Albanian Language Media:

• Foreign ambassadors react to threats against new Serb police officers in north (media)

• Krasniqi: We can agree to go to new elections on Friday (Klan)

• Chollet and senior member of National Security Council to visit Kosovo (Albanian Post)

• Mehaj meets head of company that manufactures Bayraktar drones (media)

• Two Serbian List officials to stay in Washington on Thursday (media)

• Action for disconnecting illegal users of water in Gracanica is politicized (KTV)

• "Aware of the danger": young Serb policemen start work in the north of Kosovo (RFE)

Serbian Language Media:

• Petkovic: Kurti’s messages alibi for new Pristina’s unilateral acts against Serbs (RTS)

• Serbian List on official visit to Washington (Kosovo Online, media)

• Vucevic meets with Botsan-Kharchenko (Tanjug)

• Varhelyi welcomes inauguration of Nis-Merdare highway section (Kosovo Online, social media)

• EC official says Pristina and Belgrade far away from de-escalation and normalization (Radio KIM, BETA, Danas)

• Serbian firefighters deployed in northern Greece (N1)

International Media:

• Intimidation Campaign Against Serb Policemen Condemned by Kosovo and International Community (Prishtina Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Foreign ambassadors react to threats against new Serb police officers in north (media)

UK Ambassador to Kosovo, Nicholas Abbott, shared on Wednesday a Twitter post by EULEX chief Giovanni Pietro Barbano who expressed deep concern “about media reports regarding threatening messages against newly deployed Kosovo Police Officers from non-majority communities. Any kind of intimidation is unacceptable, and I stress the importance of Kosovo Police to reflect and represent the entire Kosovo population”. Abbot tweeted: “I fully share these concerns. It is important that Kosovo Police reflects Kosovo’s diversity and is able to serve all communities. Intimidation and threats against those who want to serve their country are unacceptable.”

The Italian Embassy in Kosovo too shared Barbano’s tweet, saying that they fully agree with him.  “New policemen from Kosovo non majority communities deserve our unconditional support, especially by the citizens of municipalities to which they are assigned. Threats and intimidations are unacceptable and must stop immediately,” the Italian Embassy tweeted.

French Ambassador to Kosovo, Olivier Guerot, said in a Twitter post: “It is indeed important that the Kosovo institutions reflect the diversity of the society. Fully in agreement with the EULEX Head of Mission”.

Krasniqi: We can agree to go to new elections on Friday (Klan)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Memli Krasniqi, said in an interview with the TV station on Wednesday that the continuing of the Kurti-led government is damaging for Kosovo, therefore, the PDK chairmanship adopted a political declaration cutting of all communication with the Prime Minister and President Vjosa Osmani. “We will not have any official communication unless to discuss a potential political agreement to announce the date of elections. We have also asked and gave an opportunity to Mr. Kurti, knowing his authoritarian and egocentric character, not to resign but to jointly dissolve the Assembly,” he said.

 Krasniqi said it was very important to return the mandate to the people to see what they think about Kurti’s government today. “If Kurti is certain that he is doing a good job and that he has improved the lives of people, let him run again and win another mandate, but I am confident that this will not happen in the new elections,” he argued. 

Krasniqi also said that the PDK is ready to agree on dissolving the Assembly at the sessions on Thursday or Friday. “I am ready in 24 hours to agree on a procedural motion to decide on dissolving the Assembly on Thursday or Friday, and if they are so confident let us go to elections,” he added. 

Chollet and senior member of National Security Council to visit Kosovo (Albanian Post)

Citing diplomatic sources, the news website reported on Wednesday that Derek Chollet, senior councilor at the U.S. State Department who has also been nominated as Under Secretary of Defence, together with a senior member of the U.S. National Security Council, will visit Kosovo on July 30 and 31. The news website contacted the U.S. Embassy in Kosovo to confirm the visits but received no response. The same sources told the Albanian Post that other important visits are expected in Kosovo during August, including a visit by U.S. Senator Chris Murphy.

Mehaj meets head of company that manufactures Bayraktar drones (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Defence, Armend Mehaj, during his stay in Turkiye, the head of the Baykar company, which manufactures Bayraktar drones. Mehaj wrote in a Facebook post after the meeting: “the purchase of Bayraktar drones was one of the biggest investments we made in our army last year, thanks to the commitment of our government and our priorities as the Ministry of Defence. To express our thanks for the principled and reliable cooperation and to explore other avenues in which we can increase our defense capacities, I met with the head of the Baykar company, Haluk Bayraktar. The equipment of our army for defense purposes will continue to be our priority in line with NATO standards”.

