UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, November 10, 2021

Albanian Language Media:

Civil society urges U.S. to invite Kosovo to Biden’s Democracy Summit (Prishtina Insight)
Government forms mechanism to document war crimes (Indeksonline)
Reka: Balkans in a geopolitical vacuum; Escobar has a lot of work (Klan Kosova)
President’s Office reacts to Mladic mural in downtown Belgrade (media)
Government pledges €100 million investments in agriculture (Telegrafi)
Ministry of Health could be given to “Guxo” List (Koha)
COVID-19: 14 new cases, no deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucic: "ZSO to print three lighters and to deliver two pencils, so that Osmani is satisfied'' (KoSSev)
“ZSO must be established with all competencies that belong to it” (Radio KIM)
US stance on ZSO remains unchanged: Respect Brussels agreement (RTS)
One more Serb accused of war crime in Kosovo (Radio KIM, media)
Serbian Chamber of Commerce Office opens in Jerusalem today (Kosovo-online)
Arlov: Kosovo police grossly violates my rights, banned from entering Kosovo for third time (Kosovo-online, media)
EU: Time for Serbia to muse on reforms of judiciary and election process (N1)
Dodik meets with Erdogan in Ankara to discuss political situation in Bosnia (N1)
US embassy: Accusations against congressmen absurd, offensive, false (Beta, N1)

International:

In Albania, a Worrying Rise in Drug Gangs Hiring Minors (Balkan Insight)
North Macedonia PM Parks Resignation Ahead of No-Confidence Vote (Balkan Insight)
Ratko Mladic Mural Hit by Paint Attack in Belgrade (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Civil society urges U.S. to invite Kosovo to Biden’s Democracy Summit (Prishtina Insight)

A group of NGOs from Kosovo have sent a letter to the US authorities to reconsider its invitation for Kosovo in the Summit for Democracy, organized by the US president, Joe Biden, which will take place in December.

Kosovo has not been invited to take part in the Democracy Summit, that will discuss the advance of democracy, the fight against corruption and the promotion of human rights, to be held in December in the US.

While this has initiated a debate between the government and the opposition, a large group of Kosovo NGOs have sent a letter to the US authorities, to ask for a reconsideration of the invitation.

“We find the initiative very important from a strategic perspective at a global level, and highly relevant to our efforts locally”, said Agon Maliqi, one of the signatories of the letter, for BIRN.

“We find the exclusion of Kosovo from the platform to be further contributing to Kosovo’s isolation”, he added.

Other European countries not invited to the summit include Hungary, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey.

After news broke that Kosovo will not be invited, the spokesman of the US embassy in Kosovo, Eric Brassil, told BIRN that not all partners can be accommodated in this initiative, including Kosovo.

“The purpose [of the summit] is to bring together a regional and socio-economic group of countries and jurisdictions, including well-established and emerging democracies with diversity in population size, demographics and location,” the embassy said.

The American news site Politico on November 5 published what it said was the list of countries invited to the Summit of Democracies, and Kosovo was marked as a non-participant.

The Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, Glauk Konjufca, said Kosovo still hoped to participate in the second phase of the summit next year.

“These are important conferences, which the United States of America evaluates who is important to attend or not. It would have been welcome for Kosovo if it had been part of this conference,” Konjufca told RTV Besa.

Civil society remains hopeful too. “Our idea was that since there is still time until the summit, perhaps there is still some space to reconsider”, Maliqi told BIRN.

According to Politico, the summit will culminate with another meeting in 2022, when the achievements of this year’s summit will be discussed.

In a statement to Klan Kosova, former Kosovo prime minister Avdullah Hoti says blaming his ousted government for the summit snub was “low propaganda”.

“The lack of an invitation for Kosovo reflects the level of Kosovo’s relations with the United States,” Hoti claimed, referencing Albin Kurti’s current government.

After it was confirmed that Kosovo will not be part of the summit, Hoti also ironically commented by posting a photo on Facebook of late Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova in front of the White House.

The chief-of-staff of the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, Blerim Vela, dismissed claims that she has become isolated in the international arena, which is why Kosovo was not invited.

“The tendency of some opposition figures to create a narrative about the alleged isolation of the President is unfounded,” Vela said on Twitter, adding that the President has held over 30 meetings with her counterparts since April.

Although Kosovo has not been invited to the summit, the US embassy told BIRN that the US remains committed to cooperating with Kosovo and building its democracy.

