UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, November 5, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti at Economic Forum requests that Serbia ease transit procedures (Koha)
Kurti met non-resident ambassador of Japan for Kosovo, discuss bilateral relations (Klan)
Osmani requests Luxembourg's support for membership in CoE (RTK)
Minister of Luxembourg promises about 25 million euros of investments in Kosovo (Klan)
Bislimi: Derogatory terms against Albanians have become legal in Serbia (Koha)
Gervalla: Only in Stuttgart and its surroundings there are more voters than in Prizren, we will find a way with CEC (Kallxo)
Serwer warns of chaos in the region if Trump wins: Serbia may try to invade northern Kosovo(Albanian Post)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucic: Serbia, EC have differing views on Kosovo, dialogue only solution (Tanjug, media)
Dacic: There was no request for Kosovo membership at Interpol Assembly (Kosovo Online, media)
Swiss residents sent to one-month detention for showing “Greater Albania” symbol in Belgrade (N1, media)
Serbian Supreme Court ruling on hate speech case met with criticism from Albanians (KoSSev)
Opposition demands dismissal of RTK board amid claims of government control (KoSSev)
Danish Minister: I hope Serbia seizes EU enlargement momentum (N1)
Vesic to officially resign as minister on Tuesday because of tragedy in Novi Sad (Tanjug, media)

International Media:

Kosovo authorities urged to act after minor allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted (Prishtina Insight)
Serbian govt faces growing calls for answers over railway station deaths (Balkan Insight)
Serbian minister offers to resign after deadly train station roof collapse (Balkan Insight)

Note: The team apologies for delay, caused by technical problems

Albanian Language Media

Kurti at Economic Forum requests that Serbia ease transit procedures (Koha)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti stated on Monday at the Vienna Economic Forum that Serbia should ease the procedures for the entry of foreigners to its territory in Kosovo, as, according to him, this would affect economic development and the regulation of neighbourly relations. Kurti said that whoever enters Kosovo as a first entry, cannot then travel to Serbia without going to North Macedonia "since for Belgrade entering Kosovo initially means illegal entry".

“In Berlin, I also said that 25 years after NATO’s intervention, Serbia’s airspace remains closed for commercial flights to and from Kosovo. This is neither good for neighbourly relations, for economic cooperation nor for climate adaptation. Flights from Vienna to Pristina and vice versa could be much shorter and pollute less if Serbia allows commercial planes whose destination is Pristina to fly through Serbia’s airspace. So, yes agreements that remove barriers to trade are essential but they rest upon good cooperation, good faith and good intentions,” Kurti said.

See his full address here: https://tinyurl.com/4b82r3w3

Kurti met non-resident ambassador of Japan for Kosovo, discuss bilateral relations (Klan)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met during his visit in Vienna the non-resident ambassador of Japan for Kosovo, Ryuta Mizuuchi, at the Embassy of Kosovo in Vienna. According to a communique, they discussed bilateral relations between Kosovo and Japan and areas of bilateral cooperation. "Kurti thanked the ambassador for Japan's continuous support for Kosovo and the important contribution with numerous projects that are carried out through the JICA Development Agency in the field of environment, waste management and health".

Osmani requests Luxembourg's support for membership in CoE (RTK)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani received on Monday the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg, at the same time Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Xavier Bettel. They discussed the current political and security situation in Kosovo, the strengthening of bilateral relations and the promotion of cooperation in the fields with common interest.

According to the press release issued by the Presidency, Osmani said Kosovo continues to remain steadfast on its path towards European integration, so in this direction it has made significant progress in the field of democracy, rule of law and human rights. President Osmani congratulated Minister Bettel on the new facility of the Luxembourg embassy in Kosovo, which was inaugurated on Monday evening, expressing the belief that this creates preconditions for the intensification of relations. "Kosovo has taken important steps to meet EU criteria, implementing reforms that promote regional stability and increase economic stability", she is quoted in the Presidency's communique.

Minister of Luxembourg promises about 25 million euros of investments in Kosovo (Klan)

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, after the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gervalla, said that the aim of European countries is to avoid any kind of war in the Balkans. Bettel has said that his country will always stand by Kosovo with millions of investments.

Bettel said that this region has suffered a lot from the decisions others have made. "I am here to help Kosovo in various fields, and there will be about 25 million euros of investments for these creative projects in IT sectors, because it is important for your economic situation", he said, among other things.

During his visit to Kosovo, Bettel also met with Kosovo Assembly Speaker Glauk Konjufca and Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi.

Bislimi: Derogatory terms against Albanians have become legal in Serbia (Koha)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, has stated that discrimination and hate speech have become the norm in Serbia

“Discrimination and hate speech are now a norm in Serbia. Apparently it is legal under Serbian law to use derogatory terms against Albanians. The ruling from the Serbian Supreme Court on the statements of DPM Vulin deepen our concerns regarding the Albanian minority rights and safety,” Bislimi wrote on platform X.

Gervalla: Only in Stuttgart and its surroundings there are more voters than in Prizren, we will find a way with CEC (Kallxo)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gervalla-Schwarz, said that they are in talks with the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) to find ways so that no emigrant who has the right to vote, is forced to impose the way he casts his vote for the February 9, 2024 elections.

The minister said there are countries where there are many emigrants, like Germany. "For example, only in Stuttgart and its surroundings there are more voters than in Prizren" - said the minister. "We are obliged to find ways for them to vote as they deserve," she said. Germany has six voting centres in which diaspora, on 08.02.2025, will be able to cast their vote for the general elections in Kosovo. The voting centres in Germany are in the consulates in Dusseldorf, Munich, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Frankfurt and at the embassy in Berlin, with 2,000 voters for each. For the general elections in Kosovo, the diaspora will vote one day earlier, on 08.02.2025.

