UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, March 29, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti meets Norwegian Prime Minister Store (media)
Osmani meets business community in Qatar (media)
Vela: Vucic should be sanctioned for endangering peace and stability (media)
Haxhiu travels to Hague today to meet former KLA leaders (RTK)
Kosovo and Albania aim to protect together from possible attacks (EO)
Indictment filed against a person for Izbica massacre (RFE)
Hajdari: 62 percent increase in export in 2021; foreign investments almost €500 (media)
Ben-Meir: Result of Ukraine war could change Serbia position toward Kosovo (Zeri)
COVID-19: 32 new cases, no deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucic: We are ready to offer Belgrade to Russian and Ukrainian negotiators (N1, Happy TV)
Guerini: Cooperation with Serbia important (RTS)
New US ambassador arrives in Belgrade soon, says let’s look to future (N1)
Vucic: Serbia’s economic success best answer to attacks from region (N1)
RFE: Kurti ‘forgot’ internal dialogue with Serbs (media)
Head of OSCE Mission visits Visoki Decani Monastery (Kosovo-online)
Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi to remain in detention (Radio KIM)
REC makes decision on polling stations’ committees for voting of Serbs from Kosovo (Radio Mitrovica sever)

International:

Kosovo Backs EU Fast-Track for Ukraine Despite Dutch Balkans Warning (Newsweek)
Frightened witnesses jeopardise Kosovo politician’s assassination trial (BIRN)

Humanitarian/Development:

Ukrainian Refugees in Southeast Europe Risk Being Cash-Strapped (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti meets Norwegian Prime Minister Store (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, during his visit to Norway, met with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store today. Kurti tweeted after the meeting: “pleasure to meet PM @jonasgahrstore. Kosova stands to learn a lot from Norway's success in building a more just, equal & prosperous country. W/ good indicators in our democracy and economy it is time to increase our economic cooperation. Thank you for the warm welcome!”

Store said that efforts were being made to ensure continued stability in the Western Balkans and that unresolved issues from the 1990s could threaten the Balkans again. “We cannot take stability in the Western Balkans for granted,” he said.

Store also said that agreements between Kosovo and Serbia must be implemented “and both parties must avoid actions that diminish the trust”. “I therefore used the meeting to express my regret that Kosovo did not allow the Serbian elections on April 3 to be held according to the same pattern as in previous elections,” Store said.

Osmani meets business community in Qatar (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, during her visit to Qatar, met with the leaders of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and the head of the Qatar Foundation and addressed the audience of the Arab Centre for Research and Political Studies. Osmani discussed opportunities for increase of investment in various fields, including agriculture, tourism and infrastructure.

A press release issued by Osmani’s office notes that she also conversed with a group of scholars in a lecture organised by the Arab Centre for Research and Political Studies, where she discussed the history of Kosovo, the impact of the war, the state-building process and Kosovo’s current position in world politics. In the conversation with the participants, Osmani spoke about the Russian aggression on Ukraine and the destabilising policies of the Russian President and his satellites in the Balkan region.

Vela: Vucic should be sanctioned for endangering peace and stability (media)

Blerim Vela, Chief of Staff for Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, reacted to a statement by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic who said that he has no illusions that Albanians would like to undertake an operation in the north of Kosovo. Vela wrote in a Twitter post: “Like Russia’s Putin, Serbia’s Vucic is stocking war rhetoric against neighbours. Like Putin, Vucic is the only head of state in our region that’s threatening military action against neighbours. Like Putin, he should be sanctioned for endangering peace and stability in the region.”

Haxhiu travels to Hague today to meet former KLA leaders (RTK/Nacionale)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, will travel to The Hague today where she is expected to meet former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army who are being held in detention for over a year now. An advisor to Haxhiu confirmed the visit and said the minister will be accompanied by the Vice President of the Kosovo Assembly, Saranda Bogujevci.

