Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Justice for Astrit has no alternative (media)
• GLPS calls for investigations of state officials in Dehari case (media)
• Johnson: Kosovo and Serbia requested greater engagement of the U.S. (RFE)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic: The world hasn't seen such political liars (Tanjug, B92)
• “Information on closure of Serb pharmacies in North inaccurate” (KoSSev, RTK2)
• New US ambassador to Serbia presents letters of accreditation (Beta, N1)
• Arrested Nenad Arsic from Caglavica says he is not guilty, denies involvement in criminal acts (Gracanica online)
• Serbian List: Prosecutor Syle Hoxha is not working according to the law, accusing the Serbs without evidence (Kosovo Online, TV Most)
• Djuric: Desperate attempts of Jeremic to spoil relations between Serbia and Russian Federation (Tanjug)
• Popovic more concerned with the silence of the international community (Kosovo Online)
• Serbian President says Russian anti-aircraft systems in Serbia for exercise (FoNet, N1)
• Süddeutsche Zeitung: No hope in EU future, Balkans face return of conflicts (N1, DW)

International:

• Talking Kurti and Dialogue With Everyday Serbs (K2.0)
• Testimony by Deputy Assistant Secretary and Special Representative for the Western Balkans Matthew Palmer (foreign.senate.gov)
• Kosovo prosecutors to reopen probe into activist’s death (AP/WAPO)
• Kosovo Activist’s Family Say Swiss Report Confirms His Murder (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian and Development:

• Fate of missing persons, a grave wound for Kosovo (RTK)
• 18 women associations win grants from EU and Austrian government (Koha)
• Learning local languages through education institutions in Kosovo (Radio kontakt plus, RTK2, Radio Kosovo 2)

 

Albanian Language Media

 

Kurti: Justice for Astrit has no alternative (media)                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti wrote on social media today that the forensic experts from the Lausanne Institute have ruled out the possibility of activist Astrit Dehari committing suicide in his detention cell in Prizren.

“They have concluded the involvement of a third person/persons. A new, independent and professional investigation is necessary to shed complete light on this crime. Not only on material facts and evidence. Physical and other circumstances of the crime need also be investigated as does the current investigative process. Because people in charge, what they did, how they did it and what they failed to do need to be investigated,” Kurti said. 

“The crime on Astrit in the hands of the country three years ago has been added the injustice of the country for three years now. Justice for Astrit has no alternative,” he wrote.

GLPS calls for investigations of state officials in Dehari case (media)

Several news outlets report that the Pristina-based Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) issued a press release today calling for thorough investigations into the circumstances of the death of Astrit Dehari, a Vetevendosje activist who died at a detention facility in Prizren in 2016, and also investigations against prosecutors, police officers and other state officials that “qualified the case as a suicide”. The press release notes: “We want to stress that the findings of the Forensics Institute are proof that the state of Kosovo violated Astrit Dehari’s right to life, failing to provide him with even minimal protection during the time he was in detention. The reason for keeping him in detention – accompanied by the fact that he was an activist of an opposition party – adds even more to the responsibility of the state. The failure of the prosecution and their hastiness to qualify the case indicates irresponsibility and criminal intent. The public and the Dehari family needed nothing more than the truth validated with forensic facts, but the way the State Prosecutor and other state units acted proved the complete opposite … The GLPS calls for investigations to expand and include all state officials (including prosecutors, police officers and forensics) who contributed to qualifying case and draw conclusions which were not based on scientific and criminalistic facts … The grave situation can be remedied only if the whole chain that brought about this situation is brought to justice. Calls for other countries to investigate the case should not serve as means to avoid responsibility, on the contrary, it is time for local prosecutors, with foreign assistance, to stand against the crime that has happened in this case”. 

Johnson: Kosovo and Serbia requested greater engagement of the U.S. (RFE)

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson said that both leaders in Pristina and in Belgrade want to see a greater involvement of Washington in resolving the Kosovo issue and even asked him personally to get engaged. 

Speaking to VOA, Johnson said that the U.S. special envoy for Kosovo-Serbia peace negotiations Richard Grenell and the special representative for Western Balkans Matthew Palmer have a joint plan on resolving the issue of Kosovo, with the focus being on economy. 

