that the defendant, until a new decision by the court, is under the measure of security – detention, according to the decision of the judge of the preliminary procedure.

Serbian Language Media 

Vucic to Troccaz: Pristina’s membership in the CoE a reward for discrimination and pressure on Serbs (Kosovo Online)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met today in Belgrade the special envoy of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Western Balkans, Rene Troccaz. 

Vucic, as he stated on Instagram, thanked France for the support it provides to Serbia both on the European path and in the dialogue process with Pristina, including the respect of all agreements reached.

He pointed out that today’s meeting with Troccaz is a continuation of the talks he had in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and other top French officials.

“We talked about the situation in the region, the current geopolitical situation and all the challenges that the two countries face in the field of security and preservation of the international legal order. I especially emphasized the absurdity of the so-called membership of Kosovo in the Council of Europe, which would allow Pristina, which consistently ignores all the signed agreements, to be practically rewarded for the policy of discrimination and increasingly strong pressures on the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija,” stated Vucic. 

He said that Serbia is a serious and responsible partner that keeps its word and constructively approaches the solution of common problems, which, he adds, he expects from his interlocutors.

Mali: Vucic sent letters to European leaders this morning regarding the reception of Kosovo to the CoE (Tanjug, TV Happy, media)

Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic sent letters to European leaders this morning, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and others regarding admission of Kosovo to the Council of Europe, showing that Serbia will not surrender, reported Tanjug. 

“We are economically strong, and I am very optimistic, but the pressures that Serbia is currently exposed to are undermining that optimism. The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, is worried more than ever, and the reasons for that are objective, and they lie in those pressures,” Mali told TV Happy.

He pointed out that in all the decades they have known each other, he has never seen a more worried President Vucic, adding pressures are caused by problems in the region, i.e. BiH, then the situation in Kosovo, the issue of sanctions against the Russian Federation, and indicated the adoption of a UN resolution on genocide in Srebrenica.

Minister Mali said, among other things, that during the recent visit to France, the Serbian delegation, apart from Kosovo, and the situation in the region, also discussed serious economic topics with their EDF, which is the counterpart of Serbian EPS, as well as investments in the green transition, in new energy capacities, on the construction of nuclear power plants.

Petkovic and Dacic today to meet the head of UNMIK (Kosovo Online)

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, will talk today in separate meetings with the representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations and the head of UNMIK, Caroline Ziadeh, reported portal Kosovo Online. 

Ziadeh is visiting Belgrade ahead of the regular session of the UN Security Council, where the six-month report of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the work of the UNMIK mission in Kosovo, scheduled for April 22, will be presented.

Petkovic will meet with Ziadeh at the Palace of Serbia at 11:30 a.m., while the meeting with Dacic is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, warned earlier, at the Government session, that ”UNMIK’s report is very bad and does not reflect the true situation on the ground”.

“We have a regular session of the UN Security Council on April 22, at the proposal of UNMIK, and the report is very bad, it does not reflect the actual state of things on the ground. It was done according to the usual methodology, but what we got now is bad,” he said. 

He pointed out that difficult tasks lie ahead for Serbia, and that the position of the Serbian people will be increasingly difficult.

“We will stay with our people and see how to solve these problems, which will be more and more difficult and permanent,” he pointed out.

Hill: Serbia faces very difficult political issues (N1)

US Ambassador to Belgrade Christopher Hill told reporters in the Serbian Parliament that the country is facing very difficult political issues. “These are very difficult political issues that Serbia will have to deal with”, he said after attending a meeting of the Parliament Collegium which opposition MPs walked out of, N1 reported. 

“From the perspective of the US Government we have a great interest in seeing Serbia resolve these issues and seeing ODIHR recommendations implemented”, he added. Hill also said that the international community does not like seeing a boycott as the way to resolve anything, adding that the tone in the talks between the authorities and opposition is positive despite disagreements.

The US Ambassador was invited to attend the Collegium meeting along with the heads of the European Union Delegation and OSCE Mission by Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic.

The British Telegraph editor in bulletproof vest and without a helmet from the Leposavic hill determines whether there will be a “Serbian invasion of Kosovo” (KoSSev, N1)

Could Kosovo be the next Ukraine – with this question, the British Telegraph presents a thesis about Pristina’s fear of a possible attack by Vucic’s Serbia as Putin’s ally. The paper went as far as to send its military section editor to the hills in the far north of Kosovo, KoSSev portal wrote today.

