Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti's advisor: I was stopped from crossing the border by the Serbian police (media)
• Bosch: Serbian list pressuring Serbs in the north not to cooperate with Kosovo (RTK)
• The Serbian List MP speaks about alleged explosion at the bar (media)
• Police confiscate graphic cards and stun grenades in the north (media)
• Inscriptions with hateful message towards LGBTI+ community in library courtyard (Koha)
• Haradinaj: We appreciate OSCE’s continuous support (media)
• Musliu: Person who threatened me stated he was influenced by LVV’s propaganda (Koha)

Serbian Language Media:

• What is happening with supplies of food and medicine supplies in the North? (KoSSev)
• Simic: I have nothing to do with recording and publishing conversation with Kusari, she is afraid of new recordings (KoSSev)
• Telekom Srbija: Pristina wants to shut down our daughter company in Kosovo (Tanjug)
• Civil society organisations and media condemn commission’s decision in relation to Office for Communities public call (Radio KIM, media, social media)
• Miroslav Aleksic and a number of members are leaving the People’s Party (N1)
• Dacic: We will do everything for peace, but we do not agree to tricks like withdrawing 25 percent of police from municipal facilities (Kosovo Online) 

 

 

Albanian Language Media  

 

Kurti's advisor: I was stopped from crossing the border by the Serbian police (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister’s adviser, Ardita Sinani, has announced that she was stopped at the border point in Mucibaba by the Serbian border police. She wrote on Facebook that the only justification given to her by the border police of Serbia is that they have an order to stop her and they cannot allow her to cross the border without obtaining consent from the base".

"No additional clarification about the reason, or who is the base to be asked and get permission to cross the border. This may be the cost of being a Political Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, but it will certainly not be the means by which the voice for the rights of the Albanians of the Presheva Valley will be silenced," she said.

According to her, "this case will only be an even greater push to speak even louder about Serbian state discrimination against Albanians".

According to her, the detention by the police at the border is only one of them, which according to her is also an old political method of suppressing by the current leaders of Serbia.

Bosch: Serbian list pressuring Serbs in the north not to cooperate with Kosovo (RTK)

The former ambassador of the Netherlands to Kosovo, Robert Bosch, has supported the letter of various European politicians, who have accused Serbia of obstructing the democratic elections in Kosovo. Bosch says that Serbia should be publicly punished for interfering in Kosovo.

“Will this help stopping Borel/Lajcak extreme understanding of view Belgrade? As I wrote before it is SL that pressures Serbs in the North not to cooperate with Pristine and de facto make the life of moderate Serbs impossible. The EU seemingly does not want to recognize this....why?” Boch tweeted. 

The Serbian List MP speaks about alleged explosion at the bar (media)

An explosion allegedly took place in the bar of the MP of the Serbian List, Zoran Maksimovic, on Saturday, August 5 in Ranillug. The case was reported to the police the next day, August 6.

Maksimovic has said that the explosive device was thrown in the garden of the bar, which was closed at the time. The member of the Serbian List added that he has notified the Kosovo Police, adding that police from Prishtina and Gjilan went for investigations.

"We were on vacation, only my daughter was at home. Everyone heard the explosion but didn't know what it was, and no one saw who did it. Fortunately, there was only minor material damage. The case has been reported to the police, police have arrived from Gjilane and Pristina. The investigation is ongoing and I cannot say anything more," Maksimovic said.

Police confiscate graphic cards and stun grenades in the north (media)

The Kosovo Police have announced that they carried out an action in the "Three skyscrapers" neighborhood in North Mitrovica, where a quantity of illegal means, including stun grenades, were confiscated.

The regional deputy director of the Kosovo Police in the North Mitrovica region, Veton Elshani, told RTKlive that "after the information received from the sector for combating narcotics, North Mitrovica, in cooperation with the North Regional Director, the police has carried out an inspection in an apartment on Kolashini street, exactly on the 11th floor at "Three skycrapers".

"In the apartment that was used by S.M. (Kosovar Serb), 60 graphics cards, S9 anti-mine machines, 13 ventilators, electric pots used for growing cannabis plants, an electric lamp for the laboratory, 51 cartridges, 8 modified explosives were found and confiscated. ".

