UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, December 27, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti: Year 2024, the year of our passport (RTK)
President Osmani decrees 24 new prosecutors, almost half of them women (media)
Osmani, Hovenier visit grave of former Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova (media)
Hovenier: I am leaving as a strong friend of Kosovo (Indeksonline)
Kosovo increases sanctions against Russia (Kallxo)
Hasani: Kosovo's sovereignty and territorial integrity, a national priority (RTK)
First case of Mpox confirmed in Kosovo (media)
Central Bank: Euro as only currency for payments has had positive effects (media)
A parallel Serbian institution in the north, shut down (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Kosovo police raided offices of Urban Planning; Elshani says it is continuation of yesterday's operation (Kosovo Online, media)
Serbian List says Kosovo police apprehended director of Urbanism social enterprise, strongly condemns raid on yet another institution (Kosovo Online, Radio Mitrovica sever, media)
Vucevic: ''Invasion of so-called Kosovo police into 'Urbanizam' company, continuation of terror against Serbs'' (Tanjug, Danas)
EULEX on CSOs report: We draw attention to Kosovo police on mandatory professional and impartial conduct (Alternativna.com)
Kosovo police reacted ‘ex officio’ over removal of string with decorations, Arsenijevic says ‘ex-officio’ approach reserved for Serbs only (Alternativna.com, social media)
Blakaj: During the inventory of war damage, no evidence was requested (Kosovo Online)
Party of Kosovo Serbs demands resignation of Gracanica mayor (Radio KIM)
Vucic: Rational approach needed to end Ukraine bloodshed (Tanjug)
DS, Together party sign agreement on unification (N1)

International Media:

Kosovo, Serbia and Bosnia struggle on media ownership transparency (PI)
Kosovo issues first war crimes verdict in defendant’s absence (BIRN)
In divided Kosovo, some Albanians and Serbs do come together - at work (BIRN)
From fear to the magic of Brussels (Kosovo 2.0)
Commission urged not to designate Serbia lithium mine as ‘strategic project’ (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti: Year 2024, the year of our passport (RTK)

Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, at the last meeting of the government for this year listed the ten achievements that, according to him, were the main ones of 2024.

The first achievement listed was the liberalization of visas for Kosovars from the EU, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Taiwan, as well as the recognition of Kosovo passports by two non-recognizing countries, Spain and Armenia. “The year 2024 has been the year of our passport. Today, it ranks higher than ever in international passport indexes,” he said.

As a second achievement, the Kurti listed the registration and collection of billing of electricity in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo and the conversion of illegal driver's licenses into RKS ones.

Furthermore, the third achievement listed by the head of government was the separation from the energy bloc with Serbia.

Public health is listed as the fourth achievement. He said that it has become better, cheaper and with more services. He listed one by one the renovations of clinics and indicated that from February, according to the Law on the Unified Price of Medicines, prices will be many times lower.

The increase in pensions by 30 percent is listed as the fifth achievement for this year by Prime Minister Kurti.

The doubling and tripling of child allowances, and the one-time allocation of 100 euros for over 400 thousand children up to 16 years old, is listed as the sixth achievement.

As the seventh achievement in this top ten of achievements as described by the Prime Minister, is the increase in the minimum wage, which he said was made after 13 years, as well as the increase in salaries in the public sector, which will be made in two phases, in January and June of next year, with 55 euros in each phase.

Kurti listed the functionalization of the Institute for Documentation of War Crimes as another achievement, saying that during this year it has collected numerous physical, archival and digital materials documenting the crimes committed during the war. The signing of the contract for the drafting of the master plan for the Adem Jashari Memorial Complex and the decision to establish the Genocide Museum.

As the ninth achievement, he listed the population census process, which he said was successfully completed, calling it an extraordinary institutional undertaking of great importance for Kosovo.

This top ten presented by Prime Minister Kurti concludes with the signing of the contract with the Turkish state-owned manufacturer for the functionalization of the ammunition factory. “In addition to increasing the number of soldiers, strengthening the army and purchasing weapons, we also took a major step in laying the foundations of our defense industry by signing a contract with the Turkish state-owned manufacturer MKE for the functionalization of the ammunition factory,” he said.

The Prime Minister has called on all his subordinates to list the top five achievements of each in the departments they lead and present them to the residents.