“We came to Kosovo to determine whether the next major conflict in Europe could take place here. I am standing here on a mountain ridge while behind me are the hills of Serbia,” said the editor of this British media, Danielle Sheridan. She is dressed in a camouflage uniform, wearing a bulletproof vest and gloves with camouflage motifs, but without a helmet on her head, KoSSev noticed. 

In a video clip published on the Twitter account of the British Telegraph, Sheridan talks about the “fear” of the Kosovo prime minister due to the “anti-Albanian” mood of the Serbian president, and the “close relations” of Aleksandar Vucic with Putin.

In the extended text on the website of this media, it is stated that Kosovo has increased security because “the fear is growing that the president of Serbia is planning an invasion supported by his ally, Vladimir Putin.”

The text describes the scenes in which the Kosovo police begin a patrol on the “border with Serbia”:

“They load the car with weapons: AK-47 rifles are strapped to the seatbacks, pistols thrown into the footwell, and drones and flak jackets thrown into the boot of the Land Rover. This is now standard protocol at one of the most volatile borders on the European continent.”

“Serbs can’t build a road that we won’t find”

The deputy commander of the Kosovo police in the North, Veton Elshani, who Sheridan calls “Commander Elshani” in the text, spoke to this media. 

“When people ask Elshani – what is the situation, he simply shows them what preparations he is making for the patrol. ‘See the weapon?’ he said, before taking the Telegraph to the border. ‘This is for police officers to wear. The situation is not good’,” he told this media. 

At the same time, Elshani boasts of knowing the roads in the North of Kosovo.

We know these roads better than anyone else. “Serbs cannot build a road that we will not find,” he said.

As The Telegraph writes, he counted 65 illegal roads and said that each of them is blocked by a huge ditch between concrete pillars, and over that number there are 10 roads that are under constant surveillance, mostly by drones.

“When blood is spilled, then there is a problem”

“By having a permanent presence in the predominantly Serbian region, a message is sent to Belgrade that Kosovo is protecting its border. Banjska changed the game, it raised the game to another level because of death,” says the deputy commander of the KP for the North, adding, “when blood is spilled, then there is a problem.”

“Horseshoe”

And while reporting from Kosovo in such a way, this British newspaper at the same time refers to analysts who warn of “propaganda from the Kremlin” as something that “stirs up unrest in the North in a nation made up of 93 percent Albanians and 4 percent Serbs”, writes portal KoSSev.

In the same text, they refer to the interview of Kosovo PM, Albin Kurti, who warned these Englishmen that Vucic was “planning an invasion”.

Furthermore, Kurti confirmed for the British Telegraph that Serbia has built “operational bases around the horseshoe-shaped border to defend Belgrade and attack Kosovo.”

At the same time, Kurti explained it to them through Vucic’s “well-known friendship” with Vladimir Putin and said that the Russian leader’s interest is that “Serbia invade Kosovo, in order to divert attention from the war in Ukraine”.

“Solidarity with Russia is omnipresent in the North”

Moreover, it claims that Putin is allegedly “recruiting Serbs to fight against Ukrainians”, and this paper as another confirmation of this finds in allegedly establishing that “solidarity with Russia is omnipresent in the North”. “The letter Z appears as graffiti on shops, cafes, houses,” they observed.

And Kurti told them that ”supposedly from there Russia will recruit future Wagnerites, paramilitaries for Ukraine and the Balkans.”

In contrast to this much support for Russia, as detected by The Telegraph in the North, the sentiment of Serbs for NATO is the opposite, because on one road sign they read – “fuck NATO”.

And how and in what way this media portrays the situation in the North, is shown by the following statement:

“Some inhabitants of the Serbian nationality from the North look at anyone who crosses to the South as a traitor, betraying unhealed wounds from the bloodshed of the 90s.”

According to the British Telegraph, Kosovo gained independence just after the end of the war in 1999, since then, as this newspaper reports, Kosovo has been “home to a small community of ethnic Serbs in the northern border region”.

“They can shoot us, but they can’t scare us”

And at the end of this military scribbling from Kosovo, the British expert on defense issues, as she was introduced, once again quotes “Commander Elshani”.

“It is no surprise that Vucic wants to invade. They can shoot at us, but they can’t scare us,” he says through Danielle Sheridan.

She, at the same time, also confirms that “Commander Elshani” and his men are being trained for an attack.

KoSSev reminds that “Commander” Elshani is the deputy commander of the Kosovo police for the North region.

