UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, August 28, 2024

UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, August 28, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Admiral Munsch meets Kurti in Pristina (media)
KFOR personnel carry out 24-hour operation along ABL (media)
Parties have three more days to announce pre-election coalitions (RTK)
Serwer suggests abandoning appeasing policy towards Belgrade (media)
“Serbs in north of Kosovo call for boycott of Albanian businesses” (TeVe1)
Begaj asks Albanian ambassadors to work in support of Kosovo (media)

Serbian Language Media:

‘Ethnic engineering’ in northern Kosovo - do Serbs have reasons to fear ‘albanization’? (Kosovo Online)
Can Kosovo Post replace Serbian Post in northern Kosovo? (Danas, Kosovo Online)
Admiral Stuart Munsch met Kurti, KFOR Commander Ulutas (Radio KIM, social media)
24-hour KFOR exercise along administrative line concluded (Kosovo Online, social media)
German official denies EU traded lithium for democracy (N1, Danas)
Misleading reporting in Serbian media on U.S. criticism of Albin Kurti (KoSSev)

Albanian Language Media

Admiral Munsch meets Kurti in Pristina (media)

Commander of the NATO Joint Forces Command Naples, Admiral Stuart Munsch, met with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti during his stay in Pristina on Tuesday. “Today’s discussions focused on the activities of KFOR in support of sustainable security for all communities throughout Kosovo and NATO's support for the EU facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina,” a statement issued after the meeting noted.

Kurti said in a post on X after the meeting that they discussed “progress in our country and developments in the region, as well as overall security. During our conversation, I reaffirmed our readiness to collaborate and expressed our commitment to the rule of law, peace and security”.

KFOR personnel carry out 24-hour operation along ABL (media)

Most news websites report that a twenty four hour-operation conducted by the Kinetic Battalion of Regional Command West of the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR) has concluded. The mission said in a Facebook post that “Croatian and Italian personnel carried out a range of activities, along the Administrative Boundary Line. The mentioned operation featured the deployment of a tactical command post”.

Parties have three more days to announce pre-election coalitions (RTK)

Political parties in Kosovo have three more days to announce their pre-election coalitions for the February 2025 parliamentary elections. Citing unofficial information, the TV station reported on Monday that the ruling Vetevendosje Movement is expected decide on the issue by the end of the week, whereas the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) is expected to run alone in the elections. The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) did not respond to questions about the issue. The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and the Social Democratic Initiative (NISMA) have earlier reached a coalition agreement.

Serwer suggests abandoning appeasing policy towards Belgrade (media)

Kaja Kallas, the new foreign policy chief of the European Union, said on Tuesday that she arrived in Brussels and was looking forward to meeting new colleagues at the EU diplomatic service. “Upcoming weeks will be full of meetings and briefings, with important focus on preparing for confirmation hearing at the European Parliament,” she said.

U.S. political commentator on the Balkans, Daniel Serwer, shared her post adding that “the European Union could do itself a lot of good by abandoning the failed policy of appeasing Belgrade and instead renewing its commitment to individual human rights as well as the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all the Western Balkan states”.

“Serbs in north of Kosovo call for boycott of Albanian businesses” (TeVe1)

After the opening of several businesses in the north of Kosovo, the TV station has seen calls on social networks to boycott the Albanian-owned businesses and threats against members of the Serb community that if they visit the businesses they will be photographed and sanctioned. The owner of a business that has been operating in Mitrovica North for several years now told the TV station that they haven’t faced such problems until now and that his business employs members from the Serb community too.

One of the messages on social media, and in reference to a supermarket that was recently opened in the north, notes “once again we call on our people not to get close to ‘Meridian’, and all those that get close to it will be photographed and seriously sanctioned! Unity is needed”. “On a weekly basis, we call on our people not to get close. All those that do will be photographed and sanctioned”.