Two Serbian List officials to stay in Washington on Thursday (media)

Serbian List deputy leader Igor Simic and member of the party leadership Slavko Simic will begin an official visit to Washington on Thursday. The Serbian List said in a statement on Wednesday that the two officials are scheduled to meet senior officials of the Biden administration. “During their stay in the U.S., the Serbian List delegation will have important meetings with senior representatives of the State Department, as well as with representatives of the Serb group in the U.S. Congress,” the statement notes. 

Action for disconnecting illegal users of water in Gracanica is politicized (KTV)

With resistance and confronting police officers and the media, Serb citizens in the municipality of Gracanica on Thursday opposed an action by the regional water-supply company “Prishtina” to disconnect debtors and illegal users of water from the network. A store was disconnected from the network of over €2,000, and the Serb owner said the action happened because of her nationality. “I have two children who are six and four. God forbid you cut me off from the water supply network, you don’t know what will happen to you. Why did you come to my village. This is not an Albanian village, it is a Serb village,” she said.

An owner of a house, who was cut off from the network because of an outstanding debt and for being illegally connected, accused the staff of the water-supply company for politically-motivated actions.

The house of an Albanian owner was also disconnected due to a €2,000 debt and for not possessing a water-measuring system.

A spokesperson for the water-supply company said the disconnection will continue without exception. “Every consumer, without any discrimination, that has debts to the water-supply company will be disconnected. Many people have started to politicize this issue, but in reality we started the operation in the municipality of Prishtina several days ago, and we are here in Gracanica today,” the spokesperson said.

The water-supply company said the operation will continue Thursday in the municipalities of Shtime and Lipjan, and then in other municipalities too.

"Aware of the danger": young Serbian policemen start work in the north of Kosovo (RFE) 

N.N. (identity known to the editors of Radio Free Europe) is one of the 46 members of the Serbian community who joined the Kosovo Police, after the competition to fill vacant positions in the directorate for the northern region of Kosovo. "After the training, we were deployed to the north of Kosovo, where I go every day from Monday with my colleagues", he says.

N.N. is from one of six Serb-majority municipalities south of the Ibar and agreed to speak to Radio Free Europe on condition of anonymity because "it's not easy to work in the north."

"When I applied to the police, I was aware of the danger it carries, especially since it is the north, we all know what the current situation is like," he continues, adding that so far he has not faced any pressure or threats.

After the resignation of about 500 KP officers of the Serb community in November last year, only four policemen of the Serb community were working in the KP Directory North, who did not resign, according to the KP deputy commander of the North Directory, Veton Elshani. "Now we have 78 policemen, of them 50 are Serbs," he said. 

The deputy director of the Kosovo Police for the northern region, Veton Elshani, told Radio Free Europe that so far no young policeman has faced any problem or provocation, adding that the institutions are ready to react if something such. "We will handle it, but some things come with the position. When you are a policeman, some things must be expected, I think they know", Elshani said.

On the other hand, political scientist Ognjen Gogic believes that Kosovo can protect young policemen in the north only with the help of the special unit. According to him, this would be an "absurd situation".

"That the Albanian special forces protect the Serbian policemen from the local Serbian population. If this were to happen, if they (Kosovo institutions) had to protect the regular police with special units, then we are on the verge of a new escalation", he told RFE. Gogic believes that before new Serbian police officers are deployed in the north, a political agreement between Kosovo and Serbia should have been reached.

However, he concludes that the arrival of the regular police in the north creates the possibility of withdrawing the special unit and that such a thing could lead to a "relaxation of the situation".

 

Serbian Language Media

Petkovic: Kurti’s messages alibi for new Pristina’s unilateral acts against Serbs (RTS)

Messages of Pristina Prime Minister Albin Kurti that he fears new escalation of the situation in northern Kosovo are nothing else but an attempt to create an alibi for new, unilateral actions of Pristina against the Serbian people there, Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic said, RTS reports.

“It has been well known to everybody who is the only one causing tensions, conflicts and violent actions in the north of Kosovo and Metohija and that is Albin Kurti (…)”, Petkovic said, adding that is why Kurti’s words can’t be interpreted differently but as new threats against the Serbs in northern Kosovo.

Petkovic said because of this Kurti will be directly responsible for any eventual action against the Serbian people in the north and peace in those areas. He also noted that Kurti’s attempts to criminalize the entire Serb population in the north or media spins will not help him of not being considered “as a source of all problems in the province''.

Petkovic underlined that Belgrade and Serbs in Kosovo do not want clashes and confrontations, but want to live in peace, on their own properties and in peace with their Albanian neighbors.  

