Albanian Language Media:

• Government: Published document doesn’t correspond with EU-U.S. proposal (media)
• Kurti: A Republic of all, not only of the majority (Kosovapress)
• Special Intervention Unit protests: Don’t play with our dignity (Koha)
• SPO raids house of former advisor to Thaci (media)
• 63 attacks and threats against reporters and media reported in 10 months (Klan Kosova)
• KPC again sends proposal for Isufaj as state chief prosecutor to Osmani (media)
• Von Cramon: We need democratic Serbia, not further appeasement of Vucic (media)
• Forensic teams, international missions at site of damaging of Orthodox graves (Kallxo)
• Police stops a Serb, find emblems of Serbian army, baseball bat in the car (Klan)

Serbian Language Media:

• President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic announced parliamentary elections on December 17 (media)
• Serbian National Assembly President announced local elections in Serbia on December 17 (media)
• Surlic: European officials use the term "de facto recognition" to please Pristina, constructive ambiguity about the CSM (ZSO) (RTS)
• Pristina forensics opens an investigation at the dug-out cemetery in N. Mitrovica, numerous international organizations also at the scene (KoSSev)
• Office for KiM: School in Kamenica stoned (KiM radio) 
• Ambassador says US not neutral on Kosovo (N1)
• Research: More than a third of Serbian citizens see the USA as an enemy (N1, FoNet, Beta, NMagazin)
• Neue Zurcher Zeitung: Vucic wants to control public opinion (N1)
• Borrell: Well-managed accession process will also strengthen EU (N1)

International:

• Trepca Miners in Mitrovica Demand Improved Working Conditions (BIRN)
• Serbia Schedules Early Elections for December 17 (Balkan Insight)

   

Albanian Language Media  

  Government: Published document doesn’t correspond with EU-U.S. proposal (media)

The Kosovo Government refuted today that a document published on Tuesday in some news websites is the draft statute for the formation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities proposed by the European Union and the United States in their meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on October 21. A government spokesperson said in a Facebook post: “The document published and which circulated last night in several news websites and TV stations as ‘the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities’ absolutely does not correspond with the European-American proposal that was presented to Prime Minister Kurti on October 21 as a plan for moving forward. We thank those media that before publishing or disseminating the news contacted the Office of the Prime Minister to confirm and verify the report, thus avoiding the further misinformation of the public”.

Kurti: A Republic of all, not only of the majority (Kosovapress)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that this year the government has allocated for the first time a special fund for non-majority communities at the amount of €3 million, funding grants for farmers, start-ups and NGOs with the aim of increasing employment for these communities. Kurti said in a Facebook post that in 2022, the government had supported 123 projects for smaller businesses and start-ups from all communities. He also said that 149 capital projects were planned in Serb-majority municipalities at the amount of €12.3 million. “A Republic of all, not only of the majority. Such is Kosovo. Such is our governance,” Kurti added.

Special Intervention Unit protests: Don’t play with our dignity (Koha)

The news website reports that members of the Special Intervention Unit, the most elite unit of Kosovo Police, protested today in front of the Kosovo government building in downtown Pristina, demanding changes in the categorization of jobs and higher hazard pay. One of the unit’s members said that promises made by different governments have not been kept for over 10 years. “You know the threats and risks that these two units carry all the time. Do not play with our dignity. Do not play with the feelings of our families,” he told reporters.

SPO raids house of former advisor to Thaci (media)

All news websites report that the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) raided today the house of Ismail Syla, former advisor to former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci. Several media report that Syla’s telephone was confiscated during the search.

63 attacks and threats against reporters and media reported in 10 months (Klan Kosova)

63 cases of attacks and threats against reporters and the media were reported to the Association of Journalists of Kosovo from January to October this year. 30 from the total of 63 cases happened while reporters and the media were reporting from the north of Kosovo. The municipalities with the highest number of cases of reported attacks and threats are Pristina (22) and Zvecan and Leposavic (13 each).

To raise awareness about the importance of punishing attacks and threats against reporters and the media, the AJK will organise tomorrow on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, an online campaign with statements by ambassadors, partners, colleagues, and media lawyers.

Also, as part of the regional platform Safe Journalists, the AJK together with other countries of the Western Balkans, will call on colleagues to report cases of attacks and threats against them to the competent authorities. 

