UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, March 15, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

Hovenier on European plan: There is no better agreement (RFE)
Exclusive: Critical notes from the Agreement (Albanian Post)
EU: Kurti-Vucic confirmed participation, meetings in Ohrid start at 10:00 (Kallxo)
Kurti: EU plan must contain concrete details and be comprehensive (Nacionale)
Kurti seeks support for EU integration in Strasbourg (media)
Krasniqi meets head of UNMIK, expresses his reservations about EU proposal (media)
Kurti meets head of LIBE Committee, he assures him of visa-free movement from 2024 (media)
PDK and LDK ask Kurti for more details about European plan (Kosovapress)

Serbian Language Media:

Starovic: Important that Belgrade is not recognized as the culprit in the event of the failure of the agreement on Kosovo (Danas, RTS)
Obradovic: There is a potential for a general rebellion against the government (KiM radio, RTV, Beta)
NGO: On the horizon are the first signs of declining support for the Serbian List (Danas, Beta, RFE)
The court in Pristina extended the custody of Sladjan Trajkovic for another two months (Kosovo Online)
Political graffiti war continues in Belgrade (N1, FoNet)
Dacic with the CoE Commissioner for Human Rights: Recognized limitations for the sustainable return of Serbs to Kosovo (Kosovo Online)

International:

Remembering the First Days of Pandemic (Prishtina Insight)
Bread for Drenica: When Kosovo Women Marched to Break a Serbian Siege (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

Hovenier on European plan: There is no better agreement (RFE)

U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, said today that the European plan for the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia brings real, practical, political, and economic benefits. He said that the parties have accepted and that its implementation will be discussed this weekend.

“I need to be clear, the United States believes that at this moment there is no better agreement available. This is an important step forward,” Hovenier said in a meeting with reporters in Pristina.

Hovenier also said that the main focus now should be on the successful and efficient implementation of the plan.

Hovenier said that if Kosovo contributes constructively to this respect, the United States “will renew efforts” to help the country join the NATO Partnership for Peace.

Asked if there are any changes in the U.S. position for an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia centred on mutual recognition and the provisional agreement with eventual recognition, Hovenier said he doesn’t believe there is any change but “acknowledging the reality”.

“The position of the U.S. has and will be clear. We don’t see it changing. But we need to take into account the moment we are in. I think that reality – for different reasons, but mainly because of the decision taken by the leadership in Serbia – is that the chances for getting mutual recognition now are not very big.”

Hovenier also said that it is important now to have a repositioning of relations between Kosovo and Serbia that would contribute to regional stability and would enable Kosovo to move forward in many ways.

Exclusive: Critical notes from the Agreement (Albanian Post)

The news website claims to have secured a copy of the fundamental principles of the normalisation process between Serbia and Kosovo, and an annex of the consequences in the event of non-signing, several days before the meeting in Ohrid between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Serbia-Kosovo normalisation process, fundamental principles:

- A framework to facilitate peaceful relations and coexistence, despite fundamental differences between the parties.

- A stable and reliable EU integration framework for Serbia and Kosovo, alongside the other WB6.

- A process supported by all 27 EU member states, non-recognisers included.

o Two skilful top diplomats from non-recognising EU member states, Spain and Slovakia, manage the normalisation process to guarantee fairness.

o The Agreement’s final text is a product of a comprehensive and thorough analysis of all present and past experiences. It is a unique political product, a genuine EU internal compromise acceptable to recognizer and non-recogniser member states.

The EU-sponsored Basic Agreement, main elements:

- Respects the red lines of the parties.

o To accommodate Serbia’s red line of not recognising Kosovo’s independence, Kosovo takes a step back on its insistence for a normalisation centred only on mutual recognition.

Instead of fighting with Serbia, Kosovo pledges to work with Serbia on resolving the practical needs of all people and communities.

o Serbia takes a step back to accommodate Kosovo’s red line of not negotiating its independence and pledges to full practical relations with Kosovo. Instead of fighting over Kosovo, Serbia pledges to work with the international community to benefit all people and communities living in Kosovo.

