• Presidents of the region meet at Brdo-Brijuni summit (media)
• UN General Assembly to hold 77^th session, Osmani to participate (Klan)
• Strike in education, Kurti meets strike council of unions (Telegrafi)
• President of Hungary to visit Kosovo today (media)
• Bislimi and Szunyog to sign an agreement worth 63 million euros (Klan)
• Kusari-Lila: We will resubmit draft civil code in autumn (Gazeta Express)
• U.S. KFOR from the north: We are providing a safe environment (Klan)
• People’s Attorney wants explanation in case of Dragica Gasic (RFE)
• Calls for investigation of institutional chain for rape of 11-year-old (BIRN)
• Alarming suicide rates (Kosovo 2.0)
• Parliament of Serbia to hold a session on Kosovo today (media)

Presidents of the region meet at Brdo-Brijuni summit (media)

One of the leading stories in the media is the meeting of leaders of Western Balkans countries in Brdo-Brijuni, Slovenia, on Monday. In its leading front-page story, Koha Ditore quotes Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic as saying that “because of Russia, the West is in a rush for the recognition of Kosovo”. The daily also quotes Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani as saying, “Surely, we have many disagreements with President Aleksandar Vucic, and this is because Serbia does not accept the reality that Kosovo is independent and sovereign and that this is an irreversible reality. There are many things that we disagree about, but the dialogue must focus on mutual recognition”.

After the summit ended, Slovenian President Borut Pahor took to Twitter to say that all six participating countries of the Western Balkans, represented by the presidents, have agreed on six points.

1. We reiterate the importance of EU enlargement as the most direct contribution to peacekeeping and stability in the region, enlargement is more than geopolitics,
2. We call for a faster process of integration into the EU, by the recognized conditions for membership,
3. We call for the granting of candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina by the end of 2022,
4. We call for the abolition of the visa regime for the entire Western Balkans by the end of 2022,
5. We call on the EU to stand by the Western Balkans in mitigating the consequences of the economic and energy crisis,
6. We affirm our commitment to dialogue as the only way to overcome differences and open issues in the region.

UN General Assembly to hold 77^th session, Osmani to participate (Klan)

The United Nations General Assembly will open its 77^th session on Tuesday. The main discussions will be held between September 20-26, while Kosovo will also be the topic of discussion. According to Klan, Kosovo President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani will also stay in New York. Other topics of discussion will be current global developments, starting with the war in Ukraine. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is also expected to address the Assembly.

Strike in education, Kurti meets strike council of unions (Telegrafi)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti is meeting this morning with the strike council of the unions in an effort to find a solution to the strike and make way to the start of the school year. The education sector is on strike, as the union is demanding an additional 100 euros every month for the educational staff until the law on wages is approved.

President of Hungary to visit Kosovo today (media)

At the invitation of the President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani, the President of Hungary Katalin Novak, will stay for a visit to Kosovo today. Osmani's office said in a statement that Novák will be received with a ceremony at 09:20 hours. After the meeting, the two presidents will give a joint press conference.

Bislimi and Szunyog to sign an agreement worth 63 million euros (Klan)

Kosovo’s Principal Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, together with the Ambassador of the EU Office in Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog, will sign an agreement for the first annual financial program IPA III. This agreement is worth €63 million. After the signing, there will be a joint press conference.

Kusari-Lila: We will resubmit draft civil code in autumn (Gazeta Express)

Vetevendosje parliamentary group chief, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, said in an interview on Monday that the draft civil code will be resubmitted to the Assembly in autumn. “The draft code will be resubmitted in autumn. This is an important document, the second most important after the Constitution in terms of arranging the lives of the citizens … I don’t believe it can be resubmitted before October,” she said.

Kusari-Lila said Vetevendosje is a progressive party in terms of its position on human rights, same sex marriages and the rights of individuals. “Therefore, everyone who is in Vetevendosje knows or should know what party they belong to and what are the orientations of the party now,” she argued.

U.S. KFOR from the north: We are providing a safe environment (Klan)

The Regional Commander of KFOR in the East, Colonel Christopher Samulski, has given a video message from the north of Kosovo. "Our mandate is to provide people in Kosovo with a safe environment, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or the country where they live. Therefore, we patrol all areas and stay close to the community,” Samulski said.

