UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, February 6, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti meets Quint ambassadors; meeting focused on dialogue, European proposal and the way forward (media)
PM Kurti’s interview with Associated Press (media)
Kosovo leaders react to earthquake in Turkiye (media)
Pristina University Student Parliament to march against Association (EO)
Hoti: Serbia not giving information about location of missing persons (Klan)

Serbian Language Media:

PM Brnabic on Lajcak’s visit to Belgrade, Pristina: Pressure is increasing (Beta, N1, RTS)
Trajkovic hearing postponed until February 16; The family protested in front of the Prosecutor's Office (KiM radio)
Vucic today with Lajcak in Belgrade (RTS)
NSI: Criminal charges rejected for spreading hatred in the campaign to boycott Serbian products (KiM radio, KoSSev)
Chief of NATO MLO in Belgrade: We respect Serbia’s military neutrality (N1, Beta)
Friday shooting in Gracanica: KP report; Gracanica Mayor condemnation (N1, KoSSev, KiM radio, RTS)
Father of young man who was attacked in Kosovo asks Serbia to provide lawyer (N1, RTS)
The Kosovo Ministry of Trade banned the sale of edible oil from Serbia, they say it does not meet the criteria (KoSSev)
Serbian Ministry of Economy: Criteria for opening of Chapter 1 in negotiations with EU met (N1, Beta)

International:

Kosovo PM calls on West not to put pressure over Serb entity (AP)
Government Launches Youth Employment Platform (Prishtina Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti meets Quint ambassadors; meeting focused on dialogue, European proposal and the way forward (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi, hosted a meeting today with the Quint ambassadors in Pristina. The meeting focused on the process of dialogue, the European proposal and the way forward, a press release issued by Kurti’s office notes.

Kurti informed the ambassadors about the positions of the Kosovo government, including the six points presented in the Assembly Session last week regarding the Brussels agreement of 2013. He said that Kosovo has proven its commitment to dialogue through a constructive approach and creative proposals. Kurti also expressed his readiness for the next high-level political meetings in Brussels and the intensification of the dialogue process for the full normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia with mutual recognition at the centre.

PM Kurti’s interview with Associated Press (media)

Most media cover an interview that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti gave to Associated Press, highlighting his call on Western powers not to pressure Kosovo into accepting the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. Kurti argued that instead the focus should be on making Serbia more democratic and getting rid of what he called Belgrade’s hegemonistic ideas.

Serbian Language Media

PM Brnabic on Lajcak’s visit to Belgrade, Pristina: Pressure is increasing (Beta, N1, RTS)

Commenting European Union (EU) envoy Miroslav Lajcak’s announced visit to Pristina and Belgrade on Monday, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that diplomatic activities are speeding up, that pressure is increasing and that she believes in the international community’s guarantees regarding the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM), reported N1.

Brnabic told the Serbian state TV (RTS) that EU special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Lajcak is first going to Pristina and that, from what she heard, the main topic on the agenda there is the formation of the CSM. She added that she is not interested in Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s position on the matter.

Brnabic noted that the CSM was negotiated and agreed on ten years ago within the Brussels Agreement, in 2013 and 2015, and that she believes in the international community’s guarantees that it will be formed in line with that because she sees no other way in which the international community could guarantee any other agreement if this one is not fulfilled.

“It won’t be easy,” said the Serbian Prime Minister, adding that she also expects manipulation and attempts “by Pristina’s friends” to change what has been agreed on and that she does not believe in success because everything on the CSM “is on paper”.

Trajkovic hearing postponed until February 16; The family protested in front of the Prosecutor's Office (KiM radio)

Family members of the former arrested Kosovo police officer Sladjan Trajkovic, suspected of alleged war crimes against civilians in Vucitrn, gathered today in front of the Special Prosecutor's Office in Pristina, where the hearing of witnesses was to begin. The investigative procedure that was scheduled for today was postponed. The lawyer asked the court to grant Trajkovic house arrest, reported KiM radio.

The gathered members of Trajkovic's family carried banners in the Albanian language, and one of them read "My father is not guilty".

The wife of Trajkovic, told the gathered journalists that they had come to support Sladjan, and appealed to the Pristina judiciary to allow her husband to defend himself from freedom.

