UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, April 27, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani: Forcibly disappeared are our call for justice (media)
Hovenier on National Day of Missing Persons: More to be done to ensure justice (media)
Abdixhiku: Authors of monstrous crimes must be held responsible (media)
Sarrazin: Kosovo’s membership of CoE, EU and NATO only through successful dialogue with Serbia (Klan Kosova)
Vucic warned that the expulsion of Russia from the Security Council is being prepared – Ylber Hysa and Sonja Biserko say that it is unlikely (Albanian Post)
Haziri: Blinken in Ukraine, Donfried in the Balkans, not accidental (media)
US Embassy condemns attack on police, cautions against speculation (Lajmi)
Police confiscate automatic rifle, gun and bullets in raids in Mitrovica North (Kallxo)
Rama, Vucic to meet in June as part of “Open Balkan” (Indeksonline)
COVID-19: 13 new cases (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucic, Donfried discuss EU integration, Belgrade-Pristina dialogue (N1, Tanjug)
Vucic meets Slutsky, says Serbia to continue EU path, preserve friendly relations with Russia (RTS)
Brnabic meets Donfried, talks about Community of Serb-majority Municipalities (Kosovo-online)
“Stop politicisation of missing persons issue” (Radio KIM)
Pristina special police forces withdraw after being deployed in Mitrovica North (Tanjug, Kosovo-online)
Bishop Teodosije: Church’s role is not to divide people, but help those who suffer (KoSSev, Politika)
Zubin Potok journalist on attack against police, situation of local population there (Danas)
Mihajlovic: Gas supplies to Serbia unhampered for now (Tanjug)

International:

Hoti: EU must condition Serbia on missing persons (euronews.al)
Children ‘invisible’ in Serbia’s response to domestic abuse (BIRN)

Humanitarian/Development:

Kosovo’s ‘Bad News Eagles’ qualify for Counter-Strike tournament (BIRN)
Attacks in Babin Most village becoming more frequent (Radio KIM)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani: Forcibly disappeared are our call for justice (media)

On Kosovo's National Day of Missing Persons, President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani said the day is "a remembrance, anticipation and anxiety for the family and the state of Kosovo."

In her message on the occasion, Osmani noted that the date coincides with the anniversary of atrocities at the village of Meja in 1999 by Serb forces which saw the killing of 376 Albanian boys and men. "Meja is the great pain of Kosovo and one of the bloodiest stories of the war. We will never forget it, because only in this way will we know the value of freedom and the state," Osmani said.

Recalling that there are still more than 1,600 missing persons, Osmani said that the call for justice "will be put in place when the perpetrators of crimes will appear before it and the fate of each of our people will be revealed."

Hovenier on National Day of Missing Persons: More to be done to ensure justice (media)

United States Ambassador in Kosovo, Jeff Hovenier, said today on the occasion of Kosovo’s National Day of Missing Persons, that more must be done to ensure justice. “Today, on Kosovo’s National Day of Missing Persons, we stand with family members who, 20+ years later, still lack answers about the fate of their missing loved ones. More must be done to ensure justice and closure for these families and those they lost,” Hovenier tweeted.

Abdixhiku: Authors of monstrous crimes must be held responsible (media)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lumir Abdixhiku, said today on the 23rd anniversary of the massacre in Meja that “the authors of monstrous crimes must be held responsible”. “23 years ago, in this place, 376 innocent civilians, including 36 children under 18, were killed by Serbian troops and their bodies were then transferred to Serbia to be buried in a mass grave and this shows the nature of Serbian crimes in Kosovo and the organisation of the Serbian state to conceal this crime … Today is the National Day of Missing Persons, and it is our political and patriotic obligation to resolve the fate of over 1,600 missing persons and to give the families and all of Kosovo the needed peace. Our future is built by shedding light on the past and by holding accountable all those responsible for monstrous crimes,” he said.

Sarrazin: Kosovo’s membership of CoE, EU and NATO only through successful dialogue with Serbia (Klan Kosova)

Manuel Sarrazin, Germany’s Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, said in an interview with the news website today that Kosovo’s future membership in regional and international organisations and Kosovo’s path toward the European Union and NATO, will be determined by a successful dialogue with Serbia.