“Palmer and Grenell are cooperating. I have spoken to both of them and I know they have a plan which focuses on economic opportunities. I think they can achieve something and they try to bring the two parties to a table to work together,” Johnson said. 

He noted that it would be good if Kosovo lifted the tax on imports from Serbia and called on Belgrade to stop lobbying for derecognition of Kosovo’s independence. 

“This would be an important step. I think Palmer and Grenell will seek some type of investment that would encourage the two countries to cooperate. We are doing everything to promote better economic opportunities for attracting investments and send signals to citizens of both countries that these will be the result of a successful agreement.” 

Johnson further said that he doesn’t see the end of this year as being realistic to expect an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia and advocated a “step by step” approach. 

 

Serbian Language Media

  Vucic: The world hasn't seen such political liars (Tanjug, B92)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced that he will insist on response to alleged poisoning of members of the Kosovo Election Commission, Tanjug news agency reports. He added that he would speak about the alleged poisoning before the UN next year.

“The world hasn't seen such political liars. That amount of recklessness to blame the normal country for something like that has not been seen yet. And then, expert Kurti talks about normalization with Serbia", Vucic said when asked by reporters to comment on the counting of election votes from Serbia in protective garments due to suspected harmful material allegedly found in the envelopes with ballot papers.

He indicated that he had asked the EU what they in Brussels thought, whether it was anthrax or a novichok, and said that it seemed to him that they got infected by the variola virus. "They haven't informed me yet," he said.

The problem, he pointed out, was that he clearly understood why they made the entire farce.

"I will not let them go, even though they will try to show that it is a pesticide, to think of some meaningful reason, although it is clear that it was nothing infectious. They did it for political reasons", he stressed.

Vucic said that nobody was offering Belgrade anything when it comes to the Kosovo issue, except to recognize Kosovo within the borders recognized by Western countries.

Asked if it was true that US Presidential Special Envoy for Belgrade-Pristina negotiations Richard Grenell explicitly sought Kosovo recognition and in return offered investments, Vucic said he had a positive and good conversation with him and would not respond to the allegations and assumptions that appear in public.

"You think someone else offered us something else, since I listen to the stories of how the division means a betrayal ...? Nobody offers us anything but to recognize an independent Kosovo as a whole, within the borders of an independent Kosovo. If you know someone who offered me something else, please point me to that person", Vucic said.

He also requested to be shown the person whom he allegedly promised to recognize Kosovo's independence.

"I have listened to these lies, as for seven years I have been listening to stories that something is wrong, while the whole world is admiring our economy. We were on the verge of an abyss, and today Serbia is a vibrant, fast-moving economy", Vucic concluded.

See at: https://bit.ly/362zr4s “Information on closure of Serb pharmacies in North inaccurate” (KoSSev, RTK2)

Statement of the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic that Pristina is preparing to close the Serb pharmacies in the north of Kosovo was refuted by the Ministry of Health in Pristina, KoSSev portal reports today.

In a brief response to RTK2, Secretary General of the Ministry Naim Bardiqi said the information that closure of the Serb pharmacies in the north was planned for October 25 is inaccurate.  

New US ambassador to Serbia presents letters of accreditation (Beta, N1) 

The new US Ambassador in Serbia Anthony Godfrey voiced the hope on Thursday that both Belgrade and Washington want to bring their relations back to the level of a true partnership.

A statement from the president’s cabinet after he presents his letters of accreditation to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, quoted the ambassador as saying that a true partnership is what those relations have and should be in future.  

Speaking in Serbian, Godfrey said that the US appreciates the friendship and personal ties that have been built up over more than a century of relations between the two countries. “We are now at the start of an especially important period in that friendship. As ambassador I will focus on cooperation with you (the president) and government to help Serbia achieve its European integration goal. We share the conviction that Serbia has the potential to be an example of prosperity and peace in the region,” the ambassador said.  

The ambassador said that the United States want to help Serbia’s economic progress and regional cooperation to achieve better relations in the Western Balkans.  