- Commitment to regional peace and EU values.

o Serbia and Kosovo pledge to peaceful settlement of all disputes.

o Serbia commits to refraining from any action perceived as diplomatic hostility towards Kosovo.

o Kosovo commits to an appropriate level of self-management for the Kosovo Serb community in line with EU values and existing best principles.

- EU’s duty of care towards WB6.

o The Basic Agreement will not govern only the relations between Serbia and Kosovo. Alongside the Copenhagen Criteria, the Basic Agreement will also manage the EU integration process of Serbia and Kosovo.

o To avoid its past mistakes, the EU and the rest of the western community will actively support both parties financially, economically, and politically at each step of the way.

o Through the Berlin Process and the European Political Community, the EU and the rest of the western community will provide a reliable EU integration framework for Serbia, Kosovo, and the rest of the WB6.

Incentives:

The Basic Agreement offers a normalisation process with clear and reliable economic, financial and political incentives.

Serbia’s acceptance will begin Serbia’s strong (long-due) strategic partnership with the western community. This partnership will transform Serbia into a pivotal regional economic and political driving force. It will also bring Serbia closer to the Kosovo Serb community.

Kosovo’s acceptance will mark the beginning of Kosovo’s breaking away from crisis management, a genuine opportunity to focus on substantial socio-economic development. Kosovo will finally be able to grow on its own.

What’s (all) at stake:

At a time when Russia tests the Western resolve in Ukraine, at a time when China manages to broker a historic deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran, powerfully imposing itself as a world player capable of delivering, the western community doesn’t have the luxury of failure in the Western Balkans, the home yard of the EU and NATO.

The Basic Agreement is a genuine EU internal compromise acceptable to recognizer and non-recognizer member states. Serbia and Kosovo should embrace it as well. EU’s unity limits Serbia’s and Kosovo’s options:

Accept the Agreement and harmonise their positions with the EU 27.
Reject the agreement. Suspend the EU integration part and throw away all associated processes and benefits. Isolation and internal turmoil will soon follow.

Serbia and Kosovo can continue enjoying the benefits of existing arrangements with the EU and the rest of the western community only if they fully commit to being constructive players in the EU’s/western peacebuilding and stabilization efforts. There is no way around it.

Serbia’s failure to harmonise its position with the EU 27 will create an opportunity for Kosovo to grow without needing to work with Belgrade.

Serbia has no veto on EU’s/NATO unity. If it rejects the agreement, Serbia will also lose the five non-recognisers. Regardless of the outcome, the EU/NATO will eventually speak in a single voice on Kosovo.

Kosovo must fully meet the western community’s expectations, especially honouring past agreements.

Kosovo’s refusal to do so can have severe consequences for Kosovo’s future. Disappointed, western partners will lack the incentive to support Kosovo’s further growth. Without this essential support, Kosovo could see a reversal of progress in some areas.

EU: Kurti-Vucic confirmed participation, meetings in Ohrid start at 10:00 (Kallxo)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic have confirmed their participation at the Ohrid meeting on March 18. A statement by the EU notes that the meeting will be held at state residences. Starting from 10:00, EU High Representative Josep Borrell and EU Special Envoy Miroslav Lajcak will hold separate meetings with Kurti and Vucic. The time of the trilateral meeting has not been announced. The meeting will focus on the European proposal for the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

Kurti: EU plan must contain concrete details and be comprehensive (Nacionale)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that the EU plan for the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia must contain concrete details and be comprehensive. During his meeting with the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, David McAllister, Kurti said that the agreement must provide efficiency in implementation and be sequenced in balanced fashion.

Kurti seeks support for EU integration in Strasbourg (media)

Prime Minister Albin Kurti has started his two-day stay in Strasbourg, France, with the meeting with MEPs of the largest political group in the European Parliament, European People's Party Group (EPP).

Kurti met Lukas Mandl from Austria, Michael Gahler, Rainer Wieland and Niklas Herbst from Germany, Karlo Ressler from Croatia, Franc Bogovic from Slovenia and Vladimir Bilcik from Slovakia.

