Albanian Language Media:

• Abdixhiku: Proposal for national transitional government still there (media)
• PDK MP: Possibility of new elections is not excluded (media)
• “EU penalty measures against Kosovo should be lifted ASAP” (media)
• Osmani meets Prattipati, discuss security and formation of institutions (media)
• LDK to file charges against Kurti and LVV MPs over ministerial duties (media)
• AJK stands with journalist in her legal battle against former employer (media)
• Mustafi: Europe blunt with Belgrade – stop discriminating Albanians (Telegrafi)

Serbian Language Media: 

• Vucic to meet with Putin, Xi and Tokayev in Moscow (Tanjug)
• Vucic in Moscow: We have no right to revise past (Kosovo Online, RTS)
• Vucevic: Students entered field of politics, they can expect a political response (N1) 
• Law students ask "eternal power": If the people are with you, what are you afraid of? (NMagazin, N1)
• Brnabic: Vucic may meet students’ request and call elections (KoSSev)
• Patriots of Europe MEPs call Picula’s report on Serbia ‘a political trial’ and ‘indictment’ (Tanjug, Kosovo Online, social media)
• A 17-year-old detained for wearing a "Dragas, Kosovo and Metohija" T-shirt (KiM radio)
• House arrest of Dragan Cvetkovic from Pasjane revoked (Radio KIM)
• Detention of Vicentijevic bothers over alleged involvement in Ibar-Lepenac water canal attack extended for two more months (Radio KIM)
• RSF’s Szalai to Pristina: Kosovo Government should treat RSF report as a call to action, not question its methodology (KoSSev)

Opinion:

• Sormaz to Kosovo Serbs: Give up supporting decayed regime in Belgrade (media)

Albanian Language Media 

Abdixhiku: Proposal for national transitional government still there (media)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lumir Abdixhiku said in a Facebook post today that his proposal for a national transitional government consisting of Albanian political parties is still there, but that his party will now focus on preparations for the upcoming local elections this autumn. “We have no more time to lose. We offered a solution; our solution is still there – whenever the others are ready … Until then, beyond the whole blockade that is served to us without any vision, beyond the repetitive 48-hours without any purpose, the LDK will deal with its processes forward where they cannot trap us. We will deal with the Local Elections. This is why I have called for today a meeting with all LDK branch leaders, to start a consultative and preparatory process for the 2025 Local Elections which will be held this autumn,” he said.

PDK MP: Possibility of new elections is not excluded (media)

MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Fadil Demaku said in an interview with TeVe1 that the PDK is ready to discuss finding a solution to the current deadlock in the Assembly and an agreement to go to new elections. “The possibility of new elections is not excluded. A solution must be found, and we cannot keep the country hostage because of the positions of individuals, whoever they may be. The PDK has always said it is ready for any form of discussions to find a way to create the institutions, ultimately even for that alternative (elections). Kosovo does not need new elections, it would be a loss in all aspects,” he said.

“EU penalty measures against Kosovo should be lifted ASAP” (media)

Kosovo’s acting government has welcomed the call of the European Parliament for the EU to lift its penalty measures against Kosovo. An advisor to acting Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi told RTV21 that the measures should be lifted as soon as possible because they are unfair. “We welcome the position of the European Parliament in their latest report about the measures against Kosovo, calling for the immediate removal of the measures. This call joins many other previous calls by the European Parliament but also the recommendation of former EU High Representative Josep Borrell for their removal. We reiterate that keeping the penalty measures against Kosovo in force is unfair. They should be removed as soon as possible, and they were unfairly imposed and are being unfairly kept in force,” the advisor said.

Osmani meets Prattipati, discuss security and formation of institutions (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani hosted today the U.S. Embassy Charges d’Affaires, Anu Prattipati, and discussed recent developments, the security situation in Kosovo and the region, and the process of forming the new institutions. A press release issued by Osmani’s office notes that they also discussed a range of other issues related to bilateral relations between Kosovo and the United States of America, with special emphasis on areas of mutual interest especially in defense, and possibilities to further cooperation in the future.

LDK to file charges against Kurti and LVV MPs over ministerial duties (media)

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has announced that today at 13:15 it will file charges for “abuse of official duty and exceeding of authorizations against former Prime Minister Kurti and former ministers, re-elected MPs”. This party said that the charges will be filed with the Special Prosecution Office in Pristina. According to this party, Albin Kurti and LVV MPs are illegally exercising the mandate of the prime minister and ministers, even after being elected MPs. The vice-chair of this party, Hykmete Bajrami, said earlier that from the certification of the election results on March 27, it appears that "ordinary citizens have made decisions in the buildings of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo".