"Sladjan's health condition is so threatened that we suggest that he be transferred to KBC Kosovska Mitrovica because his condition has worsened alarmingly due to the conditions in which he is in and due to inadequate treatment. Sladjan has been without therapy for eleven days since January 19. He was only last Wednesday provided with a medical examination in the hospital in Pristina," said his wife.

''He is a diabetic with a wound on his leg, so his wife pointed out that he was not allowed to take the elevator into the building, but had to walk, and that he was chained,'' reported KiM radio.

"Once again, I appeal to all international organizations to meet them because we have nowhere to go from here. I appeal, since Mr. Lajcak is also here today, that Kurti sees what is being done, especially to the Serbian people who suffer innocently".

She repeated that Sladjan was integrated into the Kosovo Police in 2013 with all checks, and that he worked for nine years in this service and that he was arrested only after he took off his uniform together with other Serbian police officers.

Sladjan Trajkovic's lawyer, Dejan A. Vasic, said that today they received bad news that the three next hearings that were scheduled for today, the 8th and 9th, have been postponed and that the investigation will begin on February 16th.

"We were not allowed to participate in those investigative actions, and in that way, we were deprived of the elementary rights that he has under the Kosovo Criminal Procedure Law. We will try again and appeal. On Friday, we turned to the court with a request that his further defense takes place under house arrest, because there are conditions, and it would not be a measure that would be an exception but a rule for those who have a residence in the territory of Kosovo and live here with their family".

Vasic said that future investigations and investigative procedures will be conducted without informing the public.

Vucic today with Lajcak in Belgrade (RTS)

The special representative of the European Union for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajcak, will be in Belgrade today, where he will talk with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, reported RTS.

President Vucic and the EU's special representative for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajcak, will talk at 7 pm in Vila Mir.

NSI: Criminal charges rejected for spreading hatred in the campaign to boycott Serbian products (KiM radio, KoSSev)

At the end of March last year, the organizations New Social Initiative (NSI), Center for Affirmative Social Actions, Center for Social Initiatives and Forum for Development and Multi-Ethnic Cooperation launched a series of legal mechanisms in response to hate speech and ethnic intolerance in the video of the informal group Besa Besë, reported KiM radio.

As it was announced, in the video designed to promote the idea of boycotting Serbian products, a minor child is forced to utter a statement about the intention of Serbian producers to poison the buyers of the products.

"Campaigns calling for a boycott of Serbian products are frequent in Kosovo, but this video stands out for the abuse of a minor for political and propaganda purposes, but also, in our deep conviction, the spread of hatred," state from the New Social Initiative (NSI).

The above-mentioned organizations then undertook the following:

"On March 17, 2022, we sent complaints to the Press Council of Kosovo against the media outlets Telegrafi and Ekonomi Online for uncritically broadcasting this video and masking hate speech with the simplified claim that it is an "awareness campaign". On March 18, 2022, we asked the Ombudsman institution "Initiation of investigation for violation of Article 141 (Inciting discord and intolerance) of the Criminal Code of Kosovo. On March 21, 2022, we forwarded a criminal complaint to the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Prizren against the author of the video, Burim Piraj, for inciting discord and intolerance," the statement reads.

These are the results of the actions taken:

"On April 1, 2022, the Ombudsperson institution informed us that the complaint was accepted, and that the investigation was initiated. We did not receive information about the outcome and status of the investigation after that. The Press Council of Kosovo informed us on April 7, 2022, that the complaints against the media that reported the video are unfounded," noted the NSI.

The decision was explained as follows:

"The media published a video recorded as part of one of the campaigns to boycott Serbian products in Kosovo. In this video, in an attempt to convince citizens, a dialogue is used that tries to bring back memories of the crimes committed by Serbian forces in Kosovo during the war. Therefore, both the campaign and the dialogue in the subject video are addressed to the state of Serbia, and not to any ethnic group in Kosovo".

At the end of January of this year, the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Prizren informed these four organizations that after the initiation of the investigation in September 2022, it was established that there is no reasonable suspicion that a criminal offense was committed, and that the criminal complaint is rejected.

