UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, October 23, 2019

Albanian Language Media:

• Osmani: Agreement with Serbia must have blessing from the U.S. (RFE)
• Kosovo leaders welcome U.S. resolution on killing of Bytyqi brothers (media)
• CEC begins verification of ballots from Serbia (media)
• Smajl Latifi summoned by specialist chambers (media)
• Can a government be formed without Lista Srpska? (Prishtina Insight)
• A Serb arrested for war crimes (KosovaPress)

Serbian Language Media:

• Dacic: Reaching political solution to Kosovo issue national priority for Serbia (Serbian media, Foreign Affairs Ministry)
• "EU will not explicitly ask Serbia to recognize Kosovo" (Tanjug, B92)
• "If they exclude Pristina, Albania withdraws from ‘mini Schengen’ immediately" (Tanjug, B92, Kosovo-online)
• The US House of Representatives adopts resolution on Bytyqi brothers (Voice of America, Tanjug, B92)
• Vukosavljevic on Kosovo's UNESCO membership: It's not going that direction (RTS)
• Road sign indicating direction of SOC Draganac Monastery demolished (Radio KIM, Kosovo-online)
• Serbian List: Extension of custody for Spasojevic and Rosic "rape of justice" (RTS)
• EP rapporteur Bilcik says he will come to Belgrade soon (N1)
• Dalibor Jevtic visits Washington (KIM Radio)
• Djuric: "Kurti is an obsessive and malicious guy" (N1, Beta, Kosovo online, TV Most, B92)
• Special protective equipment for counting votes from central Serbia (RTS, B92, KoSSev)
• "Take care, Europe" (B92, Tanjug)

Opinions:

• Creating a new Casablanca (Prishtina Insight)

International:

• Balkan nations bank on regional ties after EU snub (The Financial Times)

Humanitarian and Development:

• INDEP advises new government to cancel contract for new power plant (media)
• Kosovo Teacher Probed for Turkish Military Salute with Pupils (Balkan Insight)
• In the Balkans, locals fight to save their wild flowing rivers from hydropower (DW)
• NGOs, Council of Europe decounce situation for migrants in Balkans (infomigrants.net)

• Albin Kurti expects to take over PMs post in November (Alsat)
• Vucic: Let us make efforts for compromise, frozen conflict is not a solution (RTK)
• Serbian proposal for land swap falls on def ears in Kosovo (Koha)
• LVV and LDK working groups to meet again today (Koha/Zeri)
• KLA war veterans don’t rule out protests (Epoka)
• Ibrahim Gashi summoned by specialist chambers (media)
• “Special court doing its job, arrests will be made soon” (Indeksonline)
• Serbian List accuses EU of supporting government without their participation (Zeri)
• Bilcik: Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, essential for Serbia’s road towards EU (RTK)
• Kosovo, North Macedonia with joint taskforce against security threats (RTK)

UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, October 22, 2019

Albanian Language Media:

• Serb parties willing to cooperate with new government (Radio Free Europe)
• Kurti reacts to Nobel prize being awarded to Peter Handke (media)
• Ibrahim Gashi summoned by specialist chambers (media)
• Svecla tells which ministries would LVV keep (T7)
• Seven additional summonses by Specialist Chambers, protests not excluded (KosovaPress)

Serbian Language Media:

• "No recognition of Kosovo within existing borders" (B92, Tanjug, Standard)
• SzS: Vucic by stating “that borders are not determined” infringes Constitution again (Danas)
• Hamilton: Grenell - an additional channel that bypasses Palmer (VoA)
• Djuric: Kurti proves every day he is an extreme politician (TV Most)
• IFJ called on Kosovo President to stop harassment of journalists (Radio KIM)
• Serbian List: International community silence, sign of an approval (Kosovo online)
• Church in Priluzje broken into and robbed (RTK2, Kontakt plus radio)

Opinions:

• LDK risks blocking own path (Koha Ditore)

International:

• Once Beaten and Imprisoned, Kosovo’s Leader Now Has Greater Test (Bloomberg)
• Hague Prosecutors Summon Former Kosovo Guerrilla Commander (Balkan Insight)
• [BSF Interview] Wiersma: EU should be more aggressive to leaders like Vučić and Đukanović (European Western Balkans)
• Emmanuel Macron’s EU accession veto is a historic mistake (Financial Times)

Humanitarian and Development:

• Salaries in the private sector experience a minimal increase (Prishtina Insight)
• Southeast Europe faces dramatic population drop, U.N. warns (Reuters, Al Jazeera, Index.hr)

