UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, June 11, 2025

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani is in contact with QUINT about arrested former officer (Telegrafi)
Svecla: Former police officer arrested by Serbia must be released ASAP (media)
Ministry contacts QUINT on former police officer arrested by Serbia (media)
Wife of arrested police officer: Don’t keep silent, he needs support (media)
Kosovo police officers that were arrested by Serbia (RFE)
30th failed attempt to form the new Kosovo Assembly (media)
LDK to present tomorrow 15-point plan for transitional government (Nacionale)
Businesses protest liberalization of energy market (RFE)
Muja: LDK and PDK adopted laws for liberalization of energy market (EO)
Kosovo government ready to accept migrants expelled from U.S. (RFE)
Kurti hosts delegation of National Prayer Breakfast (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Djuric: Serbia is fighting for its interests in Kosovo, building new friendships (Kosovo Online)
Vucic visits Ukraine for Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit (Beta, N1, media)
Media: Kosovo not taking part in Ukraine-South Europe Summitt, it was not invited (TV Most, Tanjug)
Radenkovic: Closing library is uncivilized, a solution must be found (Kosovo Online)
Lawyer: Third witness in a row did not identify defendants in Banjska case (Kosovo Online)
Family prevented reinstalment of memorial plaque dedicated to 11-year old Biljana Peric from Gracanica (Radio KIM)

Opinion:

If we forget you… (KoSSev)

International:

Kosovo’s insoluble political logjam is costing the country dear – experts (BIRN)
Local elections in Serbia reveal cracks in Vučić’s rule despite unfair conditions (EWB)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani is in contact with QUINT about arrested former officer (Telegrafi)

The Office of Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani told the news website today that Osmani is in contact with QUINT and the EU Office about the arrest of a former member of Kosovo Police special units by Serbian authorities. “As soon as she was notified about the case, President Osmani immediately contacted the Liaison Office of the Republic of Kosovo in Serbia and was also in contact with the QUINT countries and the EU Office. The President’s engagement will continue,” a media advisor to Osmani said.

Arbnor Spahiu, a former member of Kosovo Police special units, was stopped in Serbia on Saturday and placed on one-month detention. He is charged for “aggravated murder” in Banjska and could be sentenced to 10 years in prison or life imprisonment. Kosovo Police said that when the attack in Banjska happened in September 2023, Spahiu was no longer a member of the police force as he had resigned in 2022.

Svecla: Former police officer arrested by Serbia must be released ASAP (media)

Kosovo’s caretaker Minister of Interior Affairs and MP from the Vetevendosje Movement, Xhelal Svecla, said today that the Ministry of Interior Affairs is working on the case of a former member of Kosovo Police – Arbnor Spahiu - who was arrested by authorities in Serbia on Saturday and placed on one-month detention. “This citizen of the Republic of Kosovo must be released as soon as possible and cases like this one must not happen again,” he told reporters.

Svecla also said that Spahiu was not a member of the Kosovo Police in 2023.

Ministry contacts QUINT on former police officer arrested by Serbia (media)

Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that through the Liaison Office in Serbia, it is closely following developments involving the arrest of Arbnor Spahiu, a former member of Kosovo Police special units, by Serbian authorities. “According to the statements of family members and the defense attorney, the charges against Spahiu are related to the Banjska case. They believe the accusations are completely unfounded and fabricated because Spahiu ended his service in the Kosovo Police in 2022 and has been living in Germany together with his family since then. Ambassador Jashari, together with the attorney hired by Spahiu’s family, Arianit Koci, will travel on June 11 to Subotica where they will meet the second attorney,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Liaison Office in Serbia has also immediately submitted an official request to allow Jashari to visit Spahiu at the detention center in Subotica where he is being held.

The Ministry has notified all QUINT representatives in Belgrade about the case and also the diplomatic corps in Kosovo. Regular contact is being held with the German Embassy being that Spahiu has regular residence there. “The Republic of Kosovo will use all available diplomatic channels to make sure that this injustice against a citizen of the Republic of Kosovo comes to an end and that Spahiu is released as soon as possible,” the statement notes.

