UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, January 9, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

EU working to condition Serbia’s membership with implementation of agreements with Kosovo (RFE)
72 cases of attacks and threats against reporters in Kosovo in 2023 (VoA in Albanian)
Murati: Capital investments in 2023 increased by 32 percent (media)
“Possible attacks from Serbia”; Haziri: Leaders’ camouflage to hide failures (EO)
Musliu: Serbia can use local Serbs; another attack as Banjska not excluded
Sources: Police raids against several Tax Administration officials (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucevic: Time to decide about compulsory military service, debate ahead (Tanjug, TV Pink)
Kosovo Chamber of Commerce: We lost €300mn to EU sanctions (N1, BETA)
Hearing in case of Milorad Djokovic from Vitomirica held today (Kosovo Online, media)
Serbian prosecution still conducts investigation on Banjska case (Radio KIM, Euronews)
Ponos: New opposition protest on January 16 (N1)

Opinion:

Dialogue and Kosovo’s European integration in the year of mega-elections (Koha)
AI’s Arrival in Higher Education in Balkans Has Huge Implications (BIRN)

International:

Was Kosovo’s First Transitional Justice Strategy Worth the Wait? (BIRN)
Spanish opposition fears Kosovo passport recognition could set a precedent for Catalonia (Euractiv)

Albanian Language Media

EU working to condition Serbia’s membership with implementation of agreements with Kosovo (RFE)

The European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) are working to change the framework of talks with Serbia for its membership in the European Union, in order to include in the obligatory conditions, the implementation of agreements it has reached with Kosovo in the EU-facilitated dialogue. “Work in this respect is continuing in line with the request of member states,” EU spokesperson Peter Stano told a press conference in Brussels today. The news website notes that the request for the formal amendment of conditions in Chapter 35 was made by EU member states after Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said last month that Serbia would not implement all the agreements it reached with Kosovo.

72 cases of attacks and threats against reporters in Kosovo in 2023 (VoA in Albanian)

72 cases of attacks and threats against reporters were recorded in Kosovo in 2023, with commentators arguing that last year was the most challenging year in the last decade in terms of security of reporters and the freedom of the media in general.

Venera Xhoxhaj, who has been working as a reporter for over 20 years, told Voice of America in Albanian that 2023 was one of the most challenging years for her. “This certainly relates to developments in the north, with the reporting from there. It hasn’t been easy to report from a region where there were increased tensions and there were constant attacks against the media there,” she said.

Tensions in the north of Kosovo broke out in May last year after police officers accompanied the Albanian mayors of the four Serb-majority municipalities to their offices. The elections were boycotted by Serb political parties.

On June 16 last year, Venera and her team from the Radio Television of Kosovo were attacked as they were covering the visit of Local Government Minister Elbert Krasniqi at the office of Leposavic mayor Lulzim Hetemi. They were part of a group of journalists who according to a police report “were brutally and physically attacked by individuals and criminal groups”.

“The moment when the attack happened there was first a shock bomb and we started running to get away because we saw that the situation was becoming tense, and groups were heading against the media. Rocks that were thrown in our direction hit us on our heads, necks, and backs. I fell on the ground, I was hit with rocks, I was terrified, and I didn’t really believe we could get out of the situation that was created,” Venera says.

She said that the incident during which her colleague, cameraman Bardh Bekteshi was seriously injured, hurt her emotionally. “I never saw more messages on my phone, messages of care and love, which I read only several days later. I needed that care because my emotional condition was really bad for several days. I believe it can be noticed now too as I am speaking because whenever I recall it I get emotional and I hope it will never happen again,” she said.

Chairman of the Association of Kosovo Journalists, Xhemajl Rexha, said in an interview with the news agency that 2023 was the most difficult for the security of journalists and media freedom in the last decade. “In our database a total of 72 cases of attacks and threats, some of them online, against reporters were recorded. Almost half of them happened in the north of Kosovo during a five-week period, from late May to late June. Journalists in Kosovo in 2023 were barbarically attacked, their equipment, cameras and vehicles were burnt, and above all their physical security was violated,” he said.

Rexha said that there were attacks in other parts of Kosovo, and that the most serious incident was the attack against Valon Syla, a reporter, who was assaulted in April last year shortly after taking part in a TV debate. “We are satisfied with the way the judiciary handled the case and now there is a verdict against three persons. The attack against him [Syla] was an attack against freedom of speech. The AJK and civil society protect the freedom of speech because it is the foundation of the Constitution of Kosovo,” he added.