“As President Biden noted in his August speech, Kosovo has made ‘tremendous progress over the last 20 years’ by building a resilient and multi-ethnic democracy,” it said.

The green countries have received invitations to be part of the Democracy Summit; orange ones have not received an invitation.

Reports on Kosovo by the US Department of State have for three years in a row highlighted corruption and its non-punishment by Kosovo institutions.

At the same time, the White House has received criticism about to some “democracies” they have invited.

Shay Khatiri wrote in Bulwark that inviting countries like Pakistan or the Democratic Republic of Congo hurts the cause of democracy, demoralizes democratic forces and legitimize the brutalities these governments have perpetrated.

Politico said aides to President Biden are still setting the agenda for the December 9-10 virtual summit. “The list of invited governments has not been made public, although ‘Politico’ managed to get a summary on Thursday,” it wrote.

Government forms mechanism to document war crimes (Indeksonline)

The Kosovo Government adopted today a concept document for the formation of the mechanism that will document crimes committed during the war in Kosovo. Prime Minister Albin Kurti said documenting the war crimes will also serve to educate and raise awareness so that Kosovo never again experiences the painful histories of crimes.

“22 years have passed since the war and addressing the crimes committed during the war in Kosovo is far from what we want and need. The serious violations of human rights and the war crimes will be treated by the mechanism that will document the crimes committed during the war in Kosovo. The formation of this mechanism will contribute to telling the truth to society,” Kurti said.

Reka: Balkans in a geopolitical vacuum; Escobar has a lot of work (Klan Kosova)

Blerim Reka, Kosovo’s former Minister for European Integration, said today that the U.S. Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, has a lot of work to do in the region. “The Balkans is in an unpredictable geopolitical vacuum. There is no peace agreement yet between Kosovo and Serbia. Meanwhile, the Dayton Agreement for Bosnia is blocked,” Reka said. “North Macedonia is the longest waiting candidate for the EU and it still has no accession talks. Albania is in a similar position although it was the first country in the Western Balkans to join NATO.”

President’s Office reacts to Mladic mural in downtown Belgrade (media)

Blerim Vela, Chief of Staff to Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, took to Twitter to react after a human rights activist in Belgrade was arrested for throwing eggs at a mural of Ratko Mladic, a convicted Serbian war criminal. “In downtown Belgrade there is a symbol of Vucic’s regime support for convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic. This is an affront to the memory and dignity of the victims of this war criminal. Without dealing with the past, Serbia will always harbour genocidal generals as its heroes,” Vela wrote on Twitter.

Government pledges €100 million investments in agriculture (Telegrafi)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that the budget for agriculture for 2022 will be over €100 million. “Kosovo starts the new year with the seven-year strategy for agriculture and rural development and the ten-year strategy for forestry. With the new budget for 2022, we will implement the biggest support with €70 million and together with the donors there will be a total investment of €100 million,” Kurti said in the government meeting.

Kurti said the Ministry of Agriculture has applied for a €20 million grant with the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program for support for small farmers.

Kurti also said that €10 million have been allocated for state reserves.

Ministry of Health could be given to “Guxo” List (Koha)

The Kosovo Government has yet to appoint a new Minister of Health and the post could go to a member of the “Guxo” List, a partner of the ruling Vetevendosje Movement. The Ministry of Health has an acting head after Arben Vitia resigned the post to run as mayor of Prishtina in the local elections.

Koha contacted Minister of Agriculture Faton Peci today to ask if the new Minister of Health will come from the “Guxo” List, but Peci said he “cannot say who the new minister will be” and that “there will certainly be consultations on the matter”.

Koha also notes that MP Haxhi Avduli has been rumored as a candidate for the post.

COVID-19: 14 new cases, no deaths (media)

14 new cases with COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 17 persons recovered from the virus during this time.

The Ministry of Health said in a statement today that 12 cases with the Delta Plus variant were confirmed in Kosovo.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic: "ZSO to print three lighters and to deliver two pencils, so that Osmani is satisfied'' (KoSSev)

"It is best that the Community of Serbian Municipalities (ZSO) has the right to produce bags for chocolate bananas, and that is it," the President of Serbia ironically responded to Pristina officials’ allegations that the ZSO cannot have executive powers, reported portal KoSSev.

The President of Serbia attended the completion of the first phase of the construction of the second factory of the German Continental in Kac. Apart from the new factory, he also spoke today about Kosovo, and the messages of the highest Pristina officials.