They discussed Kosovo's application to the European Union, in December of last year, and the application to the Council of Europe, in May of last year. Kurti also emphasised the importance of the European Parliament's support in handling Kosovo's applications as quickly as possible and support along the entire integration journey.

During the meeting they also discussed the March 18 meeting in Ohrid, the opportunities it presents and the expectations from that meeting.

"The MEPs gave their positive assessment and expressed their full support for government reforms, democratic progress, the rule of law and the fight against corruption," the government's communique says.

MPs Mimoza Kusari-Lila, Fitore Pacolli-Dalipi, Jeta Statovci and Armend Muja were also present at this meeting.

Krasniqi meets head of UNMIK, expresses his reservations about EU proposal (media)

The leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi received in a meeting on Tuesday the head of UNMIK in Kosovo, Caroline Ziadeh,.

Krasniqi, through a post on Facebook, announced that he and Ziadeh discussed the latest developments in Kosovo, with emphasis on the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.

The head of the PDK, as he did in the Assembly of Kosovo, and in the meeting with the U.S. ambassador Hovenier, once again with the head of UNMIK, said that he has his reservations, regarding the agreement that was agreed upon Kurt in Brussels.

"Today, unfortunately, we are facing a transformation of the agreement announced and requested by us and international partners for years, from a final agreement with mutual recognition at the center, to a temporary agreement with the association at the center," Krasniqi said.

Kurti meets head of LIBE Committee, he assures him of visa-free movement from 2024 (media)

Prime Minister Albin Kurti met in Strasbourg with the Spanish MEP from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), who also heads the LIBE Committee, Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar.

The topics of discussion were the latest developments, the two-year government, reforms in the justice system, the rule of law and the liberalization of visas for citizens of Kosovo.

Kurti expressed his gratitude for the support that the LIBE Committee has given Kosovo so far for removing the visa regime, support that he hopes to receive in the next vote in this committee, and said that after last week's decision of the Council of the European Union expects that soon the European Parliament will hold the last two votes within this process.

MEP Aguilar expressed his support for Kosovo's application to the Council of Europe and the European Union, as well as for the conclusion of the visa liberalization process by the European Parliament, so that citizens of Kosovo can travel freely without visas in the Schengen area from 1 January next year.

PDK and LDK ask Kurti for more details about European plan (Kosovapress)

The two biggest opposition parties in Kosovo, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), continue to criticise Prime Minister Albin Kurti on his approach to the dialogue with Serbia.

Although the United States has expressed concern over the opposition’s stances to the European plan, some political parties continue to oppose several points of the plan, which was accepted by Prime Minister Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

PDK and LDK ask Kurti to provide more details about the points of the European plan.

PDK MP Hajdar Beqa said Kurti should be more transparent on the issue. “We think the plan is positive, but Prime Minister Kurti has avoided explanations. He needs to explain it to the people, he needs to be transparent before the MPs about the plan. He needs to be open and not avoid the topic, because it is the most important. You cannot say that the dialogue is not a priority in Kosovo today, when all issues are related to mutual recognition, without a sustainable status Kosovo cannot have economic development … Prime Minister Kurti needs to be open and transparent, and tell us what he has accepted, if the Constitution needs to be changed, if it was a take it or leave it issue, what potential damages we could see if we would leave it and what will Kosovo benefit by accepting the French-German plan, and how the plan is going to be implemented,” he said.

LDK MP Rrezarta Krasniqi said that Kurti was not transparent at all about the dialogue. She said that the LDK is still against the plan because they expected that it would include final recognition. “We, as the opposition, expected that this plan would include final recognition, and it is still unclear to us why it wasn’t presented at the Kosovo Assembly, because the whole process has lacked transparency … Very concerning for us is Article 7 which notes that there should be self-management for Serb municipalities and a direct channel with the government of Kosovo. These are very concerning for us and Prime Minister Kurti should come to the Assembly and explain Article 7 and what self-management implies and also the meaning of a channel for cooperating or reporting directly to the Kosovo Government,” she said.

