UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, September 23, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Kusari-Lila: No time to form new parliamentary inquiry committees (EO)
Kosovo joins Istanbul Convention of World Customs Organization (media)
Germany wants swift actions from Serbia for authors for Banjska attack (KTV)
Shea: EU measures against Kosovo could be lifted in autumn (RTK)
The CEC invites diaspora to register as voters outside Kosovo (media)
Osmani at West Point: U.S. soldiers, a symbol of freedom for Kosovo (media)
Haradinaj: Over 11 percent of soldiers left KSF in two years (media)
BIRN Kosova, KCSS train journalists, students of journalism to identify and combat disinformation (Kallxo)

Serbian Language Media:

The Diocese of Raska-Prizren expresses deep concern over the Medjugore’s church site desecration (Tanjug, RTS, Kosovo Online)
Serbian Ministry of Culture: Destroyed icons; fired at a historic church site in Kosovo (N1, KoSSev, NMagazin)
Mijacic: EU lost the capacity to organize a trilateral meeting; Deda: The situation never worse (Kosovo Online)
Celic: Possible misuse of the confiscated archives, Serbia should demand their return (Kosovo Online, Tanjug)
Nedeljkovic speaks on Banjska’s struggles: “A village turned ghost town after the violence” (KoSSev)
Vucic met Erdogan in New York (Tanjug, media)
Djuric thanked Kazakhstan for the support to the Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty (Radio Mitrovica sever, Kosovo Online)
Holders of Serbian passports in Kosovo in 20 days without visas to EU countries (KiM radio, KoSSev, Kosovo Online)

Opinion:

EU and US need to be more concrete about Banjska (Koha)

International:

Kosovo risks deeper isolation over ban on Serbian imports: German Diplomat (BIRN)
Disinformation undermining Kosovo’s justice system (Prishtina Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Kusari-Lila: No time to form new parliamentary inquiry committees (EO)

Head of the Vetevendosje Movement parliamentary group, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, told reporters today that in the autumn session of the Kosovo Assembly there is no time to form new parliamentary inquiry committees, as the mandate of the current legislature will end in a couple of months.

After the meeting of the Assembly Presidency today, Kusari-Lila said: “we agreed to continue a session on September 26 with the unfinished points. There are three international agreements, and 28 points for discussion”.

Kosovo joins Istanbul Convention of World Customs Organization (media)

Several news websites report that Kosovo has joined the Istanbul Convention of the World Customs Organization. Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release saying that Kosovo’s Ambassador to Brussels, Agron Bajrami, and the General Director of Kosovo Customs, Agron Llugaliu, submitted the instrument for accession, and that the document was signed by Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla-Schwarz.

Germany wants swift actions from Serbia for authors for Banjska attack (KTV)

The German Embassy told the TV station that it is the responsibility of the judiciary in Serbia to undertake the necessary steps and without delay regarding the group suspected of carrying out the attack in the north of Kosovo last year which left a Kosovo police sergeant dead. The embassy welcomed the indictment filed by the Special Prosecution of Kosovo against 45 suspects for the attack.

“The German embassy, together with other embassies and international institutions, have continuously called for the authors of the Banjska attack to face justice. In this respect, we welcome the indictment. As the majority of the suspects are believed to be in Serbia, it is the responsibility of the Serbian judiciary to undertake the necessary steps without delays,” a spokesperson for the embassy said.

Shea: EU measures against Kosovo could be lifted in autumn (RTK)

Former NATO spokesperson Jamie Shea, in an interview with RTK, said that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti listened to the EU’s advice not to open the main bridge over Iber for vehicle traffic. “Prime Minister Kurti is in Brussels this week and he will surely lobby for the EU to lift its measures. He followed the EU’s advice not to open the Mitrovica bridge for traffic. But the new leadership of the EU has not yet assumed its duties after the elections in June. The Commission has been appointed. The dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina should resume soon. So, I expect that the EU measures against Kosovo will be lifted this autumn under the condition that there is a period of quiet in the north, and for Pristina to make efforts to reintegrate the Serbs in the police, judiciary and local administration. Vucic has called for this to happen, and it will be a test for him to work constructively to help with the implementation,” he said.