KPC again sends proposal for Isufaj as state chief prosecutor to Osmani (media)

The Albanian Post learns today that the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council has sent for the second time to President Vjosa Osmani the proposal for Blerim Isufaj to be decreed as State Chief Prosecutor, although Osmani had refused to decree the nomination on October 17 arguing that the selection process was corrupt. Asked to comment on the report today, Osmani’s office did not respond to the news website.

Osmani told a press conference last month that she did not decree Isufaj as State Chief Prosecutor because according to her the process was qualified as “irregular and discriminatory” by all monitors, and local and internationals which recorded “10 violations” in the selection procedure. Osmani also said that she “received threats” from several people about her hesitation to decree Isufaj. Legal experts meanwhile argued that the failure to decree Isufaj was interference in the judiciary.

Nacionale news website contacted Osmani’s office to comment on the report, and a media advisor said that they received a letter from the head of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council. “We have received a letter from Mr. Maloku. When we see it, we will inform you,” the advisor said.

Von Cramon: We need democratic Serbia, not further appeasement of Vucic (media)

European Parliament’s Rapporteur on Kosovo, Viola von Cramon, commented in a post on X today on the visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to Belgrade. “I welcome the clarity from von der Leyen on Serbia’s relations with Kosovo. Yet, would be good that the same clarity was regarding Serbia’s shortcomings in rule of law, media freedom and democracy. Call a spade a spade – we need democratic Serbia, not further appeasement of Vucic,” Von Cramon said.

Forensic teams, international missions at site of damaging of Orthodox graves (Kallxo)

The news website reports that police, forensic teams, and international missions, went today at the location called “The Miner’s Hill” in Mitrovica North, where on October 25, the inspectorate of the municipality stopped construction on a road after a group of citizens from the Serb community complained that several Orthodox graves were damaged during the construction work.

Kosovo Police Deputy Director for the north, Veton Elshani, told Kallxo that they are working to resolve the case and to repair the graves which are suspected to have been moved by the company that was working on the construction of the road. He also said that this was the reason why forensic teams and international missions were invited to the site.

Police stops a Serb, find emblems of Serbian army, baseball bat in the car (Klan)

Kosovo Police said in its 24-hour report that during a search in the car of a Kosovo Serb in Leposavic on Tuesday evening they confiscated two emblems of the Serbian army and a baseball bat. Police said that the other person in the car was found with a shirt with the symbol Z and the Wagner insignia. “The two persons were interviewed and following the prosecutor’s decision were released on regular procedure of investigations,” the police report notes. 

     

Serbian Language Media

 

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic announced parliamentary elections for December 17 (media)

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, signed the decision to call extraordinary parliamentary elections, reported Serbian media.

Voting for the new convocation of the Serbian Parliament will be held on Sunday, December 17.

Vucic wished the citizens happy elections.

- We live in times that are difficult for the whole world. In a time of wars, we should all be united to preserve vital interests, in a time when we will be under pressure because of Kosovo and other issues. Serbia needs to preserve its internal cohesion - stated Vucic, in his address to the public. 

He wished all the participants a good result. He is convinced that the elections will consolidate democracy in Serbia.

Serbian National Assembly President announced local elections in Serbia on December 17 (media)

The President of the National Assembly of Serbia, Vladimir Orlic, announced this morning the elections for councilors of city assemblies and municipal assemblies in Serbia.

Elections will be held on December 17, 2023 in 65 cities and municipalities in Serbia.

- In accordance with the Law on Local Elections and the Law on Local Self-Government, elections for councilors in the assemblies of 65 cities and municipalities in Serbia have been announced for December 17, 2023 - he said.

As he pointed out, this decision enters into force upon publication in the Official Gazette.

Surlic: European officials use the term "de facto recognition" to please Pristina, constructive ambiguity about the CSM (ZSO) (RTS)

Stefan Surlic from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade told RTS this morning that the "de facto recognition", which EC President Ursula von der Leyen talked about, is something that is used to "please" Pristina, because the government of Albin Kurti claims that some kind of mutual recognition is a prerequisite for the implementation of the agreement. When it comes to the formation of the CSM, Surlic says that it is obvious that a specific statute of the Community and new principles have been offered but that European officials resorted to the well-known "constructive ambiguity".

Surlic assessed, on yesterday's visit by EC President Ursula von der Leyen, who reiterated that Serbia is expected to recognize de facto Kosovo, that her messages were milder in Belgrade compared to those in Pristina, for tactical reasons.