President Osmani decrees 24 new prosecutors, almost half of them women (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, upon the proposal of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, has decreed today twenty-four prosecutors. As reported in the announcement, almost half of them are women. At the swearing-in ceremony before the President, the new prosecutors swore that: “they will remain loyal to the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, the laws in force and will respect the rules of professional ethics”.

President Osmani, among other things, emphasized the importance of the integrity, independence, impartiality and professionalism of prosecutors, as essential elements for a system that guarantees justice for all people of Kosovo, and at the same time called on the new prosecutors not to compromise on crime and corruption.

Osmani, Hovenier visit grave of former Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani and outgoing U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier visited the grave of former Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova today. Osmani told reporters that it was an honor to work with Hovenier the last three years, and she mentioned Rugova as a model of a politician who proved that protecting sovereignty and protecting alliances go hand in hand and are intertwined. “On the first day when Ambassador Hovenier presented his credentials, we laid flowers on the grave of President Rugova, and we are concluding her at the monument by honoring President Rugova, the founding father of our Republic, the man who proved that protecting sovereignty and protecting alliances go hand in hand and are closely intertwined,” she said.

Hovenier: I am leaving as a strong friend of Kosovo (Indeksonline)

Outgoing U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier concluded his three-year mandate in Kosovo in a farewell meeting with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani. “As President Osmani said we just ended our farewell meeting and this is my last group of official meetings as U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo. As the President mentioned, three years ago, almost exactly three years ago, in early January 2002, I arrived here. I presented my credentials to the President, and my first official public act was to join the President in placing flowers at the monument of former President Rugova. And I found it fitting that my last official act as U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo should be to do the same thing. I do this in the memory of President Rugova and everything he stood for, his insistence on the rights of all people living in Kosovo, his persistence for a sovereign, democratic, multiethnic and wealthy country, his persistence to pursue these objectives in line with the highest values of the international community. I had the pleasure of meeting him as a very young diplomat at that time and I had tremendous respect for him. Therefore, I am very proud and honored to pay my honors as the last official act,” he said.

Hovenier also said “I want to thank the people of Kosovo. It was a dream job to serve here as U.S. Ambassador these last three years and to have had the opportunity to work together with the people of Kosovo to help advance the country. The United States are committed to our partnership. We want to see Kosovo be successful and advance. As in the time of independence and now, there is no doubt about the progress and capacity of the people of Kosovo, their determination to realize their vision for a sovereign, independent, democratic, multiethnic, rich and successful country. It was a pleasure and honor to play a small role in support of this process. Together with the American people I wish you all every success. I will leave as an even stronger friend of Kosovo than when I arrived”.

Kosovo increases sanctions against Russia (Kallxo)

The government of Kosovo has imposed additional sanctions against Russia. To add to these measures, the government decision, dated 13.06.2024, was supplemented and amended on “the implementation of international sanctions by the Republic of Kosovo, in relation to international obligations towards individuals and entities associated with or responsible for actions that undermine and threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said that this decision is being made in accordance with the implementing decisions of the Council of the European Union. Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Liza Gashi, said that these measures aim to strengthen the existing measures. According to her, these measures avoid expanding the list of sanctioned persons and entities associated with Russian organizations that carry out military and destabilizing activities. In addition, Gashi said that these measures also impose new restrictions, such as a ban on exports of advanced technology and goods, which have an impact on Russia's industrial and military capabilities. "We have also imposed sanctions on the liquefied natural gas sector, measures against 50 ships that Russia uses," she said.

Hasani: Kosovo's sovereignty and territorial integrity, a national priority (RTK)

Albania’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Igli Hasani, said that relations with neighbors and regional security are the focus of Albanian diplomacy, while the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo, according to him, are a national priority. The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Igli Hasani, while summarizing Albanian diplomacy during the year 2024, also set out the objectives for 2025.

“Albania has provided continuous support for maintaining the stability and integrity of Kosovo in a period burdened with internal and external challenges. We have always supported the facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, which aims to normalize relations and reach a sustainable peace agreement. This process is essential for the long-term stability of the region and for the integration of both countries into European structures. Albania has played a constructive role in this dialogue, encouraging the parties to express flexibility and genuine commitment to reaching an agreement that will respect the rights of all citizens and ensure a lasting peace. We have also offered continued support to Kosovo in this process, lobbying for opportunities for this dialogue to include tangible benefits for both countries and for the integration of Kosovo into the international community”, Hasani stressed.