Such attacks damage the media freedom in Kosovo, said Rexha, and highlighted the attempt to shut down Klan Kosova TV station. “We absolutely see it as a direct attack against media freedom. We know that the case is in court, and we hope that it will be decided in a way that no other TV station in Kosovo will ever be closed,” he argued.

Flutura Kusari, media lawyer, said such developments paint a negative image for Kosovo on the international arena. “All these negative developments were also reflected in the EU progress report, in the first report of the Council of Europe which is part of the assessment of the membership bid and were also included in most international reports. Normally we all want Kosovo to be seen as a democratic country where freedom of speech and media freedom blossom and not the opposite. But regrettably we haven’t seen this, and the consequences are that on the international arena we are being criticized and ranked with countries where freedom of speech is problematic,” she said.

Kusari further argued that improving the current situation requires political will and recommends the implementation of all Council of Europe standards for the security of journalists, media pluralism and fighting Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (SLAPP) which according to her are increasingly being used against journalists in Kosovo.

Attacks against journalists in Kosovo in 2023 were widely condemned by local and international associations of journalists and by representatives of institutions and political parties in Kosovo. The International Federation of Journalists and the European Federation of Journalists said in their reactions that the attacks are unacceptable and called on the authorities to undertake necessary measures to guarantee a safe environment for journalists on the ground.

World Press Freedom Index of Reporters without Borders, which covers 180 countries, Kosovo is said to have made progress by being ranked at 56, a growth of 5 positions compared to a report from the previous year when it was ranked as 61. The organization however ranks Kosovo among problematic countries where journalists are subject to attacks.

Murati: Capital investments in 2023 increased by 32 percent (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Finance, Hekuran Murati, said in a Facebook post today that capital investments in 2023 increased by 23 percent and that compared to 2022 in 2023 expenses increased by 13 percent. “The category of Wages and Added Payments is the second biggest contributor to the budget increase, with €114 million more, or 17 percent more than 2022. This shows that in the public sector there was an average increase of wages that surpassed the average inflation rate of 11.6 percent in 2022,” he said.

“Possible attacks from Serbia”; Haziri: Leaders’ camouflage to hide failures (EO)

Deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lutfi Haziri, said in an interview with the news website that statements by Kosovo’s leaders about the possibility of new attacks from Serbia are “a farce to cover up domestic failures” but he also argues that Serbia is a destabilizing country in the Balkans. According to Haziri, the origin of the attack in the north of Kosovo in September last year was the boycott of Serb officials and violent protests there. He said that the international community initially legitimized the protests but that later they resulted in violence.

Musliu: Serbia can use local Serbs; another attack as Banjska not excluded (KSP)

Director of the Pristina-based Octopus Institute, Agim Musliu, said in an interview with the news agency, that “it is unacceptable how the EU is tolerating Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic because he leads an extremely chauvinistic policy and will not stop serving Russian President Vladimir Putin”.

According to Musliu, Serbia can use local Serbs in the north of Kosovo for another conflict and did not exclude the possibility of another attack similar to that in Banjska in September last year. He claimed that “the threat is constant” and that “members of Serbian groups are still being trained in camps coordinated by the Serbian government”.

Musliu said many challenges await Kosovo this year given the geostrategic and geopolitical changes expected to happen in the world. “Many challenges await Kosovo and in terms of security we can expect another attack similar to that in Banjska, because many members of these groups are still being trained in Serbia …,” he said.

Sources: Police raids against several Tax Administration officials (RTK)

Following an order by the Department of Economic Crimes and Corruption at the Basic Prosecution in Pristina, Kosovo Police are conducting raids in the city of Prizren. Sources from the police told RTK that the raids are being carried out against three or four officials of the Kosovo Tax Administration, who are suspected of tax evasion, abuse of duty and other offenses.

A spokeswoman for the Basic Prosecution in Pristina meanwhile said that the Basic Prosecution and Kosovo Police are carrying out operations in several locations in Kosovo.

Serbian Language Media

Vucevic: Time to decide about compulsory military service, debate ahead (Tanjug, TV Pink)

Serbian Defence Minister Milos Vucevic said on Monday an initiative to reinstate compulsory military service did not mean Serbia was readying itself for any kind of war, but preparing to protect peace and freedom, and added that a strong army would act as another deterrent to those with malintent towards Serbia, Tanjug news agency reports.

Asked by Pink TV when compulsory military service would begin and how long it would last, Vucevic said nothing would be done overnight and that a debate on the matter was still ahead.