The decision of the prosecutor dated 20.12.2022. stated:

"The state prosecutor assesses that the video released by the company "MEKA", whose owner is the suspect, and based on the suspect's statement determines that the video released in connection with Serbian products does not contain a call for revenge in violence directed at someone, insult or mockery of any historical persons of any nation or national minority or ethnic group, mocking the flag or other, but the aired video talks about events from the past that have no connection with any action after 20 years, and this video does not aim to glorify any particular person or group that has been found guilty and sentenced by any international criminal court for crimes committed out of hate, against any national, racial, religious, ethnic or other group, so in the absence of these essential elements of the crime in question, the prosecutor assesses that the criminal offense for which the suspect is suspected of having committed, it does not constitute a criminal offense, i.e. the elements of a criminal offense are missing that cause discord and intolerance according to Article 141 of the Criminal Code, in connection with the actions and content of the video broadcasted in the media by the suspect," the statement concluded, reported KiM radio.

Chief of NATO MLO in Belgrade: We respect Serbia’s military neutrality (N1, Beta)

The new chief of the NATO Military Liaison Office (MLO) in Belgrade, Italian Brigadier General Giampiero Romano, said the Alliance fully respects the proclaimed policy of military neutrality of Serbia and its sovereign right to choose its own path.

Romano told the daily Kurir that NATO and Serbia are not only partners but also neighbors since, as he noted, all countries in the Balkans are members of the Alliance and some of them are also members of the European Union (EU).

For the past 16 years NATO and Serbia have been developing a mutually beneficial partnership, with full respect for Serbia’s policy of military neutrality, he said, adding that everything that is being done is based on Serbia’s requests and “tailored to its needs.”

Romano said that the KFOR mission in Kosovo is fully capable of continuing to carry out its mandate, in accordance with the 1999 UN Security Council Resolution 1244, and that is to ensure a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all the communities in Kosovo.

He added that KFOR contributes to security in Kosovo and stability throughout the region “in an impartial and reliable manner.”

Friday shooting in Gracanica: KP report; Gracanica Mayor condemnation (N1, KoSSev, KiM radio, RTS)

Multiple shots were fired from a moving vehicle on Friday night in Gracanica, a majority-Serb town in central Kosovo, the police told Serbian public broadcaster RTS. No casualties were reported in the shooting and police is investigating the incident.

The shooting took place during the night near the monument to Milos Obilic, next to which the Serbian flag is displayed.

The police, which have registered the plates of the car in question, are now searching for the vehicle

The case was reported to the police by persons from a nearby vehicle.

KP after the incident in Gracanica: The suspect shot in the air, then surrendered

In the police report that was delivered to the media yesterday, it was stated that two people from Kosovo who were travelling in a car reported to the police that a third person in another car had repeatedly fired a gun into the air.

The statement specified that the police unit went to the scene and that they found two shell casings.

It was indicated that the male suspect surrendered himself to the police, i.e., went to the police station, where he was interrogated and then released.

The case was open and classified as use of a weapon or dangerous instrument.

Allegations about the shooting in Gracanica were first published on social networks, and then some media reported about it.

In the meantime, a confirmation came from the police in Gracanica that the person who shot from a moving car was detained.

"In question is an Albanian man in his thirties from the vicinity of Gracanica who was under the influence of alcohol. A report has been filed against him and the procedure is ongoing," said the police commander in Gracanica, Bratislav Trajkovic, as reported by RTV Kim.

Mayor of Gracanica, Ljiljana Subaric, also announced and assessed that it was an intimidation attempt which seriously disturbed everyone.

"I strongly condemn such acts and call on the competent institutions to take all necessary steps in order to send a clear message that something like this will not be possible in Gracanica," Subaric stated in a post on Facebook.

Father of young man who was attacked in Kosovo asks Serbia to provide lawyer (N1, RTS)

Ivica Djuzic, the father of a young man who was attacked by two Albanians and stabbed with a knife in the village of Mogila near Vitina, in Kosovo, said that the police detained three attackers but that he unofficially learned that one of them was released. He asked the state of Serbia to provide him a lawyer so that he could seek justice before court. In the meantime, the Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo said that they would provide a lawyer for the attacked man, Boban Djuzic, reported N1.

