UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, December 4, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani continues with meetings at COP28 (media)
Peach: UK at helm of war against destabilizing activities in Western Balkans (AP)
"La Repubblica": Meloni asked Vucic to recognize Kosovo (Albanian Post)
Haxhiu: Authors of Liridona’s murder must get merited punishment (media)
Haziri: Association can lead to a kind of confederation in Kosovo (media)
Bosch: NATO must have information that situation could get out of control (Paparaci)
Court decides on visits and communication for Thaci, Veseli and Selimi (media)
The investigation commission on state reserves did not agree on work plan (RTK)
Damage and Cyrillic inscriptions reported in a house under construction in Mitrovica North (Kallxo)

Serbian Language Media:

Minister rejects claims of government discrimination against Albanians (N1)
RIK: At upcoming elections 6.500.165 people have right to vote (Radio KIM)
Aleksic, Milivojevic, Cuta and Ivanovic visit Gracanica, say they are against European plan (KoSSev, Radio KIM)
Duda Balje: 1,700 women achieved the status of rape victims during armed conflicts in Kosovo so far (KiM radio, medijacentar.info)

Opinion:

Palokaj: Still not late for unity on dialogue (Koha)
Collaku: Special Court of Kosovo, a theater without an audience (media)
Shasha: The Surprising Trajectory of Albania and Kosovo EU Membership (BIRN)

International:

What Does Multipolarity Mean for Kosovo? (The National Interest)
Deus ex lex: The long and tortured road of Serbian media reform (International Press Institute)
EC Country Reports 2023: Unveiling shared trends and persistent challenges in Western Balkans’ anti-corruption landscape (EWB)

Humanitarian/Development:

Kurti attends awards ceremony of International Film Festival “Art Without Limit” (media)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani continues with meetings at COP28 (media)

Kosovo President, Vjosa Osmani, has met at global conference on climate change COP28 in Dubai with the President of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev. In this meeting, as Osmani announced, they talked about cooperation between the two countries. She said that they also discussed the visit of the Bulgarian president to Kosovo.

She has also met with the Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

“During COP28, I informed Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson about recent security developments in our region. We will continue to work closely with Sweden to advance our country's European integration,” Osmani wrote on X platform.

Peach: UK at helm of war against destabilizing activities in Western Balkans (AP)

UK Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Lord Stuart Peach, commenting on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenski’s warning that Russia will allegedly try to destabilize the Western Balkans, said that the UK will continue working in order to make sure that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be able to threaten stability in the region and beyond in Europe, the news website reports.

Peach said the UK will remain at the helm of efforts to combat destabilizing activity in the region, both on the political and diplomatic fronts. “The United Kingdom and I have warned for long now that Russia will try to aggravate and take advantage of tensions in the Western Balkans. Putin is isolated from the world. Instead of supporting the prosperity and stability in the region, he is trying to obstruct the region’s progress and development,” he argued. “We clearly see Russia using known tactics and topics to obstruct the progress and stability of the region. The United Kingdom, politically and diplomatically, remains at the helm of efforts to combat destabilizing activities, including those supported by Russia. This is not going to change”.

"La Repubblica": Meloni asked Vucic to recognize Kosovo (Albanian Post)

The visit of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni to Serbia on Sunday should not be seen as an ordinary visit, but as an important visit in a new geopolitical momentum – an essential element in the framework of the European Union’s response to Russia’s destabilizing efforts in the Western Balkans, augmented by renewed tensions.

This is the assessment of the prestigious Italian “La Repubblica” on the visit of the Italian Prime Minister to Belgrade on Sunday, December 3, where she also met the Serbian President Alksandar Vucic, in the light of Russia’s efforts to cause a new series of turbulence in Western Balkans, especially in Kosovo, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Meloni, after over an hour of discussion, the newspaper writes among other things, has reiterated Italy's support for Serbia's membership in the European family, but in exchange for the recognition of Kosovo. At the same time, the Serbian president, according to the prestigious newspaper, has asked to speed up the membership process, in light of the growth of far-right nationalism.