Nacionale news website reports that prior to her departure, Haxhiu said: “we will meet Jakup Krasiqi, Rexhep Selimi, Nasim Haradinaj, Hysni Gucati and Pjeter Shala. Hashim Thaci and Kadri Veseli have not agreed to meet us. The court has not allowed a meeting with Salih Mustafa”.

Kosovo and Albania aim to protect together from possible attacks (EO)

Kosovo Assembly’s Committee for Foreign Policy met today with the Foreign Policy Committee of the Albanian Parliament and discussed the impact of the war in Ukraine in regional developments, joint measures, cooperation between Albania and Kosovo and the implementation of agreements reached so far. Haki Abazi, head of the Kosovo Assembly’s Committee for Foreign Policy, told a press conference after the meeting that there was special emphasis on the impact of the war in Ukraine. “Both committees pledged that we need to work together. We discussed our concerns and concrete actions. Albania is a member of NATO, and Kosovo has KFOR. We must be very careful and protect ourselves together,” he said.

Indictment filed against a person for Izbica massacre (RFE)

The Special Prosecution of Kosovo said today that it has filed with the Basic Court in Prishtina an indictment for war crimes against the defendant with initials M.A. with well-founded suspicion that he has committed the criminal offence “war crimes against the civilian population”. The defendant is in pre-trial detention according to a decision of the pre-trial judge, awaiting a new decision by the court. According to the prosecution, the case concerns the Izbica Massacre, which took place on March 28, 1999, in the village of Izbica, in the municipality of Skenderaj. A 12-month investigation has established that the defendant, along with yet unidentified persons of the Serbian police and military forces, took part in the execution of 130 persons, 12 of whom survived.

Hajdari: 62 percent increase in export in 2021; foreign investments almost €500 (media)

Kosovo’s Minister for Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari, said today that in 2021 there was a 62 percent increase in the export of goods from Kosovo and that foreign investments have reached almost €500 million.

Hajdari also talked about Kosovo’s grain reserves after the new situation created by the war in Ukraine. She said Kosovo’s institutions have received a positive reply to purchase grain from the United States of America if needed. “Starting with a request we submitted to the United States Embassy to be included in the list, we received a positive reply that we can be among the purchasers, if needed,” Hajdari said during her report to the Kosovo Assembly’s Committee for Economy, Industry and Trade.

Ben-Meir: Result of Ukraine war could change Serbia position toward Kosovo (Zeri)

Alon Ben-Meir, a US expert on the Western Balkans, said in an interview with the news website that the result of the war in Ukraine could change Serbia’s position vis-à-vis Kosovo. “We can only speculate, but I don’t believe that Serbia’s position toward Kosovo will change substantially regardless of the election outcome there. Serbia’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence is impossible at this moment. The final result of the war in Ukraine will have a certain impact on Serbian mentality and it could change Serbia’s position vis-à-vis Kosovo, especially if Russia comes out weaker from this war, which would in turn reduce its influence in Serbia and will push Belgrade closer to the European Union,” he said.

COVID-19: 32 new cases, no deaths (media)

32 new cases with COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 36 persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 593 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic: We are ready to offer Belgrade to Russian and Ukrainian negotiators (N1, Happy TV)

If someone thinks that Belgrade is the best place for negotiations, Serbia is ready to offer its capital to the Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told Happy TV, N1 reports.

“We are not interfering in anything but if someone thinks that Belgrade is the best place we are ready to offer Belgrade to Russian and Ukrainian friends for negotiations”, Vucic said.

Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov told Serbian media earlier that Belgrade could be a good place for Russian-Ukrainian peace negotiations.

Serbia wishes for peace to come as soon as possible, and that would be the best news in the world, Vucic added.

Guerini: Cooperation with Serbia important (RTS, Kosovo-online)

The future of Serbia is in Europe and Belgrade can count on strong support of Italy in this regard, Italian Minister of Defence Lorenzo Guerini said in a meeting with his Serbian counterpart Nebojsa Stefanovic, RTS reports.

