Albanian Language Media:

• Kosovo Police refutes Simic: Tendentious speculation (media)
• Vitia resigns as Minister of Health, will run for Prishtina Mayor (media)
• Education Ministry bans parties from using schools for campaign (Koha)
• “No dynamic in dialogue; serious EU-US engagement needed” (Kosovapress)
• COVID-19: 42 new cases, two deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Petkovic: Important that we have a good agreement (RTS)
• Waiting for retreat, Serbs at barricades for the twelfth day (RTS)
• Escobar: The Washington agreement important to us (Tanjug, RTS)
• Kosovo-online: ROSU members damaged vehicles owned by Serbs at Brnjak
• Serbian pro-government media: Vucic wins, Kurti – “knocked out, capitulated and turned tail“ (KoSSev)
• Dacic: Northern Kosovo a vital national issue for Serbia (N1, TV Pink)
• Serbian schools in North of Kosovo open on Monday (RTK2, KoSSev)
• ''There is no winner, but Kurti is certainly a loser'' (N1, Beta)

International:

• Kosovo’s ruling party faces reality check in local elections (BIRN)

   

Albanian Language Media  

  Kosovo Police refutes Simic: Tendentious speculation (media)

Kosovo Police issued a statement today refuting Serbian List deputy leader Igor Simic who claimed that special police units intentionally damaged dozens of Serb vehicles that were parked on the road at the Bernjak border crossing point. Kosovo Police said in their statement that Simic’s claims were not untrue and tendentious. 

“Proving that Kosovo Police is professional and implementing the law, we reiterate that police actions are made in line with the Constitution of Kosovo and the laws in force, and that it does not fall prey to continued provocation, misinformation and fake news that serve certain political objectives,” the Kosovo Police statement noted. “Despite such speculation, Kosovo Police will continue its engagement and commitment to implement the laws and the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo in the interest of safeguarding public order and security for all its citizens”.

Vitia resigns as Minister of Health, will run for Prishtina Mayor (media)

Most media outlets report that Arben Viria resigned his post as Minister of Health today to start his campaign as mayor of Prishtina municipality. “I am concluding my engagement in this post today … I am deeply touched by the solidarity and the effort of the people to follow the guidelines [for COVID-19] and for them showing understanding and a high culture for protecting public health. I am transferring my responsibilities to the staff of the ministry and at the political level to the Deputy Minister, Dafina Gexha,” he said.

Education Ministry bans parties from using schools for campaign (Koha)

Kosovo’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) has decided today to ban all political parties from using school premises for their campaigns for the upcoming October 17 local elections. MEST told the Central Election Commission (CEC) that school premises must remain safe and used only for educational purposes.

“No dynamic in dialogue; serious EU-US engagement needed” (Kosovapress)

Bodo Weber, Senior Associate of the Democratization Policy Council and commentator on the Balkans, said in an interview with Kosovapress that he expects tensions between Kosovo and Serbia to reduce after the agreement reached in Brussels on Thursday on the license plates. Weber said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic used the reciprocity measure to fuel tensions as means of his policy. 

Weber argued that the fact that the agreement for freedom of movement was not reached before September 14 and that it led to the measure of reciprocity proves that the EU-facilitated dialogue has lost credibility. He said that this will not change until the EU restores credibility with its enlargement policy and that it needs to do this through a serious engagement by the United States too. 

COVID-19: 42 new cases, two deaths (media)

42 new cases with COVID-19 and two deaths from the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 409 persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 2,559 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

     

Serbian Language Media

  Petkovic: Important that we have a good agreement (RTS)

The most important agreement reached yesterday was about the departure of ROSU units, the arrival of KFOR and that the plates, of people living in the north of Kosovo, will no longer be removed, the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic told RTS. 

The director of the office for KiM says that he is satisfied with the agreement, having in mind how difficult the situation is. 

"Our Serbian people, together with President Vucic and the team in Brussels, defended peace and the right to freedom of movement," Petkovic told RTS this morning. 