Wife of arrested police officer: Don’t keep silent, he needs support (media)

The wife of a former Kosovo Police officer who was arrested by Serbian authorities and placed to a one-month detention has called on Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani and other institutions to react in her husband’s support. Some media report that the former police officer – Arbnor Spahiu - is being accused of “aggravated murder” in Banjska.

In an interview for TV Dukagjini, the former officer’s wife said: “I publicly call on you to speak up and take concrete actions to address the case of my husband and others like him. Arbnor has contributed to the security of Kosovo for years. And today when he needs support more than ever he has been left in silence. No institution has reacted. Neither the President nor the Assembly. And this silence is additional pain for my family. I am not speaking only as a wife but as a citizen too. Tomorrow this can happen to someone else too. I call on President Vjosa Osmani, the government, and all institutions to immediately react. Arbnor needs to return home. He is not guilty – he is a silent hero of this country,” the wife said.

Kosovo police officers that were arrested by Serbia (RFE)

Former member of the Kosovo Police special unit, Arbnor Spahiu, is one of several police officers or former officers that found themselves behind bars in Serbia, the news website reports. Spahiu was stopped on June 7 at a border crossing point between Hungary and Serbia. Serbian authorities there ordered a one-month detention saying that he is suspected of having committed “aggravated murder”. The suspicion relates to the incident in Banjska, in the north of Kosovo, when a group of armed Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police in September 2023 and killed police sergeant Afrim Bunjaku. During the ensuing gunfight, three Serb assailants were killed. But Kosovo Police said in a confirmation to the news website that at the time Spahiu was not a member of the police force and that he had voluntarily resigned in 2022.

Before Spahiu, several other Kosovo police officers or former officers, both Albanians and Serbs, were arrested in Serbia. In April 2024, Serbian authorities arrested the deputy director of Kosovo Police, Dejan Jankovic. He was stopped at the Jarinje crossing between Kosovo and Serbia, for allegedly violating the constitutional order of Serbia. Kosovo authorities said at the time that Jankovic is one of dozens of Serbs and Albanians that were stopped by Serbian authorities on April 17. Jankovic was released several days later after the U.S. State Department called on Serbia to release him. The other police officers were also released. On April 17, Kosovo authorities said that Serbia stopped over 1,400 citizens of Kosovo for over 20 hours at the border crossings with Croatia and Hungary. The Kosovo government said the actions were retaliation by Serbia for the support that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe gave to Kosovo’s membership bid in the organization. Serbia denied the accusations, saying that the delays were caused by additional security measures at the border crossings. They also said that the movement of Kosovo citizens “was not limited”.

30th failed attempt to form the new Kosovo Assembly (media)

All news websites report on another - the 30th in a row - failed attempt to form the new Kosovo Assembly. As in previous constitutive sessions, the MPs gathered briefly and failed to find a solution to the deadlock. The disputed point is the election of the new Speaker of the Assembly, with MPs from parties that were in the opposition in the previous mandate refusing to take part in a committee that would oversee a secret vote for the new speaker.

LDK to present tomorrow 15-point plan for transitional government (Nacionale)

MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Jehona Lushaku-Sadriu said that the 30th failure to form the new Kosovo Assembly comes as a result of “the first party’s inability to secure a majority”. “This has a very high cost for the people of Kosovo, for Kosovo, and for our functioning as a democracy, and it also threatens our country’s democracy,” she said.

Lushaku-Sadriu said that tomorrow the LDK will present on Thursday a 15-point plan elaborating the ideas and priorities of a transitional unity government they have proposed.

Businesses protest liberalization of energy market (RFE)

“Do not stop our production”, “Fast liberalization of energy is a monopoly not competition”, “There is no free market without transparency” are some of the slogans that representatives of businesses held during their protest in downtown Pristina today against the decision of the Energy Regulatory (ERO) on the liberalization of the energy market which entered into force on June 1. The decision notes that all private and public companies with over 50 staff and individual annual turnover of over €10 million are on the free energy market and are supplied with energy with tariffs that are not regulated by the state. Over 1,300 private businesses are now part of this market. The decision however has triggered strong reactions and many concerns from the business community.

