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UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, August 31, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

• Osmani hosted by the president of the Czech Senate (media)
• Specialist Chambers judge Mihael Bolander resigns (media)
• Thousands participate in the protest after the rape of the 11-year-old (media)
• Director for Treatment of Prisoners and Juveniles resigns (media)
• The saga of the Serbs towards the Kosovo documents (RFE, media)
• COVID-19: 191 new cases and two deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic met US Congressman Turner (Tanjug)
• Belgrade, Zagreb, Pristina trade blame over missing persons (N1)
• Disclaimers on ID cards placed at administrative crossings towards Kosovo (RTS)
• KFOR: We are closely monitoring the situation, we are staying at Jarinje and Brnjak (RTS, Kosovo Online)
• Lajcak: Two months to find a solution for the vehicle plates, some ideas proposed (RTS, Tanjug)
• Mihajlovic: Lavrov makes Serbia's position even more difficult (NMagazin, Beta)
• Nine Covid-19 cases in Serbian areas (KiM radio)

UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, August 31, 2022

Escobar: European integration, only alternative for Western Balkans (Kosovapress)
Gervalla: We are not asking for privileges or shortcuts to join EU (media)
Opposition leaders want Kurti to focus on final settlement, not technical issues (RFE)
Kosovo protesters demand action after rape of 11-year-old (BIRN)
Kosovo Police Director resigns (media)
Dugolli: GDP rising, but talks with Serbia at an impasse (The Washington Diplomat)
Slovenia appoints Anzej Franges, emissary for the Western Balkans (RTK)
Tuhina: Now the pressure can be directed towards Kosovo (RTK)
Kosovo Urged to Take ‘Inclusive Approach’ to War Memorialisation (BIRN)

UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, August 30, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

• President Osmani travels for an official visit to the Czech Republic (media)
• Gervalla participating at Bled Forum (Telegrafi)
• Kurti: Archives in Belgrade should open so truth about our loved ones can be found out (Klan)
• Osmani, Kurti, Hovenier pay tribute to the disappeared (media)
• UNMIK in support of the families of persons missing from the war in Kosovo (Klan)
• EULEX: In one year, three missing persons were identified, hundreds over years (Koha)
• PSD calls the agreement on ID cards "legalization of parallel structures" (Koha)
• Government to establish a Professional Committee after rape of the 11-year-old, (Klan)
• COVID-19: 91 new cases (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• SRSG Ziadeh: Pristina and Belgrade cooperation crucial for progress on the issue of missing persons (Kontakt plus radio)
• "It turns out to be a miracle that pain united us" (KiM radio, KoSSev)
• Vucic: The problem with the vehicle plates will not be solved before September (NMagazin, Beta)
• State Department: The agreement between Serbia and Kosovo is a step towards the normalization of relations (Beta, N1, VoA)
• Serbian FM Selakovic met Cuban FM Parrilla (Tanjug)
• Serbian Parliament Speaker Vladimir Orlic met Ambassador Hill (Tanjug, media)
• Citizens on the ID agreement: Not supported by the majority “because it is not beneficial to both sides” (KoSSev)
• Hrnjaz: Serbia did not recognize Kosovo with the new agreement, it does not mean it has not been moving towards it politically for 10 years (KoSSev)

International:

• Germany's Scholz Backs EU Expansion To Include Western Balkans, As 'Center Of Europe Is Moving Eastwards' (RFE)

Humanitarian/Development:

• New Book Tells Stories of Kosovo’s Child Casualties of War (Balkan Insight)
• Greece increases electricity exports to neighboring Balkan countries (balkangreenenergynews.com)

UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, August 30, 2022

Borrell: Issue of license plates, more difficult to resolve (RFE)
Kosovo-Serbia deal on IDs raises implementation question, expert says (BIRN)
Recognition of documents does not mean Serbia has recognised Kosovo (Koha)
PDK leader Krasniqi says no to PM Kurti’s invitation to meet (media)
LDK leader Abdixhiku agrees to meet PM Kurti on dialogue (media)
Escobar: Vucic committed to regional stability; good will from both sides (media)
East and West clash in a proxy conflict over Serbia, President Vucic says (Reuters)
It’s Never Too Late to Find the Kosovo War’s Missing Persons (BIRN)
Kosovo leaders call for deserved punishment for raping of minor girl (media)

UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, August 29, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti invites opposition leaders to meet on Tuesday (media)
• Haradinaj responds positively to Kurti's invitation for a meeting (media)
• Murati: Government will proceed with salary law, educational staff should start work (media)
• Kurti: Kosovo has provided shelter for 1798 Afghans (RTK)
• Lavrov: The West is ready to recognize independence declared illegally (media)
• Tahiri: Why isn’t the text of the agreement on ID cards being published? (Klan)
• COVID-19: 89 new cases (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic: Agreement with Pristina makes it easier, not harder, for everyone (media)
• Opposition on the BG and PR IDs agreement (media)
• Stoltenberg welcomes the agreement on IDs: NATO and KFOR will remain vigilant (Radio Mitrovica sever)
• Michel, Varhelyi, Rohde, Rama welcomed the agreement reached on IDs (media, Twitter)
• OPEN initiative seeks the C/ASM to be formed (Kosovo Online, KoSSev)
• NGO Aktiv: 51 incidents recorder in the first six months of 2022 (KoSSev)

Opinion:

• In the history of international law, it never happened that a state recognizes another through license plates or identity cards (Danas, N1)
• Unbalanced Vucic-Rama Double Act Benefits Only Serbia (Balkan Insight)

International:

• Afghans adrift on US 'lily pad' in Kosovo (DW)
• ‘Everyone loved each other’: the rise of Yugonostalgia (The Guardian)

UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, August 29, 2022

Borrell: Deal reached on freedom of movement between Kurti and Vucic (media)
Borrell: If no agreement, there could’ve been a crisis on Sept 1 in north (media)
Osmani: Freedom of movement, foundation of democratic societies (media)
Kurti: Reciprocity is spirit of principled and just solution (media)
NATO SG welcomes agreement on free movement (media)
Kurti: Full reciprocity until agreement on mutual recognition is reached (Kallxo)
Kurti’s warning for a government reshuffle seen as an urgency (Koha)
Kurti: Energy price always on the rise; we need to save (Telegrafi)
COVID-19: 89 new cases, two deaths (media)

UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, August 26, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

• Prime Minister Kurti’s interview for Welt (media)
• They protest for increased wages, but they “risk” current wage too (RFE)
• LDK: Asking for lists of strikers is a practice typical for autocrats (Koha)
• “As of 2014, 75% of time, primary and secondary education under strike threats” (media)
• Bugajski to Lajcak: When will you meet Albanians in Serbia? (Demokracia)
• Sinani calls on Lajcak and Escobar to meet Albanians in Serbia too (Kosovapress)
• Pendarovski: EU has forgotten about Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo (media)
• LDK: Instead of solving demands of the strikers, government is threatening them (RTK)
• COVID-19: 188 new cases, no deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Escobar: I am convinced that the Serbs in the north of Kosovo will not see any change on September 1 (NMagazin, Beta)
• Lajcak: I appreciate Vucic's sincere effort to support the European solution (RTS)
• Vucic: Discussions to be continued, we are fighting for peace (Tanjug, media)
• Petkovic: Kurti openly threatens with violence in the north, we will not allow the persecution of Serbs (RTS)
• Jeremic: The Parliamentary Club of People’s Party propose a negotiation platform (KiM radio, Beta)
• Demostat: Kurti's rigid stance could lead to new elections in Kosovo (N1, Beta)
• Association of the Missing: 1,621 more persons from Kosovo have not been found (Kontakt plus radio, Beta, N1)
• KP: ''Ethnically motivated cases in the first half of 2022 in decline compared to the same period in 2021'' (KoSSev)

Opinion:

• Zizek: Degeneracy, Depravity, and the New Right (The Daily Star)

International:

• Number plate row fuels Kosovo's ethnic tensions as Serbia seeks more talks (Reuters)
• Picturing War: Macedonian Boys Fetch Ammo in the Thick of Fighting (Balkan Insight)

UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, August 26, 2022

• Escobar: Kosovo and Serbia to pledge there won’t be violence (RFE)
• U.S., EU want violence to be avoided on September 1 (Koha)
• Kurti presents 6 chapters of agreement to Quint and EU (media)
• ‘Time Is Ripe’ for Final Deal With Serbia, Kosovo Premier Says (Bloomberg)
• Kurti for Al Jazeera: No one can stop Kosovo Police from going north (media)
• Lajcak, Escobar meet Serbian President Vucic in Belgrade (media)
• “ROSU cannot go to north, if NATO doesn’t stop it, Serbs will” (Koha)
• Leaders of four northern municipalities come out with a statement (Koha)
• Selimi: Biden asked Hill to return from retirement, serve in Balkans (Express)
• Abdixhiku: We have a PM that covers up failures with fear and threats (media)

UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, August 25, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

• Lajcak in Mitrovica North: There can be no more barricades (RFE)
• Escobar from the North: We take into account the concerns of Serbs (Albanian Post)
• France calls for talks in spirit of compromise, implementation of agreements (Express)
• Citaku: Kurti in dialogue should convince Washington and Brussels, not Vucic (media)
• New graffiti in the north: “NATO go home, this is Serbia!” (Nacionale)
• Strike in public sector in Kosovo begins today (Kosovapress)
• Confirmed: Ministry of Finance will not pay a salary to anyone who protests even for 1 hour (Klan)
• COVID-19: 203 new cases, no deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Lajcak: All important topics were discussed with Serbian List; Escobar hopes to announces more details later in Belgrade (Kosovo Online)
• Vucic: KFOR should protect Serbs, not remove barricades (Radio Mitrovica sever)
• Petkovic: Kurti's series of falsehoods again, Pristina unlawfully and unilaterally abolished KS plates a year before the deadline (Radio Mitrovica sever)
• Batuse village: The name in Serbian crossed out, graffiti of the KLA written (Kosovo Online)
• Office for KiM: Organized and planned intimidation of the remaining Serbs south of the Ibar (Kosovo Online)
• Wisner advises Pristina to drop the recognition request (Radio Mitrovica sever, Kosovo Online)
• KFOR in regular contact with Serbian Armed Forces representatives (Tanjug, media)
• 18 new coronavirus cases in Serbian areas (Kontakt plus radio)

Opinion:

• Muharremi: Association helps wield sovereignty throughout Kosovo (Klan Kosova)

International:

• ‘Time Is Ripe’ for Final Deal With Serbia, Kosovo Premier Says (Bloomberg)
• Picturing War: Fleeing Roma Find Refuge at Montenegro Tent Camp (Balkan Insight)

UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, August 25, 2022

• Escobar, Lajcak received assurances there won’t be violence on Sept 1 (media)
• Lajcak: Talked with Osmani to avoid any tension in the north (Albanian Post)
• EU, U.S. envoys attempt to break Kosovo-Serbia deadlock (BIRN)
• US, EU envoys meet Kosovo PM in effort to avert tensions (AP)
• PDK’s Krasniqi calls for final agreement that brings mutual recognition (media)
• Wisner: More important issue than IDs and license plates is at play (Koha)
• Kosovo govt, NATO forces are committed to guaranteeing security (media)
• Serbs adopt declaration to leave institutions if solutions are not found (media)
• Shea: NATO guarantees security in Kosovo, not Belgrade (RFE, media)
• Vucic opposes KFOR’s position that it will not allow barricades in north (RFE)
• Cause for optimism in the most recent Kosovo-Serbia crisis (Breaking Defense)
• Kosovo government building illuminated with colors of Ukrainian flag (media)