Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Sanctions should be imposed on Serbia; no normalisation with security (KSP)
• Borrell in Washington for EU-US Summit; Western Balkans to be discussed too (media)
• PDK sends Law on Independent Supervisory Council for Civil Service to court (media)
• Former police officer Dejan Pantic released from house arrest after €30,000 bail (Kallxo)
• Albanians in U.S. will protest in front of UN, want Serbia to be held responsible (Koha)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic with "big five" tomorrow at 2 p.m. (media)
• Gogic: Unlikely that EU and Quint representatives will jumpstart dialogue, pressures have not yielded results thus far (Kosovo Online)
• Brnabic to represent Serbia at UN Security Council session (Kosovo Online)
• EULEX on Elezovic: We will continue to follow the case, he has the right to adequate medical assistance (Kosovo Online)
• Serb family house in Plementina, near Obilic robbed (RTS)
• Dejan Pantic released from house arrest under bail in amount of 30.000 euros (Tanjug)
• Survey: Serbians would support EU accession at referendum (N1)

Opinion:

• False Attempt at the ‘Rashomon Effect’ in Edi Rama’s Stance towards Kosovo (BIRN)

   

Albanian Language Media  

 

Kurti: Sanctions should be imposed on Serbia; no normalisation with security (Kosovapress)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that he will learn the requests and offers of European and American envoys who will visit Kosovo on Saturday. “What they will request and offer, we will learn tomorrow. I say that there can be no normalisation without security and the security of the Republic of Kosovo must be a priority for the state institutions, and the people and society, and we are working on this day and night. In December last year there were 16 weeks of barricades in the north. On September 24 there was a terrorist attack where Kosovo’s hero Afrim Bunjaku was killed. It is crucial for Kosovo, democracy and the Western Balkans as a whole, for those that did not know or did not understand who Serbia and Belgrade are, to finally do so because penalty measures should not be imposed on Kosovo, rather sanctions must be imposed on Serbia. As far as the dialogue in Brussels is concerned, we have an agreement there but because of Serbia it has not been implemented. We have the basic agreement from February 27 and the implementation annex from March 18. We have always been constructive, creative and committed, and it is no way our fault or responsibility why we don’t have normal relations with Serbia. The basic agreement from Brussels on February 27 has the de facto mutual recognition in it and the sooner it is implemented the sooner we will have not only democratic and European normalisation but also security for our country and region,” he argued.

Asked about the working conditions of Kosovo police officers, Kurti said he is personally working on the matter but asked for more time to regulate it. “This is an issue that we have treated with high commitment and intensity. We need to separate the needs, merits and wishes, and we also need to have careful categorization and systemization so that we don’t create additional inequalities. I am personally handling this issue but we need some more time in order not to make mistakes that would lead to disappointment,” he said.

Borrell in Washington for EU-US Summit; Western Balkans to be discussed too (media)

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said in a post on X that he has travelled to Washington for the EU-US Summit which will be held today. “We are committed to fortify our partnership for the years to come. Together, we want to work for a more secure & stable world, for a peaceful and prosperous future for all,” he wrote.

PDK sends Law on Independent Supervisory Council for Civil Service to court (media)

Coordinator of the Department for Justice at the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Perparim Gruda, said today that this party has sent the Law on Independent Supervisory Council for Kosovo Civil Service to the Constitutional Court. He argued that they suspect that by making amendments to the law, the government has violated the constitution. “The amendments have only one objective. To submit and capture this independent constitutional body and turn it into a mechanism that legitimises and supports political employment, and the employment of the militants and relatives of government officials,” he argued.

Former police officer Dejan Pantic released from house arrest after €30,000 bail (Kallxo)

Dejan Pantic, a former police officer suspected of attacking the Central Election Committee (CEC) with an explosive device, has been released from house arrest after a €30,000 bail. A spokesperson for the Court in Pristina confirmed the information for the news website. She also said that the Special Prosecution has not submitted a request to extend the house arrest order.

The news website notes that Pantic was arrested by Kosovo Police in December 2022, for attacking CEC premises in Mitrovica. The attack happened while CEC officials were going to the offices to plan for the local elections which were initially scheduled for December 2022 and were then postponed to April 2023.

Albanians in U.S. will protest in front of UN, want Serbia to be held responsible (Koha)

The news website reports that Albanians living in the United States will gather in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Monday, to protest against the participation of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in the UN Security Council session on October 23.

Protesters will call for Serbia to be held responsible for war crimes in Kosovo and the terrorist attack in Banjska on September 24th. The protest is organized by Mark Gjonaj, who served in the New York City Council, and with the support of many Albanian-American associations.