The two interlocutors assessed that military and economic cooperation between the two countries is at high level and stressed the importance of joint participation in peacekeeping missions across the world.

“Italy most strongly supports Serbia’s path and is one of the biggest investors here. Serbia supports accession of all our neighbours to the EU as it would be the best (way) to continue prosperity, joint security and all positive processes that come along”, Stefanovic said.

He added that “for us, the role of KFOR in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija is very important as well as the role of Italian soldiers at KFOR, who are deployed and protect Serbian population and monasteries. They do it in a good way and we are grateful for that. That is why we will continue close communication with KFOR, which is the only guarantor of the safety of the Serbian population on the territory of our southern province”.

Guerini noted that cooperation undertaken to ensure the peace was very important for Italy, as demonstrated with joint engagement within KFOR.

“In strategic terms Balkan is a very important region for Europe and that is why I believe the scope of our cooperation and relations will further develop and serve the function of Serbia’s approach to the EU. We live at times of heightened tensions because of the war in Ukraine, and as far as Italy is concerned, we will continue advocating to come to a credible process of negotiations”, Guerini said.

Later in the day, Guerini met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Vucic thanked Guerini for continuous and strong support of Italy to Serbia’s EU path as well as for the protection of Serbian people and Serbian Orthodox Church holy shrines in Kosovo and Metohija.

Talking about the current crisis in Ukraine, Vucic said Serbia advocates for peace, respects norms of international law and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

New US ambassador arrives in Belgrade soon, says let’s look to future (N1)

Christopher Hill, newly appointed US Ambassador to Serbia said Monday he would arrive in Belgrade in the next few days, adding his task in the host country would be to find a common language and look to the future, N1 reports.

In a column in the ‘Tampa Bay Times,’ Hill said he was coming to “a country that the United States sees as an important partner and friend“.

“My duties in Serbia, in a country with which the United States was in conflict only 23 years ago and where we still have some differences, are to find a common language and look to the future. Tough lessons from the past can guide us, but we should avoid being their captives“, Hill wrote.

He added that “America has many friends worldwide, and our task, as diplomats, is to take good care of those relations and upgrade them“.

"The goal of diplomacy is often to convince interlocutors to do something they do not want. Very often, this does not become easier when the dispute becomes public. The relationship with Russia is an obvious example. In these circumstances, the ambassadorial task turns into staying close with friends and allies and ensuring that what you have invested over the years pays off. In diplomacy, the phrase 'choose your battles' is essential so that, when a crisis occurs, we have a reservoir of goodwill to maintain relations through the difficult times to come", Hill wrote.

US President Joseph Biden suggested Hill as a new ambassador to Serbia.

Vucic: Serbia’s economic success best answer to attacks from region (N1)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Monday the best answer to what he called attacks from the region was his country's economic success, N1 reports.

Vucic told Happy TV that “we cannot reply daily to the regional leaders attacking Serbia“.

“No matter how much they work against Serbia, the only thing they cannot beat are roads, railways, wages and salaries, which will be a thousand and five hundred euros“, Vucic is quoted as saying.

He did not specify what attacks he had in mind.

Vucic reiterated that the young people would again get a hundred euros (one time financial aid) as "a proof of care and respect".

"I didn't want that before the elections, but on June 1,2 and 3", he added.

Vucic said that no one in the region could economically keep up with Serbia and did not even think "to attack" his country since things had changed. "That's all thanks to the economy", he added and reiterated that the GDP would rise to 56 billion dinars from 32 in 2012.

RFE: Kurti ‘forgot’ internal dialogue with Serbs (media)

Radio Free Europe (RFE) in an article published yesterday said back in 2019 Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti was announcing dialogue with Kosovo Serbs, saying this dialogue was much more important than the one held with Belgrade in Brussels. However, that dialogue didn’t take place yet.

RFE recalled Kurti’s statements while he was a candidate for a prime minister that he was an optimist when it comes to the talks with Serbian community in Kosovo and that he will build a new project of internal dialogue with the Serbs “who were not a tool of Belgrade”.