The father said that he refused to give a statement to the police about the attack on his son, stressing that he did not believe them and added that he was worried the attackers would be acquitted.

“I intend to push the whole case to the end, which is why I need the help of our state. I have five children, I live on welfare, and I don’t have a lawyer, that’s why I am only asking our state to provide me a lawyer,” Djuzic told Serbian state broadcaster RTS.

According to him, a 46-year-old Albanian held his son while one of the two minors attacked him with a knife.

Djuzic stressed that there was no conflict between him and the family of the Albanians who stabbed his son, and that he even knows the father of one of the attackers.

Boban Djuzic told RTS that three Albanians attacked him from behind, out of the blue, and stabbed him with a knife while he was walking his dog.

“I know the attackers, they are from my village – one is 12, the other 17 and the third 46,” he said, reported N1.

The Kosovo Ministry of Trade banned the sale of edible oil from Serbia, they say it does not meet the criteria (KoSSev)

KoSSev portal reported on Friday that Ministry of Industry, Trade and Entrepreneurship in Pristina informed the public that edible oil, produced in Serbia, does not meet the criteria for product quality, and the Market Inspectorate in Kosovo has decided to stop the sale of the product and withdraw it from the market.

According to the announcement, the pre-packaging laboratory at the Kosovo Metrology Agency (KMA) has determined that this oil does not meet the average quantity criteria and “as a result, the Market Inspectorate, as in any other case, has taken measures in accordance with the legislation by prohibiting the sale of this product and withdrawal from the market within 15 days”.

“The Market Inspectorate, in the wake of intensified inspections, has also carried out inspections related to the verification of the quantity and weight of products among economic operators in the Republic of Kosovo.

In order to remove any doubt regarding the weight and quantity of the products, the samples were sent to the laboratory for relevant analyses, after which it was found that a type of edible oil on the market does not meet the criteria.

The verification report from the Kosovo Metrology Agency (KMA), namely the pre-packaging laboratory, has found that an edible oil, produced in Serbia, does not meet the average quantity criterion as provided for by regulation 03/2020 for pre-packaged products.

As a result, the Market Inspectorate, as in any other case, has taken measures in accordance with the legislation in force in the Republic of Kosovo, respectively the economic operator, importer of this oil, has been prohibited from selling this product and withdrawing it from the market within a period of 15 days .

The Market Inspectorate of the Republic of Kosovo continues to carry out on-site verifications and inspections for the purpose of consumer protection and will continue to do the same in the days to come.

On this occasion, we invite citizens-consumers to be attentive during purchases, and for any violation of consumer rights, to continue to address complaints/notifications to the Market Inspectorate, through the Department for Consumer Protection in the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade.”

Serbian Ministry of Economy: Criteria for opening of Chapter 1 in negotiations with EU met (N1, Beta)

The Serbian Ministry of Economy said that, after more than eight years of talks with representatives of the European Commission and the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Serbia, the European Commission informed the Ministry of Economy that the criteria for opening Chapter 1 – Free Movement of Goods, have been met.

“Chapter 1 – Free Movement of Goods is the most significant and legislatively demanding chapter. Serbia achieves the largest exchange of goods with the EU countries, and therefore a „green light“ for the opening of this chapter is a historic moment for our people and our country,” the Ministry quoted Economy Minister Rade Basta as saying.

International

Kosovo PM calls on West not to put pressure over Serb entity (AP)

Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti called on Western powers not to pressure his tiny Balkan country into accepting a contentious association of five Serb-majority municipalities that is ramping up tensions between Kosovo and Serbia.

Kurti told The Associated Press that the focus instead should be on making Serbia more democratic and getting rid of what he called Belgrade’s hegemonistic ideas.

Kurti said in the interview on Sunday that the Serbian government should acknowledge the independence of all the ex-republics of former Yugoslavia in order to “face the past.” He stressed that Belgrade should lean more toward the European Union and NATO, not Russia.

The prime minister said that if they free themselves from the idea that Kosovo still belongs to Serbia, “they will be much more democratic, European.”

During the past several weeks, U.S. and EU envoys have visited Pristina and Belgrade to encourage them to accept a new proposal for the two countries to normalize relations and boost their EU accession bids.