The CEC invites diaspora to register as voters outside Kosovo (media)

The Central Election Commission (CEC) has announced that the application period for the registration of the voters outside Kosovo to vote in the elections of the Assembly of Kosovo, which began on August 29 and will end on December 26, is continuing.

“During this period, all citizens of Kosovo living abroad can apply to register as voters outside Kosovo.They can make their application through the electronic platform http://diaspora.kqz-ks.org or through mail to the CEC mailbox", the CEC announcement states.

Also, the voters can individually determine during this period the voting method: voting physically in one of the diplomatic missions of Kosovo; send ballot by mail to the CEC mailbox in Kosovo; or send the ballot by mail to one of the mailboxes opened by CEC outside Kosovo.

"The Central Election Commission encourages all citizens of Kosovo living abroad to use their constitutional right to become part of the electoral process in the Republic of Kosovo, first by registering as a voter outside Kosovo and later by voting ", the announcement states.

Osmani at West Point: U.S. soldiers, a symbol of freedom for Kosovo (media)

All media cover Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani’s address at the West Point Military Academy, highlighting her remarks about “the key role of the United States America and its soldiers in the liberation of Kosovo”.

Osmani described U.S. soldiers as representatives of perfection and integrity, saying that for the people of Kosovo they were more than soldiers. “U.S. soldiers for us represented freedom, democracy, peace and security. Kosovo did not know freedom until the U.S. army and other international forces came to our rescue,” she said.

See more at: https://shorturl.at/q62dq

Haradinaj: Over 11 percent of soldiers left KSF in two years (media)

The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj has expressed serious concern, as he said, about the mass departure of soldiers from the Kosovo Security Force during the last two years. He wrote in a Facebook post that over 11% of soldiers have left KSF in 2023 and 2024 alone. He has pointed out that most of the soldiers who left stressed difficult financial conditions and insufficient salaries as main reasons.

"I am seriously concerned with this catastrophic treatment that the Government is doing to our Army, which we have managed to mandate with enormous efforts in 2018," said the AAK leader. He added that even after four years of the current government, the number of uniformed members remains below 4,000, while the reserve force of the KSF has been almost completely neglected.

BIRN Kosova, KCSS train journalists, students of journalism to identify and combat disinformation (Kallxo)

Around 20 journalists and students of journalism attended an intensive two-day training focused on disinformation held by the Balkans Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN Kosova) and the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS).

The training focused on providing practical skills to identify, combat and address the influence of “Russian, Chinese and religious-based disinformation in Kosovo”.

The first day of training held by Skender Perteshi from KCSS focused on the context of religious radicalism and extremism in Kosovo and beyond. Perteshi highlighted the ways in which extremist groups both Islamic and Orthodox use disinformation to promote their radical agendas. He discussed how these narratives often target vulnerable groups, aiming to destroy secularism, democracy and social harmony. The training also discussed the dynamics of religious extremism and radicalism on the internet, ways in which extremist groups use disinformation as means of recruitment and the importance of counter-narratives to combat extremist ideologies and false information.

Participants engaged in discussions about the actual influence of religious-based disinformation in Kosovo’s communities and ways in which journalists can play a crucial role in exposing and combating these damaging narratives.

On the second day, Visar Prebreza from BIRN Kosova, informed the participants about “the historical and continuous influence of Russian and Chinese disinformation in Kosovo and in the Balkans”. Prebreza, an expert in fact checking and mapping disinformation, described how these foreign actors use propaganda to shape public opinion and to destabilize political and social settings.

Participants were encouraged to think critically about how disinformation affects Kosovo’s political landscape, especially in terms of election processes, the public’s trust in institutions and the freedom of the media. It also highlighted the importance of establishing a professional foundation for fact verification and finding credible information.