The news website also notes that the main topic of the UN Security Council session will be the terrorist attack in Banjska. Kosovo will be represented by President Vjosa Osmani, and Serbian media reported that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic but later said that Prime Minister Ana Brnabic would represent Serbia.

   

Serbian Language Media

  Vucic with "big five" tomorrow at 2 p.m. (media)

The President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, will meet tomorrow with the European Union's special representative for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajcak, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and the US special envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, as well as the special envoys of Germany, France and Italy, reported Kosovo Online, citing the announcement of the President cabinet.  

As stated in the announcement from the President cabinet, the meeting will take place at 2 pm. 

The visit of the "big five" to Belgrade and Pristina was previously announced from Brussels in order to discuss the dialogue process, after the latest events in the north of Kosovo.

Gogic: Unlikely that EU and Quint representatives will jumpstart dialogue, pressures have not yielded results thus far (Kosovo Online)

Political analyst Ognjen Gogic said today it is unlikely that EU and Quint representatives due to visit Belgrade and Pristina tomorrow will be able to unlock dialogue and encourage parties to implement their commitments, pointing out that their previous visits and pressures did not yield results.

Gogic told Kosovo Online portal that “big five” visited Belgrade and Pristina at the beginning of this year, and even back then, there was talk of an agreement and some sanctions and harsh measures were threatened against Belgrade and Pristina if that document is not accepted and implemented.

“This sounds like a replay, like a movie we’ve seen before, but the problem is that we all seem to forget about it. Meanwhile, after that visit by the ‘big five’, there was a Franco-German proposal, which was later renamed into the European proposal, which was accepted in some form, but nothing was realised from it”, he added.

He also said that following their visit at the beginning of the year, the agreement which they asked back then to be accepted was not implemented, and not only that, also the previous agreement-the Brussels Agreement from 2013 has collapsed.

Gogic opined that if it really came to the point of insisting on a new agreement, it would only create more confusion because, as he said, no one would be clear about which one of these agreements is the authoritative one, what is valid - whether it is UN SC Resolution 1244, the Brussels Agreement or this year’s agreements from Brussels and Ohrid.

“A new level of obligations would only be added”, he said, indicating that it would no longer be clear to anyone what is valid and everyone would be able to choose what suits them. “It is precisely this insistence on agreements when the time is not right that led to this situation”, he added.

“The parties responded to the insistence on agreements with a crisis. This forcing of agreements that the EU needs more than the parties, leads to the radicalization of the situation on the ground. The best thing they could do is to give up insisting on any agreements and for a while they are pausing the matter”, he said.

Brnabic to represent Serbia at UN Security Council session (Kosovo Online)

Politika daily learned that the Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, will represent Serbia at the session of the UN Security Council on Monday, cited Kosovo Online. The session will most likely be open to the public, as in previous years.

As the media learned from diplomatic circles, there is little chance that it will be closed, because such a decision would require the agreement of at least nine members of the UN Security Council, which is not possible without a compromise with Russia and China.

This means that the media will be able to follow the speech of representatives of Serbia, as well as of Pristina, as well as diplomats from the East and the West, who have diametrically opposed views on the situation in Kosovo, reported Kosovo Online among other things.

EULEX on Elezovic: We will continue to follow the case, he has the right to adequate medical assistance (Kosovo Online)

EULEX is fully committed to supporting Kosovo's institutions in fulfilling their obligations in the field of human rights. Persons deprived of their liberty have the right to be treated humanely and to be provided with adequate medical assistance, it was stated in the mission's answer to the question of Kosovo Online to comment on the letter sent by the Office for Kosovo and Metohija to the head of EULEX, Giovanni Pietro Barbano, regarding the poor state of health, treatment and the position of Ilija Elezovic

Kosovo Online reported that Elezovic, who has been in custody for almost a month on charges of alleged war crimes, is a serious oncology patient in an advanced stage of the disease and in prison does not have the conditions to receive the necessary therapy and health care, which is why the Office for KiM requested that the measure of house arrest be approved for him until the end of the proceedings.

In the EULEX response, it is pointed out that on September 25, its representatives visited I.E. (Iija Elezovic) and that the Mission is in contact with the Kosovo Ombudsman to draw their attention to this case, as well as to continue to follow the case in detail.

In the further response of EULEX, it is stated that "everyone who is accused of a criminal offense has the right to a fair trial".