On the other hand, one year since the Kurti-led government was established, Serbs in Kosovo say they feel discriminated against by the current prime minister. One of them is Srdjan, from Serb-majority Gracanica municipality, near Pristina who said the Kosovo prime minister “did nothing” to get closer to the Serbian community in Kosovo, adding that for him “Serbs were third-class citizens”.

Kurti’s message to Serbs in Kosovo

On Friday, March 25, RFE continued, Kurti urged members of the Serbian community in Kosovo “to trust the Kosovo Government more”, and not be under the influence of Serbia. The message came only a few hours after the Serbs protested in Gracanica and Mitrovica North carrying banners “Kurti you have ruined everything” and “Kurti will not drive the Serbs out from Kosovo and Metohija”. The protests were held against a decision not to allow voting at Serbian elections in Kosovo, and suspension of the Basic Court in Mitrovica president over her participation in a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Speaking in Serbian in a video message, Kurti urged Serbs not to be “under the influence of an authoritarian regime in Belgrade, which is neither interested in rights nor wellbeing of Serbs in Kosovo”.

RFE said it received no precise reply from the Kosovo Government as to why the prime minister has not started dialogue with Kosovo Serbs yet, does he plan to do something like that, or how the government plans to gain the trust of the Kosovo Serbs. The response read that the prime minister met with mayors from Serb-majority municipalities “who are direct institutional representatives of the Kosovo Serbs”, adding that his door remained open to all requests coming from the Serbian community in Kosovo.

Serbian List also didn’t reply to RFE inquiry if the Prime Minister Albin Kurti tried to have dialogue with the Serbian community.

Branimir Stojanovic, one of the founders of Serbian List, who lately left it and was an independent mayoral candidate in Gracanica at last Kosovo local elections said Kurti’s call to Serbs to trust the government was “a marketing trick”.

How to gain trust of Serbian community

According to Stojanovic, the fact that Kurti spoke in Serbian was irrelevant, adding if he truly wants to gain the trust of the Serbs he should return 24 hectares of land to Visoki Decani Monastery, as per decision of the Constitutional Court in 2016, or establish Community of Serb-majority Municipalities.

“That would perhaps be a clear signal that one truly wants to change the attitude towards the Serbs in this area. Other important elements include representation in institutions, in particular in the public companies. It would be good if Kurti or someone else would get the courage and employ the Serbs in the Power Plan in Obilic”, Stojanovic added.

Commenting on decision of the Serbian List and Serbian judges and prosecutors to cease working over decision of the Kosovo Judicial Council to suspend president of Basic Court in Mitrovica North over her participation in a meeting with President Aleksandar Vucic, Stojanovic said it was “a symbolic message” and he doesn’t believe it will change the situation on the ground.

“It is clear that the political elite in Pristina simply uses the narrative that Serbs have nothing to look for in Kosovo and should hope for mercy”, Stojanovic said, adding the international community was to blame for the current situation.

Director of non-governmental organisation Cohu, Arton Demhasaj said members of the Serb community have no trust in the Kosovo Government, noting as an example the decision of Serbian List to suspend their presence in institutions.

He added one should make distinction between political representatives and ordinary people, but that the Kosovo Government was late when it came to internal dialogue with Kosovo Serbs.

“The dialogue with Serbs in Kosovo should have started at the beginning (of the mandate) of the government”, Demhasaj said.

Igor Markovic from Mitrovica North-based non-governmental organisation Aktiv said that part of the Serbian community had “some sort of positive perception of Kurti because he didn’t belong to the war elite in political cycles in Kosovo”, and often spoke during campaign about “internal dialogue” with Serbs in Kosovo, however, it turned to be “yet another political promise”.

He opined that Kurit placed some sort of “distance” between his government and Serbs in Kosovo, adding that “he fully ignores” their interests.

He added that the international community constantly asks Kurti to “respect the rights of minorities”, but that Kurti, as he said, does nothing in this regard.