The Serbian president is quoted as saying that he appreciates the support from the US, especially in implementing reforms and added that Serbia is firmly on the European path but is also independent in its decision making.

https://bit.ly/2Jm4Yot Arrested Nenad Arsic from Caglavica says he is not guilty, denies involvement in criminal acts (Gracanica online)

Nenad Arsic from Caglavica, arrested by Kosovo police at the Merdare crossing point two days ago and sent to one-month detention, said he is not guilty and denied involvement in the criminal acts that Kosovo prosecution accused him of. He is at the Pristina detention centre now, Gracanica online portal reports.

Nenad Arsic lived in Caglavica until 2014 and after that was regularly visiting his family house. On a day of arrest, he was on the way to get Kosovo documents.

The Arsic’s family said their property borders the family property of Shalla brothers.

Arsic is accused of committing a war crime, respectively physical mistreatment of the two members of Shalla family as well as the looting of the five houses of the same family during the conflict in 1999, Gracanica online portal reported.

Serbian List: Prosecutor Syle Hoxha is not working according to the law, accusing the Serbs without evidence (Kosovo Online, TV Most)

Serbian List stated in a press release, regarding the Swiss institution independent report on the death of Self-Determination Movement activist Astrit Dehari, saying that the report ''highlighted the facts which directly question the credibility, professionalism and legality of the work of the Special Prosecutor of Pristina Syle Hoxha, who is known to the Serbian public as the prosecutor who, in accordance with an unwritten rule, persecutes and charges Serbs without evidence”.

''Serbian List points out that this independent Swiss institute has found DNA evidence in the case of an Albanian young man who perished in Prizren, and Syle Hoxha, then the prosecutor on duty was in charge of that case , and he closed the same case as the chief prosecutor in Prizren due to, he claims, lack of evidence because it was a suicide, even though the victim’s family claimed from the beginning that it was a murder and not suicide as Hoxha claims.''

''And so, with this report, the Swiss Institute proves that Special Prosecutor Syle Hoxha is not a man who respects and applies the law, thus it also brings out but also affirms the justified suspicion of all Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija that this man was not acting in accordance with the law, but in accordance with some other principles, which is corroborated by the doubts which we have repeatedly presented- that Syle Hoxha is working to persecute prominent Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, without any evidence, which was most likely commissioned for political purposes rather than to resolve specific cases.''

''Since this prosecutor has apparently endangered the case and truth finding with the sloppy investigation, along with the violations of all the rules of procedure,  and because the parents of the deceased young man are also accusing him due to the closure of the case even though there was for the continuation of investigation, we also think that in cases where Serbs are the defendants, he was working in line with someone’s dictate, and not by the rules and law.''

''Bearing in mind that, as a rule, he is in charge of all cases of arrests and persecution of Serbs, we suspect that these cases and the manner in which Syle  was leading them, are a way to cover up mistakes from the said case, at the expense of Serbs, or these cases serve to obtain extraordinary promotion since Mr. Hoxha was appointed to the post of Special Prosecutor in Pristina.''

Djuric: Desperate attempts of Jeremic to spoil relations between Serbia and Russian Federation (Tanjug)

Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Vice President and Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said that intention of Vuk Jeremic, leader of the Peoples’ Party (NS), to spoil relations of Serbia with the Russian Federation and other friendly countries are “desperate attempts of a bankrupt political profiter, trying to find new sponsors to the detriment of his own country,” Tanjug news agency reported.

Vuk Jeremic in an interview with Russia Today earlier said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s plan on “delineation” with Kosovo would unstoppably lead Serbia towards the NATO membership.

Popovic more concerned with the silence of the international community (Kosovo Online)

Serbian List presidency member and Gracanica mayor Srdjan Popovic says he is more concerned about the silence of the international community, especially the European Union, which has mediated the signing of the Brussels Agreement than the statements by Self-Determination Leader Albin Kurti on the Community of Serbian municipalities (ZSO), Kosovo Online reported.

"Albin Kurti's radical outbursts are a daily occurrence in Kosovo, and he is spreading intolerance among the communities with his statements and persistently trying to recast the will of the Serbian voters in the elections," Popovic said.

According to him, the ZSO was conceived as the only mechanism that would protect the interests and rights of the Serb people in Kosovo and was not directed against any people in Kosovo.