He announced that the suspect was not at home during the police action.

Inscriptions with hateful message towards LGBTI+ community in the library courtyard (Koha)

Inscriptions with hateful messages towards LGBTI+ groups have appeared on the campus of the University of Pristina, namely near the national library. It is not known who wrote them.

Koha has published photographs of the inscription "Kill the gays".

The police have not yet sent a notification whether it has been initiated as a case or even if it has been notified. The website informs that it is waiting for a response from this institution to understand more details about the case.

Haradinaj: We appreciate OSCE’s continuous support (media)

The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, received in a meeting today the head of the OSCE mission in Kosovo, Michael Davenport.

"I hosted at the headquarters of the Alliance Mr. Michael Davenport, head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo. Together we discussed the current political developments and issues related to the rule of law", Haradinaj wrote on his Facebook account.

"At the same time, in the meeting, I expressed appreciation for the continuous help that the OSCE mission has given to the institutions of Kosovo in the development of democracy, strengthening the rule of law and promoting human rights", Haradinaj added.

Musliu: The person who threatened me stated he was influenced by LVV’s propaganda (Koha)

Ganimete Muslliu, MP of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) said that the person who was sentenced to 6 months in prison on Monday for threatening her, stated that he "had fallen under the influence of the Vetevendosje Movement's propaganda".

"This is a concrete example that the language with which the party-state feeds its militants is the language of hatred, division and intolerance. And as such, it is not only unacceptable but also reprehensible. Otherwise, I consider that the punishment against the person who threatened me is very minor and I will consult with my lawyer to take the necessary actions to oppose it with a complaint", Musliu wrote.

 

 

Serbian Language Media

 

What is happening with supplies of food and medicine supplies in the North? (KoSSev)

Two months after Pristina authorities decided to ban the import of Serbian goods to Kosovo, stores in Mitrovica North face the problem of a low supply of basic groceries, especially flour, sugar and dairy products. Any such products available on the shelves are not made in Serbia. Shop and market store owners are forced to turn to products made in other countries or purchase Serbian products from other countries. However, sometimes even those products are missing, or stores only have them in limited quantities. Private pharmacies, for now, have a supply of medicines that are most in demand. On the other hand, the North Mitrovica Hospital Center warns that the situation is alarming.

The Presidents of the Chambers of Commerce of Serbia and Kosovo, Marko Cadez and Lulzim Rafuna, emphasised that the economy and business should not be involved in politics, and that “stopping business activities is not the solution“, as well as that both sides suffer from blockades.

Read more at: rb.gy/f217u 

Simic: I have nothing to do with recording and publishing conversation with Kusari, she is afraid of new recordings (KoSSev)

Self-determination Movement caucus leader Mimoza Kusari-Lila filed a criminal report against Serbian List official Slavko Simic “for recording and publishing the illegal audio recordings”, adding it was about “a criminal act on one side, and disinformation activities on the other”, KoSSev portal reports citing Pristina-based Gazeta Express.

Slavko Simic speaking for T7 refuted accusations Kusari-Lila voiced against him.

“Although I was under media pressure to speak since that communication was published, recent insinuations that I am behind the recording and publishing of our conversations, that are absolutely not true, forced me to refute the lies by which Mimoza Kusari-Lila attempts to divert attention from a fact that they requested Serbian List support from Milan Radoicic. On whose behalf and instruction – she knows the best. Perhaps the fear from new recordings are the reason for this media lynch against Serbian List, myself and Mr. Radoicic, silence and trampling over the truth”, Simic said.

He also claimed persistently that Mimoza Kusari-Lila spoke several times with Milan Radoicic from the Serbian List.

“Slanders, lies and imaginary criminal report by Ms Mimoza Kusari-Lila in no way can conceal the fact that she several times, in my presence, spoke with Serbian List Vice President Milan Radoicic and requested from him favours and support for many votes in the Assembly”, Simic said.

He added that with the support of the Serbian List, the Self-determination Movement caucus group adopted more than 30 laws.