Sarrazin said he wants to support reforms and reconciliation in the region and promote regional cooperation within the framework of the Berlin Process. “In my role, I will coordinate closely with all our partners and the special representatives of the European Union. Peace in the Western Balkans and successful integration in the EU are among the most important issues for me,” he said. “The European perspective of the Western Balkans is of strategic importance for the region and the EU. It is one of the highest priorities of the German Government. There is no doubt: the future of the six countries is in the EU.”

Sarrazin said German Foreign Minister Baerbock and he fully support the EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak. “Germany is deeply engaged in the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. Progress is urgently needed as the unresolved bilateral relations hinder both countries and the region as a whole, and it remains a potential threat for the security of Europe,” he said.

Sarrazin said Germany wants “a comprehensive agreement on normalisation that paves way to the future membership of both countries in the EU and that contributes to regional stability. For us this clearly means mutual recognition, because it is unimaginable to have two countries joining the European Union and not recognising one another. In order to achieve this, we expect constructive engagement from Kosovo and Serbia”.

Sarrazin also said “we won’t allow the erosion of the security situation in the region. This is why we support all efforts to strengthen regional cooperation and the European perspective of all six countries of the Western Balkans. The dialogue is crucial for the sustainable normalisation of relations with Serbia. We also want to see real engagement on Kosovo’s multiethnic identity: Kosovo Serbs are part of society, culture and the future of Kosovo. This is why it is so important to strengthen the internal dialogue in Kosovo and at the same time to develop a pragmatic approach vis-à-vis negotiations with Serbia … It is our belief that a comprehensive agreement will resolve all outstanding issues and would contribute to regional stability”.

Vucic warned that the expulsion of Russia from the Security Council is being prepared – Ylber Hysa and Sonja Biserko say that it is unlikely (Albanian Post)

Since the start of the large scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the mobilization of the Western world in condemning it, the President of Serbia, Alexandar Vucic, held an extraordinary press conference warning of difficult times awaiting Serbia.

One of his previously unheard of arguments was that “Russia’s exclusion from the Security Council is being prepared.” Such a thing, he argued, would practically mean goodbye to the Russian veto.

Kosovo’s door to the UN will be wide open, he said.

Among other things, he said that the Western world was trying to soften the Chinese stance towards Kosovo in the UN Security Council.

Such a thing, according to experts in regional politics, is part of the political and propaganda battle of Belgrade, but not quite realistic.

Read full article at: https://bit.ly/38rb2ey

Haziri: Blinken in Ukraine, Donfried in the Balkans, not accidental (media)

Deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lutfi Haziri, said today that the visit to Kosovo by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Karen Donfried, confirms the agenda for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. “The agenda of the dialogue has been confirmed,” he said, adding that Donfried’s visit to Kosovo on the same day that U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, visited Ukraine, was not accidental. “Her visit was aimed at showing that the Balkans is protected,” he argued.

Haziri said that “Kosovo should not lose this momentum because Serbia is weaker now, with Russia being at war”. He also argued that there is a new political mood in Europe and that it favours Kosovo’s position.

US Embassy condemns attack on police, cautions against speculation (Lajmi)

The United States Embassy in Prishtina has condemned the attack against a Kosovo Police patrol in the north on Monday. “The U.S. Embassy is deeply concerned by reports of shots fired and stones thrown at Kosovo law enforcement officers near Zubin Potok. These attacks happened while the authorities responsible for maintaining peace and security were carrying out their official duties. We strongly condemn this violent and unjustifiable act. Law enforcement officers are responsible for investigating the situation. We are against speculations that would increase tensions and will condemn any efforts to impede this essential work,” the spokesperson said.

Police confiscate automatic rifle, gun and bullets in raids in Mitrovica North (Kallxo)

Kosovo Police said in a statement today that it has confiscated an automatic rifle M-70, a handgun, and bullets in raids in three different locations in Mitrovica North. No arrests were made during the raids.