People’s Attorney wants explanation in case of Dragica Gasic (RFE)

“I have been here for a year now, and now it’s the same,” Dragica Gasic, the first Serb returnee in the city of Gjakova, says in an interview for the news website. Gasic returned to her birthplace 20 years after she fled from there. But her return last year to a place where more than 1,000 of Albanian citizens were killed in the 1998/99 war, was met with resistance and protests. Today, Gasic says she believes that the citizens of Gjakova have accepted her return and that she has no more problems. “I survived the worst times, so I will survive this too,” she says.

Radio Free Europe talked with Gasic after the People’s Attorney of Kosovo asked local authorities in Gjakova to clarify what they have done regarding Gasic’s request to allow her to renovate her apartment.

“Rain flows into the apartment; the roof needs to be fixed and then painted. The whole apartment, in general, needs to be renovated,” Gasic says, adding that she is patiently waiting for a permit from the municipal authorities.

The municipality of Gjakova has a deadline of 30 days to respond to the Office of the People’s Attorney about the steps it has taken to implement the recommendation for allowing Gasic “the free and unhindered use of the apartment” and its renovation.

Marija Radulovic, deputy to the People’s Attorney, confirmed this but also added that the recommendations of the People’s Attorney are not binding.

The news website also notes that it did not get a response from the local authorities in Gjakova whether they will allow Gasic to renovate her apartment as per the recommendation of the People’s Attorney.

Calls for investigation of institutional chain for rape of 11-year-old (BIRN)

The Balkan Network for Investigative Journalism, BIRN, and Internews Kosova, I/KS, have asked acting Chief State Prosecutor Besim Kelmendi to delegate the investigation into the handling of the case of the 11-year-old girl who was reported as a victim of sexual violence to the Special Prosecutor’s Office.

The request comes after BIRN announced that when the 11-year-old girl was first questioned in June, she named three people who had allegedly raped her. Information received by BIRN shows that they were not arrested.

BIRN and I/KS, in a letter to the Chief Prosecutor, emphasize the need to investigate the entire institutional chain for not taking due action, starting from the police officers, the relevant social worker, the defender of the victim and the state prosecutor.

BIRN and I/KS also mention the Prishtina Prosecutor’s Office conference on September 5, as a reason for sending the case to the Special Prosecutor’s Office.

“Given that the Prosecutor’s Office of Prishtina, at the conference organized for the media, gave information that everything was dealt with in time and according to the law, and did not mention that the victim had given the names of the three suspects, we consider that such an action was done to eliminate suspicions of the following bodies,” the letter states.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3ezAYHW

Alarming suicide rates (Kosovo 2.0)

Is the media making it worse?

On July 22, online media in Kosovo reported on a case of suicide in Prishtina by identifying the victim and misreporting key details. This sensationalistic reporting follows a long trend of tabloid-style and unethical journalism on suicide where families of the victim have often been exposed to unwanted attention. At times, media outlets have also included explicit details about the method of suicide, which can trigger vulnerable people and potentially provoke more suicides.

According to police statistics, there were 40 suicides in Kosovo in 2020 and 101 attempts. In 2021, there were 41 suicide and 130 attempts. Since its founding in 2019, the Kosovar suicide prevention hotline Linja e Jetës has had over 4,000 calls from people seeking help. Suicide must not be an opportunity for sensationalist headlines, but instead be treated as the pressing public health issue that it is.

Because of the sensitive nature of this topic, it is important that media coverage adhere to reporting guidelines that have been shown to reduce the risk of additional suicides and dispel myths about the issue. Just as journalists report on Covid vaccines and public health measures related to the pandemic, the media has a responsibility to inform the public about the causes of suicidal feelings, warning signs and resources for suicide prevention services so that vulnerable people can seek help. Following these guidelines can save lives.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Bfnwkp

Parliament of Serbia to hold a session on Kosovo today (media)

The Serbian Parliament will hold today at 10:00 a special session on the situation in Kosovo. Serbian media reported that President Aleksandar Vucic will present a report on the progress of the dialogue for normalization of relations with Kosovo.