Serbian List on official visit to Washington (Kosovo Online, media)

The Serbian List delegation, including Igor Simic and Slavko Simic, will visit Washington today, Serbian List said in a statement.

As the statements said, the meetings with high US officials are planned during the stay in Washington.

“During the visit to the US, the Serbian List will have important meetings with high officials of the State Department, and Serbian caucus representatives at US Congress”, it said.

Vucevic meets with Botsan-Kharchenko (Tanjug)

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Milos Vucevic met with Russian Ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko on Wednesday, Tanjug news agency reports.

The parties exchanged views on current political and security developments in the region and globally, the Serbian Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

Botsan-Kharchenko conveyed Russia's positions on a suspension of its participation in a deal on grain exports from Ukraine via Black Sea ports.

Varhelyi welcomes inauguration of Nis-Merdare highway section (Kosovo Online, social media)

EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi welcomed inauguration of the first part of  Nis-Merdare highway section and said this way people and businesses will connect, Kosovo Online portal reports.

“Great news! W/ the inauguration of 1st part of Niš-Merdare section of the Peace Highway, we connect people & business of S Serbia.  This 🛣️ is a flagship project of the €30b Economic & Investment Plan for #WesternBalkans. The EU delivers! More is coming!”, he wrote in a post on Twitter. 

EC official says Pristina and Belgrade far away from de-escalation and normalization (Radio KIM, BETA, Danas)

Pristina and Belgrade are very far away from the steps on defusing tensions, organization of new elections, implementation of Ohrid Agreement, implementation of the Missing Persons Declaration and solution to the trade dispute, an unnamed European Commission (EC) press official told BETA news agency in Brussels, Radio KIM reports.

Recent talks the EU special envoy for Belgrade-Pristina talks Miroslav Lajcak had in Brussels with chief negotiators of the two sides, Petar Petkovic and Besnik Bislimi showed this, he said, adding that “those meetings were difficult and extensive, but did not lead to any breakthrough”.

EC official made those remarks at BETA news agency request to explain whether the dialogue is now at a complete standstill after Lajcak's statement that "the extraordinary elections in April in the municipalities in the north (of Kosovo) were a land mine" which, as he said, they unfortunately stepped on and now they are not focused on normalization, but on solving the crisis.

The EC official also said "European Union expects both sides to fulfill their obligations from the dialogue and requests that tension be reduced without further delay, with constructive participation in the entire process and refraining from any move that would cause further escalation".

The EC official added that Lajcak asked Pristina and Belgrade representatives to "think again about the meetings and give a pledge to consider the issues that are on the agenda". He also said the talks will continue, and the EU mediator will call for new meetings in the upcoming period, adding that Brussels will announce such meetings timely. 

Serbian firefighters deployed in northern Greece (N1)

The Serbian team of firefighters who were sent to Greece will be deployed in the Thessaly region, the Internal Affairs Ministry said on Wednesday.

The firefighters were sent to Thessaloniki initially and were moved to the Thessaly area.

A ministry press release said that the Serbian firefighters can be deployed anywhere in Greece. It quoted Ministry Emergency Situation Sector official Davor Vidovic as saying that the team will be based in northern Greece to help local and international firefighters.

International Media

Intimidation Campaign Against Serb Policemen Condemned by Kosovo and International Community (Prishtina Insight) 

Kosovo institutions and international representatives have condemned the threatening messages directed at new members of the Kosovo Police from the Serbian community who recently began their duties in the northern part of the country.

This week, 45 new police officers from the Serbian community joined the Kosovo Police in municipalities in the northern region of Kosovo.

Following their integration into the Kosovo Police, some of the new officers received threatening messages. BIRN reported that an online campaign with lynching undertones against them has been initiated on various Serbian pages.

The situation has garnered strong reactions from the Kosovo government and foreign diplomats, who have denounced the pressure and threatening messages targeting the Serbian policemen. 

As reported by BIRN, photographs and names of these young policemen from the Serbian community were published on social media platforms, accompanied by critical comments alleging that the Kosovo Police is unfairly targeting Serbian citizens.

Among other things, an article on a Serbian Telegram page stated, “It is understood that the list is not complete; we will publish it so that the whole public opinion will understand who the others are…”

Kosovo PM Albin Kurti has deemed the campaign against the young Serbian policemen as unacceptable.

“The campaign on social media and platforms that aims to threaten and intimidate them is unacceptable to us, even though I am convinced that they are resilient,” he stated during a press conference in Prishtina on Wednesday, following a weekly government meeting.

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