"We have officially launched the initiative. The final decision is up to the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia", Vucevic said.

Kosovo Chamber of Commerce: We lost €300mn to EU sanctions (N1, BETA)

Kosovo Chamber of Commerce president Lulzim Rafuna said Kosovo lost around 300 million euros due to European Union (EU) sanctions, N1 reports.

Rafuna told the Pristina media that the measures, introduced in June 2023 over Kosovo failure to fulfill EU demands for de-escalation in northern Kosovo, also had a negative impact on Kosovo international image.

“As a result of EU measures, we suffered twofold losses: financial, where some 300 million euros was blocked to projects that could not be realized. The second is a matter of image. It does not look good to foreign investors when, as a country, you get demerits”, Rafuna said.

He said that 67 percent of private entrepreneurs had voiced concerns that workers may go abroad after the visa liberalization for Kosovo citizens, which came into effect on January 1.

Hearing in case of Milorad Djokovic from Vitomirica held today (Kosovo Online, media)

Hearing in the case of Milorad Djokovic, from Vitomirica, accused of allegedly committing war crimes in the village of Ozdrim, in Pec municipality, took place today at the special department of the Basic Court in Pristina, Kosovo Online portal reported.

The next hearings are scheduled for February 26 and 27, and March 1, Djokovic’s defense lawyer Vasilije Arsic told the portal.

The lawyer also said defense disputed allegations from indictment, terming it as ungrounded, adding the investigation had not been thoroughly conducted and that the indictment was politically motivated. “This is about accusing a man, who was the only person of Serb ethnicity living in Vitomirica, and he was exposed to pressure from the moment he came to live in Vitomirica in 2004”, lawyer Arsic said.

He added, the defense proposed witnesses who would prove that Djokovic did not take part in the event included by the indictment, and that he is innocent.

Djokovic was arrested on June 28, last year under accusations of allegedly committing war crimes. He was working as a civil register in Gorazdevac, never left Pec municipality and was the only Serb living in Vitomirica.

Serbian prosecution still conducts investigation on Banjska case (Radio KIM, Euronews)

Higher Public Prosecution in Belgrade still conducts an investigation into an armed incident in Banjska village, northern Kosovo, in which three Serbs and one Albanian police officer lost their lives, Euronews Serbia reported.

Euronews was told by the prosecution that they are still verifying statements of a suspect Milan Radoicic who was interviewed at the beginning of October. Back then he denied carrying out criminal acts he is charged with, although he previously took over responsibility for the organization and attack in Banjska.

Three months ago the prosecution suspected Radoicic that he, with a number of unknown persons, committed the criminal acts of association for the purpose of committing criminal acts, illegal production, possession, carrying and trafficking of firearms and explosive substances, as well as serious crimes against general security.

As it was announced back then, Radoicic is accused of procuring weapons, ammunition and explosive devices of great destructive power from Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In a reply to Euronews Serbia's inquiry, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office also said that in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Customs Administration, evidence is being collected in order to determine the origin of the weapons and the channels through which it arrived in Kosovo.

Ponos: New opposition protest on January 16 (N1)

Leader of the opposition SRCE (Serbia Centre) Movement Zdravko Ponos said Tuesday that a new opposition protest will be held on January 16, on the anniversary of the murder of Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic.

“Our coalition had a meeting today and we agreed to invite all citizens to assemble on January 16, the day of Oliver Ivanovic’s murder. We are yet to decide on the form, we agreed on this practically an hour ago”, Ponos told N1, adding that the public will be informed of the details over the next few days.

The last in a series of opposition protests organized daily outside the Republic Election Commission (RIK) offices in Belgrade over election irregularities was held on Friday, December 29. That same day students organized a 24-hour blockade in Belgrade and then joined the ProGlas initiative protest on December 30 at the Terazije Fountain in central Belgrade. Opposition representatives announced that the protests would continue after Orthodox Christmas, but did not specify the date back then.

Opinion

Dialogue and Kosovo’s European integration in the year of mega-elections (Koha)

Brussels-based correspondent Augustin Palokaj argues in an opinion piece that “the reasons for the eventual delay in the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, as well as keeping Kosovo’s application for EU membership on the shelf, are not elections in Europe, the U.S., North Korea, or Russia or India. The success of the process depends only on the pressure on Serbia to implement what the EU continues to call the Agreement on the path toward normalization. The EU now needs to find a response to Serbia’s declaration even in writing that it does not intend to implement the main parts of the agreement”.

