UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, July 9, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani meets Jim O'Brien, discuss about overcoming common challenges (media)
Lajcak reports on talks of chief negotiators: After seven hours, we did not manage to make progress (Reporteri)
Osmani on murder of Bytyqi brothers: Serbia glorifies war criminals (media)
Kurti: The era of impunity for Serbian crimes must end (Koha)
Gervalla: Vucic is Putin's extended hand - he is blocking the dialogue (ekonomia)
British ambassador reacts to Ahmetxhekaj’s resignation from RTK (Reporteri)
Police interview school principals in north who did not vacate facilities for April 21 referendum(Nacionale)

Serbian Language Media:

Petkovic: Synchronised anti-Serbian campaign aimed at destabilising region (Tanjug, media)
Szunyog on eviction orders in north: Each case should be resolved in accordance with European standards (Kosovo Online)
O'Brien: North of Kosovo, threat of secession in BiH are primary risks (Tanjug, media)
Kovac: Serbia hoping to open Cluster 3 during Hungary's EU presidency (media)

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani meets Jim O'Brien, discuss about overcoming common challenges (media)

Kosovo President, Vjosa Osmani, through a post on Facebook, said that the meetings in Washington D.C. started with Assistant Secretary of State, Jim O'Brien.

"Substantive discussion on the importance of close cooperation with our American allies for overcoming common challenges, as well as for the protection of our freedom, independence and democracy", Osmani wrote. She further said that they discussed the latest developments in the dialogue with Serbia, and the importance of the role of the USA for the success of this process.

Osmani, at the invitation of the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, travelled to Washington, to participate in the activity organised by the U.S. Department of State for Women, Peace and Security, which is held within the framework of the NATO Summit, on the 75th anniversary of the establishment of this military organisation.

Lajcak reports on talks of chief negotiators: After seven hours, we did not manage to make progress (Reporteri)

The EU emissary for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, in his posts about last week's developments, has reported on the negotiations with the chief negotiators of Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels.

“Just started my visit to London after an eventful week, which started in Brussels and ended in Madrid.

In Brussels, I hosted the Chief Negotiators of Kosovo and Serbia to follow up on the High-level Meeting from the week before. After more than seven hours of intense discussions, we agreed on concrete next steps on several practical issues. Unfortunately, we did not manage to make progress on the big picture - the implementation of the Agreement on the Path to Normalisation.

… Once in Madrid, I also used my stay to discuss the developments in the Western Balkans with the Spanish State Secretary for European Affairs,” Lajcak wrote on Facebook.

Osmani on murder of Bytyqi brothers: Serbia glorifies war criminals (media)

Kosovo President, Vjosa Osmani, said that the family of Yll, Agron and Mehmet Bytyqi, American citizens brutally murdered 25 years ago, are still looking for justice.

"The family of Yll, Agron and Mehmet Bytyqi, American citizens brutally murdered 25 years ago, are still looking for justice. To this day, the Serbian regime continues to glorify war criminals, instead of holding them accountable. We will not rest until the perpetrators face justice," Osmani wrote on X platform.

Kurti: The era of impunity for Serbian crimes must end (Koha)

Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, has commemorated the 25th anniversary of the murder of the brothers Yll, Agron and Mehmet Bytyqi by the Serbian authorities, saying that the era of impunity for Serbian crimes "must end".

"The bodies of three young Albanian brothers, who were also American citizens, were found in a mass grave shortly after the war. Agron, Mehmet and Yll were killed in the custody of the Serbian police, with bullets to the head, while their hands were tied. However, no one has been held responsible. The era of impunity for terrible crimes by Serbia must end", Kurti wrote.

On the 25th anniversary of their murder, the spokesperson of the State Department, Matthew Miller, has asked Serbia to complete the investigation and bring to justice those responsible for the death of the brothers Ylli, Agron and Mehmet Bytyqi.

"25 years ago, American citizens Yll, Agron and Mehmet Bytyqi were killed in Serbian police custody. Today, the perpetrators of this brutal act remain free. We call on Serbia once again to complete its investigation and bring those responsible for their deaths to justice," Miller wrote on the X platform.

Gervalla: Vucic is Putin's extended hand - he is blocking the dialogue (ekonomia)

Kosovo’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Donika Gervalla stated that the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic, is the extended hand of Russia and Vladimir Putin in the Balkans, through which the determination of the West is being tested. She emphasised that the entire region is looking forward to the change in Serbia and that in that case the democratic forces in Serbia would recognize Kosovo as an independent state, but also Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is currently blocked by Republika Srpska with nationalist leader Milorad Dodik, who is on the same line with Moscow as Vucic.

Gervalla, attended the International Conference in Dubrovnik a few days ago. When asked by the Croatian newspaper Vecernji if she expects the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue to continue, Gervalla said that it is Serbia, namely its president Aleksandar Vucic, who is blocking the dialogue.