Chair of the municipal assembly in Mitrovica North, Nexhat Ugljanin, does not rule out protests. “There are calls for boycott through some portals, which are functioning in the northern part. We need to be prepared for such protests and boycott in democratic fashion. Serbs needs integration because what was reached earlier with the Brussels agreement did not happen. Integration needs to happen step by step,” he argued.

Asked to comment on the issue, Kosovo Police Deputy Director for the north, Veton Elshani, said “police closely follow the elements that you are mentioning. Whenever it is necessary we initiate a case, and we take measures to ensure security for the citizens of Mitrovica North, or the north in general”.

Begaj asks Albanian ambassadors to work in support of Kosovo (media)

Citing a report by Tirana-based Top Channel, several news websites in Kosovo report on Tuesday that Albanian President Bajram Begaj in a meeting with Albania’s ambassadors said that they should support Kosovo in every circumstance and situation and that it is Albania’s duty to work in support of Kosovo’s membership in international organizations.

Serbian Language Media

‘Ethnic engineering’ in northern Kosovo - do Serbs have reasons to fear ‘albanization’? (Kosovo Online)

For more than a year, Serbian municipalities in northern Kosovo have been governed by Albanian mayors who took power with just three percent of the vote. The plans of the Kosovo Government could change this situation, but not by having the mayors work to gain the trust of the majority population; instead, as interlocutors of Kosovo Online warn, through ‘ethnic engineering’.

In North Mitrovica, Zubin Potok, Leposavic, and Zvecan, there are plans to build 200 houses intended for minority communities, as announced by the Minister of Local Government Administration, Elbert Krasniqi, in mid-month. Halil Kastrati, the president of the "Orphans of the Balkans" association, which will share the costs of around four million euros with the ministry, told the media that the project's goal is to support and strengthen minority communities living in northern Kosovo, including Albanians, Bosniaks, and Turks.

The contract was signed three days after the Kosovo police halted work in the returnee settlement Sunny Valley in northern Kosovo. This settlement is an investment by the Serbian Government in the municipality of Zvecan, initiated in 2016, and the authorities stated that the reason for the suspension was "because they were working without a permit".

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/dROa9

Can Kosovo Post replace Serbian Post in northern Kosovo? (Danas, Kosovo Online)

Despite announced opening of the Kosovo Post office in Mitrovica North, Serbs from northern Kosovo would still have to travel to the central Serbia because their needs for Kosovo Post Office might be once or twice a year, while the needs for the Serbian Post Office are almost every day occurrence, Milica Andric Rakic from New Social Initiative told Danas daily.

Kosovo Post announced at the beginning of July that their offices in the north of Kosovo had been opened, although their visible logo has been placed only on the premises of Tourist Organization of Zvecan, located at health and tourist spa complex Rajska Banja in Banjska, which Kosovo Privatization Agency took over seven months ago. As Kosovo Online portal reported this post office was closed once its reporters paid a visit there, while only the members of the Kosovo special police forces could be seen nearby.

Yesterday Kosovo Post sign was placed on a business premise at Mitrovica North promenade, while the workers refurbishing the premise were not able to tell the portal when the post office would open.

Milica Andric Rakic said opening of the Kosovo Post office will not make any impact on the people in the north of Kosovo because this post office cannot offer services they need. “Kosovo post office does not have communication with the Serbian post office, therefore, without agreement, certainly you cannot even send a letter from this post office to Belgrade or receive a letter from Belgrade sent to Mitrovica”, she said. She further emphasised that Kosovo post office was available to the people even before as it is located in Mitrovica South, 400 metres away from the one at Mitrovica North promenade, whose opening had been announced, noting that the needs of people in the north are mainly directed towards Serbia or for shipments from Serbia, and not towards the rest of Kosovo.

As a particular problem, Andric Rakic pointed out the fact that "Kosovo Post cannot deliver or make payments of Serbian pensions and social benefits". Although Kosovo post offices will open in the north, the services it can provide to people from the north are few, so Serbs from Kosovo will still have to travel to central Serbia. She mentioned her own example of having to go to Raska, outside of Kosovo, in order to send a shipment to Belgrade.