Serbian Language Media

Starovic: Important that Belgrade is not recognized as the culprit in the event of the failure of the agreement on Kosovo (Danas, RTS)

The State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense, Nemanja Starovic, said today that it was important that Belgrade was not recognized as the culprit in the event of the failure of the negotiations, and that the international community should be clear that the institutions in Pristina were responsible for the absence of an agreement due to their rigid political stance in refusing to establish the Community of Serbian Municipalities (CSM), reported daily Danas.

The shuttle diplomacy of Miroslav Lajcak and Gabriel Escobar was at work, Starovic told RTS and added that every opportunity should be used to clarify that we have a different approach when it was about the way the Brussels process unfolds.

The main problem is the lack of mechanisms for implementation, that plan should be an integral part of the negotiation framework, said Starovic.

Implementation, he repeated, cannot take place without the formation of the CSM, which would represent the zero step in the implementation of anything else.

It is about the integrity of the process, which would be meaningless if the CSM was not formed as a necessary precondition for working on a framework agreement, Starovic said.

He added that from Albin Kurti and other Pristina officials could be heard "an old song - they repeat parroting that they have no intention of establishing the CSM".

If so, and there was no reason for it to be otherwise, nothing from the agreement, but much more important than the negative outcome would be which side will be labeled as the culprit, Starovic stated.

According to Starovic it was important that “it was not us, but really, as things stand, to be clearly announced to the international public that the institutions in Pristina, primarily Kurti, were to blame for the absence of an agreement due to the rigid political stance by which they refused to establish the Community of Serbian Municipalities”. Without dividing the blame into two parts, it was clear who was obstructing, concluded Starovic.

Obradovic: There is a potential for a general rebellion against the government (KiM radio, RTV, Beta)

Dveri leader Bosko Obradovic said that there was a potential for the rebellion against the acceptance of the German-French plan, after the protest announced for Friday in Belgrade, to grow into a type of general political rebellion against the government, reported KiM radio, citing Radio Television Vojvodina (RTV).

Obradovic told RTV that the protest on Friday, to which he invited all those who are in favor of preserving Kosovo and Metohija as part of Serbia, could turn into a rebellion against the government, which he claimed was selling Serbian national, state, economic and ecological interests.

"There is potential, we will see if we will be able to realize it, regardless of political and ideological differences on some other issues, to unite forces in demanding the resignation of Vucic as a constitutional destroyer and to demand extraordinary presidential and parliamentary elections," said Bosko Obradovic.

He assessed that Dveri, Zavetnici, the New Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and the Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia (POKS), which are the organizers of the meeting on Friday, are not the only ones in the "defense front" of Kosovo and Metohija, but that they were supported by numerous associations.

He assessed that this political option is the second strongest political option in the country, after the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

According to him, his claim was proven by Vucic's announcement about the formation of the People's Movement for the State, which he assessed as a reaction to the previous actions of the state opposition and to what they were preparing.

As he stated, the rally against the acceptance of the German-French plan for the Kosovo issue would be held symbolically on March 17, the anniversary of the suffering of the Serbian people in Kosovo, and that the beginning of the NATO bombing would be marked also.

NGO: On the horizon are the first signs of declining support for the Serbian List (Danas, Beta, RFE)

Research by the non-governmental organization "Aktiv" from North Mitrovica shows the first signs of a possible decline in support for the Serbian List, which has had undisputed support since 2013, when it was formed.

A survey conducted on a sample of 350 respondents during December 2022 and January 2023 showed that only 2.4 percent of respondents expressed support for the party, which has been working with the support of the ruling party in Serbia - Serbian Progressive Party headed by Aleksandar Vucic, reported Danas daily, citing Radio Free Europe.

In the last decade, the Serbian List won power in ten local self-governments in Kosovo with a majority Serb population, in which it won up to 90 percent of the votes.

The representative of the NGO "Aktiv" Miodrag Milicevic stated that he believes that the Serbian List has lost support because the citizens in the north feel "abandoned" after the removal of the barricades.

"It clearly had a negative impact on the perception of citizens that they are considered abandoned by the central institutions but also by local political representatives, whom they consider directly responsible for the current situation in the north of Kosovo," Milicevic said.