“And we have supported not anything and not anyone, but because it was not in contradiction to our national interests. And she and I know very well how many times she spoke with Milan Radoicic, and how long those conversations lasted and that she asked from him and the Serbian List to support candidates for the highest functions in Pristina, candidates for various agencies, but also for legislative processes obstructed by opposition. And this is not all. There were other talks with Radoicic about many, many other current topics and processes outside of the parliament, and for what I know the best, and perhaps one day the public will be informed with all details”, he said.

He also said that during certain assembly sessions, Kusari-Lila was asking for a break in session in order to be able to speak with Radoicic and ask him for the support of the Serbian List that at that moment was necessary for her work.

Telekom Srbija: Pristina wants to shut down our daughter company in Kosovo (Tanjug)

Telekom Srbija announced on Friday it had received from Pristina's business registers agency a decision abolishing MTS doo, its daughter company in Kosovo, Tanjug news agency reported.

In a statement, Telekom Srbija said the decision, dated July 31, was "factually and legally groundless and contrary to European principles, standards and international law".

"It represents a clear breach of rule of law and violates the confirmed agreements between Serbia, Pristina and the EU", it added.

“The move is based on a completely absurd claim that a member of the company's management has a passport issued by the Republic of Serbia, even though, in all official documentation, members of the management use documents issued by the interim institutions, in line with the Brussels Agreement”, Telekom Srbija said.

MTS doo was founded in full compliance with the September 8, 2013 Brussels agreement on telecommunications, it is 100 pct owned by Telekom Srbija and has been operating for a decade now, the statement said.

Contrary to speculation by various media outlets about a potential closure of MTS doo, we would like to stress that the decision is still unenforceable, Telekom Serbia said, adding that it would appeal the decision.

It said Telekom Serbia would do everything in its power to protect the interests of all its customers in Kosovo as well as the interests of the more than 250 MTS doo employees.

Civil society organisations and media condemn commission’s decision in relation to Office for Communities public call (Radio KIM, media, social media)

After the recently published Public Call of the Office of Communities Affairs, within the Kosovo Prime Minister Office “to support NGO projects/programs for raising level of employment of members of non-majority communities, media that contribute to the protection and improvement of the rights and interests of non-majority communities in Kosovo, as well as non-governmental organisations that contribute to cultural activities that promote culture, tradition, language, cultural heritage and the identity of community members” and consequently the decision which was made by the commission regarding the above mentioned Public Call, number of Serbian civil society organisations and media reacted to the decision. 

Their reaction said the decision had violated procedural and administrative fundamentals, implemented institutional discrimination, non-transparency and ignored obligations of institutions to respect the rights of non-majority communities

Read full statement at: https://tinyurl.com/4mwvunrc

Miroslav Aleksic and a number of members are leaving the People’s Party (N1)

The vice-president of the Serbian opposition People's Party (NS) Miroslav Aleksic told N1 that he and representatives in a number of city and municipal committees are leaving the party.

He explained that the former members of the party are expected to make a decision on the establishment of a new political organisation whose working name, for now, is the People’s Movement of Serbia.

Internal conflict in the People’s Party has been going on for a long time and last week it entered the final phase, culminating in the removal of Aleksic from the position of president of the party’s Executive Committee, N1 said. 

Dacic: We will do everything for peace, but we do not agree to tricks like withdrawing 25 percent of police from municipal facilities (Kosovo Online)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, said Saturday that withdrawal of 25 percent of Kosovo special police units from the municipalities in the north of Kosovo looked like a mockery, given that those forces should not even be stationed in the north, without permission of KFOR and Serbs, stating that Serbia is for peace and will do everything to preserve it, but does not agree to such tricks, Kosovo Online portal reported.

"We should give great credit to the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija who stoically bear the terror that is perpetrated against them, in conditions where we do not have the army and the police there. The peaceful resistance of the unarmed people hurts them the most, as well as the unity of the Serbian people”, Dacic said. 

Dacic said Serbia will continue its policy, will not change its stance on Kosovo and would continue advocating for peace, but without accepting the tricks.