"Kurti and some other individuals do not understand this the right way, and who does not understand why the ZSO is needed, he certainly does not want to see Serbs in this region, does not understand the situation on the ground and, most importantly, brings us back to the past. We are not on that line, we will work for peace, truth and justice, it is in our interest to spread good neighbourly relations and to live well with our neighbours. That is why the Serbian List received 100% support from the Serbian people, and Albin Kurti, with 25% of his people's support, cannot understand that,” Popovic said.

Serbian President says Russian anti-aircraft systems in Serbia for exercise (FoNet, N1)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic confirmed on Thursday that the Russian military had deployed anti-aircraft systems in Serbia as part of joint exercises with the Serbian Armed Forces, FoNet news agency reports.

Vucic said that the Russian armed forces had brought one of its S-400 anti-aircraft systems (NATO reporting name SA-21 Growler) and the Pantsir anti-aircraft system (NATO reporting name SA-22 Greyhound) to Serbia for the exercise, adding that Serbia had ordered the Pantsir for its armed forces.

He said that he would see the S-400 missile system on Friday and the Pantsir anti-aircraft system on Saturday.  

The Serbian Armed Forces website said that Army of Serbia (VS) and Russian Aerospace Forces anti-aircraft missile units would take part in the tactical exercise Slavic Shield 2019 at the Batajnica air base outside Belgrade and the Pasuljanske Livade training grounds in central Serbia.

It added that air-force units would also take part in the exercise which will be under the command of Serbian Brigadier General Tiosav Jankovic, commander of the 250th AA Defense Missile Brigade. The goal of the exercise is to train Serbian and Russian AA defense units to operate together.

Süddeutsche Zeitung: No hope in EU future, Balkans face return of conflicts (N1, DW)

The München daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes the Balkans are disappointed with the European Union's failure to set a date for the opening of the accession negotiations with Skopje and Tirana and warns that the return of bloody past in the region is possible in the absence of hope to join the bloc.

Under the headline “Disappointed”, Süddeutsche Zeitung explored a broader picture of the Balkans nations’ possible reaction to the blow.

 “The concrete result of such disappointment could be seen in Moscow on Friday, where Serbia will sign a free trade agreement with Euro-Asian Economic Union (EAEU) led by Russia,” Deutsche Welle in Serbian carried the München daily story.

The daily added that “the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced the deal recently during a day visit to Belgrade, adding the choice between the West and the East should not be "imposed" on the regional countries. In other words, he offers close relations with Russia as an alternative to the European Union.Besides, both Turkey and China are fighting for the influence in the region with billions in investments.”

“If a hope to join the EU disappears in the Balkans, the region faces return to nationalism and, in a worst case scenario, the burst of old conflicts. In the end, for both Serbia and Kosovo, the European perspective is a huge motivation for reaching an agreement,” the daily wrote.

It added that “without a hope in the EU future, the plans for the  Greater Albania will get the wing in the back. That would not only embrace Albania and Kosovo but North Macedonia as well, with its large Albanian minority. In Bosnia, the centrifugal forces between the Serbs, Croats and Muslim Bosniaks could strengthen.”        

https://bit.ly/2MMTHj5  

International

  Talking Kurti and Dialogue With Everyday Serbs (K2.0)

Daily struggles outweigh political concerns. 

The bus conductor collecting ticket money cuts my thoughts on Kosovo’s recent elections in half and informs us we’re not far from our destination. A couple of kilometers later and the bus stops in the middle of the route between Gjilan and Kamenica, near a bridge painted with the three colors of the Serbian flag — red, blue and white.

A nearby sign announces that we have arrived at Ranilug/Ranillug.

https://bit.ly/2JjhZPC Testimony by Deputy Assistant Secretary and Special Representative for the Western Balkans Matthew Palmer (foreign.senate.gov)

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation Hearing on Successes and Unfinished Business in the Western Balkans October 23, 2019, 2:30 p.m.

https://bit.ly/31Q642d Kosovo prosecutors to reopen probe into activist’s death (AP/WAPO)

Prosecutors in Kosovo say they will resume their investigation into the death of a political activist who died a few months after being arrested for his alleged involvement in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on Parliament.