Chairman of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce, Lulzim Rafuna, said today that the market liberalization is being done without transparency and without fair competition conditions. He called on the ERO and the government to suspend the decision within 10 days and to avoid the damages to the economic sector and the people. “Any interference in the energy tariffs is an interference in the living conditions of the people of Kosovo. Give us a transition phase, prepare the market and then offer a support package for the businesses,” Rafuna said during the protest.

Skender Krasniqi from the Chamber of Trade and Industry said that Kosovo now depends largely on the import of foreign products and that any increase in energy costs will further this dependency. “If energy tariffs increase, imports will go up and local producers will be left on the streets,” he argued.

Agim Shahini, chairman of the Kosovo Businesses Alliance, said the private sector, especially the manufacturing industry, is crucial for Kosovo’s economic development and that it needs concrete support. “This industry should be helped and not destroyed,” he argued.

Shahini also said that if the ERO does not reflect on the demands and concerns of businesses, the protests will continue.

Muja: LDK and PDK adopted laws for liberalization of energy market (EO)

MP from the Vetevendosje Movement, Armend Muja, said today that decisions and laws that enabled businesses to move to the free energy market were made by parties that are now in the opposition, namely by the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK). He said that the process of market liberalization started years ago and was prepared by previous governments, through directive and laws. “In 2016, the PDK and LDK were in a coalition, namely the two protagonists were Isa Mustafa from the LDK and Blerand Stavileci from the PDK that adopted the package of laws for the liberalization of the energy market. In 2017, the Energy Regulatory Office also of the PDK and LDK then, adopted the roadmap for the liberalization of the energy market and noted that all businesses with 35, 20 and 10 kilowatts to move to the energy market and the final deadline for that was 31 March 2021. This is true: the decision on the liberalization [of the market] and the laws were adopted by the political parties that are criticizing us now. In 2019, then-chairman of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce, Berat Rukiqi, a candidate for MP from the LDK, had said that if the market is not liberalized all businesses would go bankrupt. Now, five-six years later, another candidate for MP from the PDK and who is now the leader of the Chamber of Commerce, is saying the opposite,” Muja argued.

Kosovo government ready to accept migrants expelled from U.S. (RFE)

The caretaker government of Kosovo confirmed to the news website that it has expressed its readiness to cooperate with the United States of America on accepting and temporary shelter of third-country nationals to Kosovo “in line with the set conditions”. “During a one-year period, up to 50 persons can be relocated temporarily, with the aim of facilitating their safe return to their countries of origin. The government has expressed readiness to engage, with the possibility of selecting individuals from a proposed list, for as long as they meet specific criteria for the rule of law and public order,” a government spokesperson told the news website.

Kurti hosts delegation of National Prayer Breakfast (media)

Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti hosted on Tuesday a National Prayer Breakfast delegation from the United States of America, and highlighted the importance of close and strategic relations between Kosovo and the U.S. A press release issued by Kurti’s office notes that he informed the delegation about current developments in Kosovo, “including economic progress, democratic reforms and the advancement of human rights, as reflected in international reports. The meeting also discussed the importance of cooperation in the fields of defense, development and diplomacy, as well as other issues of common interest”.

Serbian Language Media

Djuric: Serbia is fighting for its interests in Kosovo, building new friendships (Kosovo Online)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric emphasized that Serbia would gain on multiple fronts by joining the EU, but also that it must protect its own interests regarding Kosovo and other relations in the international community, Kosovo Online portal reported.

Speaking for Prva TV morning edition Djuric said Serbia should join the EU as a full-fledged member.

“Our assessment of Serbia’s national interest is that we should join the European Union as an equal, accepted, and full member, with a seat and full voting rights, taking part in decision-making on the EU’s foreign and security policy, and participating in the distribution of the financial resources in Brussels, which is not insignificant. Just look, Bulgaria received more than 90 billion euros from the EU’s common budget. Serbia has also received billions in recent years, but ten times less than it would have if it were a full member. So, we benefit on multiple fronts through this membership”, Djuric said.

