Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Constitutionality and lawfulness for all, regardless of mayors (Indeksonline)
• Caretaker govt asks President to authorize signing of agreement with EU (media)
• What Osmani and Kurti said about the abducted Kosovo Serb from Leposavic (AP)
• Citaku says no invitation from Konjufca “but the answer would be no” (media)
• RTK employees and international organisations call on Kurti to urgently solve the budget issue (media)
• Police arrest person wanted for double homicide (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• The Constitutional Court of Kosovo yet to decide on the appeal of the Serbian List on the election of Nenad Rasic (KIM radio, Kontakt plus radio)
• Lawyer Ninic filed a lawsuit in the case of M.V wounding and abduction (KiM radio)
• Media: "BIA arrested two spies" (KiM radio, N1, media)
• Defense lawyers' statements after today's trial of Pantic and Zaric (KiM radio)
• UNS and DNKiM condemn CEC's decision not to accredit Kosovo Online for the elections (Kontakt plus radio, KiM radio, Kosovo Online)
• Vucic, Botsan-Kharchenko discuss natural gas supplies, NIS (Tanjug, media)
• Brnabic says "good discussions" with Kallas (N1, media)

International:
 

• Kosovo holds mayoral run-offs in shadow of potential general election (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media 

Kurti: Constitutionality and lawfulness for all, regardless of mayors (Indeksonline)

Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti attended today the inauguration of a park in the Bosniak Neighborhood together with Mitrovica North Mayor Erden Atiq, the deputy mayor, the candidate for Mitrovica South Mayor Faton Peci, and several government ministers. “We are here today for this joyful day, for the youth, for children, for the municipality and for all residents without any difference. I thank you all for cooperating with the central and local institutions and may this be a joyful day for all,” he said.

Kurti also highlighted the importance of enforcing lawfulness and constitutionality for all. “Constitutionality and lawfulness will be in place for all, regardless of the local governments, and regardless of the mayors that come and go. The State, the Republic, will always be by your side – for Albanians, for Serbs, for Bosniaks and for all the municipalities,” he said.

Caretaker govt asks President to authorize signing of an agreement with EU (media)

Most news websites report that the Kosovo caretaker government has adopted three decisions today, including a proposal to ask the Kosovo President to authorize the Ministry of Finance, Work and Transfers to sign a Loan Agreement on “the Instrument for Reform and Growth in the Western Balkans” between the European Union, represented by the European Commission, and Kosovo.

What Osmani and Kurti said about the abducted Kosovo Serb from Leposavic (AP)

The Albanian Post reports that Kosovo’s authorities accused Serbia on Monday for violating Kosovo’s territorial integrity after Kosovo Police reported that on November 1, they received information that “in the area of Leposavic, a national of Kosovo of Serb nationality, initials M.V. was believed to have been wounded and abducted by Serbian Gendarmerie”.

Kosovo caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Tuesday that the person who was abducted by the Serbian Gendarmerie inside the territory of Kosovo, was “kidnapped by the state of Serbia only because he was an opponent of the policies and the regime of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic”. “The attack, from what we know so far, happened in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, the citizen who was attacked and wounded is a national of the Republic of Kosovo, and everything shows that he was attacked because he was an opponent of the policies and regime of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic,” Kurti told a press conference. He also said that Kosovo Police were at the site and that they are carrying out investigations with assistance from KFOR and EULEX. “It is clear that our northern neighbor [referring to Serbia] is continuing its attacks aimed at disciplining the Serbs and destabilizing Kosovo,” he added.

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani also commented on the topic on Tuesday, saying that according to information from witnesses and relatives, the person who was abducted by Serbian Gendarmerie inside Kosovo’s territory was wounded with the objective of being killed and that he was then taken away. “There is doubt that sovereignty has been violated, and also that the attack against a Kosovo citizen was aimed at killing him,” she argued.

Osmani also said that Kosovo’s relevant institutions in cooperation with allies are investigating the location of the site and we will prepare a detailed report. “This is not only a provocation, but an attack that threatens peace and stability not only along our border, but at the same time it threatens peace and stability of the whole region,” she said.

Serbian authorities have issued no statement about the case.