"The latter is so stupid that I have no words," Vucic said today, commenting on yesterday's statement by Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, that "Belgrade is a tool of Russia for the destabilization of Kosovo and the Western Balkans".

"We are proud of our independence, our autonomy, we are not a tool in the hands of Russia or anyone else. Not America, not the EU, not anyone else. We are an independent and sovereign country," the president said.

Noting that he is proud of the policy he leads, he specified that Serbia is one of the few independent and autonomous countries in this part of Europe.

"In our country, no one but us decides what political and economic moves we will make, and I am especially proud of that," Vucic said, noting that "only such a policy can attract new investments, preserve peace, pride, dignity, heart and soul of our people''.

To those who do not think so, Vucic says he does not want to answer them, but says that they use a "poor trick"

"When they don't know what to say against Serbia - they say, 'they are tied to the Russians and the Chinese' and this is like a matrix. And I guess we should be running now and apologize. I will not apologize to anyone," said the Serbian president.

Then he once again defined the policy of Serbia, wrote the portal KoSSev.

"Serbia is independent and is on the European path, but it respects its Russian, Chinese, American friends and everything else."

Today, the President also referred to the increasingly frequent statements coming from Pristina - that the Community of Serbian Municipalities (ZSO) will not be formed, as well as that the ZSO cannot have executive powers, because that would be an "introduction to the creation of Republika Srpska".

He replied in an ironic tone, reported the portal.

"It is best that the Community of Serbian Municipalities has the right to produce bags for chocolate bananas, and that is it. Eventually, three lighters should be printed annually and two pens for the New Year should be distributed, so that Vjosa Osmani is satisfied," said Vucic.

He said ''none of that".

"Either they will form the ZSO with all the powers we discussed in Brussels, or 'thank you - we do our job, you do your job' and we shall meet one day," the Serbian president said at the end, reported KoSSev.

“ZSO must be established with all competencies that belong to it” (Radio KIM)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic informed a delegation of the Kingdom of Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs about current political and security situation in Kosovo and about upcoming continuation of the dialogue in Brussels, Radio KIM reports.

Petkovic spoke with director of the Department for South-Eastern Europe Kristin Melson and special adviser on South-Eastern Europe Arne Sanes. Norwegian Ambassador to Serbia Jorn Erling Gjelstad was also present in the meeting.

The statement issued by the Office for KiM said Petkovic informed his interlocutors about recent incidents in Kosovo, stressing that unilateral and dangerous acts by Pristina and its persistent refusal to implement undertaken obligations deriving from Brussels agreement represent a constant source of tensions and threat to the peace in the area.

“The Community of Serb-majority Municipalities must be established with all competences that belong to it in line with the Brussels agreement and Belgrade will demand at the next meeting in Brussels undertaking of the concrete steps in this regard”, Petkovic said.

They also discussed the missing persons issue, and Petkovic was quoted as saying that this for Serbia is a humanitarian and not a political matter for daily use.

“Demonstrating responsible attitude on this issue, Belgrade has responded to all Pristina’s requests and searched in total 22 locations. However, out of ten locations in Kosovo and Metohija, whose search Belgrade requested based on relevant and grounded findings that they may contain mortal remains of Serbs, who went missing during the conflict in Kosovo and Metohija, Pristina conducted a search on one location only, Bunker near Djakovica”, Petkovic said.

He added Belgrade wants continuation of the dialogue, however, one must demand constructiveness and credibility on the side of Pristina, as it is about the process that should rest on responsibility of the both sides to respect undertaken obligations.

US stance on ZSO remains unchanged: Respect Brussels agreement (RTS)

The US Embassy in Pristina spokesperson said the stance of the US on the Community of the Serb-majority Municipalities (ZSO) remains unchanged and it was of crucial importance to fully respect the Brussels agreement, RTS reports.

He made these remarks responding to a question of Pristina-based Reporteri on the stance of the US regarding the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities.

“As far as the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities is concerned, the stance of the US remains unchanged. It is of crucial importance that both sides honor their obligations by implementing all previous agreements. This includes ZSO too. We do not describe how this, or any other agreement should be implemented. The techniques of the implementation are in the hands of the sides”, he said.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on several occasions and in different places said that the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities will not be established, although it is part of the Brussels agreement from 2013.

One more Serb accused of war crime in Kosovo (Radio KIM, media)

Pristina special prosecution filed an indictment at the Basic Court against Svetomir Bacevic for “war crimes against civilian population”, Radio KIM reports.