Ivanov: Completely wrong to suggest that the escalation is about war 

For Dr. Helena Ivanov from the Henry Jackson Society Institute, there is almost no chance of a new war breaking out in the Balkans as long as KFOR troops are in Kosovo.

“KFOR was and remains the guarantor of peace in this region,” she said as a direct response to what the British newspaper wrote and with which she disagrees.

“I don’t understand why such a high-profile and credible media would publish a story like this that is completely wrong,” says Helena Ivanov, adding:

“And while we have seen significant escalation in Kosovo recently, to suggest that this is about war is clearly wrong.” She says that the Balkans “was and remains an incredibly complicated region” and invites everyone who would write about it to provide an insight into this complexity.

“Therefore, if you want to make a story about Kosovo, I think you should focus on the normalization talks, their failure and root causes, and how this has created a hostile environment in which functional coexistence becomes borderline impossible,” she stressed. “Instead, the latest rounds of escalation were primarily caused by a complete failure to reach political solutions to key political issues,” Ivanov explained.

“This is primarily due to the unwillingness of governments and the EU’s inability to effectively mediate negotiations on normalization,” concludes Ivanov.

Ljubica Gojgic, the editor and host of a daily political talk show “Pravi ugao” on RTV, commented on X saying:

”Perfect propaganda piece. For the students (and audience) to study and never to mix it with journalism. Full war gear to enhance the performance.”

Vucic met Chinese Ambassador, discussed challenges awaiting Serbia (Tanjug, media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met today Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Li Ming and discussed with him topics of crucial importance and challenges awaiting Serbia on the international arena in the upcoming period, Tanjug news agency reported.

“I informed the Chinese Ambassador of hypocritical initiatives at the UN General Assembly against the entire Serbian people and I have asked China for support in the fight for truth. I am grateful for steadfast and unwavering support of China to our country in global forums, and I emphasized that Serbia in those uneasy times appreciates principled partnership and ironclad friendship proven in action in the most difficult moments for our people and the state”, Vucic wrote in a post on his official Instagram account.  

Vucic receives Ghanaian FM (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received Ghanaian Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchway in Belgrade on Friday, Tanjug news agency reported.

“A substantial and friendly discussion with Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchway about all topics of importance for our bilateral and economic relations. I informed the esteemed collocutor in detail of the current challenges facing Serbia in the international arena, as well as of the steps our country will take to defend its state and national interests”, Vucic wrote in an Instagram post.

He added that they had exchanged views on global geopolitical developments and their countries’ place in a new context of security and diplomatic challenges.

“I expressed gratitude for Ghana’s support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia and noted that in today’s times, more than ever, it is necessary that all countries return to the principles of the UN Charter and the principles of international law as the only foundation upon which mutual trust and respect should be built in relations between states”, Vucic noted.

Serbian leadership with Dodik, Cvijanovic: Vucic to ask UN to review procedures (N1, RTS)

The Serbian state leadership received Thursday in Belgrade the President of Republika Srpska (RS) Bosnia and Herzegovina one of the two entities, Milorad Dodik, Serb member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Presidency Zeljka Cvijanovic and RS Parliament Speaker Nenad Stevandic.

Vucic said that he spoke with the President of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday about the draft resolution calling for July 11 to be declared the international remembrance day for the Srebrenica genocide.

“On Monday I will send a special envoy with a letter and request a review of the violation of all procedures, as it is the obligation of the Security Council to address the issue of BiH in accordance with the UN Charter”, Vucic said.

“It is the obligation of the UN Security Council to focus on the issue of BiH because it is still an unstable region, because international forces are still present there, including what they call the High Representative. If it weren’t, why would he exist and why would they send him”, Vucic said. He added he was saying this because some countries want to transfer decision-making from the Security Council to the UN General Assembly.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/dlT56

International 

Police Disperse Protest for Kosovo Professor’s Firing over Harassment Claims (Balkan Insight)

Kosovo police forcibly dispersed a protest by student activists at the University of Pristina who were demanding the dismissal of a professor accused of allegedly sexually harassing female medical students.

Kosovo Police forcefully dispersed a protest in front of the University of Pristina rectorate building on Thursday for the dismissal of a professor of mathematics over claims of sexual harassment.

Police dragged the protesters away from the doorway of the rectorate and arrested one of them, Rron Gjinovci, executive director of the NGO Organisation for the Increase of Quality in Education, ORCA. He was released shortly afterwards.

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