UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, March 15, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti: Kosovo-Serbia high-level meetings have become very difficult (Kosovapress)
Chollet holds telephone conversation with Kurti (Klan Kosova/Gazeta Express)
Kosovo authorities refuse to comment why illegal cameras are still up in north (Kallxo)
Komsic: We in Bosnia who are against crimes recognise Kosovo (Gazeta Express)
Glorified and Vilified: Who Was Kosovo’s Nazi Ally, Xhafer Deva? (BIRN)
COVID-19: 22 new cases, no deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Serbia between requests to terminate its negotiations with EU and those calling for urgent membership (N1)
Stano: EU urges Serbia to introduce all political, economic, and financial measures against Russia (Tanjug, N1)
Dacic: Europe doesn’t want to retract recognition of Kosovo, pushes for its membership in all institutions (Kosovo-online, N1)
Hill: I am coming with a new perspective to Serbia (Kosovo Online)
Serbian President says haters behind letter by MEPs (N1)
Vucic: Our people should know that Serbia is with them, time of pogroms and persecution is over (Radio Mitrovica sever)
Hofer: International pressure on Serbia unjustified and wrong (Tanjug, B92)
Trajkovic: When it comes to rights of Serbs, US appeals have thus far fallen on deaf ears (Kosovo-online)
Five new Covid-19 cases in Serbian communities (Kontakt plus radio)

International:

The president of Kosovo warns against the appeasement of autocrats (The Economist)
Serbia under pressure to choose EU as Ukraine war raises stakes for Vucic (Financial Times)
War in Ukraine triggers energy dilemma in Central Europe (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

NDI marks Week of Women; organises two-day conference (EO)
Serbia to export wheat to Albania (Kosovo-online)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti: Kosovo-Serbia high-level meetings have become very difficult (Kosovapress)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that the high-level meetings between Kosovo and Serbia, after the Russian aggression in Ukraine, have become very difficult. “I believe the situation is more difficult than before. It depends when the invitations will come from Brussels, but after the Russian invasion in Ukraine, we imposed sanctions and expressed our readiness to receive 20 reporters and 5,000 refugees from Ukraine, whereas Serbia sided with the Russian Federation. The meetings are in a much more difficult situation than last year … In this situation, when they don’t have the courage to distance themselves from the Russian Federation and join the sanctions, our meetings too have become very difficult,” he said.

Asked if the Kosovo Government has decided whether or not it will allow Serbian elections in its territory, Kurti said that together with the Quint ambassadors they are trying “to find a solution that does not violate human rights or the statehood and constitutionality of Kosovo”. “We are holding talks with the Quint ambassadors to see what kind of solution we can find,” he added.

Chollet holds telephone conversation with Kurti (Klan Kosova/Gazeta Express)

Derek Chollet, special policy advisor to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, said on Monday that he had a good conversation with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. “Thanked him for his strong support on Ukraine and stressed the importance of ensuring eligible voters in Kosovo are able to participate in the upcoming April 3 Serbian national elections,” Chollet said in a Twitter post.

Kosovo authorities refuse to comment why illegal cameras are still up in north (Kallxo)

Dozens of cameras put up in different locations in the north of Kosovo have not been taken down despite the Kosovo Police not controlling them, Kallxo reports, adding that its research revealed that these cameras are not overseen by Kosovo's law enforcement authorities or northern municipalities.

Neither Kosovo's chief prosecutor Aleksander Lumezi nor Kosovo Police director Samedin Mehmeti gave a concrete answer as to whether there is an ongoing investigation into the case. Pressed by Kallxo reporter during a press conference yesterday, Lumezi briefly replied with: "We will inform you on this question."

Komsic: We in Bosnia who are against crimes recognise Kosovo (Gazeta Express)

Zeljko Komsic, chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said in an interview with the news website that “the majority of people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including myself, view Kosovo as an independent and sovereign country”. “Relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo have progressed in the last couple of years, despite the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a result of known circumstances, has not yet officially recognised Kosovo. As chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I have excellent relations and contacts with Kosovo institutions and officials, and they too have a positive approach toward Bosnia and Herzegovina. We share the same priorities in foreign policy, namely membership in NATO and EU, and we are willing to help each other in these paths as much as we can”.

Komsic argued that in the event of Ukraine’s military collapse, Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to destabilise Bosnia through Dodik and Covic, and according to him the latter are trying to undermine the election process which will be held in Bosnia in October this year.

Komsic said he believes the West would react against attempts to destabilise Bosnia and Herzegovina. “The position on elections will show if the West is ready to allow any instability and if it is ready to deviate from its democratic principles when it comes to the equality of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. If the election process can be destabilised, this will be a prelude to another instability which would not be only political,” he argued.