Meanwhile, the Basic Prosecution of Mitrovica on Thursday interviewed a person about the incident. A spokesperson for the prosecution, Valon Preteni, confirmed that the person who was interviewed is a relative of the victim “I can confirm that a person close to the victim has been interviewed by the prosecution about the case and that the prosecution is carrying out investigations in cooperation with the police,” he said.

A Belgrade-based attorney, on behalf of the mother of the abducted person, filed criminal charges at the High Public Prosecution in Prokuplje, Serbia, for attempted murder. The charges were filed against unknown persons, members of the Serbian Army, the Serbian Ministry of Interior Affairs, and Milan Radoicic, former deputy leader of the Serbian List, who claimed responsibility for the attack in Banjska in September 2023.

Citaku says no invitation from Konjufca “but the answer would be no” (media)

Secretary General of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Vlora Citaku, in an interview with Gazeta Blic today, said that they have received no invitation for a meeting from Glauk Konjufca, who has been nominated by the Vetevendosje Movement to form a new government. “No, we have received no invitation, but even if we had received one, our answer would be no … We have been constructive in unblocking the political situation of the country, but we have no votes for a Kurti/Konjufca government,” she said.

RTK employees and international organisations call on Kurti to urgently solve the budget issue (media)

The Union of Employees of the Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) have sent a public letter to Kosovo acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti to intervene urgently and solve the crisis with the budget for the RTK so that the employees can receive their salaries. The letter notes that over 700 employees are without salaries and that their families are dependent on this for their daily needs. “We know that the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo is the founder of the RTK, but this institution has not formed its steering bodies yet and as a result we have come to this grave situation … You know the importance that the public broadcaster has for the state, democracy and the people. Therefore, we publicly call on you to help the RTK – not only for the sake of its employees, but also for the sake of the functioning of one of the most important institutions of the Republic of Kosovo. For the sake of 700 families that depend on this public institution, we ask you to intervene in any form possible to allocate the budget for the RTK and to unblock the current situation,” the letter notes.

International organizations also call on Kurti to immediately act on RTK budget

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, the European Federation of Journalists and the International Press Institute, in a joint letter called on Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti to immediately take the necessary decision and action to transfer the required budget to RTK so that employees can receive their salaries. “Today, RTK employees protested for the second time in a row due to delays in the payment of their salaries. We stand in full solidarity with them. RTK currently has no functional board, the director’s mandate has expired, and the situation has become critical. We urge you to act without delay to ensure that employees receive their salaries, which is their basic right. Such a decision would also demonstrate the government’s commitment to addressing concerns highlighted in the recently released EU Country Report, which noted a lack of progress in media freedom and specifically mentioned the issue of the public broadcaster’s budget,” the letter notes.

Police arrest person wanted for double homicide (media)

All news websites report that Kosovo Police have arrested a person wanted for the killing of two brothers in a village near Malisheva on Thursday. Police said in a statement that the fugitive was arrested this morning in the village of Pllaqice. And that “after the arrest, the suspect was given medical treatment as he had wounds suspected to have been caused by a firearm”. The suspect was transferred to the main hospital in Pristina. Several news websites also report that the suspect was the victims’ brother-in-law.

Serbian Language Media 

The Constitutional Court of Kosovo still to decide on the appeal of the Serbian List on the election of Nenad Rasic (KIM radio, Kontakt plus radio) 

The Constitutional Court of Kosovo has still not decided on the appeal of the Serbian List (SL) on the election of Nenad Rasic. According to Mazlum Baraliu, an expert on constitutional issues, the aim of this request is to delay the political process, reported KiM radio.

Three weeks ago, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo received an appeal from the SL regarding the election of Nenad Rasic as the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, reported KiM radio, citing Kontakt Plus radio. 

This party claims that on that occasion there was a violation of the Constitution, the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly and the previous judgment of the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court has not yet decided on this request.

Baraliu: The goal is to delay the political process

Mazlum Baraliu, an expert on constitutional issues, told Index online that the Constitutional Court took too long to render a verdict in connection with the case submitted by the SL on Rasic's election as the vice-president of the Assembly.

According to him, the Constitutional Court should reject the request of the SL as unacceptable.

"The most correct decision would be to reject the request, because Serbian List, by the very fact that it requested a temporary measure, showed that its goal is to block and delay the process of forming institutions," said Baraliu.