"Judicial custody – as a measure to ensure the defendant's presence at trial – should be used as a last resort. In carrying out its monitoring activities, EULEX adheres to the principle of non-interference. Kosovo courts are fully responsible for deciding on the application of security measures and, in doing so, must comply with the applicable Kosovo law and human rights standards. In accordance with the above, in accordance with its mandate, EULEX supports the efforts of the Kosovo Correctional Service to develop a professional management team through monitoring, mentoring, and counseling. In this way, the mission enables the regular and mobile presence of EULEX correctional experts in all correctional institutions in Kosovo, whereby EULEX can visit selected detainees in order to monitor the conditions of their detention," the response states, reported Kosovo Online.

Serb family house in Plementina, near Obilic robbed (RTS)

The house of Radojica Milic in the village of Plemetina, near Obilic, was robbed by unknown persons yesterday in late afternoon, stealing money, golden jewellery and tools, the Milic family confirmed for RTS.

The robbers entered the house at around 18.30, and broke the furniture and appliances inside. The robbery took place while no one was in the house, and the thieves entered the house through the window and then basement, RTS said.

“There were more of them, two or three, because in such a professional manner and within such a short time they carried out the robbery from the basement to the attic, took the money and golden jewellery, tools and broke everything they could not take with them”, Slobodan Milic told the RTS.

The thieves stole golden jewellery in the amount of 1.500 euros, cash in amount of 2.000 euros, broke the kitchen cabinets and electric appliances, as well as furniture.   

The case had been reported to Kosovo police. Plemetina is Serb-majority village in Obilic municipality. 

Dejan Pantic released from house arrest under bail in amount of 30.000 euros (Tanjug)

Basic Court in Pristina spokeswoman Mirlinda Gashi said today that Dejan Pantic, former Kosovo police officer, was released from house arrest under the bail in the amount of 30.000 euros, Tanjug news agency reports.

Pantic left Kosovo police in November last year, along with his Serbian colleagues in northern Kosovo, due to dissatisfaction with Pristina’s official policy against the Serbs in northern Kosovo.

He was arrested on December 10, last year at Jarinje crossing point, after which Serbs erected barricades in northern Kosovo. He was accused of alleged involvement in the attack against Central Election Commission premises in Mitrovica North. 

Survey: Serbians would support EU accession at referendum (N1)

According to the latest survey conducted by the Institute for European Affairs, if a referendum on Serbia’s membership in the European Union (EU) were to be called now, 44 percent of Serbian citizens would vote in favour of joining the EU, reported N1.

The survey results show that 30 percent of adult citizens would vote against membership in the EU, while 10 percent would abstain, which is a lower percentage compared to the previous wave of survey, but still higher compared to 2020.

On the other hand, the percentage of those who are undecided is the highest compared to all the previous waves (15 percent).

Almost half of respondents (48 percent), significantly more men than women, believe that Serbia should not give up on EU membership, while 33 percent of respondents think the opposite, and 19 percent have no opinion on the matter.

On a scale of 1 to 5, citizens rate the relations between Serbia and the EU at an average 2.79, which is a slight drop compared to March 2022, when the rating was 2.85.

Three-fifths of respondents said Serbia benefits from cooperation with the EU, as opposed to the 23 percent of respondents who fail to see any benefit from this cooperation, with 17 percent of those who had no answer to this question.

The survey was conducted on a representative sample of 1,200 respondents in Serbia proper, using the CAWI methodology.

     

Opinion 

  False Attempt at the ‘Rashomon Effect’ in Edi Rama’s Stance towards Kosovo (BIRN) Opinion piece by Gjergj Erebara

Albanian PM Rama is attempting to provide alternative facts for what is happening in Kosovo by exaggerating and trying to present himself as a misunderstood hero in the midst of this exaggeration. However, in the situation in Kosovo, things are too straightforward and clear to create such a fog and use the Rashomon Effect.

In an entirely unfounded comparison, Edi Rama equated Palestine with Kosovo as an argument for why his stance against Albin Kurti [and earlier against Ramush Haradinaj] is “in the best interest of the nation.” 

He also took a blunt stance in the Palestinian conflict, simplifying the history unbelievably and blaming Arafat for the lack of peace. 

This seems to reflect a degree of desperation for legitimacy in the eyes of the West. 

If there’s one thing a person is more likely to get wrong in life, it’s probably historical determinism, an entirely unreasonable belief that history repeats itself, and that by studying history, we can predict the future. 

It becomes even more absurd when attempting to predict the future leads to finding parallels, not with your own history, but with someone else’s history far away.

And yet, here we are with the Prime Minister of Albania on a day when a video that seems to contain his authorship erroneously states the date of Tirana’s declaration as the capital, declaring his deep historical knowledge not only about Albania but also about the Israel-Palestine conflict, making parallels based on a strained logic with the Serbia-Kosovo conflict, and making apocalyptic predictions.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/4kjk7caw