Komsic also said he is strongly against border changes in the Balkans “as this would open the Pandora Box and this could trigger numerous other problems for all countries of the Western Balkans and even in Europe”. “If we resort to border changes, we will end up with wars which could be even worse than those in the 1990s. We must all be smart enough not to allow this to happen,” he said.

Glorified and Vilified: Who Was Kosovo’s Nazi Ally, Xhafer Deva? (BIRN)

A row over Kosovo’s renovation of the former house of Xhafer Deva, who was interior minister in a Nazi-allied government in Albania, has highlighted deeper disputes among Albanians about World War II history.

There are cracks in the walls and almost nothing inside the rooms of the building that has become known to the public as ‘Xhafer Deva’s house’ in the northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica.

In recent weeks, 118 years after Deva was born in the house, it has become the focus of controversy as a row erupted over whether its former inhabitant, who collaborated with the Nazis during World War II, was a hero or a villain, and whether the building should be renovated.

The house was first rebuilt in 1930, but in 1946 it was confiscated by the Yugoslav Communist regime and after then it served as a storehouse and health centre until 1999, when displaced people were settled there.

Valdet Deva, one of Xhafer Deva’s descendants, had never felt any particular disdain or approval for his family until January this year, when Kosovo’s Ministry of Culture, under a project supported by the European Union Office in Kosovo and the UN Development Program, decided to renovate the house and use it as a cultural centre.

Deva, who served as Minister of Internal Affairs of Albania during 1943 to 1944, when the country was under the control of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime, quickly became headline news in the Balkans.

The plan to renovate Deva’s old home caused waves of controversy in Kosovo, Albania and further afield, with some labelling him a Nazi collaborator and others defending him as a champion of the Albanian cause and a saviour of Jews.

The German ambassador to Pristina, Joern Rohde, was one of the first to deliver his criticism. “Very concerned about restoration plans for Xhafer Deva’s house, a known Nazi collaborator and protagonist of infamous SS Skanderbeg Division,” Rohde wrote on Twitter.

“Don’t distort the truth about the Holocaust or war crimes committed by the Nazis and local collaborators,” Rohde urged.

Read full article at: https://bit.ly/3IdN4iY

COVID-19: 22 new cases, no deaths (media)

22 new cases with COVID-19 were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 62 persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 633 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Serbian Language Media

Serbia between requests to terminate its negotiations with EU and those calling for urgent membership (N1)

Ever since the war broke out in Ukraine, Serbian diplomacy is under strong pressure, N1 reports today. Serbia didn’t impose sanctions on Russia, although it voted in support of UN Resolution on Russian attack against Ukraine.

While Brussels expects Serbia to stand by the countries of the European Union, Belgrade says that sanctions against Moscow are not an option. Given the current situation there are some in Brussels believing that negotiations with Serbia to join the EU should be terminated immediately.

Others, however, see the Ukrainian crisis as an opportunity for Europe to open a "fast corridor to membership" for Serbia and thus, as N1 said, separate at last Serbia from the Russian influence.

Serbia avoids sanctions, Brusse exerts pressure. So it goes like that ever since the beginning of the Russian attack against Ukraine.

“Blackmailing is a myth. The EU has opened its arms widely to welcome Serbia”, Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Emanuel Giaufret is quoted as saying.

And while official Brussels, N1 continues, hopes Serbia will finally fall into that embrace, European Parliament liberal group MPs called for punishment of Serbia, because, as they said “it sits on two chairs and refuses to impose sanctions on Russia”. The punishment would be putting the EU accession negotiations on hold.

EP member from Slovenia, one of the supporters of the call, Klemen Groselj said “this was not about blackmailing or an ultimatum, but rather an invitation”, adding that things on the ground have radically changed after the Russian attack against Ukraine. Liberals expect Serbia to stand by those it wishes to share the future with.

Amid the calls to terminate Serbia’s EU accession negotiations, there are those who talk about their acceleration, N1 says. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron believe that the Ukrainian crisis is an opportunity for Brussels to demonstrate to Serbia and the region that their place is within the European Union. And for that to happen, as soon as possible.

The Centre for European Policy said it takes two to tango, and that reforms, not the shortcuts, take Serbia to EU membership..

“I think it will depend very much upon our authorities in Serbia and the region, to demonstrate in fact that they realise new geopolitical reality they are in and to help EU to dance that tango with us, to embrace us as it should in such a situation”, Milena Lazarevic from the Centre for European Policy opined.

She added that Brussels today is more open to proposals that would accelerate the path to membership, including the accession in phases, early accession to Schengen, but also about economic integration.