He emphasizes that the agreement that was agreed is better than the one from 2011, which Pristina referred to.

"Kurti refers to the agreement from 2011, but based on this agreement, that agreement does not exist anymore, what was agreed in 2016 will be applied, so there is no more reciprocity.''

This means that it will be talked about what was agreed by the Brussels Agreement, primarily about the Community of Serbian Municipalities, and it was clearly stated that in the case of Ivan Todosijevic, the Brussels Agreement was violated in point 10, and about the presence of Serbian judges. Our position that we did not give up is precisely the ZSO, there is no free lunch in Brussels, we had to fight for this," Petkovic pointed out.

In Brussels, Petkovic also talked with the new US special envoy Gabriel Escobar.

"He is a very experienced diplomat and I am grateful that on the first day he denied Bislimi that something had been agreed in Brussels, trying to put additional pressure on Belgrade. For two days I did not see Bislimi, thus showing while ROSU is on the field that there is no direct talk with Pristina," the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija emphasized.

ROSU withdrawal starts 24 hours before the implementation of the agreement, because ROSU has nothing to do in the north of Kosovo, Petkovic states, and adds that KFOR is expected to arrive before that.

"The most important thing that our people got with this agreement is that ROSU leaves, KFOR arrives, which strengthens Resolution 1244, there is no removal of plates and what is especially important for our people who have KM plates is that they are not going to be removed, which is important for freedom of movement," Petkovic said.

The director of the Office for KiM says that it is important that we achieve solutions in dialogue and go step by step in finding solutions, and that is what dialogue serves for.

"We measured every word and it is important that we have a good agreement," Petar Petkovic told RTS.

Waiting for retreat, Serbs at barricades for the twelfth day (RTS)

Serbs in northern Kosovo continued their presence at crossing points Jarinje and Brnjak for the twelfth day, RTS reports.

Following the deal made in Brussels on licence plates, it is expected that on Saturday ROSU units will withdraw from the crossing points and barricades be removed.

The RTS reporter said the Serbs received this news with relief, however they continued the presence at crossing points. They told RTS it was getting more difficult to be at barricades, given the weather conditions and duration of the protest. 

ROSU should start withdrawing tomorrow at 8 a.m. while barricades would be removed simultaneously. KFOR would deploy its troops at crossing points and remain there for two weeks to ensure a safe environment and freedom of movement. 

Escobar: The Washington agreement important to us (Tanjug, RTS)

The State Department's special rapporteur for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, says that the Washington agreement is very important to the American side, primarily because of the "moratorium on lobbying for recognition, i.e. withdrawal of recognition of independence", reported Radio Television of Serbia, citing Tanjug agency.

Gabriel Escobar spoke about the Washington agreement in an audio conference.

Answering Tanjug's question whether further dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina makes sense without resolving the issue of forming the Community of Serbian municipalities (ZSO) and whether Serbia can expect further surprises from Pristina, i.e. whether the Washington agreement is still in force when it comes to the Gazivode Lake.  

Escobar said that the agreement reached last year in Washington with the United States was very important - primarily because of the "moratorium on lobbying for recognition, that is, for withdrawing the recognition of independence."

He also pointed out that the agreement could give space for dialogue to resolve numerous issues within it.

"I see it as a regional strategy, because more and more attention is being paid to the issue of energy. There is more and more interest in sustainable solutions in energy and Gazivode can be a part of that solution. So, Gazivode Lake is in our minds," he said. 

Speaking about the visit to Belgrade, Escobar said that he would like to visit it.

"I'll see in the schedule, and there is concern about Covid," the State Department rapporteur added.

At the beginning of September, Gabriel Escobar took over the position of rapporteur for the Western Balkans from Matthew Palmer. After saying that the US would engage in reducing tensions in Kosovo, Escobar was in Brussels yesterday, where the delegations of Belgrade and Pristina discussed a compromise solution with Miroslav Lajcak. 