However, he added it is also important for Serbia to protect its national interests. “We have our specific interests that relate to the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, and to some other relations within the international community, and we don’t want to be disadvantaged just because we may not be to the liking of some officials or bureaucrats in distant centers. Our responsibility is first and foremost to the citizens of Serbia. I believe it is in our interest to become EU members, and I hope we will. That requires will and energy on both sides”, he said.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/YGMC9

Vucic visits Ukraine for Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit (Beta, N1, media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will participate on Wednesday in the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit, said his office.

According to the press release, Vucic will be making a one-day visit to Ukraine.

It was earlier announced that the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit will be held in Odesa.

Last year, the third Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit took place in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Some ten days ago, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused the Serbian defense industry of attempts “to stab Russia in the back.”

Unlike his other visits, this trip was not announced in advance, and the public only learned about it after the president had already departed.

Media: Kosovo not taking part in Ukraine-South Europe Summitt, it was not invited (TV Most, Tanjug)

Kosovo representatives are not taking part in the Ukraine-South Europe Summitt, as they were not invited by the host, Ukraine in this case, Tanjug news agency reported.

Ukraine is the first country not to invite Kosovo thus far. Greece, which also does not recognize Kosovo, invited Pristina to take part at the Summit held in Athens, same as Croatia last year when the Summit was held in Dubrovnik.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will represent Serbia in the Summit taking place in Odessa.

Radenkovic: Closing library is uncivilized, a solution must be found (Kosovo Online)

The closure of the City Library in North Mitrovica is a major blow and a warning. A clear message has been sent that there is no place for us and our children here. It is sad and uncivilized, especially here in the heart of Europe, Nenad Radenkovic, academic sculptor and poet, told Kosovo Online.

The premises of the "Vuk Karadzic" City Library in North Mitrovica were taken over by the Kosovo Privatization Agency at the end of May, and since then its doors have been sealed shut. Radenkovic says it is illogical, uncivilized, and in a way completely unnatural to suddenly deny so many readers, especially children, members of the library, the ability to borrow books.

He expresses concern that other Serbian libraries could face a similar fate.

“I didn’t expect something like this. I thought it would happen toward the end of some plan they are implementing. What is most dangerous for a people is this constant undermining of their foundations. I highlight the abolition of language, identity, the Cyrillic script, that’s what holds us together, because people remain a people if it has its language. When it loses that foundation of identity, it simply becomes headless,” Radenkovic notes.

Given that he could travel through the southern part of Kosovo, he says he was touched when he saw Albanian children training with their coaches, while at the same time sports halls in North Mitrovica are locked.

“I can somehow accept everything else, but a blow to children, through the library, through sports, I simply cannot. A solution must be found because it’s not enough just to be alive. Everything that is considered cultural enrichment pertains to the culture of the Serbian people, literature, the reading public, creators, visual artists, and all kinds of musical talents… All of that is being attacked this way,” the artist warns.

He believes this is a problem that should be addressed through dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, but until a solution is reached at that level, some interim arrangement should be found.

“Those who go to the library regularly are not anyone’s enemies, so I don’t see any reason why an interim solution couldn’t be found, so that our librarians, along with their management, return to their jobs until such time as the dialogue yields concrete results,” Radenkovic says.

Lawyer: Third witness in a row did not identify defendants in Banjska case (Kosovo Online)

Milos Delevic, defense lawyer of Vladimir Tolic, one of the three Serbs arrested in relation to the Banjska armed incident, said following today’s hearing that third witness in the proceedings did not manage to identify any of the three defendants, adding that hearing of the witnesses will continue, Kosovo Online portal reported.

He also said the request of the prosecutor that the witness makes legal qualification on the act was impermissible.

“A third witness in this case was interviewed today. As you could hear, he could neither identify defendants of taking part in the immediate attack on sergeant Afrim Bunjaku. What is interesting, and happens for the third time already, is that a special prosecutor requests witnesses to make a legal qualification of an act, which is unbelievable and impermissible and did not happen until now”, Delevic said, adding the hearing of witnesses will continue on Thursday and Friday.

Family prevented reinstalment of memorial plaque dedicated to 11-year old Biljana Peric from Gracanica (Radio KIM)

Memorial plaque dedicated to 11-year-old Biljana Peric, who lost her life in a traffic accident in Gracanica 30 years ago, was removed last weekend after the land plot in its vicinity was purchased by an Albanian man. His attempt to reinstate the memorial plaque last night at the place where it stood for the last 30 years had been thwarted by the Peric family members and Kosovo police, Radio KIM reported.