British ambassador reacts to Ahmetxhekaj’s resignation from RTK (Reporteri)

The ambassador of the United Kingdom, Jonathan Hargreaves, has reacted after the resignation of the general director of RTK, Shkumbin Ahmetxhekaj. In a Facebook post, Hargreaves thanked Ahmetxhekaj for his reform efforts at RTK. The British ambassador also said that a good public broadcasting service depends on three essential principles: universality of access; accuracy and impartiality; and freedom from government interference or public pressure.

He said that the embassy will follow the process for appointing Ahmetxhekaj's successor to the post of general director of RTK. "As long-term champions of meritocratic recruitment in Kosovo, we will follow the process of appointment of his successor closely to ensure that it is merit-based, to ensure that reform continues and editorial independence is strengthened," the ambassador wrote on Facebook.

Police interview school principals in north who did not vacate facilities for April 21 referendum(Nacionale)

Four school principals who did not release the facilities for the referendum have been interviewed, and 9 others are expected to be interviewed in the following days - by order of the prosecution. This was confirmed by the Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police for the northern region, Veton Elshani.

This is based on the suspicion of the criminal offence "Obstruction of the Electoral Process", the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Mitrovica said.

In the elections (referendum) for de-voting the four Albanian mayors in the four northern municipalities inhabited by Serb majority that was held on April 21 of this year, 33 schools in the north refused to allow the holding of the election process in the school premises, while only these days, the Central Electoral Commission addressed the State Prosecutor's Office on this issue.

Serbian Language Media:

Petkovic: Synchronised anti-Serbian campaign aimed at destabilising region (Tanjug, media)

Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic said on Monday that synchronised anti-Serbian campaign and concerted attacks on Serbian President Alaksandar Vucic, Serbia and Kosovo Serbs were underway by Zagreb and Pristina with the aim of destabilising the situation and causing fresh tensions in the Western Balkan region, Tanjug news agency reported.

Petkovic said Donika Gervalla’s latest interview for Croatia's Vecernji list paper - which he noted had in fact been dictated by Pristina's PM Albin Kurti “was a part of a media and propaganda war and had only one goal: demonisation of Vucic and the Serbs by those who were the most responsible for all conflicts in the region in the past two decades and guilty of the largest-scale plight and ethnic cleansing of Serbs since WWII”.

"When it has no economic success, projects and new jobs to speak of because that is wishful thinking for it, or peace or compromise because those are forbidden terms for it, Pristina is beating the drums of war and rattling the sabre again to conceal the traces of its catastrophic policy and avoid the establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities, signed up to and agreed in the dialogue a full 11 years ago", Petkovic said in a statement.

Szunyog on eviction orders in north: Each case should be resolved in accordance with European standards (Kosovo Online)

The Head of the European Union Office in Pristina, Tomas Szunyog, confirmed to Kosovo Online portal that a meeting with the Kosovo Property Comparison and Verification Agency, where eviction orders from apartments in northern Kosovo will be discussed, has already been scheduled. He added that his team is engaged to ensure that each case is resolved in accordance with applicable European standards.

Szunyog recalled that after receiving two letters from a group of people who received eviction orders, he expressed the EU's willingness to facilitate an informational session with the Kosovo Property Comparison and Verification Agency and the affected individuals.

"The meeting is already scheduled. With the help of my team, the informational session will bring together several affected individuals and will be led by the head of the Kosovo Property Comparison and Verification Agency", Szunyog told the portal. According to him, this will provide an opportunity to discuss individual cases and identify appropriate solutions for the affected individuals.

"It is important to emphasise here that, although these cases have already been adjudicated, with final decisions that are binding and legally enforceable, my team has been and still is engaged with and within the Kosovo Property Comparison and Verification Agency to ensure that each case is resolved in accordance with applicable European standards, so that all interested parties receive concrete housing solutions", Szunyog said.

O'Brien: North of Kosovo, threat of secession in BiH are primary risks (Tanjug, media)

US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien told Tanjug on Monday the risk in the Balkans was that "some local battles will turn into a political conflagration that will hold back the states of the region". Asked about his take on the security situation in the Western Balkans, O'Brien said the region belonged in Europe and "should move forward".

"The primary risks are in northern Kosovo and with the threats of secession in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The one step we have taken over the last year is that NATO is much stronger, both as the primary force as part of the UN force, the KFOR, in northern Kosovo, but also as the backup for the EUFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and I think it can stop small local bands from causing violence. I am also encouraged that there has been good cooperation with Serbian authorities, with Kosovo authorities, to try to address the risks of violence and increased fighting in northern Kosovo. And I think, with that, we have a chance for the political process - it is the dialogue, the growth plan, the other things to address the causes of the violence", O'Brien said.