The reopening follows the news from a Swiss forensics expert that his death was likely a homicide, not a suicide.

https://wapo.st/2BEdAlU Kosovo Activist’s Family Say Swiss Report Confirms His Murder (Balkan Insight)

The family of the late Vetevendosje activist Astrit Dehari says a Swiss forensic report into his death in 2016 confirms he was killed in jail – although prosecutors dispute this conclusion. The family of the late Vetevendosje activist Astrit Dehari claim the results of an autopsy conducted by Swiss experts show he was murdered in detention in Prizren in 2016.

Dehari died in the correctional facility in the western Kosovo city after being arrested on suspicion of terrorism for allegedly throwing an explosive device in the parliament. Kosovo police confirmed his death, saying he died on his way to hospital after falling into a coma induced by the medication he had taken.

In a press statement issued on Thursday, the family confirmed that they had received a copy of the Swiss report from the Basic Prosecution Office in Prizren municipality.

See at: https://bit.ly/2MLTWe7    

Humanitarian and Development 

  Fate of missing persons, a grave wound for Kosovo (RTK)

The unresolved fate of missing persons remains one of the worst anxieties of many families in Kosovo. They say that an eventual agreement with Serbia must be conditioned with resolving the fate of missing persons and that this issue should be addressed at the political level in the dialogue with Serbia, RTK reports. Kosovo never managed to include the issue of missing persons on the agenda of the dialogue with Serbia. Many agreements were reached, promises were made, but there were no official talks with Serbia on this issue. Kushtrim Gara, coordinator of Kosovo’s committee for missing persons, told Radio Kosova that since the first talks between Kosovo and Serbia in 2004, there is a dialogue mechanism for missing persons mediated by the International Red Cross. He added that families of missing persons and the government committee continuously insisted for this issue to be raised at the level of political dialogue. “The issue of missing persons must be a priority in all the meetings between Kosovo and Serbia. The issue of missing persons goes beyond party or government policies,” he said. Gara added that only pressure from the international community can force Serbia to open the archives of its police and army. Bajram Cerkini, from the Missing Persons Resource Centre, said that the Joint Declaration of the Berlin Process noted that the issue of missing persons must be raised at a political level. “We need to establish a working group that will talk about this in Brussels,” he added.

18 women associations win grants from EU and Austrian government (Koha)

Kosovo Women's Network announced recipients of 16 grants worth at over €66,000 provided by the European Union and the Austrian Development Agency. 

KWN executive director Igballe Rogova said at a press conference that the initiative will contribute to the implementation of the Kosovo Women's Network three-year strategy aimed at empowerment of women. She said the current 13th round of grants has also included projects of women NGOs in the north. 

At the same time, Annette Fath Lihic from the EU Office in Kosovo said they are proud to be supporting Kosovo women through the provision of these grants. She said the gender agenda should be a priority for the new government of Kosovo while Arsim Aziri from the Austrian Development Agency said that gender equality should be included in every activity and project they support. 

Learning local languages through education institutions in Kosovo (Radio kontakt plus, RTK2, Radio Kosovo 2)

In 11 primary schools in Kosovo, including two functioning within the Serbian system, a course of learning official languages Albanian and Serbian, as well as other languages used on a local level, will commence mid-November, RTK2 reports.

Two schools from Kamenica town, “Fan Noli” and “Desanka Maksimovic” are part of this project, implemented by the Council of Europe and supported by the Norwegian Embassy in Pristina. The two education institutions are in the same yard, but function within different systems. The school “Fan Noli” works within the Kosovo system and has around 400 pupils. Almost the same number of pupils attends “Desanka Maksimovic” school that works within the Serbian system.

Mustafa Rudhani, “Fan Noli” school director told Radio Kosovo 2 it is very important that young people learn the language of their neighbours. He thinks the education institutions should cooperate when it comes to learning different languages in order to promote multilingualism in Kosovo.

Jadranka Vasic, “Desanka Maksimovic” school director said it is important that children in Kamenica know the language of their neighbours, because they spend lots of time together, in a joint school yard.

“Parents think that their children should know Albanian language and most probably the Council of Europe recognized that learning the language is important for co-existence. They have a true willingness to help the Serbian community to learn the language, and for us it is more than needed to know the language,” Vasic noted.