Haziri: Association can lead to a kind of confederation in Kosovo (media)

Several news websites quote Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, as saying that the authors of Liridona Ademaj’s murder must get the merited punishment from the judicial institutions. “The crime that happened several days ago shows that we still have a lot of work to do. All institutions must be at the helm of their duty. No one in the Republic of Kosovo has the right to threaten anyone’s dignity,” she said.

Haziri: A kind of confederation risks being created in Kosovo (media)

Deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lutfi Haziri, said in an interview with Tirana-based A2CNN, that a kind of confederation risks being created, and that Serbia’s recognition of Kosovo would be postponed even more.

“We made this warning even earlier because it has degraded from a legally binding agreement centered on mutual recognition to a provisional agreement which postpones Serbia’s recognition of Kosovo. This document has not gone beyond that framework. It provides specifically the tasks and special competencies of the four northern municipalities,” he argued. “The least that this entails is an internal division, between us and them, in Kosovo with the same principles of multiethnicity, territory and sovereignty. In fact, this is creating a third tier of government. This could lead to a small Serbian Kosovo within our territory. The way that others read it and call it, one can notice a kind of a confederation.”

Bosch: NATO must have information that situation could get out of control (Paparaci)

The Dutch diplomat, former ambassador to Kosovo, Robert Bosch, has stated that he sees it as necessary for the most powerful military alliance in the world, NATO, to increase the number of soldiers in Kosovo.

According to him, at this stage on the eve of the elections in Serbia, the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, is trying to unite all Serbs, so he does not rule out the possibility that the situation will get out of control.

"Seeing clearly that NATO has recently increased its commitment in the Western Balkans, adding more troops to Kosovo. NATO does not undertake these moves without having information that the security situation is not that secure in the Western Balkan region".

"This sensitive security situation is also related to the elections in Serbia, where the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, wants to mobilize all Serbs. Of course, the hottest spot is the north of Kosovo, where British soldiers are now patrolling near the border with Serbia, and I believe that they will guarantee security for that part. But what worries me has to do with the fact that Milan Radoicic is still moving freely and this is something dangerous", he told Tëvë 1.

Court decides on visits and communication for Thaci, Veseli and Selimi (media)

Most news websites report that the Specialist Chambers of Kosovo, based in the Hague, published a decision today concerning visits and communications for the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

Serbian Language Media

Minister rejects claims of government discrimination against Albanians (N1)

Serbian cabinet Minister Aleksandar Martinovic rejected claims by a human rights NGO that the government was conducting a discriminatory policy towards ethnic Albanians in the south of the country, N1 reports.

A press release quoted Martinovic as saying allegations that ethnic Albanians had their addresses passivized are absolutely incorrect.

Under Serbian law, a citizen’s address is passivized if that person does not actually live at the address. A large number of ethnic Albanians from the southern municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja live abroad but have failed to report change of address to the authorities in order to be able to vote in their hometowns and villages instead of in Serbia’s diplomatic missions abroad. The Youth Initiative for Human Rights said earlier this week that the government was conducting a policy of passivization of ethnic Albanian’ addresses.

Martinovic said that passivization of address procedure is regulated under the 2011 Law on Permanent and Temporary Residence with the Internal Affairs Ministry (MUP) responsible for its implementation. “Claims that deregistration is carried out with the intention of discriminating against certain ethnic communities is only fuelling tensions, and I consider that to be inadmissible and extremely irresponsible”, the Minister of Public Administration and Local Government is quoted as saying.

RIK: At upcoming elections 6.500.165 people have right to vote (Radio KIM)

The Serbian Republic Election Commission (RIK) made a decision today that the total number of eligible voters for upcoming parliamentary elections in Serbia is 6.500.165, Radio KIM reports. The Commission has decided to print the same number of ballot papers.