“We used the post office in Mitrovica South a few times only when we sent complaints to the Ombudsperson in Pristina or criminal reports to the prosecution offices outside of Mitrovica”, she added.

Admiral Stuart Munsch met Kurti, KFOR Commander Ulutas (Radio KIM, social media)

Commander of the Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Admiral Stuart Munsch met in Pristina with Prime Minister Albin Kurti and KFOR Commander Major General Ozkan Ulutas, Radio KIM reported.

“Commander JFC Naples Admiral Stuart Munsch met with Mr Kurti today in Pristina, Kosovo. Today's discussions focused on the activities of KFOR in support of sustainable security for all communities throughout Kosovo and NATO's support for the EU facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina”, reads the post published on JFCNP Facebook profile yesterday evening.

Admiral Munsch previously met KFOR Commander Major General Ozkan Uluas in the Film City in Pristina. “Major General Ulutas illustrated KFOR's activities in support of lasting security across Kosovo and its support to the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina”, KFOR said in a statement on its website.

24-hour KFOR exercise along administrative line concluded (Kosovo Online, social media)

“A twenty four hour-operation conducted by the Kinetic Battalion of Regional Command West of the #NATO-led #KFOR mission has concluded”, KFOR said in a post on Facebook, Kosovo Online portal reported.

“Croatian and Italian personnel carried out a range of activities, along the Administrative Boundary Line. The mentioned operation featured the deployment of a tactical command post. KFOR continues to implement its mandate - based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999 - to contribute to a safe and secure environment for all people and communities living in Kosovo, and freedom of movement at all times and impartially. KFOR acts as the third security responder, in close coordination with the Kosovo Police and the European Union Rule of Law (EULEX) mission, which are the first and second security responders, respectively”, the statement added.

German official denies EU traded lithium for democracy (N1, Danas)

A German government official denied Serbian and German media claims that the European Union traded lithium for democracy with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Franziska Brantner, Parliamentary State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Action at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action told Belgrade daily Danas that the agreement with the EU allowing the mining of lithium would not speed up Serbia’s path to the Union, adding that it has no bearing on the accession process.

Brantner was part of the delegation headed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Belgrade on July 19 when an EU-Serbia memorandum was signed covering strategic raw materials. She met with the Serbian opposition and civil society organisations that oppose the Rio Tinto project to mine lithium in western Serbia. She said Serbia would decide on its own about the project which would be implemented by Rio Tinto or possibly other companies.

According to her, there was no trade off with Serbia of lithium for rule of law. She believes that the project could be an opportunity for Serbia allowing it to create new local industries in an environmentally acceptable manner. Brantner confirmed that contracts had been signed between Serbian companies, Rio Tinto, Mercedes and Stellantis. She added that several German companies are competing to mine lithium.

Misleading reporting in Serbian media on U.S. criticism of Albin Kurti (KoSSev)

In recent weeks, Serbian media outlets, particularly the portal Srbija Danas, have attracted attention for their sensationalist headlines regarding U.S. relations with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. At a time when Kurti is indeed facing criticism from the U.S. for recent unilateral actions, this portal has taken it a step further, raising concerns about the accuracy of their reporting, KoSSev portal reported.

Misleading Headlines and Unverified Claims

Two articles from Srbija Danas this month exemplify how misleading headlines can distort public perception. The first, titled “OGLASILA SE BELA KUĆA: Kurti gubi našu podršku“ (“THE WHITE HOUSE HAS SPOKEN: Kurti is Losing Our Support”), and the second, “KURTIJU DANI ODBROJANI: Vašington sve manje ima strpljenja za lažnog premijera, već mu našli ZAMENU“ (“KURTI’S DAYS ARE NUMBERED: Washington is Losing Patience with the Fake Prime Minister, They’ve Already Found His Replacement”), suggest a definitive U.S. withdrawal of support for Kurti.