Palokaj writes that in the beginning of this year there was good news for Kosovo, referring to the entering into force of visa liberalization and the fact that Spain too is among the countries that recognize Kosovo’s passport, and also the decision of the governments of Kosovo and Serbia to recognize license plates.

Palokaj argues that in order to have real progress in the normalization of relations this year, the European Union is going to be way more serious. “The seriousness is proved by making it clear to Serbia that it needs to implement all points of the Agreement, and to undertake measures if it does not do this. So far the EU has not proved seriousness and has shown understanding for Serbia even when it failed to meet its obligations. On the other hand, it has sanctioned Kosovo. Regardless of what someone in the EU may think or say, the fact in early 2024 is that Kosovo is under EU measures and Serbia is not. There is no interest by the EU to sanction Serbia even for its role in Banjska, which the EU High Representative called a terrorist attack. Moreover, diplomatic actions in the EU can be seen aimed at forgetting the issue as soon as possible”.

“With regards to European elections,” according to Palokaj, “Kosovo should not be concerned, and wrong are the forecasts that after the elections there will be a [European] Parliament more favorable to Serbia. “Because even in the event of a raise by the hardline right or left, many of whom are pro-Serbian and pro-Russian, it is certain that the four main parties of the center will have a great majority in the European Parliament, as they do now. And these parties, with the exception of some MPs that come from non-recognizing countries, will continue to have a positive position on the independence of Kosovo. As the Parliament votes with the democratic principle of the majority, it will continue to consider Kosovo an independent country and call on the five non-recognizing countries to recognize it. This will not change even after the elections”.

AI’s Arrival in Higher Education in Balkans Has Huge Implications (BIRN)

Opinion piece by Hamza Karcic, an associate professor at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Sarajevo.

AI’s advent may benefit many fields – but it will also require a major rethink of educational syllabi, and of the way we set exams and define plagiarism.

A few weeks ago, I began reading a paper, and it was quickly clear that something was odd about it. The standard of English was excellent. The linguistic expressions used were impressive. With sources cited, it had the semblance of what is expected of a paper, and more. That was the problem.

The English language used in the paper was well beyond that of a non-native speaker and a newcomer to academic writing. A cursory look at previous writing in English shows a huge discrepancy in the standards of the language. The sources cited were seemingly related to the topic, to convey the impression of research. But it was also clear that the sources cited were not those used in the paper.

In other words, AI has arrived at academia in the Balkans. With a twist. Anecdotal evidence suggests its increasing use in different areas of work.

In fact, AI has been one of the most significant stories in 2023. Its impact on everything from education to the IT sector to the military industry has yet to be grasped. Multiple analyses have appeared over the past several months trying to make sense of what this portends. This new development will profoundly affect different professions and institutions across the globe. Higher education is one of them.

International

Was Kosovo’s First Transitional Justice Strategy Worth the Wait? (BIRN)

Kosovo’s first-ever transitional justice strategy is soon to be adopted, almost 25 years after the war ended – but experts argue that although it’s a step forward, it doesn’t do enough to address the problems that have persisted since 1999.

More than two years since the drafting of Kosovo’s first-ever transitional justice strategy began, the document is now ready to be approved by the government on January 12.

Almost a quarter of a century since the war ended, many issues stemming from the conflict persist to this day. These include impunity for war crimes, missing persons who have yet to be found, people displaced from their homes who have not yet been able to return, unpunished human rights violations and enduring ethnic divisions. The Kosovo authorities believe that transitional justice mechanisms can address some of these issues.

Some efforts have been made over the past couple of decades, but experts believe that little progress has been made. Bekim Blakaj, head of the Humanitarian Law Centre Kosovo, which has spent years documenting crimes committed during the war, told BIRN “From all these initiatives, we have not yet seen any concrete results that contribute to the transitional justice process,”Bekim Blakaj, head of the Humanitarian Law Centre Kosovo, which has spent years documenting crimes committed during the war, told BIRN.

The Kosovo government launched the preparations for the transitional justice strategy in 2021. In parallel with the drafting process, it also launched various other transitional justice initiatives. These include legislation to establish a new War Crimes Research Institute and a Commission for Research, Registration, Evaluation and Documentation of Cultural Heritage and Historical Monuments Destroyed during the 1998-99 War.

The government also launched an initiative to establish a new Museum for Documenting and Presenting the Crimes of the Former Yugoslavia and Serbia against Kosovo Albanians in Kosovo, as well as adopting legislation to build a memorial commemorating children killed during the war and amending the Law on Missing Persons to ease the search for the remaining disappeared.