The City Election Commission in Belgrade made a decision that the total number of voters in Belgrade is 1.613.190.

Voters from Kosovo will be able to cast the ballots at the towns in central Serbia, given that Pristina authorities did not allow this time as well to have voting process taking place in Kosovo, under facilitation of the OSCE Mission.

Aleksic, Milivojevic, Cuta and Ivanovic visit Gracanica, say they are against European plan (KoSSev, Radio KIM)\

Candidates of the Serbia Against Violence coalition in upcoming parliamentary elections visited Gracanica today. They called upon people to cast their ballots on December 17, adding they are against Kosovo independence and Franco-German proposal.

Representatives of this list are the only political actors that visited Serbian areas in central Kosovo ahead of elections, KoSSev portal added. The group of around ten candidates first attended the liturgy at Gracanica Monastery and then addressed the media in front of Gracanica municipal building.

Before them based on the photographs and announcements on social media, Milos Jovanovic from NADA coalition, Milica Djurdjevic from Oath Keepers and Cedomir Jovanovic from LDP visited Kosovo, but none of them visited the Serbian areas or met citizens there, Radio KIM reported.

Miroslav Aleksic told the media that people in Kosovo should know that on December 17 they are electing those who will decide upon the future of Serbia. He accused the current Serbian authorities of handing over on “a platter” police, judiciary, electro-energy and telecommunications systems to Kosovo and for bringing the Serbian population to a difficult situation.

“A normalization of life is needed in Kosovo, it is necessary to create conditions for safe lives of all citizens in Kosovo, but any agreement envisaging infringement of the Republic of Serbia Constitution, envisaging any type of Kosovo and Metohija recognition or the seat in the United Nations is unacceptable for Serbia Against Violence list and we will not accept it. We will continue talking, we will continue fighting to create normal life in Kosovo and Metohija through institutions in cooperation with the international community”, Aleksic said.

He also said the coalition is against the Franco-German proposal.

“The State of Serbia did not obligate itself, Aleksandar Vucic obligated himself, he himself. According to it, I had already said that, any agreement, including the Franco-German proposal which envisages recognition of Kosovo, membership of Kosovo in the UN is not acceptable and can not be acceptable to Serbia. We can discuss some other agreement and solutions”, Aleksic said.

He also said the Community of Serbian Municipalities (ZSO) lost any sense.

“ZSO should have been established when the Brussels agreement was signed, when it made some sense. At this moment it looks as if ZSO is throwing the dust to the eyes that we as Serbs have gained something, but in essence we got nothing. All these should be reset and put on the table again”, he said.

Srdjan Milivojevic said Sebs in Kosovo live under double terror. As he said, one terror is by Albin Kurti, the other one is by Aleksandar Vucic. He also said that Vucic “did more for the creation of “Greater Albania” than all commanders of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army”.

He also said Serbian Assembly MPs never received the content of the Franco-German proposal, nor do they know what all President Vucic signed or based on what constitutional powers he could sign anything. “He is only President of the Republic, his function should be a protocolar one”, he added.

Following the visit to Gracanica, the group will visit Mitrovica North and lay the wreath at the memorial plaque of Oliver Ivanovic, assassinated leader of Civic Initiative Freedom, Democracy, Justice (SDP) in front of his party premises in this city.

Duda Balje: 1,700 women achieved the status of rape victims during armed conflicts in Kosovo so far (KiM radio, medijacentar.info)

Kosovo MP and Social Democratic Union president Duda Balje told Slobodno srpski TV Show that verification of the status of rape victims during the armed conflicts in Kosovo is underway, and about 1,700 women have achieved that status so far, reported KiM radio.

Balje, who is also the chairwoman of the parliamentary commission for human rights, gender equality, missing persons, victims of sexual violence of the war and petitions, said in relation to the earlier statements of Kosovo highest officials, that more than 20 thousand women from Kosovo were raped during the conflict, that the commission for verification of victims, which is done by professionals at the Office of Kosovo Prime Minister, still receives applications, but that there are several reasons why women do not come forward.