"When we talk about de facto recognition, she mentioned the recognition of documents issued by Pristina institutions and other steps. We can assume that these other steps are something that was already announced in Lajcak's plan, something that is part of the German-French proposal," believes Surlic.

He assesses that the term "de facto recognition" is something used to "please" Pristina, because the government of Albin Kurti constantly claims that some kind of mutual recognition is a prerequisite for any implementation of the other points of the agreement.

"In that sense, the continuation of negotiations will, of course, be difficult," added Surlic.

CSM and the "constructive ambiguity" of European officials

When it comes to the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities and the possibility of it being formed in the format of the Brussels Agreement, Surlic says that it is obvious that a specific statute of the Community of Serbian Municipalities and new principles have been offered.

"I think that European officials resorted to something that we already know well, that is the constructive ambiguity, i.e. that their legal team used terms that would be acceptable to the normative framework in Pristina, while maintaining the essence, which is that the CSM implies protection, self-government and autonomy for Serbs in spheres that are of vital interest to them," Surlic said. 

According to Surlic, we are witnessing a kind of manipulation and that Pristina constantly is saying that the CSM is against their framework.

Kurti's announcements about the constitutionality assessment are a kind of buying time and that there is no clear readiness of Pristina to implement what was agreed upon.

Kosovo and Metohija and European integration - "false dilemma"

"The dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina should not be viewed through the prism of any solution to the permanent relationship between the two parties, because here with us a false dilemma is valid. Serbia will not give up from Kosovo neither with the continuation of European integration and the acceleration, nor will it return it completely under the auspices of the constitutional order if it would give up from the European path," said Surlic.

Pristina forensics opens an investigation at the dug-out cemetery in N. Mitrovica, numerous international organizations also at the scene (KoSSev)

An investigation is currently being carried out at the cemetery in the Mikronaselje settlement in North Mitrovica by order of the prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office in Mitrovica, reported portal KoSSev.

The Kosovo Police Deputy Commander of the region north, Veton Elshani, confirmed for KoSSev that an investigation is being carried out by the Forensic Medicine Department from Pristina, while numerous international organizations are also present on the scene.

According to KoSSev, EULEX, KFOR, and UN Habitat are some of the organizations that are present at the site.

The investigation is being carried out by investigators, anthropologists, pathologists and forensic experts of the Forensic Medicine Department from Pristina.

“The investigation is being carried out by order of the prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office in Mitrovica. In addition to this site, the investigation will be carried out in other places, as per the information that the remains found here were transferred there,” said Elshani.

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

Office for KiM: School in Kamenica stoned (KiM radio) 

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija announced that last night around 9 pm, a Serbian school in Kosovska Kamenica was stoned, stating that it was done by Albanians, reported KiM radio. At the time of the incident, there were no students in the building, according to this Office. 

"According to eyewitnesses, the schools were stoned by Albanian youths who the night before hung flags of inappropriate content on the school fence," the Office for Kosovo and Metohija stated in a press release.

There are three schools in the building - Elementary School "Desanka Maksimović", Secondary Technical School and Gymnasium. The office reports that this incident upset parents and their children.

"Obviously, a climate is being created in Kosovo and Metohija in which Serbs are no longer safe either in schools, in health centers, in their homes, or in churches, because there is no Serbian building that has not been looted, stoned, broken, burned ... ", the announcement states.

Serbian List: The stoning of a building in K. Kamenica is particularly disturbing because it is a school

The Serbian List condemns last night's stoning of the building in Kosovska Kamenica, housing three schools. 

"Despite the daily incidents directed against Serbs, from Brezovica to Jarinje, this act of vandalism is particularly disturbing because it is a school building, a place where, in addition to the family home, every child should be protected and safe. Imagine the feeling and weight of the decision of the parents of Serbian children in Kosovska Kamenica, who after this stoning, just a few hours later, in the morning, should bring their children to that same school and leave them for a few hours," the announcement states.

The Serbian List reminds that "no perpetrator of violence against Serbs has been arrested."

"Given that violence against Serbs is clearly permitted, because no perpetrator has been arrested, and the few, as in the case of the shot Stefan and Milos, are released to defend themselves pending trial, then it is not surprising that repression and violence continue. One uninvestigated violence and an unpunished criminal are the basis for the level of violence against our people."

They appeal to local and international organizations to increase their presence on the ground, especially in mixed environments, and to protect the Serbian people from daily mistreatment. The responsibility for the future and survival of the Serbian people lies with them.