“This moment could be a train one should get into. Not only the Western Balkans states, but also the EU to bring enlargement back on the agenda, and thus accelerate negotiations of the states, in particular those that have candidate status”, Nemanja Todorovic Stiplija from European Western Balkans portal said.

Montenegro, in addition to Serbia, has candidate status. Both states, however, are stuck in the middle of the process, while the plan of the EU Commission of having at least one country joining the EU by 2025 has failed already, N1 concludes.

Stano: EU urges Serbia to introduce all political, economic, and financial measures against Russia (Tanjug, N1)

EU spokesman Peter Stano says that the EU appreciates Serbia's clear position when it comes to supporting the UN Resolution condemning Russia's aggression against Ukraine, but also calls on it to introduce all political, economic, and financial measures if it wants to join a "civilised and rights-based community" in order to stop the "massacre" that Putin is committing in Ukraine, reported N1.

"If you cooperate with Putin and the Kremlin, if you provide them with financing, if you help them circumvent the sanctions imposed by more than 40 countries, you are working with someone who slaughters the people in Ukraine and destroys Ukraine," Stano said.

He added that "Putin's war is not just a war against the Ukrainian people", but that it is "a war against international law and a war against the UN Charter", cited Serbian media.

Answering the question of journalists in Brussels about the non-harmonization of Serbia and Turkey with EU sanctions against Russia, the EU spokesman reiterated that the obligation of the candidate countries is to gradually harmonise with EU policy and decisions within the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Dacic: Europe doesn’t want to retract recognition of Kosovo, pushes for its membership in all institutions (Kosovo-online, N1)

Leader of ruling Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and outgoing Assembly Speaker, Ivica Dacic said Europe doesn’t want to retract recognition of Kosovo and pushes for its membership in al institutions, while at the same time requesting from Serbia to impose sanctions on Russia, Kosovo-online portal reports citing Belgrade-based N1.

Dacic added Serbia must not and cannot join any sanctions on Russia, because it would lose its greatest political ally, and would get no other.

“Russia is the only one protecting Serbia, we have no one else. I personally called Russia to impose a veto on the issue of Srebrenica and they did so”, Dacic is quoted as saying.

He also said Serbia has an obligation to align its foreign policy with that of the European Union, and to adjust to it gradually until it joins the EU, adding that no one said when that will happen. He assessed that sanctions on Russia “are getting diluted” while pressures on Serbia “are horrific and happen on a daily basis”.

Hill: I am coming with a new perspective to Serbia (Kosovo Online)

The new US Ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill, took the oath and began preparations for his soon arrival in Belgrade, the US Embassy announced on Twitter.

The embassy conveyed a personal message from Hill on Twitter, stating that he was very grateful and extremely satisfied that his appointment was confirmed by the US Senate at the end of last week.

''I was very grateful and extremely pleased to have been confirmed by the U.S. Senate late last week. Now in the hectic days ahead I can turn my attention to completing those preparations that we all make when we set out on an important journey, what to take and what to leave behind.''

''My wife, Julie, and I are so looking forward to making Belgrade our home in the coming years and to getting to know Serbia – and its dynamic people. So much has changed since I was last in Belgrade and in the region. I have learned over the years to respect history and to try to learn its complex lessons, but my suitcase will not be heavy with the past – I am arriving with a fresh perspective to the Serbia of 2022, to a country that the United States views as an important partner and a friend.''

''No doubt these are troubled times. But I believe our two countries can meet them together in a constructive spirit and tone and with the realization that we have many common interests. I want to see our bilateral ties grow and prosper like never before and I especially desire that our relationship emerges from these global challenges better and stronger. I believe in the vision of a dynamic Serbia – U.S. relationship, one based on a deep foundation of mutual respect.''

''Working with the talented staff of the American Embassy I look forward to contributing to the most productive era our two countries have ever enjoyed together.''

Serbian President says haters behind letter by MEPs (N1)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday that haters were behind the letter by a group of MEPs who want the European Union to freeze accession talks with Serbia because of its stand on Russia, N1 reports.

According to Vucic “it’s always the same duty haters … who dream of stopping Serbia from advancing in any way”. Speaking to reporters in the southern town of Vranje, Vucic said that for some people the easiest thing is to vent their anger on Serbia which is why its position is delicate.

Last weekend, nine MEPs from the liberal Renew Europe group sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and High Representative Josep Borrell asking for a temporary freeze on negotiations with Serbia and a halt to EU financial assistance until the country aligns with the EU’s position on Russia.