Vukasin Peric, Biljana’s father, in a brief statement to Radio KIM, said they encountered the new owner of a land plot in an attempt to reinstate the memorial plaque, but they did not allow him to do so.

“We did not allow him (to do so) because I will reinstate the memorial plaque according to my own will. I will definitely sue him”, Vukasin said.

Vukasin Peric also said the family received the report from Gracanica municipal department, saying inspectors went to the spot, assessed that the memorial plaque had been removed and the canal where it stood was filled up with gravel.

In a media address yesterday, parents of late Biljana Peric, informed the public that the new land owner, of Albanian ethnicity, acting on his own initiative and without any previous information dismantled and threw away a memorial plaque dedicated to their daughter standing at the place of her death for the last 30 years.

Opinion

If we forget you… (KoSSev)

By Nebojša Vujović

Nebojša Vujović is the author of the political part of the Kumanovo Agreement, UN Security Council Resolution 1244, the political part of the Dayton Agreement, former head of the Mission of the FRY to the USA.

''Kosovo is a sacred Serbian word - both for those of us who were born there, and for those of us who are scattered throughout Serbia and all over the world. Some of us return to it, wherever we go, because it is hard to leave our mother. Unfortunately, that return is engraved in the rocks of Prokletije, in books, songs, legends, and even myths. We who return to it, one or other of these ways - with tears, sometimes or often - have not forgotten where we were forged. We can't give up our genes, most of us.

Unfortunately, there were weeds among us - those who renounced Kosovo in different ways. Some out of stupidity, some due to excessive use of force and defiance of the world imposing its globalist rules; some from the naive belief that "the Russians are coming", some because of ducats, and some without feel and understanding what Kosovo means - not necessarily as a scene of holy battles, but as a spiritual, cultural and civilizational heritage.

Some lightly renounced Emperor Dušan, and some gave up on Dušan's laws - including today's laws, which the current Serbian rulers knowingly violate. To them they are the shield, the baton and the armor, the trademarks of the betrayal they have committed.

The tears of Suzana from Ohrid do not help - they only stain the makeup. Acceptance of the agreement without a smile and a signature does not help either. Their self-satisfaction and "rich future" doesn't help them either, when the eyes of the cameras turn off. They are followed by the stamp of what they did - they trampled on the Constitution and the sacred Serbian word.

They left the Serbs alone - a large number of people with non-legalized real estate that Kurti is now demolishing, trying to score political points and finally, perhaps from the 30th attempt, form the Kosovo government and institutions.

Kaja Kallas estimates that, if the EU lifts sanctions on Pristina, it can be a formula for establishing a government and avoiding a deepening of the crisis. They will turn a blind eye - just like the UEFA referees turn a blind eye when the Albanians throw bottles of water at our players' heads, and they fall on the grass of the "Kombëtar" stadium like they have been mowed down. As the selector from Pasje Selo would say - "a real enchanting football atmosphere".

I will not repeat all Vucic's stupid, God forbid, treacherous moves - there were many of them. But those who will one day write history will not forget this humiliation.

It's no wonder, today I understand, why the Clintons and Vucic were in their "foundation's embrace''. Everyone had their own reasons.''

International

Kosovo’s insoluble political logjam is costing the country dear – experts (BIRN)

Standoff in parliament over the speaker's election is damaging politics, the economy and society, according to experts – who say the ruling party is most to blame.

Frustration is growing in Kosovo as elected representatives in parliament convene every 48 hours just to make their presence known, and then leave a few minutes after, as soon as the provisional speaker announces another failure to elect a speaker.

Wednesday will see the 30th attempt to elect a speaker.

Insisting on the nomination of its candidate, acting Justice Minister Albulena Haxhiu, the winning party in the last election, Vetevendosje, has not managed to obtain a minimum of 61 votes in parliament for her appointment. It has 48 seats in parliament.

On May 15, after meeting leaders of the four main parties, President Vjosa Osmani said she would seek the opinion of the Constitutional Court after first giving the parties more time to reach an agreement.