Ambassador says US not neutral on Kosovo (N1)

US Ambassador in Pristina Jeff Hovenier said on Tuesday that his country is not neutral towards Kosovo, reported N1.

“We are not neutral. We made the decision in 2008. We support Kosovo as an independent democratic, sovereign state,” he told Pristina’s Kanal 10 TV.

He said that the US would have to be neutral if it were a facilitator or negotiator as the European Union is in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue but added that it is not in that role. According to Hovenier, the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue will result in Kosovo’s integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures.

He said the process should be EU-led to ensure that all agreements, reforms and processes are in line with European standards. “Your destiny is as part of the European Union and not as the 51st state of the United States of America,” he said, adding that Washington will support the EU efforts to normalize Belgrade-Pristina relations.

The ambassador said that the US urged the Kosovo government to implement its obligation under the Basic Agreement.

Research: More than a third of Serbian citizens see the USA as an enemy (N1, FoNet, Beta, NMagazin)

More than a third of Serbian citizens, 39 percent of them, see the United States of America (USA) as an enemy, and they most often get information about relations with the USA through television, internet portals and social networks, according to research by the Institute for European Affairs, reported N1.

The research, which was conducted from May 11 to 29 this year, was conducted on a representative sample of 1,200 respondents in the territory of Serbia, excluding Kosovo and Metohija.

For the improvement of relations with the USA, the majority of respondents see the role of Aleksandar Vucic, while a smaller percentage mentions the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic, Dragan Sormaz and Cedomir Jovanovic.

Almost half of the citizens point out that it is important for Serbia to have good relations with both Russia and America, emphasizing the slight increase in the importance of relations with the USA compared to previous surveys.

According to the survey participants, the visit of American President Joseph Biden would not significantly improve relations, while the resolution of the Kosovo issue and Serbia's entry into the European Union (EU) stand out as key factors for improvement.

The majority of citizens are skeptical about the future improvement of relations, and the average rating is closer to the "sufficient" rating. Citizens rate relations between the USA and Serbia with a score of three. On a scale of one to five, the relations between the two countries were rated with an average score of 2.49.

Compared to the highest average grade recorded in 2020 (2.63), the trend of slight decline continues in 2023.

When it comes to the future relationship between Serbia and the USA, opinions are divided and while 28 percent of respondents believe that the relations between the two countries will improve, 38 percent of them believe that there will be no improvement.

17 percent of respondents believe that the solution to the Kosovo issue would first improve the relations between America and Serbia, 16 percent of them believe that Serbia's entry into the EU, and 15 percent of respondents believe that Kosovo should return to Serbia's jurisdiction.

Every tenth respondent sees the removal of the US president as a condition for improving relations between the two countries, while nine percent of them see it in a change of government in Serbia, but an almost equal percentage of respondents state that cooperation in the fields of culture, sports and education would also make this possible.

Neue Zurcher Zeitung: Vucic wants to control public opinion (N1)

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic wants to control public opinion through his influence on the country’s media landscape, reported N1, citing Neue Zurcher Zeitung.

“For Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic, media policy has one purpose above all: to control public opinion,” the newspaper said and recalled that Vucic was FRY Information Minister under the Milosevic regime in the 1990s, imposing fines on journalists critical of the authorities and revoking the licenses of independent broadcasters.

NZZ said that little has changed in Vucic’s attitude since then, adding that since he came to power state influence on the media landscape has been steadily increasing with the state-owned Telekom Serbia playing a central role.

It said that the introduction of two new media laws has opponents of the authorities and media experts fearing that the foundation has been laid for even greater control over the flow of information. Those laws allow the acquisition of private media by the state contradicting the national Media Strategy and running counter to European Union standards. “This primarily concerns the activities of Telekom Srbija” which has bought several private cable network operators and stopped them from broadcasting United Group channels.

„These deals were previously concealed via complicated corporate constructs,” media expert Marko Milosavljevic of the University of Ljubljana, adding that the state’s expansion can be continued openly. According to the media professor, the long-term goal is to force government-critical providers out of the market or marginalize them, NZZ said.

Milosavljevic said that Vucic does not need the expansion strategy because coverage of his activities dominates government-linked electronic media nationwide.

“Media policy is not an aloof topic in Serbia; it moves people. The democratic opposition sees it as a cause of the lack of control of the powerful in the country and an important instrument of President Vucic’s rule,” NZZ said.