The prosecution said the criminal act “of a war crime against civilian population” was carried out near Pec during the 1998 and 1999 conflict.

“The defendant S.B. is accused of taking two plaintiffs in the case (husband and wife) T.K. and R.K, 60-year old each, as hostages during the 1998-1999 conflict. They were subjected to inhuman treatment, physical and psychological mistreatment, and the event took place in the village of Belo Polje, near Pec”, the prosecution said in a statement.

Bacevic was arrested in Pec, in December 2021, under the pretext of allegedly committing a war crime. He was a displaced person from Belo Polje, near Pec and lived in Gornji Milanovac, central Serbia, following the conflict.

He came to Kosovo and Metohija to obtain personal documents, but was brought in to the police station and following the interview there transferred to Pristina.

Serbian Chamber of Commerce Office opens in Jerusalem today (Kosovo-online)

Serbian Chamber of Commerce will ceremonially open its representation office in Jerusalem today, aiming at strengthening the ties between Serbia and Israel in the areas of economy, trade and science, with focus on cooperation in innovation and use of high technology, Kosovo-online portal reports today.

Serbian Chamber of Commerce President Mirko Cadez, Serbian Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunication Jasmina Matic, Israeli Minister of Finance Avigdor Lieberman and Mayor of Jerusalem Moshe Leon will attend the opening.

There are more than 70 Israeli companies working in Serbia and the two countries will mark this year 30 years since establishment of diplomatic relations.

This is the seventh representation office of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce in the world.

The opening of the office in Jerusalem was announced last year during the signing of the Washington agreement.

Arlov: Kosovo police grossly violates my rights, banned from entering Kosovo for third time (Kosovo-online, media)

President of the Committee for Helping Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, Milorad Arlov from Banja Luka (Republika Srpska, B&H), by decision of the Kosovo police was prevented today to be a host of Pec Patriarchate Saint Patron’s Day, Kosovo-online portal reports. His daughter Jelena took over that role.

Arlov was not able to be physically present, since Kosovo police for a third time banned him from entering Kosovo, without providing explanation or elaboration, the portal added.

“They (Kosovo police) grossly violated my freedom and freedom of movement. However, the blessing I received means freedom to me. It was my honor and pride to receive a blessing from personalities such (Serbian Orthodox Church) Patriarch and Bishop (of Raska-Prizren) are to be a host at so important and holy place that our Pec Patriarchate has for all the Serbs (…)”, Arlov said.

Arlov is known for numerous humanitarian actions he undertook to help Serbs in Kosovo, including providing scholarships for students and collecting the funds to reconstruct “Podrzi me” (Support me) center in Mitrovica North for children with disabilities and special needs. Kosovo police first banned him from entering Kosovo in June 2020. Prior to that he was visiting Kosovo unimpededly.

EU: Time for Serbia to muse on reforms of judiciary and election process (N1)

The European Union top diplomat in Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret, called on Tuesday the country's Parliament to play a vital role in implementing constitutional and electoral reforms.

“Now is the time to consider all the essential reforms that are ahead and in which the Parliament plays an important role. One of them refers to constitutional reforms that should take into account the recommendations of the Venice Commission to strengthen the independence of the judiciary”, Giaufret, the head of the EU Delegation in Serbia, said.

Speaking to reporters after the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration Committee, he added that “another important reform is the reform of the electoral process, and in that regard, all recommendations and measures identified in the inter-party dialogue, as well as the recommendations of the OSCE ODIHR office, should be translated into law to have an inclusive and participatory electoral process“.

International

In Albania, a Worrying Rise in Drug Gangs Hiring Minors (Balkan Insight)

Evidence points to a growing number of minors in Albania being exploited by drug gangs to distribute their product.

Valbona [not her real name] knew that her son would sometimes skip school but had no idea just how much trouble he was in until the police came knocking last year on a late November evening.

The single mother, who spoke on condition that her real name was not published, had just returned from a long shift at the launderette where she worked when the police told her that her 15-year-old son had been arrested in the Albanian capital, Tirana, on drugs charges.

“I was shocked. I live only for my son,” Valbona told BIRN.

Picked up in a poor neighbourhood on the outskirts of the city, the boy was found in possession of three bags of marihuana in his pocket and another five in a flowerpot outside a nearby apartment block.

Under questioning, he admitted selling drugs for a dealer who paid him a fixed monthly wage of 10,000 leks, or roughly 82 euros. He refused to name the dealer.