Earlier, the State Department said that Belgrade and Pristina should return to dialogue and resolve all disputed issues without delay, including those related to energy and other areas that affect the daily lives of citizens.

Kosovo-online: ROSU members damaged vehicles owned by Serbs at Brnjak

During shift rotation of the members of the Kosovo special police ROSU units at Brnjak last night, members of ROSU intentionally damaged a dozen private vehicles owned by Serbs, Kosovo-online portal reports.

Serbian List Vice President Igor Simic shared the news about it on Facebook, terming such behavior as “primitive”.

“During shift rotation at administrative crossing point Brnjak, tonight, around 23.30, so-called “special” ROSU members intentionally damaged a dozen parked private vehicles owned by the Serbs”, Simic wrote last night.

According to him the same happened at Jarinje when vehicles, including the one belonging to a journalist, were scratched. The portal later reported that tires of some trucks used for blocking Jarinje were slashed, and that local Serbs suspect ROSU members did it.  

Radio KIM meanwhile reported Kosovo police refuted claims ROSU members damaged the private vehicles at crossing points and accused Simic of “spreading disinformation”. 

Serbian pro-government media: Vucic wins, Kurti – “knocked out, capitulated and turned tail“ (KoSSev)

The Belgrade and Pristina delegations reached an agreement in Brussels yesterday on the resolution of the crisis in northern Kosovo, as well as an interim agreement on license plates, KoSSev portal reports.

Although the agreement states that vehicles with “RKS” plates will be allowed to enter Serbia proper, albeit with a sticker, and that Serbian symbols on the license plates of cars entering Kosovo will also have to be covered, tabloids and pro-governmental dailies in Serbia have been describing the agreement as “Vucic’s victory“ and “Kurti’s capitulation.“

Read more at: https://bit.ly/39Syuz1 Dacic: Northern Kosovo a vital national issue for Serbia (N1, TV Pink)

Serbian Parliament Speaker Ivica Dacic said on Friday that northern Kosovo is a vital issue for Serbia, adding that Belgrade will not allow a pogrom against the Kosovo Serbs, reported N1.

“To make things clear to everyone, the question of northern Kosovo is a vital national and state issue for Serbia. Every attempt to take over the north by force, for our people to suffer a pogrom, will not be allowed by Serbia,” he said in a live appearance on the pro-regime TV Pink.

He said that the agreement reached in Brussels to ease tensions in northern Kosovo showed that Serbia is serious about continuing the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue but that there are red lines in terms of unilateral action. “Our view from the start was that we do not accept unilateral action and that the ROSU (Kosovo police special unit) has to withdraw,” he said, adding that the dialogue is the place to resolve those issues.

See at:https://bit.ly/3oodnwF Serbian schools in North of Kosovo open on Monday (RTK2, KoSSev)

Serbian schools in the North of Kosovo will start with regular classes on Monday, reported RTK2, citing portal KoSSev. 

In the message that was forwarded to the parents on Viber groups this morning, which KoSSev had an insight into, the teachers stated that schools will start with regular classes on Monday and that there would be no division into groups.

Portal KoSSev tried to confirm the information with the head of School Administration for Kosovo, Ivan Zaporozac, however he was not available. 

Schools in the North were the only Serbian schools, but also in the territory of Kosovo, where classes did not take place in any pre-university institution, as well as in preschool institutions, but students attended classes online. 

KoSSev recalled that the new decision, on sending children to school, came only two days after the director of the KBC from North Mitrovica, Zlatan Elek, warned again at the press conference about the worsening epidemiological situation in the North of Kosovo.

The portal added that, at the same time, the decision also came one day after the agreement in Brussels was reached on the plates,the withdrawal of Kosovo special police units from Jarinje and Brnjak, as well as on the removal of barricades which, according to KoSSev, mainly consisted of Serbs employed in Serbian public institutions in Kosovo.

''There is no winner, but Kurti is certainly a loser'' (N1, Beta)

Milica Andric Rakic from the NGO New Social Initiative assessed that there is no winner in the agreement on plates, but that the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, is certainly a loser, reported N1.

