UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, June 3, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Foreign Ministry says arrest of Kosovo citizen by Serbia is arbitrary (RFE)
After EU and KFOR, UNMIK too reacts to developments on Iber bridge (Nacionale)
Gervalla: There should be no room for countries like Serbia in NATO (media)
Shea: Time to include Kosovo in NATO’s Partnership for Peace (media)
Kurti: Kosovo has strong relations with Turkey (media)
Osmani calls against discrimination: Equality is cornerstone of justice (media)
Kurti’s message on International Children’s Day (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Ambassador of Italy in Serbia: The A/CSM formation a condition for the admission of Kosovo to the CoE (Radio Mitrovica sever, Tanjug, Politika)
Dacic: A member of the KLA arrested at Merdare on suspicion of war crimes against civilians in Kosovo (KiM radio, N1)
“They torched our house after the war and drove us away, the usurper built a car wash and now he says he’s going to slaughter me” (KoSSev)
Office for KIM: The decision on expropriation, Kurti does not shy away from violating his own laws; SL: The classic usurpation of the Serbian land (RTS)

Albanian Language Media

Foreign Ministry says arrest of Kosovo citizen by Serbia is arbitrary (RFE)

Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the arrest of a Kosovo citizen by Serbian authorities on Saturday was arbitrary and called on the international community to ask for his immediate release. The ministry said that it notified Kosovo’s Liaison Office in Serbia about the arrest of Tefik Mustafa by Serbian authorities at the Merdare crossing over alleged crimes against non-Albanians during the war in Kosovo in 1999. The ministry said it “harshly condemns the detention, arrest and mistreatment of the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo and at the same time calls on the international community to undertake concrete steps for the immediate release of Tefik Mustafa”. Several news websites quote Mustafa’s family members as saying that he was not even in Kosovo during the war.

After EU and KFOR, UNMIK too reacts to developments on Iber bridge (Nacionale)

The news website reported that statements about the potential opening of the Iber bridge for traffic triggered reactions from internationals in Kosovo, including the European Union and KFOR. The UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) too reacted to the developments. “SRSG Ziadeh reiterates unilateral actions that could increase tensions, jeopardize stability & undermine trust among communities should be avoided. Outstanding issues, incl. plans to reopen Mitrovica’s Ibar/Ibri Bridge to vehicles, to be resolved via the EU-facilitated dialogue,” UNMIK said in a post on X.

Gervalla: There should be no room for countries like Serbia in NATO (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla, said in an interview with Canadian CBC that “Kosovo is a small country, the youngest European democracy in the Western Balkans, but it is a place where a lot of geopolitics show their influence in very crucial moments like we have now in Europe. In Kosova, we do not only aim to join the European Union, but having the youngest people in Europe, having the most pro-European and pro-NATO people in Europe. I need to say that more than 93 percent of people in Kosovo support NATO and EU membership. And I really believe that it is up to the people in a country to decide about their future”.

Gervalla also argued that “there should be no place for those countries like Serbia who want to have the money from the European Union to buy Russian weapons and to support Russian ambitions in Europe”.

Shea: Time to include Kosovo in NATO’s Partnership for Peace (media)

Former NATO spokesperson during the war in Kosovo, Jamie Shea, said that after Kosovo’s advanced status at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, now is the time for the allies to push forward Kosovo’s aspiration to join the Partnership for Peace. “It is a positive development that the NATO Parliamentary Assembly decided in favor of furthering the partnership between Kosovo and NATO into something that is close to the full status of the Partnership for Peace. It is high time for this to happen because it will get Kosovo closer to NATO and it will help to further improve the cooperation between NATO and the Kosovo Security Force,” he argued.

Shea also said that “Kosovo’s friends can do this if they want to reopen the debate at NATO about Kosovo’s partnership status. I very much hope that they will keep Kosovo on the political agenda of the alliance”. He added that expects movements on this when NATO celebrates its 75th anniversary in July this year. “The 75th Summit of NATO in Washington in July is an ideal opportunity because the allies will seek concrete results and actions to prove that NATO is moving forward, and it is increasing stability in the Western Balkans against Russian malign influence”.

Kurti: Kosovo has strong relations with Turkey (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that Kosovo aims to increase cooperation with Türkiye in economy and security and he called on Albanians there to invest in Kosovo. He said that Kosovo has strong historical and cultural relations with Turkey and that Albanians in the Balkans can build bridges of cooperation. “Albanians everywhere in the Balkans can create bridges of economic, trade, and cultural cooperation with you here, the same way we have the Turkish community in Kosovo who are also a bridge of cooperation between Kosovo and Turkey,” he said.