"I believe that the number is very, very high, but I think that there is also a very high number of women who will not even admit it because after that they formed their families, kept it to themselves, have children, and live normally. They don't want to expose their name in that sense. There is a high number of women who died, because twenty years had passed since the war until today", Balje said, hoping that those who committed rapes will be held accountable for their crimes.

She added that the identity of the registered persons is protected in the verification procedure and that, after the procedure, they receive financial compensation, i.e., compensation for the pain suffered, to their bank accounts every month.

Since January, 2,000 cases of domestic violence have been reported in Kosovo

Commenting on the fact that from January until now, about two thousand cases of domestic violence have been recorded, among which 90 percent were against women and girls, Balje says that the number is actually much higher, because it is not reported to the police.

"There is a lot of violence. We have problems with the fact that our family is, for example, something that is private", she said, emphasizing it is an extremely complex and sensitive phenomenon.

And once a case is reported, problems don't automatically go away.

"It ends up so that we now have, for example, one victim who has nowhere to go and if I report my husband I should stay in the house, live in the abuser's house together with his mother and brother and all the other members and I don't do that because I have nowhere to go with the children and if I report him, then I have to leave the house. We have safe houses that can help for a certain period, and after that you are back on the street. So, it is the women's economic dependence from men and is one of the first reasons why reporting does not happen. Secondly, with us it is still important what the neighbor will say, what friends will say, with us women hide to, for example, give everyone else around an image of a normal family in which they live, but in fact everything inside the house is abnormal. We started the year with a death. It's very bad, and this figure is so high and higher compared to last year, maybe because we talk a lot and, in a way, we empower women to come forward", she added.

Bosniaks without permanent employment in public administration

She believes that unemployment is one of the biggest problems of Bosniaks who are adequately represented in political structures, but not when it comes to employment in the public sector.

"The number of those who are permanently employed is very small, there are very few people. Bosniaks mostly live in Prizren, they travel every day from Prizren to Pristina, which can be a problem. Then the competitions themselves, knowledge of the Albanian language can often be a problem. And again, of course, that nepotism, which always starts with the ruling Albanian political party: either you're with us, or you're against us... Everyone wants a government job because they don't believe in the stability of private jobs. A government job is very important and ultimately for someone who has been educated and who believes that he meets all the criteria, and it is fair to fight for such a job", she said.

After the entry into force of the visa-free regime from January 1 next year, she expects that high number of citizens will take advantage of this opportunity, especially in the first wave, and that more men than women will leave.

"I think people want to leave because of the need for stability, the need for, say, a stable health care system, for a stable education system for their children, they will leave”, Balje said, adding that more people will leave looking for some stability, reported KiM radio.

Opinion

Palokaj: Still not late for unity on dialogue (Koha)

Brussels-based correspondent Augustin Palokaj argues in an opinion piece that it is intolerable that EU representatives, and not the Kosovo government, gave the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities to leaders of the opposition parties, the same way it is intolerable that when the current government came to power many documents from the previous process of dialogue were given to it by the EU, because its predecessors did not do so.

He writes that with “Lajcak at the helm of the process, and with support from EU High Representative Josep Borrell, the dialogue has entered a phase which is already being called ‘normalizing non-recognition’. Without preempting their positions in the past, the experience from the three-year process of dialogue alone leaves the impression that the EU will continue to always have understanding for Serbia’s position and will try to accommodate them, while considering as ‘unrealistic’ Kosovo’s demands, be it to sign the Agreement, or to deposit at the United Nations, or something else”.