Serwer warns of chaos in the region if Trump wins: Serbia may try to invade northern Kosovo(Albanian Post)

Daniel Serwer, professor of international relations at "Johns Hopkins" University in the United States (USA), at the same time a distinguished expert on political developments in the region, has warned of chaos in the Western Balkans if the Republican candidate, Donald Trump, wins the U.S. presidential elections on the 5 November 2024.

In an interview for the Montenegrin daily "Pobjeda" on Monday, while commenting on the new election cycle in the USA, he emphasised that changes will begin very quickly if Trump wins, especially in the context of the conflict between Kosovo and Serbia. Serwer has considered that Serbia may try to conquer the north of Kosovo.

"Serbia may try to occupy the north of Kosovo and Republika Srpska may secede from Bosnia and Herzegovina. All this can happen before the inauguration on January 20", Serwer said, while calling on the current U.S. administration to avoid "disaster" if Trump comes to the White House.

"The Department of State and the Ministry of Defense must prepare now and anticipate the events in the region, even before the elections. EUFOR and KFOR must be ready to oppose the movements to divideKosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina - the plans for reinforcements must be ready", he said.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic: Serbia, EC have differing views on Kosovo, dialogue only solution (Tanjug, media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday Serbia and the European Commission had differing views on Kosovo issue, but that Belgrade agreed dialogue was the only solution that could lead to compromise with Pristina, Tanjug news agency reported. Vucic was speaking to reporters after a meeting with the head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret, who presented to him the European Commission's 2024 annual report on Serbia.

"We have certain differences when it comes to our views on Kosovo, but that is not particularly specified or highlighted. Besides, we also believe that dialogue is the only solution that can lead to compromise in any way, and we think that is very important for the future of this country", Vucic told the press conference with Giaufret. "Of course, we see differently the situation regarding Kosovo and the responsibility concerning Banjska, but we have understood the EU objections", he added.

Speaking about other matters in the EC report, Vucic said he believed Serbia had the largest capacities in the Western Balkans and that its capacities were even larger than those of some EU member states. "To be quite honest, today, some of them would not be able to meet 2 percent of the criteria that are being imposed on us today, but when you are a member of a club, you have the luxury of not fulfilling absolutely everything, and when you are not, you must fulfil everything", Vucic also said.

Dacic: There was no request for Kosovo membership at Interpol Assembly (Kosovo Online, media)

At the annual Interpol Assembly in Glasgow, there was no request for Kosovo full membership in this international organisation, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs, Ivica Dacic said on Monday, Kosovo Online portal reported.

“Today, in Glasgow, the 92^nd Interpol Assembly began, one of the oldest international organisations in the world that brings together police forces. There are three important events at this Assembly for Serbia. The first is that there is no request from Kosovo for full membership on the agenda. Every year we live in a certain fear, wondering whether Kosovo will, at the last minute, decide and, through some of its sponsors, apply for membership, as was the case at the Assembly in Dubai. Since they lost that time, they understand that they have no chance of becoming a member of Interpol, and they have not applied again since then”, Dacic said.

He emphasised it is important every year to closely follow the adoption of the agenda and that it does not include the request which is most significant for Serbia - the request from Pristina authorities to become a member of Interpol. He added that this is a crucial status issue for Serbia, concerning its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The second event is the meeting with the new Interpol Secretary General, a representative of the Brazilian police and the Minister of Security in that country, representing one of the most prominent figures in Brazil, Dacic added. According to him, the role of Secretary General is of special significance for Serbia because he will oversee the issue of Kosovo and its possible membership bid to join this organisation. The third point is the meeting with the UK's Home Secretary, during which they discussed several key topics, including the readiness to sign a cooperation agreement in the fight against organised crime, in particular illegal migrations.

Swiss residents sent to one-month detention for showing “Greater Albania” symbol in Belgrade (N1, media)

The Higher Court in Belgrade imposed one-month detention on two Swiss residents, Bernard C. and Gianfranco V. suspected of committing the criminal acts of “inciting national, racial and religious hatred and intolerance” on November 2, in front of the Serbian National Assembly in Belgrade, N1 reported.

Detention measure was imposed because of the risk to flee, the spokesperson of the court told Tanjug news agency. According to the criminal report, Bernard C. with his mobile phone was taking photos of Gianfranco V. showing with his hands “a double-headed eagle” alluding to the symbol of “Greater Albania”, the Higher Prosecution said in a statement earlier.

Upon noticing police officers, Gianfranco fled the spot, but was apprehended later in the evening in the centre of Belgrade. Bernard C. who has citizenships of Switzerland and Croatia, in a hearing partially admitted the charges of the criminal report, while Gianfranco chose to remain silent, respectively used his legal right not to present the defence.

Serbian Supreme Court ruling on hate speech case met with criticism from Albanians (KoSSev)

Serbian Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Ragmi Mustafi, former president of the National Council of Albanians, over alleged hate speech by Serbian official Aleksandar Vulin. The ruling has ignited criticism within the Albanian community, who interpret it as tacit approval of discriminatory language against Albanians. Vulin, Serbian political figure and current Deputy Prime Minister, has repeatedly referred to Albanians as “Shiptars“ - a term considered derogatory. Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, also condemned the decision, stating it “deepens concerns“ over the safety and rights of the Albanian minority.

The case dates back to 2019 when the National Council of Albanians initiated legal action against Vulin in response to his repeated use of the term “Shiptars“ to refer to Albanians, particularly in reference to those from Kosovo.