At the end of the training, groups of participants developed ideas on civic activism against disinformation. The focus was on building community-driven initiatives that empower individuals in identifying and refusing false information.

Serbian Language Media

The Diocese of Raska-Prizren expresses deep concern over the Medjugore’s church site desecration (Tanjug, RTS, Kosovo Online)

The Eparchy of Raska-Prizren expressed deep concern and regret over the latest desecration of the historic church site in Medjugore, in Ibarski Kolasin, and pointed out that the desecration of the lace sends an undisguised message of hostility, further confirming the feeling that the Serbian people, who have lived in Kosovo for centuries, are not welcome, reported RTS.

Read full statement of the Diocese of Raska-Prizren at: https://tinyurl.com/yundprk2

Serbian Ministry of Culture: Destroyed icons; fired at a historic church site in Kosovo (N1, KoSSev, NMagazin)

Serbian Ministry of Culture strongly condemned the latest in a series of attacks on Serbian sacred cultural heritage and the desecration of the historic church site in Medjugore, in the area of Ibarski Kolasin in Kosovo, by destroying icons and causing visible damage by gunshots at this place of preservation of the spiritual and cultural identity of the Serbian people, reported N1.

''While these and similar events are continuously repeated and take place in years and decades of darkness, insecurity and ethnic persecution of Serbs and everything Serbian, as a rule, with impunity in Kosovo and Metohija, the so-called "Minister of Culture", of the so-called state, joins the hunt for Serbia with accusations that it threatens its own cultural heritage in Kosovo and Metohija,'' stated the Ministry.

"The accusation itself represents the most ordinary farce in an attempt to cover up the crime and responsibility for decades of demolition, burning, kidnapping and falsification of Serbian cultural and religious heritage. At the same time, in this way, Pristina is trying to create the appearance of caring for culture and heritage, which they want to appropriate, at least in the part that was not previously destroyed and obliterated, as well as the appearance of the existence of institutions in the southern Serbian province," the Ministry stated, adding that by attacking cultural heritage, it also represents ''a message of persecution and intimidation of the Serbian people'', at a time when attacks on basic human rights and their lives are a tragic everyday occurrence, reported N1, citing the statement of the Ministry of Culture.

Mijacic: EU lost the capacity to organize a trilateral meeting; Deda: The situation never worse (Kosovo Online)

The working group of the National Convention on the European Union for Chapter 35 and the NGO Aktiv are organizing the conference "How to start the Brussels dialogue - Opportunities and obstacles", reported Kosovo Online.

Coordinator of the Working Group of the National Convention on the EU for Chapter 35, Dragisa Mijacic, says that the dialogue has stopped primarily because of a different vision of what is expected from it by Pristina, Belgrade, and in the international community. As he stated, a turning point was reached last year, i.e., reaching an agreement on the road to normalization.

"It was expected that it was an agreement during the time of Kurti and Vucic and that it would bring stabilization of opportunities until the region's entry into the EU. The idea was to resolve basic issues, to resolve disagreements between Belgrade and Pristina," Mijacic said at the panel "Stalemate in the Brussels dialogue - what is hindering progress in the Kosovo-Serbia negotiations".

As he added, unfortunately, this did not happen for various reasons, primarily different visions, and different strategic positioning.

"Then we got into operational matters, the unilateral acts of the Kosovo government continuously for several years and the existence of powerlessness to respond to them, and in that process the dialogue itself came to the point where even the main negotiators no longer meet. The EU has lost the capacity to organize a trilateral meeting to agree on the implementation of what they agreed on," said Mijacic.

Ilir Deda from the Institute of Social Sciences in Vienna recalled that the dialogue started in 2003, and that it was a technical dialogue on four topics led by UNMIK.