According to Palokaj, “it would be good if the opposition in Kosovo, instead of rejoicing the EU sanctions against its state, and which it doesn’t intend to lift soon, would be more ready to coordinate with the government for the good of the state and in doing so to increase the pressure on the international community. The government at the same time needs to do more to be open toward the opposition and to structure coordination on three topics: relations with allies, dialogue, and issues of national security. It would be ideal if this were to be done through the Kosovo Assembly. But this doesn’t seem realistic at a time when the Assembly is not doing its job properly and topics that are discussed there degenerate. But for many years, Kosovo knew to create frameworks of cooperation between the opposition and the government in order to go through historical processes better. Now is the time to do that again”.

The lack of trust among political parties in Kosovo, Palokaj adds, is exploited by international actors too, who want to shift the pressure on Kosovo and to relativize or completely remove responsibility from the Serbian side. “They used Albania the same way, when it agreed to be the first to sanction Kosovo by canceling the joint meeting of the two governments, to send ‘the right message’ to the Kosovo Government. This was also done with the recommendation of the EU which believed that in addition to international isolation, to have regional isolation of Kosovo, and that when not only the EU, but also the United States and Albania are against Kosovo, then the Kosovars will realize that they are wrong. And this brought to a situation where no entity in the region is under EU penalty measures except for Kosovo”.

The opposition and the government in Kosovo, Palokaj suggests, should send a joint message to the EU that the measures against Kosovo are unacceptable and unfair and prove that the EU and the facilitators in the dialogue are not impartial. “They also need to be united on matters of security and accept together the draft that the EU proposed for the formation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. The draft is not ideal, but there can hardly be a better one given what Kosovo agreed to in 2013 and 2015. In addition to helping in relations with the allies, unity would also be necessary to implement all obligations on the ground, because some points require the support of the local government too and that level of government is very divided in Kosovo between different political parties.”

Collaku: Special Court of Kosovo, a theater without an audience (media)

Bekim Collaku, Kosovo’s former Minister of European Integration and former Chief of Staff to then Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, writes in an opinion piece that the Special Court of Kosovo, based in the Hague, is an institution that continues to produce drama but also comedy in the Kosovo but also international public.

Collaku argues that the court was formed as a result of very strong pressure and imposition by the international factor, as a credible mechanism that would address allegations of organ trafficking mentioned in Dick Marty’s report. “Let us not forget that Russia, in coordination with Russia, managed to create circumstances to initially alarm the international factor, and then convince them that their allegations to accuse former KLA leaders of being involved in organ trafficking were allegedly based on ‘facts’. Surprisingly, the international factor fell for the trap, and easily decided to punish the small Kosovo, by burdening it with this unjust and heavy weight,” he writes.

According to Collaku, “the whole process, since its inception and to date, is mysterious, controversial, ethnically motivated, and completely political. The Specialist Chambers were formed to address allegations that claimed former KLA leaders were involved in alleged trafficking with human organs. However, the indictments filed in spectacular fashion in 2020, included everything except for the accusation of human organs trafficking – the main objective of the [court’s] formation. This is why this development raised questions about the motive and the political influences of the international factor in the area of justice and the process as a whole. In fact, the filing of such an indictment is the painful proof of the deception against Kosovo’s state institutions and its leaders at the time”.

He further writes that at the time “Kosovo’s state leaders had absolute faith in our international partners, especially in the United States. In fact it sounds paradoxical but those who are kept in detention in the Hague, still have faith in international justice and the western civilization values of the U.S. and the EU”.

Collaku says it is regrettable that the trial in the Hague is marred by flaws and the lack of transparency. “The lack of transparency raises serious concerns about the legitimacy and justice of the verdicts that are expected to be announced at the end of the process”.

Shasha: The Surprising Trajectory of Albania and Kosovo EU Membership (BIRN)

Opinion piece by Demush Shasha, head of the Pristina-based European Policy Institute of Kosovo, EPIK Institute.

If the last six years hold what the future will look like, then Albania and Kosovo are the first Western Balkans countries set to join the EU.