AJK stands with journalist in her legal battle against former employer (media)

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) said in a statement that it fully supports journalist Iliri Pireva in her legal case against her former employer, Klan Kosova. Pireva recently announced via social media that she has filed a lawsuit, citing repeated violations of her labor rights. According to her statement, the decision to pursue legal action came after years of systemic disregard for employee rights, particularly regarding public holiday leave. “For 14 years at Klan Kosova, official holidays were consistently ignored, a violation that occurred repeatedly but was tolerated. However, this time, in an internal communication with staff, it was explicitly stated that December 25 would be a day off only for a specific group of employees. The irony of receiving such a message in a newsroom that reports daily on injustices and rights violations was not lost on us. This moment could no longer pass without response not only because it was unfair, but because it was stated publicly, as fact,” Pireva wrote, among other things. AJK commends Pireva for taking a principled stand and encourages all journalists to insist on the enforcement of their employment rights and adherence to the Labor Law. We reaffirm our commitment to protecting journalists' rights and ensuring accountability within media institutions.

Mustafi: Europe blunt with Belgrade – stop discriminating Albanians (Telegrafi)

Former chair of the Albanian National Council in Serbia, Ragmi Mustafi, said the European Parliament’s latest report on Serbia and its calls to Serbian authorities to immediately stop discriminating against national minorities, including Albanians in Presevo Valley, “is an alarm bell that can no longer be ignored”. “Europe is telling Belgrade bluntly: enough with the façade of the rights of minorities, including the Albanians of Presevo Valley! The European Parliament says it clearly: the so-called ‘protection’ of minorities by Serbia is only formal, whereas their representation is under the control of the government. This is ridiculing democracy!” he argued in a Facebook post.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic to meet with Putin, Xi and Tokayev in Moscow (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who is in the Russian Federation for the May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow, will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the event, the press office of the president of Serbia said on Thursday.

While in Moscow, Vucic will also hold meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

During the visit to Russia, Vucic will also meet with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia, to whom he will present the Order of the Republic of Serbia on a grand collar.

Vucic in Moscow: We have no right to revise past (Kosovo Online, RTS)

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, who arrived in Moscow yesterday to attend the commemoration of Victory Day over fascism, said Serbian people have no right to revise history, given the sacrifices they made during World War II. Responding to criticism from the European Parliament and Croatian MEPs suggesting that Serbia must acknowledge crimes, he asked whether that means Serbia should acknowledge Jasenovac, the seizure of Kosovo, or the military alliance between Albania and Kosovo, Kosovo Online portal reported.

"In a day and a half, a truly magnificent ceremony will be held here to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory over fascism. Tens of millions of people perished so that we could live normal lives today. We have no right to play with historical revisionism, as a people who suffered under the German Nazi occupiers and their local collaborators who fought against the Serbian people", Vucic told RTS.

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

Vucevic: Students entered field of politics, they can expect a political response (N1)

Leader of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Milos Vucevic said Wednesday that, by calling for elections, the “blockading students and their mentors” have entered the field of politics, N1 reported.

The students should now say who their representatives are, how many of them there are, and what their positions are on key national issues such as Kosovo, developments in Republika Srpska, relations with Russia and Ukraine, and their views on Srebrenica, Operation Storm, and other topics, Vucevic told Pink TV, adding it is now clear that their aspirations were political from the start.

“They are using state institutions and resources - since universities are state institutions - to attack the state, while positioning themselves as some sort of supreme body that decides who gets to participate in elections and who doesn’t”, he said.

He emphasized that all the public has seen from student decision-making sessions known as plenums are vague outlines, without any clear information on how many of them participated in decision-making, or who their representatives are.

“We know nothing about them”, stressed Vucevic. The SNS leader said that since the students have entered politics, they can expect to get a political response. He added that the student-led blockades have negatively impacted the country’s economy and, as a result, students are losing public support.

Law students ask "eternal power": If the people are with you, what are you afraid of? (NMagazin, N1)

The Faculty of Law in the blockade in Belgrade posed a question to the "competent body for eternal power", i.e., to the President of Serbia about the elections, asking "if the people are with you, what are you afraid of"?

"While the competent body for eternal power carefully avoids elections, we ask the question: If the people are really with you, what are you afraid of?" asked the blocked Faculty of Law on the X social network.

Law students said calling elections at this time would be a risk for the government.

"It would be a risk that someone would finally stop them. Their biggest fear is not a 'disaster for the country' as they say these days, but that their government, based on fear and incompetence, finally would collapse", it was stated in the post of the Law Faculty students. 