• Vote counting expected to end by week’s end (media)
• Kurti gives interview to Syri TV, talks about agreement with Serbia
• LVV and LDK working groups to meet tomorrow (Zeri)
• Kurti: We will reduce power to strengthen the country (Koha)
• Haradinaj: Albin Kurti is a good deceiver (Telegrafi/Klan)
• More former KLA officials summoned by Specialist Chambers (media)
• Haradinaj convinced that visas will be removed before the New Year (Epoka)
• Foreign service appointments continue during transitional period (Koha)
• Nick Giacobbe nominated U.S. Deputy Ambassador to Kosovo (media)

Albanian Language Media:

• 12 CEC officials admitted to hospital for allergic reaction, discharged (RFE)
• Vote recount continues, 220 polling stations still to be counted (Telegrafi)
• Bahtiri: LVV – LDK coalition will be signed first week of November (Gazeta Blic)
• Ramadani: New Kosovo government to continue path to NATO (media)
• Thaci meets PM Abe, express pleasure on Kosovo-Japan rapprochement (Klan)

Serbian Language Media:

• “Russia will not permit to be excluded from resolving Kosovo issue” (Tanjug, B92, Radio kontakt plus)
• Serbian List: To resolve, not misuse Ivanovic’s murder (RTS)
• Simic: There is no single point of Brussels agreement which Albanians did not evade to fulfil (TV Most)
• Haki Rugova: Serbian List will have place in Kosovo Government (Danas, Kosovo-online, Gazeta Expres)
• Vucic: Two infections hit Albanians (Prva TV, B92)
• "As long as Vucic is in power, Serbia will not be part of NATO pact" (BETA, B92)
• Medvedev: Russia supports peaceful Kosovo solution, in line with Resolution 1244 (BETA, N1)
• Serbia and Japan relations much better, Brnabic thanks Abe for balanced stance on Kosovo (BETA, TV N1)
• Vucic thanked Thabane for support on Kosovo (Tanjug, B92)
• Court of Appeals confirmed: Milorad Zajic from Klina acquitted of war crimes charges (KoSSev, Kontkat plus radio)
• Less than half of Serbia citizens see EU membership as foreign policy priority (BETA, N1)
• CEC: Still no decision on counting votes from Serbia (TV N1, Kosovo-online)
• Early elections in North Macedonia in April 2020 (BETA, N1)

Opinions: 

• What happened sends a message to Serbia and Montenegro - you're not welcome (Jutarnji List)
• France is Undermining Balkan – and EU – Stability (Balkan Insight)
• Why was a Nobel Prize awarded to a man who celebrated a war criminal? (WAPO)

International:

• 'The EU is running scared from fascism' – Kosovo's likely new PM (The Guardian)
• Russia, Serbia vow to boost ties despite Belgrade’s EU bid (Washington Post)
• Macron’s veto undermines Balkan stability, Greek MEP says (EURAKTIV)
• Unsafe Haven: Balkans Sees Rise in Turkish Asylum Requests (Balkan Insight)
• Russia & Kosovo will not meet because of 'security risks' - Uefa (BBC)

Humanitarian and Development:

• 10th anniversary of Crime Victims' Rights Week marked in Kosovo (Telegrafi/Klan)
• The long road to becoming captain (Prishtina Insight)

• Election results to be certified early November (Zeri)
• ECAP rejects counting of diaspora ballots (Klan Kosova)
• Vucic: No one has offered us border correction or partition of Kosovo (Zeri)
• Vetevendosje confirms Kurti was not injured in car accident in Tirana (Bota Sot)
• Lushtaku comments on PDK’s election defeat (T7/Bota Sot)
• “AKR will have three MPs” (Epoka e Re)
• Slobodan Petrovic on election results: We were robbed (Klan Kosova)
• Thaci welcomes Alexander Soros’ call to debate (RTK)
• Protest in support of Kurdish people in Pristina faces opposition (KP/Koha)

• Konjufca: None of the parties set conditions, we did not discuss ministries (media)
• Haziri: Coalition with Vetevendosje immediately after certification of results (RTK)
• Kociajncic responds to Vucic on ‘poisoned envelopes from Serbia’ (Zeri)
• Serbian List accuses and threatens Kurti (media)
• Petrovic speaks about abuse of votes (RTV Dukagjini)
• Cakaj: Between regional agendas and Kosovo, Albania stands with Kosovo (Klan)
• Hoxhaj: EU is making space to anti-democratic states (Klan)
• Rama to meet Kurti in the following days (Klan)

Albanian Language Media:

• Nagavci: We don’t accept conditions from LDK, Kurti will be PM (Koha)
• Vetevendosje working group arrives at LDK premises, the meeting begins (Express)
• Nuredin Ibishi – Leka summoned by Specialist Chambers (Gazeta Express)
• Haradinaj: I stopped the Kosovo division project and a theft of €10 billion (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Stojanovic: I would never compare sufferings and tariffs (Danas)
• Research: 75 percent of Serbian citizens would consider recognition of Kosovo as treason (KoSSev)
• Vucic wrote to EU regarding alleged poisoning case (B92)
• Brussels: EU leaders deadlock over membership talks for North Macedonia and Albania (Tanjug, B92)
• Fajon: Wake up Macron, EU must show political maturity and responsibility (N1 Belgrade, N1 Sarajevo)
• Dodik: Bosnian Serbs can't wait for a demarcation between Serbia and Kosovo (N1, TV Klan)
• Dacic to TV Prva: ''Poisoned envelopes'' one in a series of "classic lies" of Pristina (Blic, Vecernje Novosti, N1)
• Suspended talks in Brussels on Albania and Northern Macedonia; the consequences of delay are brutal (Serbian media)
• IPU conference ends in Belgrade with Declaration and Resolution (Beta, RTS)
• Botsan-Kharchenko: Situation in Kosovo serious (RTS)
• President Vucic on Kosovo, dialogue, Albin Kurti (Politika, TV Pink)
• Bundestag delegation chief says Serbian president is legitimate partner (N1, DW)

International:

• First Flag: Kosovo's Would-Be PM Takes Serbian Heat For Favoring Albanian Banner (RFE)
• Russia submits proposal on moving UNGA First Committee's sessions from New York (TASS)
• Russia calls for condemning radicals in Kosovo for raising tensions in Balkans (TASS)

Humanitarian and Development:

• Gracanica Mayor: Seriously consider the problem of pollution of the river bed in Laplje Selo (KIM radio, Gracanicaonline.info, RTK2)
• Regional cooperation necessary for fighting human trafficking (Kosovapress)
• Countess of Wessex meets religious leaders of Kosovo (RTK)

• “Kosovo-Serbia agreement, strategic priority for the U.S.” (Koha Ditore)
• LVV-LDK working groups set to meet today (Zeri)
• Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti’s interview to News 24
• LDK leader Isa Mustafa’s interview to Klan Kosova
• Vetevendosje movement files a complaint at ECAP (media)
• Sherifi: NISMA currently stands at above 5 percent (Klan Kosova)
• Publicist Veton Surroi’s interview to T7
• Krasniqi says no PDK member supports land swap idea (T7/Express)
• Former KSF commander, Kastrati, summoned by Specialist Chambers (media)
• Cakaj: Mini-Schengen to remove Kosovo-Serbia border barriers (Koha)
• Countess of Wessex meets President Thaci (media)
• Dehari family urges authorities to release expertise report (media)

Albanian Language Media:

• Haziri: Whoever has a vote more will lead the government (media)
• CEC decides on vote recount in additional 530 polling stations (Telegrafi)
• Prosecution receives Dehari’s results from Switzerland (Express)
• Kurti meets in London British MPs (media)
• Specialist Chambers invite former KLA superior from Llapi Operative zone (Express)
• Kosovo’s outgoing Justice Minister says he got death threats last December (Lajmi)
• Vetevendosje movement files a complaint at ECAP (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic met Lajcak in Belgrade today (B92)
• Ashton: We did not ask Belgrade and Pristina to cross red lines (RTS, Tanjug)
• Kosovo prosecution continues investigation of alleged poisoning (RTS)
• Dacic: The hypocritical response of the British Embassy (Tanjug, RTS)
• Kurti for NIN: "ZSO - dead letter on paper; Serbs to turn to more moderate Serb parties" (Kontakt plus radio, Danas, N1)
• Zeri: New government without the Serbian List impossible (RTS)
• Hahn warns EU member states (Kosovo online, B92)
• Exhibition in Mitrovica North cancelled, painter prohibited to enter Kosovo with the paintings (Kosovo online)
• Vasilije Bojic arrested in Mitrovica North on Wednesday released
• Montenegrin language school in Pristina banned (Gracanicaonline.info)

Opinions:

• EU Enlargement: The Balkans Brexit Fallout (Balkan Insight)
• What’s next for Pristina? (CEPA)
• Mushkolaj: The bitter taste of defeat (Express)

Humanitarian and Development:

• Countess of Wessex: Let’s fight together stigma that harms survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (media)
• Childhood interrupted: a story from Plemetin (Prishtina Insight)