After meeting Turkish President Erdogan, Kurti said they discussed bilateral relations and new opportunities for economic and defense cooperation. “On Monday the first economic forum for businesses from Kosovo and Turkey will be held, providing a chance to deepen ties & boost investments,” he said.

Kurti also met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and said that they discussed cooperation, focusing on joint economic projects, trade, security, & defense. I thanked him for supporting Kosovo in the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers & highlighted Turkey's role in regional peace through NATO’s KFOR”.

Osmani calls against discrimination: Equality is cornerstone of justice (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani joined the initiative that aims to fight discrimination. In a message together with EU representatives, Osmani said that discrimination and bullying are wounds that hurt the future of every individual that experiences them. “Equality is the cornerstone of justice. Let’s fight against discrimination and uphold the dignity of every individual. Let’s build a world where every child grows up free, without discrimination, and where dreams and achievements have no boundaries,” she said.

Kurti’s message on International Children’s Day (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on the occasion of International Children’s Day that “25 years after Kosova’s liberation, let's remember the 1133 child victims of Serbia’s genocide who didn’t live to see an independent Kosovo. Let's also redouble our efforts to support today's children—and the families raising them to be tomorrow's citizens”.

Serbian Language Media

Ambassador of Italy in Serbia: The A/CSM formation a condition for the admission of Kosovo to the CoE (Radio Mitrovica sever, Tanjug, Politika)

The Ambassador of Italy to Serbia, Luca Gori, stated that the bilateral relations between Italy and Serbia are at an exceptional level and pointed out that the formation of the A/CSM was a condition for the admission of Kosovo to the CoE.

In an interview for yesterday's Politika daily, Gori reminded that this year, in addition to marking the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration on Strategic Partnership, it is also the 145th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Rome and Belgrade.

He reminded that in the past year there were many visits of Italian officials to Serbia, adding that the trend will continue in the coming months and years. Speaking about delaying the admission of Kosovo to the CoE, Gori reminded that at the last Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, this issue was not even put on the agenda and that Italy was one of the countries that was in favor of delaying the admission.

"We believe that admission should be linked to essential progress in the formation of the A/CSM. This is one of the conditions that should be met for Kosovo's candidacy to be successful," said Gori.

Dacic: A member of the KLA arrested at Merdare on suspicion of war crimes against civilians in Kosovo (KiM radio, N1)

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dacic said on Saturday that a person suspected of war crimes against the civilian population in Kosovo was arrested at the Merdare administrative crossing.

A member of KLA, Tefik Mustafa was mentioned in witness statements as a participant in the kidnapping of police officers Goran Marinkovic, Zivojin Pavic and Predrag Milosevic, which took place on June 19, 1999, on the main road Pristina-Gnjilane, near the place called Labljan, a statement from Dacic's office read.

"The person will be handed over to the Prosecutor's Office for War Crimes," said Dacic.

“They torched our house after the war and drove us away, the usurper built a car wash and now he says he’s going to slaughter me” (KoSSev)

Will my story be only a line in the grim fate of all displaced people, who, after being uprooted, displaced, and their property stolen, are now denied the right to get it back? Is Kosovo a society that strives to confirm the values with which it adorned itself as a developing multi-ethnic democratic system, or will robbery, discrimination, superciliousness, and selective justice prevail 25 years later?

My name is Ilija Drašković and I am an ethnic Serb. I am 35 years old, although I was born in Kosovska Mitrovica, I lived in Kosovo Polje until 2000, when they burned down our house and practically drove us away. We went to Pančevo, but I continued to visit Kosovo.

After my father’s death, we handled the probate proceedings along with my mother, and transferred our property in Kosovo Polje to me. Our plot is located next to the „Vuk Karadžić“ school. As of 2019, the Albanian N.N.R. (name and identity known to the editorial staff), illegally set up a car wash on my lot.

At the end of February (29th), I went to the municipality of Kosovo Polje, where they told me that they could not do anything about it, and they referred me to the police.

Before going to the police station, I went to my plot of land, finding the usurper on it. When I told him – “What are you doing here?! You know that you illegally built a building on my property,” he immediately started insulting me – saying that I have to go to Serbia, that I have to leave. I replied that I would not leave because the land was mine. After which he started threatening that he would „slaughter“ me and my mother, and that we would “join my father”.