UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, March 18, 2025

Albanian Language Media:

Specialist court doesn’t allow ex-President Thaci to attend father's funeral (media)
Kurti meets Sorensen: EU measures must be lifted (media)
Krasniqi: Dialogue must resume with constructive approach (media)
Abdixhiku asks Sorensen for EU to lift measures against Kosovo (media)
Haradinaj: EU-US partnership important for successes in Kosovo (media)
COMKFOR Barduani meets Sorensen (media)
Osmani awards Roth with Presidential Medal of Merit (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Djuric: 21 years ago, Europe witnessed one of darkest chapters in its history (Kosovo Online, social media)
Commemorative Academy on anniversary of March 2004 violence held in Gracanica (Kosovo Online, media)
KFOR Commander Barduani met EU Special Envoy for Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Sorensen (media, social media)
Vucevic: We are ready to request FBI-FSB probe into alleged use of sound cannon (Tanjug)
Medical students protest outside Emergency Centre, demand information (N1)
Municipality conduct inspections in North Mitrovica, including restaurant and hospital kitchen (KoSSev)
Vucic: 29 North Macedonians injured in disco club fire to be hospitalised in Serbia (Tanjug)

Albanian Language Media

Specialist court doesn’t allow ex-President Thaci to attend father's funeral (media)

All media reported on Monday that the Specialist Chambers in the Hague have not granted permission to former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci to attend his father’s funeral ceremony in Kosovo on Tuesday. The information was announced by the Organization of Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans through a Facebook post. The war veterans expressed their indignation and said the court’s decision is unjust and inhumane. They also argued that the decision is a flagrant violation of basic human rights, and that it is intentional. “Preventing a son from paying his last respects to his father is a painful act that violates dignity and the deepest human feelings,” they wrote. They also called on international institutions to react to this violation of fundamental rights and undertake measures.

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said in a Facebook post that “court proceedings must be fair and based on the respect for the most basic human rights. There is nothing more human than taking part in your parent’s funeral. Therefore, it is completely absurd what we learned from the media that the former President Thaci has not been given permission to attend the funeral ceremony of his father. I will write to the President of the Specialist Chambers about this unfair decision”.

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi reacted in a Facebook post saying that the decision to Thaci’s request to attend his father’s funeral is unfair and unacceptable. “What is happening today has nothing to do with justice, it is discrimination … It is not security, it is inhumanity. A Court where justice forgets the human is a Court that has lost its way,” he argued.

Albanian Prime Minister Rama reacted to the news, writing in a post on X that it is “a new low from a shameful and shameless tribunal that has turned international justice into a charade, democratic rights into empty words, and the goodwill of the Kosovo Parliament into the most brutal of boomerangs!”

Several news websites note that U.S. Presidential Envoy for Special Missions, Richard Grenell, shared Rama’s post.

Kurti meets Sorensen: EU measures must be lifted (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met on Monday with the European Union Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Peter Sorensen. A press release issued by Kurti’s office notes that he called the EU measures against Kosovo unfair and contradictory at the “period when the country marks the greatest democratic rise, even according to international indices, it is simultaneously under restrictive EU measures".

"They discussed the EU-mediated dialogue process and the way forward. The Prime Minister stressed the importance of the full and unconditional implementation of the Basic Agreement and the Ohrid Annex. Recalling the paramilitary attack in Banjska in September 2023 and the terrorist attack in Iber-Lepenc in November last year,” the statement notes.

Kurti also requested that Milan Radoicic and his group be handed over to Kosovo for trial. “He also underlined the risk that the terrorist leader Milan Radoićić, together with his group, continues to pose to the country's security and the normalization of relations within the framework of the dialogue process as long as he remains free in Serbia, despite his admission of guilt before the authorities in Serbia and the 160-page indictment by the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kosovo. Therefore, he reiterated the call for Radoicic and his group to be handed over to Kosovo for trial,” the announcement says.

Krasniqi: Dialogue must resume with constructive approach (media)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Memli Krasniqi, received in a meeting the EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Peter Sorensen, and reiterated that the dialogue process should end with mutual recognition. Krasniqi also argued that the process should resume with new energy, a constructive approach and a clear focus on concrete results. “Provisional agreements that drag out the process and create uncertainty do not serve long-term peace and stability,” he said in a Facebook post.

“I also underlined our expectation that the European Union maintain a balanced approach, respecting the principles of equality and reciprocity in all phases of the dialogue. At the same time, before Emissary Sorensen, I reiterated our request that the EU remove punitive measures against Kosovo, which are unjustly affecting the well-being of our citizens”.