He added that Albania has strongly condemned any form of violence and terrorism manifested in the territory of Kosovo, including any violent act that has directly aimed at its destabilization and the wider Western Balkans.

First case of Mpox confirmed in Kosovo (media)

Most news websites report that the first case of Mpox, formerly known as Monkeypox, has been confirmed in Kosovo. Kosovo’s National Institute for Public Health said that on Thursday, the Microbiology Laboratory through the RT-PCR method confirmed an imported case of Mpox, adding that the infected person returned from an African state and has now been hospitalized at the Infective Clinic. The patient is said to be in stable condition. The Institute has traced all declared contacts of the infected person and his family members, and they were given recommendations on preventive measures.

Central Bank: Euro as only currency for payments has had positive effects (media)

Governor of the Central Bank of Kosovo, Ahmet Ismaili, said on Thursday that the regulation which denominates the Euro as the only current for cash payments in Kosovo has had positive effects since it entered into force ten months ago. He told a press conference that the regulation, which among other things stops the use of the Serbian Dinar in Kosovo for cash payments, has also helped stop illegal financing. “The regulation, which is in force, has had positive effects for the whole sector. I believe we have approximated the next assessments for Kosovo. Let us not forget that following membership of the Council of Europe we will also be subject to the moneywall assessments. The unification of the sector and the stopping of illegal financing has contributed significantly to this respect,” he said.

A parallel Serbian institution in the north shut down (media)

The Kosovo Police have raided the building where it is said that the Urbanization Directorate of the parallel Municipality in the north of Mitrovica was carrying out activities.

The Deputy Director of the Police for the north, Veton Elshani, said that they have confiscated several documents in this building. “Today, after receiving information that a branch of the urbanization of Mitrovica North could be operating in an apartment near the technical school, we have verified this information and it turned out to be correct. After contacting the prosecutor of the case, the documents found there were confiscated, several people were interviewed and the case of forgery of documents is attached to the previous case that we had with the parallel structure of Mitrovica North”, Elshani said. He added that there are no arrested people in this case.

Serbian Language Media

Kosovo police raided offices of Urban Planning; Elshani says it is continuation of yesterday's operation (Kosovo Online, media)

This morning, Kosovo police raided the offices of the Urban Planning, Design, and Engineering Company in Mitrovica North, which operates within the Serbian system. As Kosovo police deputy commander for the northern region Veton Elshani told Kosovo Online “this is a continuation of yesterday's operation when the police raided the premises of the Directorate for Construction Land and the Directorate for Housing Issues in Mitrovica North”.

The offices raided by the police are located in a building near the Technical School in Mitrovica North.

Kosovo police requested that media representatives who gathered at the scene leave the building, after which black bags were removed from the offices. Several Kosovo police vehicles, as well as one inspection vehicle, were positioned in front of the building, as reported from the scene by a Kosovo Online correspondent.

Serbian List says Kosovo police apprehended director of Urbanism social enterprise, strongly condemns raid on yet another institution (Kosovo Online, Radio Mitrovica sever, media)

“Albin Kurti continues with illegal, escalatory and bandit actions in the north of Kosovo and Metohija with today’s raid on the premises of the Social Enterprise Urbanism in Mitrovica North. On that occasion, Mrs. Marija Simovic, the director of this company, was detained”, Serbian List said in a statement.

The Serbian List strongly condemns today’s and previous actions, as they said, of Albin Kurti’s regime and added that they will meet with Urbanism employees today.

“The leadership of the Serbian List strongly condemns this and all previous brutal actions of Albin Kurti’s regime, and during today we will meet with employees from Social Enterprise Urbanism, as well as the two directorates that were raided by Kurti’s para-police officers yesterday in order to discuss with them all types of help and support", Serbian List added in a statement.

“The precipitous fall of Kurti’s party according to analyses from Pristina, as we expected, is the trigger for these violent and illegal actions that are against all signed agreements”, the statement also said.

Serbian List emphasized “they will not be silent about the terror against the Serbian people, and that the silence of the international community is a wind at Kurti’s back and support for his policy”.