Rama, Vucic to meet in June as part of “Open Balkan” (Indeksonline)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said today that the next meeting of the Open Balkan initiative will be held in Ohrid, North Macedonia, in June.

COVID-19: 13 new cases (media)

13 new cases with COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 23 persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 412 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic, Donfried discuss EU integration, Belgrade-Pristina dialogue (N1, Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic discussed bilateral relations, European integration, Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and other topical issues with US assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried, a presidency press release said on Tuesday, Serbian media report.

It said they also discussed Serbia’s stand on the situation in Ukraine and the diversification of energy sources in the country and the Western Balkans.

Speaking about regional cooperation, Vucic noted that maintaining stability in the region was a crucial interest of Serbia and that advancement of good-neighbourly and mutually beneficial cooperation was a fundamental and unchangeable starting point for Serbia's overall foreign policy.

In particular, Vucic noted the Open Balkan initiative as an example of successful regional cooperation and a fight for common goals, and stressed that this was the best way for states in the region to prepare for EU membership, as well as an opportunity to achieve European standards before attaining EU membership.

Vucic welcomed the presence of the many and significant US companies operating in Serbia and added that there was enormous untapped potential, especially considering the excellent conditions Serbia was able to provide to potential investors. "Serbia's exports to the US are a hundred times higher relative to 2010," Vucic noted.

It said that they exchanged views on the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and agreed that all open issues in the dialogue must be resolved under EU auspices to find compromise solutions.

“Our side has met its obligations but Pristina is persistently avoiding its obligations. The forming of the Community of Serb Municipalities has not been launched nine years after the Brussels Agreement was reached”, Vucic said and added that Belgrade remains fully committed to the dialogue as the only way to resolve open issues and reach a mutually acceptable agreement.

Donfried is quoted as saying that the United States strongly urges EU membership for all the countries of the region as one of the priorities of American foreign policy in the region.

She welcomed the Open Balkan initiative and Serbia’s intention of placing economic issues in the focus of regional cooperation, saying that the initiative is an opportunity to promote the investment potential of the region.

Vucic meets Slutsky, says Serbia to continue EU path, preserve friendly relations with Russia (RTS)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with the Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly, Leonid Slutsky, who congratulated Vucic on his re-election as head of state, RTS reports.

During the meeting Vucic said he will make an utmost focus on the economic progress of Serbia, preservation of peace and stability in the region and beyond. He also expressed hope that conflict in Ukraine will end soon and the lasting peace will prevail, reads the statement of the Vucic’s press office.

He added Serbia will continue its European path, while preserving friendly relations with Russia.

On his part, Slutsky spoke about how Russia sees conflict in Ukraine. The two interlocutors also discussed further development of Serbian-Russian bilateral relations, including in the field of energy, with expectations that new conditions on gas purchase will be soon agreed upon.

Brnabic meets Donfried, talks about Community of Serb-majority Municipalities (Kosovo-online)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic in a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, Caren Donfried said Serbia remains open and ready to continue dialogue with Pristina, adding that Pristina has done nothing yet when it comes to establishment of Community of Serb-majority Municipalities as agreed in Brussels, nine years ago, Kosovo-online portal reports.

During the talks, Brnabic emphasised good cooperation and communication with KFOR, which is particularly important for Serbs living in Kosovo and Metohija.

Donfried said the US supports continuation of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and that her country strongly supports the European integration process of the region.

The two interlocutors also discussed bilateral cooperation between the two states, regional cooperation and the European integration process. Brnabic noted that European integration and preserving regional peace and stability was of crucial importance for Serbia, adding that the peace and stability are of crucial importance for the future of Western Balkan as well.

Brnabic also said the Open Balkan initiative was a good example of connecting people from the region, primarily the youth.

“Stop politicisation of missing persons issue” (Radio KIM)

Representatives of the Missing Persons Resource Center and Kosovo Government Missing Persons Commission laid flowers at the monument dedicated to kidnapped and missing persons erected in front of Kosovo Assembly yesterday, one day ahead of Missing Persons Day, Radio KIM reports.