They also sent a message that they do not agree to live in a caricature of democracy.

"Go to the elections and let the better one win," they said.

Brnabic: Vucic may meet students’ request and call elections (KoSSev)

Serbian Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabic said today there is a possibility that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic fulfils students’ demand and calls snap parliamentary elections, however, it was necessary that students directly address him, KoSSev portal reported.

Speaking for Pink TV, Brnabic said there is a chance that Vucic “meets demand” of students, but it was not all right that they called him “not-competent subject institution”.

“They demonstrated complete lack of political wisdom, they mocked the only man having authority to fulfil their ultimate request, and these are elections”, Brnabic said.

Asked to comment on Vucic’s visit to Moscow, she said she supports the decision of the Serbian President to go to Russia for a parade on WWII Victory Day. “The only right and human decision is to be in Moscow on a day of celebrating the 80th anniversary of the victory against fascism, as if it weren't for the Red Army and Soviet (Union) there would be no Europe we know today”, Brnabic noted.

She also said all European leaders should honour sacrifices that Russia made during WWII.  

Patriots of Europe MEPs call Picula’s report on Serbia ‘a political trial’ and ‘indictment’ (Tanjug, Kosovo Online, social media)

Political adviser to the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group at the European Parliament, Jean-Lin Lacapelle said yesterday the adopted report on Serbia by the EP was in fact an indictment against Serbia, terming the outcome of the voting as scandalous, Tanjug news agency reported. He said a Patriots for Europe group was against the report and supportive of Serbia. “One should not forget what you went through over the previous years, in particular in 1999 when NATO bombs befell upon Serbia. We were always on the right side and they (Serbia) can count on our friendship, loyalty and support till the end of the mandate”, Lacapell said.

PfE MEP and former French minister Thierrry Mariani in his reaction to the report wrote in a post on X that “#Serbia is guilty of an unforgivable crime: refusing to obey Brussels. This report is not an assessment, it’s a political trial because Serbia wants to continue to make its own choices. Serbia must be an EU partner, not a Brussels colony. @PatriotesEurope”.

Arnaud Gouillon, head of the Office for Cultural and Public Diplomacy at the Serbian Government in a post on X termed Mariani's remarks as excellent. “Excellent statement made by French patriot and ex-minister @ThierryMARIANI in the EU parliament in response to the hate speech of @TPicula, a globalist leftist born in former Yugoslavia. While @TPicula advocates foreign funded NGOs who fight for the so-called “human rights” in the very tolerant Serbia, @ThierryMARIANI firmly condemns the systematic discrimination of Serbian population which is exposed to attacks in ghettos in Kosovo*. While @TPicula urges Belgrade to follow the irrational warpath regarding the situation in Ukraine, @ThierryMARIANI defends the right for Serbia to be a free and sovereign country which has its own foreign policy and supports peace. Борба се наставља! La lutte continue!”, he wrote in a post on X.

 A 17-year-old detained for wearing a "Dragas, Kosovo and Metohija" T-shirt (KiM radio)

In the village of Rapca, in the municipality of Dragas, a 17-year-old was detained on Wednesday at a traditional event attended by thousands of citizens from this region, reported KiM radio.

Shaqir Bitiqi, spokesperson for the media in the regional directorate of Kosovo police in Prizren, told Klan, reported KiM radio. 

"At the event, a seventeen-year-old young man was noticed wearing a T-shirt with a map of Kosovo and an inscription in Cyrillic "Dragaš, Kosovo and Metohija” with a map of Kosovo in the background," said Bitiqi.

He said that the minor was released after being questioned.

An investigation procedure was initiated against the same person for the criminal offense of "inciting discord and intolerance".

House arrest of Dragan Cvetkovic from Pasjane revoked (Radio KIM)

House arrest measure imposed on Dragan Cvetkovic from Pasjane village, one of the five Serbs arrested under the charges of allegedly committing war crimes in the territory of Gnjilane municipality has been revoked, his lawyer Jovana Filipovic confirmed, Radio KIM reported.

Cvetkovic will be free pending trial, she added.

On August 3 last year, Dragan Nicic, Dragan Cvetkovic, Slobodan Jevitc and Milca Sosic from Pasjane, as well as Nenad Stojanovic from Bosce village near Kamenica were arrested by Kosovo police.

Following arrest the five Serbs were sent to one-month detention. And on August 30 of the same year, Cvetkovic’s detention was commuted to house arrest.