See at: https://bit.ly/3JqjbgM

Vucic: Our people should know that Serbia is with them, time of pogroms and persecution is over (Radio Mitrovica sever)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that he constantly threats from Kosovo, but that interest of Serbia was peace and compromise, Radio Mitrovica sever reports.

He added that Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija should know that Serbia is with them, and that the times of persecution and pogrom are over.

"The one who says that it will be easy and that the solutions are simple is lying. But to allow them to persecute our people, that will not happen”, said Vucic.

Commenting on the statement of Jamie Shea (former spokesperson of NATO, in Serbian public known for the term ‘collateral damage’ to describe civilian casualties of NATO attacks during bombardment of Yugoslavia in 1999) that “Serbia nurtures close cooperation with Russia”, and it should join the EU sanction against this country, if it wishes to be part of this organisation, Vucic asked “if he is at least ashamed because of the children killed in 1999 (…) or is he bothered by a fact that Serbia is no longer weak and can’t be broken down or destroyed as before.”

He also said Serbia will preserve the peace and cooperate with NATO.

“It is good to have good cooperation and nothing more. We thank them for anything else. We shall not join NATO, we will guard our country on our own. We will guard our airspace by ourselves”, Vucic said.

Hofer: International pressure on Serbia unjustified and wrong (Tanjug, B92)

International pressure on Serbia regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is completely unjustified and wrong, Austrian politician Norbert Hofer said, Serbian media report.

In an interview with Tanjug, Hofer who is the third president of the Austrian Parliament pointed out the world needs neutral countries and that they must better protect their neutrality and invest in the defence of that neutrality.

On the conclusion that Serbia condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine, voted for the UN Resolution, but did not support European Union sanctions against Moscow, which is why the Serbian leadership is exposed to great international pressure, even threatening to suspend Serbia's path to the EU, Hofer said:

"That pressure was created by Germany, which says that Serbia must know now where it belongs. I think that the EU must understand that it needs to enable Serbia a rapid accession to the Union right now. Serbia has been a candidate for ten years, it has taken many steps along the way. It must recognize that now is the time to provide access".

Asked whether he expects the EU to further slowdown the accession process of the Balkans, especially Serbia, Hofer pointed out that the threats coming from German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock represent a "shot in the knee", which harms the Union itself.

"We must now speed up and conclude this process, which has been going on for years. That would be a smart step, and not what someone who has only been on duty for a couple of months and is already threatening is doing", Hofer said. He expressed confidence that Austria would continue to support Serbia's European integration.

International

The president of Kosovo warns against the appeasement of autocrats (The Economist)

Vjosa Osmani cautions that Serbia will learn from Russia’s aggression.

The appeasement of autocrats today only emboldens them tomorrow. Concessions to tyrants are never temporary, and they certainly never bring lasting peace.

The European continent is in crisis because Vladimir Putin has chipped away at Ukraine’s sovereignty to the extent that today he denies its territorial integrity and its right to exist. Russia’s president pursues a dangerous imperialist policy that permits one country to choose the fate of another simply because it has the military might.

Read full article at: https://econ.st/3MOnyof

Serbia under pressure to choose EU as Ukraine war raises stakes for Vucic (Financial Times)

As Russia intensified its attack on Ukraine this month, a sombre Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic warned his country that it faced a diplomatic storm — caught between Moscow and the west. “We are in an exceptionally difficult situation, there is less understanding than ever for the position of our nation,” Vucic said in a television address after his government declined to align itself with EU sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. “We are facing huge pressure.”

Humanitarian/Development

NDI marks Week of Women; organises two-day conference (EO)

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) with the support of USAID, will organise a two-day conference to mark the Week of Women. The main topic of the Week of Women 2022 will be “Defending democracy: Inclusion matters”. The discussion panels will address the progress of women in politics and what remains to be done by political parties and government institutions to speed up gender equality. Discussions will also focus on violence against women and how it obstructs the inclusion of women in politics; accountability in local government and gender budgeting; the importance of advancing the agenda of women empowerment and their full participation in public life.

Serbia to export wheat to Albania (Kosovo-online)

Based on the agreement of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, a meeting of the ministers of agriculture of the two countries, Branislav Nenadovic and Frida Krifc took place this morning in Belgrade where it was said that agreed quantities of wheat and corn made prior to the ban on exporting those products will be implemented within the shortest deadline, Kosovo-online portal reports.

“Member states of the ‘Open Balkan’ initiative, and other neighboring countries, can count on Serbia as a reliable partner at the times of great challenges in the food sector”, Serbian Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement.

Vucic earlier announced that Serbia will allow export of previously agreed quantities of wheat to Albania, adding the same will be done for every country in the region.