“We still do not know what Kurti wishes to achieve with all that he has done so far”, Markovic said.

Head of OSCE Mission visits Visoki Decani Monastery (Kosovo-online)

Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Michael Davenport visited Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) Visoki Decani Monastery and spoke with Abbot Sava Janjic about challenges SOC is facing, Kosovo-online portal reports.

They also discussed the importance of fostering inter-religious dialogue.

“Ambassador @DavenportOSCE visited @DecaniMonastery for discussion with Abbot Sava Janjić of challenges facing the Serbian Orthodox Church and the importance of fostering inter-religious dialogue”, OSCE Mission wrote in a post on Twitter.

Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi to remain in detention (Radio KIM)

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers based in The Hague dismissed appeals of former KLA members Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi for their detention to be revoked, Radio KIM reports today.

As the statement posted on the website of the Specialist Court said their appeals have been rejected and detention extended.

Krasniqi, Selimi, former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci and former Kosovo assembly speaker Kadri Veseli are pending trial for the crimes committed at 34 illegal KLA prison camps in Kosovo and Albania, involving at least 407 detained persons, out of whom at least 98 were killed, in the period from March 1998 to September 1999, Radio KIM recalled.

They are indicted on ten accounts including: persecution on political and ethnic background, detention, illegal arrest and imprisonment, other inhuman acts, cruel treatment, torture (two accounts) and murders (two accounts). They are charged for individual and command responsibilities.

They were arrested on November 4 and 5, 2020 and pleaded not guilty in a first appearance at the court.

REC makes decision on polling stations’ committees for voting of Serbs from Kosovo (Radio Mitrovica sever)

Serbian Republic Election Commission (REC) adopted a decision yesterday on distribution of seats for members and deputy members of polling stations’ committees where voters from Kosovo and Metohija will cast the ballots, Radio Mitrovica sever reports.

Vlada Sutic from the Serbian Statistical Office said the same rules apply to these polling committees as in other polling stations.

“In this case, this is about 46 polling stations, where a total of 276 members of polling stations are deployed; the rule according to which one parliamentary group cannot have more than 50 percent of members was observed, meaning that SNS (Serbian Progressive Party) got exactly half or rather 138 members, while the other half belongs to other political parties”, Sutic explained.

The members of the polling committees will be appointed by March 30, it was said at the session of REC.

REC President Vladimir Dimitrijević informed the attendees that the ballot material for voting abroad was sent on time to 34 countries where voting will take place at 77 polling stations.

The REC members were also introduced to an online platform for training of polling station members.

International

Kosovo Backs EU Fast-Track for Ukraine Despite Dutch Balkans Warning (Newsweek)

Kosovo's Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla-Schwarz disputed Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's warning that fast-tracking Ukraine's European Union membership would create frustration and instability in the Western Balkans.

Gervalla-Schwarz told Newsweek that Pristina "wholeheartedly" supports Kyiv's request for its EU bid to be accelerated, even as fierce fighting between Russian invaders and Ukrainian defenders stretches into its second month.

Rutte warned last week that an accelerated path for Ukraine might undermine stability in the Western Balkans. "There are countries who also want [accession]," Rutte said.

"EU accession is a process. There's no fast-track procedure for accession. If we were to do that, we would turn the accession process into a political process, and that shouldn't happen."

Humanitarian/Development

Ukrainian Refugees in Southeast Europe Risk Being Cash-Strapped (Balkan Insight)

Most countries in Southeast Europe are opening their doors to Ukrainian refugees - but their banks' unwillingness to exchange Ukrainian currency could make it difficult for them to stay long.

Most countries in Southeast Europe have expressed readiness to host Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of their country – and some have already opened their doors, welcoming as many as hundreds of thousands of people.

But many of these refugees will have problems covering living expenses in their host countries, as Ukrainian currency can no longer be exchanged into euros or local currencies, except in Moldova and Romania.

Other countries in Southeast Europe will not exchange the Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia, which is currently worth 0.031 euros.