"One wonders how it is possible that 23 years later we are in this situation, which is worse than it has ever been, and which has a very negative effect on people's lives," said Deda. As he said, there is no bilateral trust between Serbia and Kosovo, but neither does the EU trust the parties, just as the parties do not trust the EU. We have an explosion of mistrust and decisions that are made unilaterally, said Deda, adding that there are different interpretations.

"The administrations don't have time to think about restoring trust, everyone is focused on the tasks that Kosovo and Serbia have, and we have the freedom to have time to think about what can help restore trust," said Deda.

He states that many people believe in the new EC alliance and points out that he does not believe that there will be a better composition.

"We need to ask for seriousness, commitment, for them to understand the situation, trust needs to be restored in order to fulfill what was agreed upon," he said. Speaking about the situation in the north of Kosovo, Deda states that there are special police forces, that there are no military forces, but that regardless, it is about people in the north who feel abandoned by everyone and helpless. He points out that an arrangement is needed for the development of the north of Kosovo.

"That can only be done in agreement between the two governments, there is a lot of poverty there and it should be solved with a joint development program," says Deda.

According to him, this can be done with the formation of the A/CSM.

"There will also be an A/CSM but should people's lives stop until the formation of it starts," said Deda. We see a lack of ideas in the EU, he said, adding that we need to give ideas to lower tensions, to restore trust, to start implementing everything that was agreed upon. Deda states that the agreement reached last year, based on the Franco-German plan, is the final agreement.

This conference aims to provide a platform for discussion on the current state and future of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, with a special focus on the challenges that have arisen in the past period. The conference will include two panel discussions.

The first discussion will deal with the current deadlock in the Brussels dialogue, analyzing the security and political context in Kosovo, with a special focus on the position and perspective of the Kosovo Serb community, the absence of socio-political dialogue and potential modalities for overcoming tensions. The second panel will explore the implementation of the Chapter 35 agreement and dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. It will evaluate what has been achieved so far and identify remaining challenges.

Deda says that the EU's special envoy for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajcak, contributed to mistrust because he gave different statements and messages at meetings in Pristina and Belgrade.

Initiative for Peaceful Change consultant Ian Bancroft said that the dialogue seven years ago had people who tried to work on initiatives.

"I don't believe that now the dialogue in Brussels has any enthusiasm for initiatives, we have lost constructive elements", he said, adding that people in the north are the collateral damage of such a sequence in the dialogue.

"When we look at Belgrade, we see that Kosovo is not the most important issue. The elections in Kosovo may lead to something, or progress, the status of the north will not change, but an improvement in life will be offered. Unilateral steps will continue, and that creates mistrust," he said. It is necessary to find a solution to improve relations between Kosovo and Serbia without being dependent on dialogue, said Bancroft.

"There are many problems in the north, escalation should be prevented," said Bancroft.

Celic: Possible misuse of the confiscated archives, Serbia should demand their return (Kosovo Online, Tanjug)

Assistant professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Pristina University relocated in North Mitrovica, Dusko Celic, said that it is very important for Belgrade to respond without delay to international missions and to request the indispensable, urgent, return of archival materials that Kosovo police seized in Leposavic.

He told Kosovo Online that apart from the fact that the material can be historically valuable, there is also the possibility of misuse of the data it contains.

"We don't have enough information about what material was in the archive in Leposavic, however, if it is a question of valuable historical material, the Ministry of Culture must react. As far as I know, the verbal reaction was present in the media, but an effective reaction is also necessary, that international institutions are requested to return that historical material," Celic said among other things.

Nedeljkovic speaks on Banjska’s struggles: “A village turned ghost town after the violence” (KoSSev)

A year after the violent conflict that shook Banjska, the village in northern Kosovo remains a shadow of its former self. Once a lively community known for its thriving spa and tourism center, Banjska has become a near ghost town. Its streets, now empty save for a few wandering cats, stand as silent witnesses to the events that forever changed the lives of its residents, reports KoSSev portal.

The presence of police patrols is constant, serving as a stark reminder of the violence that erupted on September 24, 2023, when a conflict broke out between a Serbian armed group and the Kosovo police.