Vucevic: ''Invasion of so-called Kosovo police into 'Urbanizam' company, continuation of terror against Serbs'' (Tanjug, Danas)

The Prime Minister of Serbia, Milos Vucevic, said today that the incursion of the Kosovo police into the building of the Social Enterprise "Urbanizam" in the North Mitrovica is a continuation of the terror against the Serbs.

"Once again, we see the shameful pictures of Kurti's infirmity. He continues to terrorize the Serbs and uses the holidays to continue with his terrorist scenario and illegal looting of Serbian property in the north of Kosovo and Metohija," stated Vucevic on his Instagram profile.

Vucevic added that Kurti's special forces raided the facility of this company, which employs ten workers, reported Tanjug agency.

EULEX on CSOs report: We draw attention to Kosovo police on mandatory professional and impartial conduct (Alternativna.com)

We took note of the report Ethnization of Kosovo Police: Erosion of Ahtisaari’s Basis of a Civic and Multiethnic Institution EULEX said in a replay to Alternativna.com portal. In line with our mandate, we draw attention to the Kosovo police officers to their obligation to act at all times in a professional and impartial manner and refrain from using symbols as shown on the photos (taken from social media and published in the report). We urge all to use existing mechanisms to report any alleged inappropriate conduct by law enforcement institutions’ representatives, and we also welcome the recent initiative of the Kosovo Interior Ministry to develop a regulatory framework on responsible and appropriate use of social media platforms by Kosovo police, EULEX added in a replay, which the portal described as ‘brief’.

The portal recalled that five civil society organizations led by Serbs in Kosovo – New Social Initiative (NSI), CASA, InTer, Aktiv and ACDC published the report listing photos and contentious posts on social media platforms, by uniformed members of Kosovo police wearing the symbols of Albania, KLA and symbols glorifying extrajudicial “justice”. The report also notes several occasions in which members of Kosovo police are photographed along the maps of “Greater Albania”.

The report assessed it as violation of the law and police procedures which remain without sanctions, while such acts have not been addressed by Kosovo institutions and relevant international organizations. Alternativna.com said it sent the request to EULEX for comment on the report on December 13, and received a reply 11 days later.

Kosovo police reacted ‘ex officio’ over removal of string with decorations, Arsenijevic says ‘ex-officio’ approach reserved for Serbs only (Alternativna.com, social media)

Leader of Serbian Democracy, Aleksandar Arsenijevic was issued a financial fine by Kosovo police over removal of a string carrying New Year’s decorations on December 21, at Mitrovica North promenade. The string in question contained remains of torn and worn out Serbian flags, and Arsenijevic assessed placement of decorations next to the flags’ remains as “additional humiliation of the Serbs in the north”.

“They issued me a fine for vandalism, as some media reported because I was arguing with Santa Claus”, Arsenijevic said, adding the fine should have been issued to those who, as he said, destroyed Serbian national symbols by placing decorations over it.

“They also notified me from the municipality that they sent a fine to me as well, which means I cannot be punished twice for the same act. But if they insist and the amount is larger, I would pay that as well, but also planning to take one electric pole from the promenade and take it to my village, as there are no street lights in that village”, Arsenijevic said.

Commenting on the statement of local Kosovo police official in the north, Petrit Fejza who said that Arsenijevic reported his act himself, as he posted video on the social platform and police acted “ex officio’, Arsenijevic said “so it was done by 300 police officers on social media” (in reference to recently published CSOs report on police conduct on social media), and yet no action was taken ex-officio.

“With Albanian flags, double-headed eagles and punisher symbols which according to your (police) internal regulations represents serious violation of discipline. We have not really noticed that you reacted in these occasions “ex officio”. It seems this “ex officio” duty is reserved for Serbs only”, Arsenijevic said in a post on Facebook, the portal reported. He also said they have asked on several occasions local authorities and Kosovo police to replace the torn and worn out Serbian flags, but they were not allowed.

Blakaj: During the inventory of war damage, no evidence was requested (Kosovo Online)

Commenting on the results of the census, Bekim Blakaj from the Fund for Humanitarian Law, said it was impossible to reliably register the amount of war damage and destroyed buildings during the conflict in Kosovo within the population registration process. He made those remarks in relation to the results of the census that reported war damage in the amount of more than five billion euros, reported Kosovo Online.