Abdixhiku asks Sorensen for EU to lift measures against Kosovo (RTK)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lumir Abdixhiku said after meeting EU Special Representative Peter Sorensen that the EU should lift its measures against Kosovo because they are harming the people of Kosovo and Kosovo’s European integration process. Abdixhiku and Sorensen discussed the latest political developments in Kosovo, especially the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue process and Kosovo's integration into the European Union. “I congratulated him on the task he has taken on and informed the envoy Sorensen of the Democratic League's positions on the dialogue; that the LDK supports the dialogue process with the mediation of the EU and the direct involvement of the United States of America; with special emphasis on achieving mutual recognition. I also informed him in particular of our position on the rejection of the draft statute of the Association accepted by the outgoing government; as a document of territorial autonomy within Kosovo,” Abdixhiku wrote in a Facebook post.

Haradinaj: EU-US partnership important for successes in Kosovo (RTK)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, received on Monday the EU Special Representative, Peter Sorensen. In a post on ‘Facebook’, Haradinaj said that he appreciated Sorensen’s and the EU’s role in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue. “I also emphasized the importance of the EU-US partnership for successes in Kosovo and the region,” Haradinaj underlined.

COMKFOR Barduani meets Sorensen (media)

NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, said on Monday that COMKFOR Major General Enrico Barduani hosted the visit of the European Union Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Peter Sorensen. “They discussed views on various topics, including lasting security across Kosovo, regional stability situation and KFOR’s efforts in support to the EU-facilitated dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. Major General Enrico Barduani highlighted KFOR’s steadfast commitment to support all efforts by the International Community, for the benefit of lasting security across Kosovo and regional stability,” a Facebook post notes.

Osmani awards Roth with Presidential Medal of Merit (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani awarded German politician Michael Roth with the Presidential Medal of Merit. “Kosovo’s success has always been strengthened by the friends who stand with us—those who believe in democracy, in freedom, and in our rightful place in the European family of nations. Michael Roth has been one of those friends. A great believer in strong Kosovo – German ties and an advocate for Kosovo’s place in the EU, his voice has echoed our aspirations on the international stage. Today, I had the honor of awarding him the Presidential Medal of Merit - a symbol of appreciation from the people of Kosovo,” Osmani wrote in a post on X.

Serbian Language Media

Djuric: 21 years ago, Europe witnessed one of darkest chapters in its history (Kosovo Online, social media)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, said in relation to the 21st anniversary of the March pogrom that “Europe had witnessed one of the darkest chapters in its history, a tragedy that left deep scars on humanity’s conscience”, Kosovo Online portal reported.

"On March 17-18, 2004, a large-scale pogrom unfolded in Kosovo and Metohija, marking an unprecedented wave of violence, loss of life, ethnic cleansing, and the destruction and desecration of cultural and religious heritage. 20 lives were tragically lost, including 9 Serbs who were brutally murdered, and 11 Albanians who perished in clashes with international security forces. More than 900 Serbs were wounded, while 4,012 were forcibly displaced from their homes”, Djuric wrote in a post on X social platform. He added that “six Serbian cities and nine villages were ethnically cleansed, with 935 Serbian houses and 10 public buildings destroyed, set on fire, or damaged”.

"The destruction of 19 monasteries and 16 churches, along with the damage to over 100 other religious buildings dealt a devastating blow to Serbian and Orthodox heritage in our southern province. Thousands of invaluable frescoes, icons, and sacred items were lost forever, as well as centuries-old records of Serbian presence and existence in Kosovo and Metohija", Djuric also wrote.

Read the full Djuric’s post at: rb.gy/gd2xm3

Commemorative Academy on anniversary of March 2004 violence held in Gracanica (Kosovo Online, media)

On the occasion of the 21st anniversary of the March pogrom, a Commemorative Academy was held at the Cultural Center in Gracanica, where it was emphasized that Serbian people must not forget innocent victims, nor allow others to rewrite their history, Kosovo Online portal reported. The academy began with the national anthem, followed by a moment of silence for those who perished in North Macedonia.

Metropolitan of Raska-Prizren Diocese, Teodosije, pointed out that the March pogrom destroyed and burned what generations had built for centuries.

"Even today, two decades later, we feel the living wounds that do not heal, and we still see the faces of our imprisoned and displaced people, betrayed by those who promised them peace and security. The March pogrom is not just one in a series of historical events we remember about the suffering and death of our people in Kosovo and Metohija; it represents a deep spiritual reminder of how we cannot rely on human justice, but also how eternal and unbreakable faith in Christ and His victory over evil is", Bishop Teodosije said.