Media recalled that the new convocation of the Assembly of Kosovo was constituted on October 10, with the election of Nenad Rasic as vice-president from the ranks of the Serbian community.

His election came about after nine deputies of the Serbian List, although they voted three times, failed to get the required number of votes.

Lawyer Ninic filed a lawsuit in the case of M.V. wounding and abduction (KiM radio)

KiM radio reported today that lawyer Ivan Ninic submitted a criminal complaint against an unknown person, a member of the Serbian Armed Forces, the police or Milan Radoicic's group, to the Senior Public Prosecutor in Prokuplje for the criminal offense of an attempted aggravated murder. 

"I proposed 15 evidentiary actions that the competent prosecutor should take urgently, because otherwise, it is clear that they will try to cover up everything or turn it in the wrong direction, as they have done countless times before, and especially that they don't know if Milan will survive," Ninic announced on the X network.

He added that the family still cannot see Vukasinovic: "The bullet has not been removed from his spine, and the doctors, the prosecutor, the army, the police - everyone is silent and covering it up!".

Ninic also mentioned Petar Petkovic, director of the Office for KiM, who also did not announce about the matter and continued saying that '' two media outlets in Belgrade, in real time, were not allowed to publish the information, while people in Prokuplje are still whispering. The prosecutor who allowed such a wall of silence is the biggest disgrace and shame of this country!". Ninic also criticized parliamentary opposition that did not raise this issue.

KiM radio recalled that yesterday, the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Mitrovica confirmed that it had questioned one person in connection with the case of Vukasinovic.

Media: "BIA arrested two spies" (KiM radio, N1, media) 

Members of the Security and Information Agency (BIA), in cooperation with other state authorities in the area of Raska, arrested two people from the security structures on suspicion of espionage, all Serbian media reported, citing pro-regime media. 

KiM radio reported, citing N1, that ''several media outlets published identical news about the BIA action and the arrest of two people from the security structures on suspicion of espionage''. 

As it is stated, ''it is suspected that the detainees collected confidential information of importance for the security of the Republic of Serbia over a long period of time and forwarded it to the Albanian intelligence services''.

“The investigation related to the case of M.V.”

"The investigation lasted several months, and the arrest is a continuation of the action from November 1, when M.V. was arrested on the administrative line," read the news published by the pro-regime media. They added that ''M.V. on that occasion tried to escape, but the Serbian security services used firearms and he was wounded'', reported KiM radio.

"He was immediately given medical help on the spot and was transported to KC Nis for treatment, detention and custody was ordered," read the media reports. 

media recalled that last year ''the pro-regime media targeted M.V. as Albin Kurti's spy''.

The alleged witness to the wounding of M.V. was Radoica Radomirovic, the former Deputy Minister for Communities and Return to Kosovo. KiM radio recalled that he told the media that the attack happened when ''M.V. went to buy honey from a person employed by the Serbian Army near the administrative line''.

Defense lawyers' statements after today's trial of Pantic and Zaric (KiM radio)

Commenting on today's testimony of Dj.P., lawyer Milos Delevic said that "the witnesses behave as if they woke up from their winter sleep," adding that for the first time in 25 years, he mentions Momir Pantic, although he did not mention him in the police statement. "I believe and rightly suspect that this witness received instructions before the trial about what he should say today at the trial," Delevic told reporters briefly, reported KiM radio.

His colleague Dejan A. Vasic, the defense attorney of Zarko Zaric, says that they will ask to investigate what happened to the witness statements previously given to UNMIK and EULEX. 

"The witnesses we heard confirmed that they have previously given statements to the authorities of UNMIK and EULEX police, and that the Special Prosecutor's Office claims that these statements do not exist. I have to say here, I do not at all doubt what the special prosecutor said, I trust the Special Prosecutor's Office. However, already on Monday, I will demand from the UN Secretary General, from the representatives of the UNMIK mission in Kosovo, from the EU and representatives of EULEX in Kosovo, the most urgent investigation into which officers are the ones who hid those statements from us and the Special Prosecutor's Office. Those statements existed, those statements were taken, and they claim to have given them to the Special Prosecutor's Office. If the Special Prosecutor's Office doesn't have those statements and the special prosecutor says they don't, then someone from the UN mission and the EULEX mission hid those statements," said Vasic.