“Media themes have played a role in all major demonstrations in Serbia in recent years, including the “Serbia Against Violence” marches that have been held regularly since the two mass shootings in May. They have evolved from demonstrations of sympathy and horror to expressions of much broader discontent with the prevailing conditions. The focus here is on two particularly radical boulevard stations, which, according to critics, contribute with their programming to the normalization of violence and distract attention from the grievances in the country. Media theorists speak in such cases of a „narcotizing dysfunction“ of the information. Also criticized is the state supervisory authority, which has never taken action against pro-government broadcasters despite numerous complaints about blatant violations of media ethics,” NZZ said.

Borrell: Well-managed accession process will also strengthen EU (N1)

The bureaucrats in Brussels see European Union (EU) enlargement as “a key policy to foster stability and peace on the European continent,” which drew renewed attention following “Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine”, reported N1.

“The EU membership perspective provides an anchor of stability for the enlargement countries as well as an important incentive for reform. A well-managed accession process will strengthen the EU as a geopolitical actor and increase its weight in international relations,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in his answer to a request by MEP to clarify his stance on the 10 countries that are to join the EU and repeated announcements by European Council President Charles Michel regarding the planned 2030 EU enlargement.

Borrell noted that enlargement is a “merit-based process,” that membership requires fulfilment of all conditions and that the pace of negotiations depends first and foremost on the progress in reforms of the candidates, in particular the rule of law.

“Enlargement requires both the candidate countries and the EU to prepare, and a political target or horizon can give impetus to the process and mobilise the EU’s energies and the energies of the candidates. The Commission is preparing its annual enlargement package in 2023 for all ten candidate countries and potential candidates. The package, which is part of the rigorous monitoring process of all enlargement countries, will contain recommendations for the way ahead,” said Borrell commenting on the annual progress reports for all countries with EU aspirations, whose publishing has been announced for November 8.

In his answer, Borrell recalled the European Commission President’s September 2023 State of the Union speech in which she said that, “in a world where both size and weight matters, it is clearly in Europe’s strategic and security interests to complete the EU by both deepening integration and widening the EU.”

Following unanimous decisions by the European Council, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine are candidate countries, while Georgia and Kosovo are potential candidates with a clear European perspective.

 

International 

  Trepca Miners in Mitrovica Demand Improved Working Conditions (BIRN)

For the past week, the miners of Trepça, facing serious health concerns, have remained on strike, pressing for enhanced working conditions while Kosovo's institutions have yet to respond.

Approximately 100 miners from the Stantërg mine, located in the 10th horizon of the “Trepça” company in Mitrovica, have been on strike for seven days, citing a pressing need for improved working conditions and health insurance among their demands.

Destan Kerleshi, a representative from the Trepça Workers Union, informed BIRN on Monday that during the night, 10 miners sought medical assistance, with one being urgently transported to the hospital while unconscious.

“Their health condition is severe. Since 7:00 PM, 10 miners have sought medical aid, with 2 sent to the regional hospital, and one in an unconscious state,” Kerleshi reported.

“I implore all relevant stakeholders to contribute to the miners’ safe extraction from the mine. Their condition worsens with each passing moment,” he added.

The strike at Trepça commenced on October 24, with the miners affirming their stance not to cease until their three demands are met: timely payment of monthly salaries from the 6th to the 10th of each month, the dismissal of management [chief executive], and assurances regarding health insurance and improved working conditions.

Besim Haxha, one of the striking miners, expressed on October 24 that they would persist in their strike until their demands are addressed.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2y64zajv

Serbia Schedules Early Elections for December 17 (Balkan Insight)

Serbian President says the country will go the polls in mid-December, to elect a new parliament and authorities in over 60 municipalities, including the capital, Belgrade.

Serbia will elect a new parliament and local authorities in 64 municipalities on December 17, it was officially announced in Belgrade on Wednesday.

President Aleksandar Vucic ceremonially signed a decree dissolving the National Assembly and announcing the extraordinary parliamentary elections.

In mid-October, Vucic said early parliamentary elections would be held. Experts told BIRN that the strategy was for the ruling Serbian Progressive Party’s unpopularity in the capital to be overshadowed by a wider campaign.

Parties that organised several months of weekly protests under the banner ‘Serbia Against Violence’ agreed on October 27 to run a united list of candidates under the same name at the upcoming parliamentary elections and for the simultaneous polls in the capital, Belgrade.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/45zsxz7v