Blakaj pointed out that Albanians lived in large families which were divided after the war and it was very possible that several members of one family reported the same facility as war damage, which was why there is a possibility that some reported amounts were duplicated.

"Also, people can report something arbitrarily if they are not asked for any confirmation, any proof document, and as far as I know, that was not asked for in this process, so probably people could report something that was not there. Therefore, this type of damage should be registered by a special commission that would be well trained and be competent to request documentation based on which the war damage would then be tentatively determined," said Blakaj.

Bearing in mind that 25 years have passed since the conflict, he said it was certainly not possible to provide evidence of the damage caused for every destroyed facility.

When asked whether one should expect the data obtained from the war damage census to be used as pressure on Belgrade, Blakaj said that it remained to be seen. "But most likely that politicians will refer to the data published by the Statistics Agency after the population registration," he believed.

Party of Kosovo Serbs demands resignation of Gracanica mayor (Radio KIM)

Following yesterday’s action of Kosovo police in Gracanica municipality resulting in arrest of two municipal officials, V.S., and Z.M., Party of Kosovo Serbs said in a statement that “resignation of Gracanica mayor is a minimum one should not go below”, Radio KIM reported.

They said that “such criminal activity, documented with arrested individuals and confiscated large amount of money can not only have a judicial epilogue, but also seeks political responsibility of Gracanica mayor Ljiljana Subaric, and the Party of Kosovo Serbs would continue insisting on it using all means available”.

Vucic: Rational approach needed to end Ukraine bloodshed (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that a rational approach was needed to end the bloodshed in Ukraine and that peace was closer with US President-elect Donald Trump unless there was an escalation before he took office.

"Many things will change. The strategic relationship with China will be very important for Donald Trump - that must be clear to us Europeans, too," Vucic told Germany's Handelsblatt daily in an interview.

"That is why it is good that Germany has expanded its contacts with China, which now needs to happen at European level as well," he said.

"Trump will turn to Europe soon and the EU would be well-advised to establish discussions soon," Vucic said.

To secure its place in the future, Europe needs vision and long-term, determined action, he noted.

"Every day we hear that Ukraine must win at all costs. But does Europe act like that? No. A rational approach is needed to end the bloodshed," Vucic noted.

Europe is losing weight in the world, he said.

"Our share in the world economy is decreasing every year. On the other hand, Asia is growing stronger, and so is Africa. Do we want to watch our share in the global economy halve to below 10 pct in ten to fifteen years?" he asked.

DS, Together party sign agreement on unification (N1)

The Democratic Party (DS) and the Together (Zajedno) party signed a unification agreement on Friday, marking Together’s integration into DS, reported N1.

Democratic Party leader Srdjan Milivojevic said the consolidation aims to offer progressive ideas to the Serbian people, while Together co-president Nebojsa Zelenovic emphasized the DS’s role as a symbol of change and democracy.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2b6ju9uk

International

Kosovo, Serbia and Bosnia struggle on media ownership transparency (PI)

As authorities in Kosovo, Bosnia, and Serbia cry foul play, the public is left in the dark over media owners snubbing calls for more regulation.

Year after year, the European Commission has raised the alarm on Kosovo to address the lack of media transparency regarding ownership.

Four years ago, the Commission warned that information on media ownership structures, particularly for online media, remains “unclear and often fictitious, as most media do not provide information on their finances or real ownership.”

In the Commission’s view, there is neither transparency nor a fair distribution of the sources of financing among the media outlets and no way of knowing whether they are concentrated in the hands of just a few people.

In 2024, the situation has not changed for the better. Brussels noted that data on the audiovisual market remains insufficient, including in regard to media ownership and financing.

“The media sector continues to suffer from a lack of transparency of ownership and financing, and a lack of financial sustainability, making it vulnerable to political influence and financial pressure,” the 2024 EC report on Kosovo says.

“With some rare exceptions, the public in Kosovo is not clear who is informing them and whether published content has been ethically and professionally judged,” Alban Zeneli, a professor of Journalism at Prishtina University told BIRN.

“We have seen tremendous transformations in today’s digital environment and it looks like media which have had a tradition of transparency regarding their content, no longer see the necessity to display them for the public,” he added.

But Kosovo does not stand alone in a region where digitalisation has mushroomed media outlets – especially online news portals – with many of them under foggy ownerships.