Earlier this month, the European Commission published the latest enlargement package. The day the package was presented to the public was indicative of the sea change that enlargement has witnessed most recently. Instead of the package being presented, per tradition, by the Enlargement Commissioner in front of a nearly empty conference room and handful of journalists, it was presented by the President of the Commission in front of a packed conference room and under barrage of social media fanfare.

Notwithstanding choreography, the substance of the President Von der Leyen presentation was nothing short of historic. First, it recommended the start of accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova. It is impossible to overstate the importance of this moment. This was the dream of the “Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred” who gave their lives for free and European Ukraine during the Revolution of Dignity.

The decision also showcased how much the EU has changed since the Russian aggression of Ukraine. Before 24 February 2022, the most a pusillanimous EU could offer to Kiev and Chisinau was misbegotten “eastern neighborhood partnership”. Word “membership” was a red line that could not be crossed. All of that changed thanks to Vladimir Putin. And in a record-breaking time. Never before did an acceding country go so quickly in the history of enlargement from submitting an application to membership, to candidacy to recommendation on the opening of accession talks – all under twenty months. For comparison, it took Albania thirteen years to jump through the same hoops.

International

What Does Multipolarity Mean for Kosovo? (The National Interest)

As the world keeps becoming more multipolar, Pristina will face major challenges requiring the small landlocked European Muslim country to constantly revisit its strategies for survival.

Amid Yugoslavia’s break up in the early 1990s, Serbia pursued its “Greater Serbia” agenda based on the belief that all ethnic Serbs in the region should belong to one single Serbian nation-state. Slobodan Milosevic’s regime did not want Serb communities living as minorities in newly established Muslim-majority countries.

To achieve “Greater Serbia,” Belgrade resorted to force. But under Milosevic, Serbia failed to carve “Greater Serbia” out of Yugoslavia’s remains amid the Balkan Wars of the 1990s. Since 1999, the land under Belgrade’s control has been significantly smaller than Milosevic’s government had envisioned at the time of Yugoslavia’s collapse.

This was not because Serbia’s smaller neighbors managed to defeat Serbian/Serb forces on their own. It was because NATO—led by the world’s superpower, the United States—intervened militarily against Belgrade at a specific time in history in which Washington was dominating a unipolar international system. In the late 1990s, Russia and China were much weaker countries; they lacked the ability to deter the United States from expanding NATO’s footprint eastward in Europe or invading Iraq in 2003.

Humanitarian/Development

Kurti attends awards ceremony of International Film Festival “Art Without Limit” (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti took part on Sunday in the award ceremony of the 4th edition of “Art Without Limit” International Film Festival. Supported through the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, this festival was held precisely on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, to mark it with their inspiring stories. Kurti highlighted the category of short films that convey the message “Even if you can do it”. He said that he feels happy that among the successful figures, he sees the name of Elion Paloje, who, with his amazing performance on the piano, has remained in his memory since April of last year, until now, through the film, wider audiences will be able to get to know his art. “Through the seventh art, society will recognize and appreciate the countless ways in which people with special needs contribute to society. The professional journalist at Radio Kosovo, Lume Berisha, will teach us more about life through their own lives; swimming champion from Tirana, Gersi Troka; car racing champion, tennis player and professional tennis judge Samire Jupolli; as well as our basketball player Egzon Vatovci,” Kurti said.

Kurti said that that in September he was at the ceremony of the Paralympic Games “Kosovo 2023”, which this year include 13 sports disciplines, as he mentioned the fact that the financial support for the Paralympic Committee of Kosovo has increased many times, from 15 thousand euros to in 2020, at 100 thousand euros now, while a special support is being prepared for the participation in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, which will be the first in history. “While we celebrate tonight and honor diversity together, honoring people with special needs, we must honor them every day in our interaction, in our communication, to increase their sense of belonging, and enable them life with dignity. The guarantee and advancement of human rights, in addition to being an essential issue in itself, is also a driving force for a more successful society”, Kurti said at the end of his speech.