Representatives of the Missing Persons Resource Center said they are still searching for 1619 persons, without distinction being Albanians or Serbs, and urged representatives of the institutions not to politicise this issue. In a ceremony that took place yesterday, apart from head of the Kosovo Missing Persons Commission, Adnin Hoti, no other institutional representative took part, Radio KIM said.

Bajram Qerkini from Missing Persons Resource Center said institutions are not doing enough to resolve the fate of missing persons.

“Briefly, we wanted to say that they are not doing their job. Firstly, they are doing what they were not doing so far, asking the international community to help us shed the light on the destinies of our beloved ones. We can’t find them. Who can find them? If you can’t, then authorise the international community, that is why they are here to help us. Secondly, find out where the mass graves are, stop joking, and start working. They didn’t start working for a year already”, Qerkini is quoted as saying.

Speaking about the Brussels process, Qerkini said it was a political issue for representatives of the institutions, while for families of the missing persons it was a life matter.

“We do not make distinction among those missing, being them Serbs, Albanians or Roma. Mostly, missing persons should be part of human (approach) and to help us in Brussels, to find the way and common language. They said ‘we need to talk about missing persons primarily’. And what happened? For a year there was a stalemate, and they did nothing. That is why we appeal again to detach politics from this issue”, he added.

Negovan Mavric from Missing Persons Resource Center said “that missing persons have neither religion nor ethnicity, but we are here to demonstrate that we care about shedding the light to the destinies of more than 1.600 missing persons”.

“We are here to demonstrate we are together in this struggle, to convey a message that our problem, the pain we endure, should be resolved and this issue be taken as priority in Brussels and elsewhere. Today a search is carried out in Sjenica, in Stavalj mine (Serbia proper), and the same should be done everywhere if there is information that these could be potential grave sites and excavations to continue”, he added.

On his side, Andin Hoti voiced criticism on the account of official Belgrade, saying that in some cases they were waiting up to year to get response to the requests for satellite images of some locations in Serbia.

Asked about searches on the locations in Kosovo, he declined to reveal where the searches are planned.

“There are several locations in Kosovo, more than five. We have on the agenda treating several locations in Kosovo. The Belgrade delegation has been informed that it can be present at the locations during the examination. Two locations were checked in April. I said earlier I will not mention names of locations, because I do not want to hurt families from other regions (…)”, Hoti said.

Pristina special police forces withdraw after being deployed in Mitrovica North (Tanjug, Kosovo-online)

Pristina's special police forces withdrew from Mitrovica North on Tuesday afternoon after being deployed to the town's Bosnjacka mahala district earlier in the day, Kosovo-online portal reports.

The portal added that forces were armed with long weapons and police vehicles were seen near the East Bridge, which separates the southern and the northern part of Mitrovica.

According to informal sources, the police forces searched several buildings and the portal said the raid was unrelated to an attack on a Kosovo police vehicle that had occurred yesterday morning in Zubin Potok municipality.

Bishop Teodosije: Church’s role is not to divide people, but help those who suffer (KoSSev, Politika)

The church’s role is not to divide people. Our role is not to provoke revolutions, justify or condemn the powerful people of this world. It is our job to join in suffering and help those who suffer. To help them bear their cross, and not judge and condemn them – Bishop Teodosije said in his Easter message, KoSSev portal reports.

“If we sometimes react, we should do it not for the sake of political or ideological confrontation, but to help our faithful people and preserve the life of the Church. Christianity is not a formula for ending all wars and economic crises in this time and space“, Bishop Teodosije said in his Easter interview with Belgrade-based daily Politika.

According to him, the presence of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) in Kosovo and Metohija presents a great consolation to the Kosovo Serbs.

“Regardless of the hard political and historical realities that our faithful people have been going through for centuries, we survive and remain only if we are bound to Christ and aware of the significance of the Kosovo Covenant of the Holy Prince Lazar“, he said.

Citing the problems that this diocese, along with the Serbian people in Kosovo, has faced immediately after the war – the destruction of approximately 150 monasteries and churches, their reconstruction in cooperation with the Council of Europe, private and international donors, which is often slow, and recently intensified problems – robberies, the unsatisfactory work of the police, administrative pressures and usurpation of property, the bishop also stressed that they are optimistic about the continued survival of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo.