“We have no people on the streets anymore, only cats. Banjska is now a dead village,” said civic activist Dejan Nedeljkovic in an interview with KoSSev, reflecting on the transformation of his hometown.

Nedeljkovic, who has been living in the northern part of Mitrovica for years, still visits Banjska on weekends to see family. During his most recent visit, he recounted how the village’s vibrant past now seems like a distant memory. Prior to the turmoil, Banjska was bustling with tourists, especially around the Rajska Banja spa complex, the monastery, and local restaurants.

“You used to see 50 cars a day, with visitors coming for the spa and the monastery. Now, there’s nothing. No people, just cats. Life here has changed drastically.”

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

Vucic met Erdogan in New York (Tanjug, media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York to discuss economic cooperation and joint projects as well as Erdogan's upcoming visit to Serbia, reported Tanjug.

"With President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, I discussed all topics important for the bilateral relations of our countries, as well as global security challenges facing the entire world. We discussed economic cooperation and joint projects that can contribute to the development and prosperity of both nations and the entire region," Vucic wrote in a post on his buducnostsrbijeav Instagram account.

Previously, Vucic also met with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo and Kenyan President William Ruto and spoke at the second plenary session of the Summit of the Future at the UN headquarters in New York.

Djuric thanked Kazakhstan for the support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia (Radio Mitrovica sever, Kosovo Online)

The Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marko Djuric, met yesterday with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Murat Nurtleu, on the sidelines of the general debate at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, reported Kosovo Online.

Speaking about bilateral cooperation, Djuric emphasized in his conversation with his Kazakh counterpart that there is a strong interest in advancing political dialogue at high and the highest levels.

The Serbian Foreign Minister thanked Kazakhstan for its consistent stance on not recognizing “the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo”, as well as for providing full and unwavering support for preserving the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia, in line with the principles of the UN Charter and relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

The two ministers discussed areas of mutual interest, noting that Serbia is particularly interested in enhancing cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, transportation, and agriculture, with the use of the most advanced innovative technologies.

During today's meeting in New York, Minister Djuric reiterated the invitation to the Kazakh side to participate in the upcoming Specialized Expo 2027.

Holders of Serbian passports in Kosovo in 20 days without visas to EU countries (KiM radio, KoSSev, Kosovo Online)

Holders of Serbian passports from Kosovo, issued by the Coordination Administration of Serbia, will be able to travel to European Union countries without visas in 20 days, when the Regulation on the abolition of visas, which was published today in the Official Journal of the EU, will enter into force, reported KiM radio.

Opinion

EU and US need to be more concrete about Banjska (Koha)

Opinion piece by Brussels-based correspondent Augustin Palokaj

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, was among the first to call the attack in Banjska of one year ago a ‘terrorist attack’. This term is not used easily. This is why several countries hesitated to use it. Behind the strong words of the EU about ‘the terrorist attack’, for one year we have not seen actions that would move toward pressure for those guilty of the Banjska attack to be brought to justice. Moreover, we have seen efforts to save Serbia from punishment.

This is what the EU spokesperson said about Banjska and the requests of that time that the EU should impose penalty measures against Serbia. “Now we have an important change in the situation after Sunday’s terrorist attack in Kosovo. For us it is important for the investigations to be held and completed. And once we have a clear picture from the investigations, what happened, who stands behind it and who is responsible. Once this is clear, we will make the right decisions,” the EU spokesperson said at the time.

However, despite the constant use of the term ‘terrorist attack’ in verbal statements, in the main document of the European Commission, the progress report on Serbia, the attack was reduced to a “large-scale arms trafficking operation”. No word or sentence used in the progress reports is accidental. Therefore, this term too was used intentionally, and the intention could have been only to help Serbia pass without consequences. Even in the first reactions of Serbia’s leaders after Banjska there were attempts to present the operation more as ‘illegal possession of arms’ than a terrorist paramilitary attack.