Veroljub Petronic, a member of the non-governmental organization “Humani Centar - Mitrovica”, believes that members of the Serbian community trust the Serbian List less and less because of "nepotism, corruption and various affairs".

In his statement to RSE, Petronic also assessed that the decision of the Serbian List to withdraw from Kosovo's institutions was a "wrong step".

"With their exit, they pulled a lot of people out of the institutions, a totally wrong step. They decided to do it, instead of normalizing things in some way," he stated.

In his opinion, even politicians from other parties "do not have the capacity or integrity" to gain greater trust from citizens.

As a consequence of the boycott in the majority Serb municipalities in the north of Kosovo, elections were announced for April 23, in which the participation of this party was uncertain.

The court in Pristina extended the custody of Sladjan Trajkovic for another two months (Kosovo Online)

The Basic Court in Pristina extended the custody measure for former member of the Kosovo Police Sladjan Trajkovic, for another two months, lawyer Dejan Vasic confirmed to Kosovo Online.

Vasic noted that from the beginning of the proceedings, the defense had strong arguments to replace the prison term with house arrest.

"First of all, because of his health condition, but also on the other hand, the practice of the Kosovo courts so far, where a milder measure was determined for the residents of Kosovo compared to the strictest measure of judicial custody, so I have presented all the cases with a milder measure to the court and the prosecutor's office on several occasions which enabled the procedure to proceed smoothly," said Vasic.

He stated that the fact that he did not receive a single word from the court and the prosecution frustrates both him and his client.

"We have entered the third month since the beginning of the process, and no one has answered me a single word to the arguments that I stated in support of my client. This situation is becoming frustrating for me and my client because everything we do seems to be in vain. As if no one sees it, as if it were not said, my response to the request of six typed pages as if no one has read it, as if no one has read even one of my complaints. Nobody looks back on the appeal allegations and these arguments," Vasic told the portal.

He said that even the government of the Republic of Serbia gave guarantees for Trajkovic, but there was no response to that either.

Political graffiti war continues in Belgrade (N1, FoNet)

Anti-Vucic messages appeared overnight in the Vracar neighborhood in central Belgrade, the latest installment in a battle of posters and stenciled graffiti between the ruling coalition and opposition parties.

Stenciled graffiti saying Aca Treason was spray painted on a sidewalk next to graffiti saying Milica Liar, the first alluding to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and the second to Milica Djurdjevic Stamenkovski leader of the opposition Oathkeepers party. A poster with an image of Vucic sporting a long nose and the words Aca Liar also appeared in the Vracar area.

International

Bread for Drenica: When Kosovo Women Marched to Break a Serbian Siege (BIRN)

In March 1998, when thousands of displaced Kosovo Albanian civilians were facing starvation in the hills of Drenica, a kilometre-long column of women set off from Pristina to bring them bread.

Naxhije Bucinca remembers the morning of March 16, 1998 as cold and overcast; she wore warm clothes and flat shoes suitable for a long walk.

“Milosevic’s regime had intensified the murders, the displacement, and the burning of houses and granaries,” said Bucinca, who is now 88 years old. “People in Drenica were left without shelter or bread.”

Then a southern province of Serbia, Kosovo was sliding into full scale war as ethnic Albanian guerrillas, from their heartland in the hilly Drenica region, stepped up attacks on Serbian security forces under strongman Slobodan Milosevic, who struck back indiscriminately.

Thousands of civilians had been pushed into the hills and Serbian forces were blocking their supply routes. So Bucinca, an NGO activist, and thousands of other women set off from Pristina to break the siege, marching with loaves of bread in their arms the 40 kilometres to Drenica.

Under the rallying cry of ‘Bread for Drenica’, the women clutched signs that read ‘Stop Genocide’ and ‘We Are a Nation in Danger’. The column stretched over a kilometre as it left the city.

“The women moved quickly, like hail, breaking through the police lines,” recalled Bucinca, who at the time headed an NGO called Group of Creators and Veterans of Education.

“Women are always the ones who have the magje [a wooden box used for storing flour] in front of them,” she said. “They are the ones who feel more the weight of food for their children.”