According to the indictment of the Special Prosecutor's Office, Pantic and Zaric are charged with murder, torture, inhuman treatment, intimidation, destruction of property and deportation of the civilian population of Albanian nationality in the municipality of Istok during the war. It is also stated that the investigators determined the existence of two cases of sexual violence, the burning of around 5,000 houses and the murder of around 250 people, including 19 children, recalled KiM radio.

The accused have been in custody in Podujevo since their arrest in August last year. Police arrested Zaric in his village Ljubozda. Pantic was arrested at the Merdare administrative crossing. Due to the change of the court panel, the trial of the accused was recently brought back to the beginning.

UNS and DNKiM condemn CEC's decision not to accredit Kosovo Online for the elections (Kontakt Plus radio, KiM radio, Kosovo Online)

UNS and DNKiM condemned the decision of the CEC in Pristina not to allow the "Kosovo Online" portal to monitor the second round of local elections, calling it "discriminatory", reported Kontakt Plus radio. 

The Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS), together with its branch, the Association of Journalists of Kosovo and Metohija (DNKiM), expressed serious concern over the decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) in Pristina not to grant accreditation to the "Kosovo Online" portal even in the second round of local elections.

"UNS and DNKiM condemn the CEC's discriminatory decision not to allow the 'Kosovo Online' portal to monitor the election process even in the second round of local elections in Kosovo," the statement said.

UNS and DNKiM point out that this once again raises the question of what criteria the CEC makes decisions on accreditation of media. 

The statement reminds that in the first round, the Election Panel for Appeals and Petitions accepted the appeal of the "Kosovo Online" portal, but that the CEC "did not act on that decision."

Vucic, Botsan-Kharchenko discuss natural gas supplies, NIS (Tanjug, media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko on Friday to discuss bilateral relations, energy stability and regional challenges, reported Tanjug.

In an Instagram post after the meeting, Vucic wrote that special attention had been devoted to natural gas supplies and conditions ensuring energy security, price predictability and further diversification of supply sources.

"When it comes to (Serbia's Russian-majority owned oil company) NIS and all relevant measures and limitations, our goal remains the same - to fully comply with international obligations while protecting energy security, jobs and investments in Serbia at the same time," Vucic posted.

Brnabic says "good discussions" with Kallas (N1, media)

Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic said she had "good discussions" with the European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas in Brussels on Thursday.

Brnabic’s X post said she was pleased to have the opportunity to meet with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Kaja Kallas.

“We had good discussions about Serbia’s European path. We will continue our joint work on reforms that will benefit our citizens. Serbia’s strategic foreign policy goal remains EU membership, and we will work toward that even more strongly than before,” Brnabic wrote in the post.

International

Kosovo holds mayoral run-offs in shadow of potential general election (BIRN)

Mayoral run-offs in almost half of Kosovo’s 38 municipalities will offer the big political parties a taste of what they can expect if failure to form a government forces a snap parliamentary election within weeks.

Almost half of Kosovo’s 38 municipalities will hold run-off mayoral elections on Sunday, with the results expected to offer a major hint as to what the big parties can expect as they edge towards a potential snap general election.

Up for grabs are the capital, Pristina, and 17 other municipalities, including the urban centres of Prizren in the south, South Mitrovica in the north, Peja/Pec and Gjakova/Djakovica in the west and Gjilan/Gnjilane in the east.

The results will give a taste of what might come if the ruling Vetevendosje party’s pick for prime minister, Glauk Konjufca, fails to secure a majority in parliament by November 19, forcing a snap election.

Kosovo held its last general election in February, but Vetevendosje lost its majority and deep political division led to months of impasse, delaying the inauguration of parliament. No party has shown any significant interest in cobbling together a ruling alliance, and Vetevendosje – in government for the past four years – has long looked like it is simply holding out for another election.

Political analyst Shenoll Muharremi identified two mayoral run-offs as the ones to watch.

“Run-offs in Pristina and South Mitrovica will potentially have a big impact on the spirit of the parliamentary elections, which are supposed to be held next month,” Muharremi told BIRN.

“If Vetevendosje loses both these municipalities, then it will be in an uncomfortable position for national elections.”

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