For over a year, the EU has justified the non-imposing of measures against Serbia for Banjska with “waiting for Kosovo’s authorities to conclude the investigations”. And now that the indictment has been filed against those that participated in the attack, by welcoming the indictment, the EU has again bought time in taking measures for Serbia, by saying that now they are waiting for the end of the court proceedings. Meanwhile, they call on Serbia to ‘fully’ cooperate in bringing those responsible to justice, but they don’t say with whom Serbia needs to cooperate. As they say that Kosovo’s authorities have the competencies to investigate and prosecute the case, which happened in Kosovo’s territory, and Kosovo has the evidence, the EU should say clearly that Serbia needs to cooperate with Kosovo.

Based on what has been heard from the EU for a year, but also from the United States of America, one gets the impression that they are not very serious when they ask Serbia to bring those responsible for Banjska to justice. The same goes for those that attacked KFOR troops and the media in May 2023, whose names and locations are known to Kosovo, Serbia, the EU, and the U.S. The EU and US seem to find pleasure in the promises, which according to several diplomats, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic gave to them. According to these sources, the promises are that “such things will never happen again” and that “those responsible will be brought to justice”.

Serbia continues to claim that it has “nothing to do with Banjska”, the same way it says that it did not take part in the wars in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is no surprise. But what is concerning is the international engagement for Serbia not to face any consequences for Banjska. One year after Banjska, the EU and US repeat the same calls that Serbia, rightfully, does not take seriously, because they are not serious enough. Belgrade plays a double game here too. In front of international interlocutors, it pretends that it condemns the killing of police officer Afrim Bunjaku and expresses remorse, whereas in every presentation President Vucic doesn’t forge to say that “he [Bunjaku] had no right to be there at all”, and in doing so he kind of justifies the attack. Constantly saying that the Kosovo Police is “an occupier” in the north can be interpreted as inciting attacks against it. This existed even before Banjska, and it exists to this day.

Regardless of how upset they are with some of Kosovo’s political actions, international officials, especially in NATO, EU and the United States of America, must not allow for Banjska to be forgotten, because this is a crucial security issue. Impunity for Banjska threatens the security of Kosovo’s citizens, but also that of KFOR soldiers, who sometimes seem to be a victim of political calculations by their countries. Banjska was a failure by NATO, because such a large amount of weapons entered before the very eyes of the mission led by the alliance in Kosovo. The attack in Banjska was also proof that the threat against Kosovo by Serbia is not hypothetical but real. The attempt to use verbal statements in forcing Serbia to take measures against those responsible for Banjska has produced no result. The approach of the EU and the US needs to change now.

International

Kosovo risks deeper isolation over ban on Serbian imports: German Diplomat (BIRN)

Kosovo could face calls for exclusion from the Central European Free Trade Agreement, and other penalties, if it continues to ban Serbian imports, Germany’s Balkan envoy Manuel Sarrazin told BIRN.

As Germany prepares to host the Berlin Process summit on October 14, marking the tenth anniversary of the EU-linked platform for high-level cooperation between Western Balkan states, the German envoy to the Western Balkans, Manuel Sarrazin, has visited Kosovo twice on a mission to clear up problems with the Central European Free Trade Agreement, CEFTA.

On September 5, Germany’s ambassador to Pristina, Jorn Rohde, said that Sarrazin, on his second visit to Kosovo in a short timeframe, had urged Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, to scrap the ban imposed in June 2023 on the import of products of Serbian origin, which Sarrazin says is blocking free trade in the region and obstructing CEFTA.

In return for dropping the ban, Kosovo would no longer be officially represented within CEFTA by the UN’s Kosovo mission, UNMIK, but would represent itself.

However, its name would be written as Kosovo*, with the asterisk leading to a footnote stating that Kosovo’s status has yet to be finally resolved under UN Security Council Resolution 1244, reflecting Serbia’s refusal to recognise it as an independent state.