Detention of Vicentijevic bothers over alleged involvement in Ibar-Lepenac water canal attack extended for two more months (Radio KIM)

Basic Court in Pristina has extended detention for two more months to the Vicentijevic brothers, arrested under suspicion of alleged participation in the attack on Ibar-Lepenac water canal in Varage village, Zubin Potok municipality, their lawyer Milos Delevic confirmed to Radio KIM.

Delevic told Radio KIM it is still unclear based on what evidence there is a well-founded suspicion that they have committed criminal acts they are accused of.

"We have been waiting six months for expert reports to be completed, while my client is in custody, absolutely innocent”, he said. He added there is no evidence his client participated in the damage to the Ibar-Lepenac canal.

The lawyer underlined that he proposed to the prosecutor to interview 4 witnesses who will confirm the alibi of Dragisa Vicentijevic.

"It is important that his boots were muddy. (Boots) of a man who lives and works in the countryside. What can we say next?! We are waiting for the completion of those famous expert reports, and I believe that after them what we have been saying from the very beginning will be proven. The Vicentijevic brothers have nothing to do with this event", Delevic said.

RSF’s Szalai to Pristina: Kosovo Government should treat RSF report as a call to action, not question its methodology (KoSSev)

What happened after the release of the Index confirms RSF findings: the Kosovo government is attempting to question the credibility of the media. Instead of questioning the Index’s methodology, the government should propose systemic measures to protect press freedom, said head of the EU/Balkans desk at the Reporters without Borders organization, Pavol Szalai, to KoSSev.

Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, RSF published its annual report on global media freedom.

After last year’s dramatic 19-spot drop, Kosovo has hit another record low, plummeting 24 places to 99th, making it the worst in the region.

The news triggered a wave of reactions, particularly after the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AGK) raised the alarm, organizing an emergency press conference outside the Kosovo government building. AGK pointed fingers at the government, specifically Vetëvendosje and its leader Albin Kurti, as the primary culprits behind the decline.

While Prime Minister Kurti has yet to comment on the report, statements did come from the outgoing government and Vetëvendosje, once again criticizing the media for unprofessionalism, spreading misinformation, and allegedly contributing to Kosovo’s poor ranking.

Several officials close to Vetëvendosje called out and attempted to discredit AGK President Xhemail Rexha. One official even criticized Reporters Without Borders, aiming to downplay the significance of the report.

On the other side, condemnations against Vetëvendosje poured in. AGK urged the government to stop slandering journalists and instead address the decline in media freedom. The call was echoed by the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS), the Association of Journalists of Kosovo and Metohija (DNKiM), Safe Journalists, and media expert Flutura Kusari.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yw44thak

Opinion

Sormaz to Kosovo Serbs: Give up supporting decayed regime in Belgrade (media)

Several news websites cover an opinion piece by Dragan Sormaz, a former member of the Serbian Parliament, originally published in The Geopost.

"For two decades, the citizens of Kosovo have been living in an independent state, building their own society and deciding their position in Europe and the world! Belgrade is no longer doing this in their name. However, part of the population of Kosovo, the Serbs as a minority, continue to listen to the authorities in Belgrade and still believe that Belgrade decides on their quality of life. However, they benefit almost nothing from what the Republic of Kosovo offers them, because for Belgrade it is “so-called”! Meanwhile, in Serbia, especially in recent years, the narrative has spread about the terror that the Kosovar authorities are allegedly inflicting on the Serbs. This narrative only harms the Serbs in Kosovo and makes their lives more difficult. At the same time, it serves to constantly instill fear in the citizens of Serbia so that they can be ruled more easily! Tadic pursued this Machiavellian approach, but Vučić, as the ruler of Serbia, has reinforced this narrative to such an extent that there are Serbs who believe that streams of Serbian blood flow daily in Kosovo. Few people in Serbia know what rights Serbs have in the Republic of Kosovo! Let me try to explain briefly!"

Under the influence of Western allies and in accordance with the “Ahtisaari talks”, Kosovo has adopted the constitution! This document is contemporary, democratic and fully in line with Euro-Atlantic values! It also contains Chapter III, which deals with the rights of communities, but also the individual rights of their members. Article 57 contains the general provisions of this Constitution, but from Article 58 onwards, many things are concretized and oblige the state, among other things, to

– create appropriate conditions that enable communities and their members to preserve, protect and develop their identity … support the cultural initiatives of communities and their members, including through financial assistance;

– to take all necessary measures to protect persons who, because of their national, ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious identity, may be exposed to threats or acts of discrimination, hostility or violence;

– to promote the preservation of the religious and cultural heritage of all communities as an integral part of Kosovo’s heritage. Kosovo has a special duty to ensure effective protection of sites and monuments of cultural and religious significance to communities.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/N2t05