International

Hoti: EU must condition Serbia on missing persons (euronews.al)

Andin Hoti, head of the Kosovo Government’s Committee for Missing Persons, said today that they are asking the European Union for the issue of missing persons to be treated only as a humane issue “and not as Serbia has done so far, treating it as a political issue”.

Hoti said the Kosovo side is continuously calling on Brussels to apply pressure on Serbia on the issue of missing persons. He also said they have asked the Serbian side to publish all confidential and non-confidential documents from the time of the war.

Children ‘invisible’ in Serbia’s response to domestic abuse (BIRN)

On paper, Serbia protects children who witness abuse at home. In reality, they are falling through the cracks, with profound consequences for their future.

Nada Padejski Sekerovic knows from her work at a safe house for victims of domestic violence in northern Serbia that the Serbian state is failing children who witness such violence. But one piece of data proves it, she said.

Of all emergency measures ordered by courts under Serbia’s Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence between September 2018 and December 2020, only five per cent applied directly to children, according to data cited in the country’s new national strategy tackling gender-based violence against women and domestic violence.

“Children are not sufficiently recognised as victims in the context of gender-based violence because it is not sufficiently recognised how violence affects children’s emotional, physical, psychological development, their behaviour and the process of socialisation,” Padejski Sekerovic told BIRN.

Read full article at: https://bit.ly/3viPERB

Humanitarian/Development

Kosovo’s ‘Bad News Eagles’ qualify for Counter-Strike tournament (BIRN)

‘Bad News Eagles’ has become the first Kosovar team to qualify for the most prestigious competition of the video game, which this year takes place in Belgium in May.

For coach Klesti Kola everything about Counter Strike had started as a fun time activity, playing every day with his friends.

But over time, seeing that they have more skills than others, Kola says for Prishtina Insight that he had started to take it seriously and “we start to think that we can really do the profession.”

“Working every day, with discipline and passion and working in other mental aspects we have reached this point when we are competing with world teams,” he said.

Their team, Bad News Eagles, on Sunday secured participation in the biggest Counter-Strike competition, which this year takes place in Antwerp, Belgium. The CS: GO Major tournament runs from May 9 to May 22.

Read full article at: https://bit.ly/38shLFh

Attacks in Babin Most village becoming more frequent (Radio KIM)

In an article published yesterday RTV KIM reports that a thirteen-year-old Serb boy was attacked in Babin Most on Orthodox Easter, while he was with friends in front of a cafe in the centre of the village. Fortunately, there were no serious consequences in the incident that was caused by a group of Albanian young men.

Radio KIM added the boy’s parents feel distressed, both because of the knowledge that the attack could have had tragic consequences, and over the fact that this is not the first incident and attack on their family.

Mother of the attacked boy Milena Mitrovic said this was not the first attack on their family.

“In 2015, they tried to kidnap my daughter, who was 9 years old at the time, at the very entrance to our street, and only by sheer luck she managed to escape. The older son, who is 18 years old, was also attacked in the same place, and on that occasion he was hit in the head with a wooden lath, but fortunately the neighbours came and managed to defend him”, Milena said.

This latest incident disturbed the local residents and made them worry, because the attacks in this village are happening continuously, violating the security which is of the greatest importance for the survival of Serbs in this place.

President of Interim Municipal Authority of Obilic Goran Dancetovic said that Babin Most, as the only village where Serbs live, on the road from Pristina to Mitrovica North, is obviously an attractive location and that the number of Serbian children and youth in this village “bothers some people”.

“This is another form of pressure on us to make a decision that no one is ready for, and that is to leave from here. I hope that the state of Serbia and the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, and we together with them, will succeed in their fight for the survival of our people in this area and that we will overcome all the challenges that lie ahead”, he said.

RTV Kim pointed out that the attack on the Serbian boy in Babin Most was reported to the Kosovo police, which is investigating the case, and the boy’s family expects that the attackers would be sanctioned. However, they expressed doubts more serious measures would be taken to prevent something like this from happening in future again.