Andric Rakic told the Beta agency that the agreement on the plates could have been implemented earlier, provided that the Kosovo delegation in Brussels referred to the agreement from 2016.

"A reciprocal agreement on the use of stickers over the disputed parts of the plates was reached in 2016 in Brussels, but Kosovo was not able to implement it due to technical reasons, so vehicles with Serbian plates entered the territory of Kosovo without any problems. Kurti is now wrong that he did not ask for the beginning of the application of stickers on the plates in the agreement with Belgrade, to which he was entitled to, but made a unilateral decision," said Andric Rakic.

According to her, Kurti engaged special police units for no reason, which created tensions that could have caused unpredictable consequences.

"Kurti sent a message to the Serbian community that he prefers violent integration, while he gambled on the trust of the international community, which gave him support for the implementation of reciprocity, but which was not informed how he planned to implement it. In addition, the support of the international community was not unreserved and came with the condition that Kurti equally respects other agreements, especially those concerning the Community of Serbian Municipalities, which also have deadlines defined by the agreement," explained Andric Rakic.

The agreement is not necessarily bad for the people

She emphasized that the agreement reached on the use of vehicle plates with stickers "is not necessarily bad for the people".

"Those who have RKS plates will now have a simpler and cheaper procedure at the crossings. However, with the test plates, they certainly felt safer through central Serbia, because the Kosovo plates were not seen, which will not be the case now that stickers are placed on the plates," she said.

She added that in the transitional period of six months, the sticker regime will most likely be applied for the KM plates, which will not be to the delight of the owners of about 9,500 vehicles.

"Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi announced the punishment of vehicle owners who do not have stickers. That would not be good, because any new action against KM plates could provoke new protests," said Andric Rakic.

Negotiating principles are often above the interests of the community

When asked by Beta why Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic rejected the offer of the Quint countries, 10 days ago, which is almost identical to the agreement reached yesterday, Andric Rakic said that negotiating principles are often above the interests of both the Serbian and Albanian communities.

"Vucic did not accept the policy of the finished act, he did not accept that Kosovo solves problems by force, regardless of the fact that the interest of the community was for the special units to withdraw as soon as possible," she said.

Kurti practically violated everything he promised

Asked how the Kosovo public reacts to the agreement on the use of license plates, Andric Rakic said that Kosovo's Prime Minister Kurti has been sharply criticized by the opposition and the media.

"Kurti promised the Albanian community that he would not negotiate with Belgrade until Serbia apologizes for the crimes, that he would not talk to Serbia about anything other than the recognition of independence, and that he would not talk to Serbia about Kosovo's internal affairs. He practically violated all three things the day before yesterday, because he had to talk to Serbia about everything," Andric Rakic pointed out.

She added that the Kosovo public accuses Kurti of humiliating special police units and handing over sovereignty to KFOR in northern Kosovo, reported N1.

     

International 

  Kosovo’s ruling party faces reality check in local elections (BIRN)

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a say in Kosovo’s October local elections, in more ways than one.

Kosovo’s Vetevendosje party blew the competition out of the water in February’s parliamentary election, but next month’s local polls are a different beast, analysts say.

Vetevendosje, which means Self-Determination, was in opposition when it scored a landslide election win earlier this year, becoming the first party since Kosovo broke away from Serbia in 1999 to win more than half of votes cast.

The party hopes to replicate the result in municipal elections on October 17, but its opponents are out for revenge. They will seek to exploit widespread disappointment with the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine rollout since taking power in March.

“Elections are always a test for any party, and especially for those that are in power,” said Enver Robelli, Kosovo-born foreign editor with the Swiss daily Tages Anzeiger.

“It is obvious that the February 14 result was an exception on Kosovo’s electoral scene so I expect Vetevendosje will face a different reality on October 17, at least one not as favourable as February 14.”

Read full article here: https://bit.ly/39VczHl