UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, June 30, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

President Osmani’s interview with Kosovapress
Lajcak: Prishtina’s decision has changed the situation (media)
“Decision to issue provisional ID documents in line with 2011 agreement” (Nacionale)
Prime Minister Kurti meets AAK representative, discuss vetting (Gazeta Express)
Arifi criticises Lajcak: Double standard has a name, it is the EU (RTK)
Ukrainian journalist interview with Telegrafi

Serbian Language Media:

Lajcak: Pristina's decision changed the topics; we must not allow a crisis to occur (N1)
Dacic and Lajcak: Dialogue and compromise the only way for an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina (Beta, N1)
Petkovic met Lajcak: Serbs from Kosovo will not allow them to be persecuted (Kosovo Online)
Petkovic on Pristina's decision: A direct blow to all Serbs south and north of the Ibar (RTS)
Vucic: Pristina preparing assault on north Kosovo (N1)
Brnabic: Vucic explained ‘essence of hypocrisy’ we endure every day (N1)
Musliu: “Kosovo government sacrifices Albanians from Bujanovac, Presevo and Medvedja by introducing measures against Serbia” (Kosovo Online, bujanovacke)
Demostat: Third of Serbians want to join EU (N1)
NATO says Western Balkans of strategic importance (N1)
Kosovo gave up on joining Interpol this year (Kosovo online, Novosti)
Selakovic thanks Vatican for its stance on Kosovo issue (Kosovo Online)

Opinion:

Rakocevic: We have been living these "Storms" for 20 years, we have been pushed into the ghetto (N1)
Radosavljevic: Vucic threatening with war and “Storm” to hide the sale of land (Beta)

International:

Kosovo Move in Car Plates Row Aims to ‘Expel Serbs’ – Vucic (BIRN)
Why Albania’s Edi Rama ‘Misses’ Thaci’s Presence in Kosovo (BIRN)
UK sends military experts to counter Russian influence in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Reuters)

Albanian Language Media

President Osmani’s interview with Kosovapress

President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, said in an interview with Kosovapress that she has made it clear to all representatives of the European Union that Kosovo will not join any initiative that would delay the free movement of its people. She said that Kosovo has been told by most EU officials that there is no such intention, but she says that joint work is needed so that such proposals, as the one for a new roadmap, are not pushed forward.

Osmani said Kosovo has met all the requirements and that the decision for visa liberalisation is running late. “We want to be treated the same as other countries. It has never happened in the history of the European Union to have a second roadmap or new criteria, or reassessment of criteria from the beginning, so we as the Republic of Kosovo need to oppose such an approach and we have done this,” she said. “I have made it clear to all representatives of the European Union that if they think about this approach, it will certainly be unacceptable for us, and we will not take part in initiatives aimed at further delaying the process which is already running late.”

Osmani said that Kosovo needs to work with EU member states so that they too reject initiatives for a new roadmap for visa liberalisation. “We must work with member states individually so that they refuse this approach and at the same time not allow the European Union to introduce procedures for Kosovo which were never introduced for any other country in the past,” she said.

Lajcak: Prishtina’s decision has changed the situation (media)

Special Representative of the European Union for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, said today that Kosovo’s decision for reciprocity on ID cards has changed the topics and plans of his visit to the region. Lajcak did not agree to comment on a statement by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic “is preparing an assault in the north”. “We had a very serious discussion about the situation last night and we certainly need to look for solutions through dialogue and not confrontations,” Lajcak said during his stay in Belgrade. “I came to the region to prepare the next meeting between the leaders and to talk about progress and the normalisation of relations and now we have to resolve this situation. We must not allow a crisis.”

“Decision to issue provisional ID documents in line with 2011 agreement” (Nacionale)

Violeta Haxholli, a monitor of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue from the Kosovo Democratic Institute, said in a Facebook post today that the decision of Kosovo institutions to issue provisional identification documents at the border for Serbian nationals is fully in line with the agreement on freedom of movement that Kosovo and Serbia reached in July 2011. “12 years after the agreement was reached, Kosovo did not apply the practice although the agreement allowed for it, whereas Serbia implemented it from the beginning. Although in the last 12 years, Kosovo introduced no barrier to Serbian nationals at the border, Serbia did not remove the barriers. Kosovo’s decision to introduce reciprocity could be the right tool to convince Serbia to remove this unnecessary practice so that citizens of both countries can move freely with their ID cards without delays,” she writes.

Prime Minister Kurti meets AAK representative, discuss vetting (Gazeta Express)

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, met today with the representative of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and former Minister of Justice, Selim Selimi, to discuss the vetting in the judiciary. A spokesperson for the AAK confirmed the meeting and said the position of this party is “that the vetting process is important, and we support it”. “Nevertheless, the AAK believes that the vetting cannot be successful if there is no full internal political consensus, and without the involvement of the Kosovo Judicial Council and the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, without the support of the United States and the European Union, and without fully respecting the positions of the Venice Commission,” the AAK spokesperson said.

Arifi criticises Lajcak: Double standard has a name, it is the EU (RTK)

Mayor of Presevo, Shqiprim Arifi, criticised the EU Special Representative for the Kosovo – Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, for failing to visit the Albanian minority in Presevo Valley. “It is a shame to see you visiting the Serb minority in Kosovo, and you choose not to visit Presevo Valley, where the Albanian minority faces the harshest forms of discrimination. Double standard has a name, EU,” Arifi tweeted.

Ukrainian journalist interview with Telegrafi

Almost a month has passed since the Ukrainian journalist, Daria Meshcheriakova, was stationed in Kosovo. She is staying as part of a program of support from the Government of Kosovo for Ukrainian journalists, who are working in a suitable environment here.

The war that started from the Russian forces, has made it impossible for her to live in the country where she was born, grew up and practiced her profession as a journalist.

In an exclusive interview given for Telegrafi, Daria says that within this not too long period, she has already begun to ‘embody’ things here.

She says that Kosovars are very friendly with her. Further, adds that she has started to like some of the stuffs with which Kosovo is identified, and also telling the fact is not the first time she visits Kosovo.

“I have been listening to Kosovar music since 2011. I know a lot of artists from Kosovo and have their songs on my playlist. My favorite singer is Era Istrefi. I like it the most when she sings in Albanian. I can learn the language better in this way”.

She also talks about politics between Kosovo and Ukraine. The Ukrainian journalist regrets that her state did not recognize Kosovo’s independence and hopes that this will happen when the war is over, always if Ukraine regains the territories occupied by Russia.

Serbian Language Media

Lajcak: Pristina's decision changed the topics; we must not allow a crisis to occur (N1)

The special representative of the European Union for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajcak, stated that yesterday's decision of Pristina changed the topics and plans of his visit, reported N1.

He did not want to comment on the statement of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, that Pristina was planning a new "Storm" in the north of Kosovo.

"We had a very serious conversation last night about the situation, and of course we need to look for solutions through dialogue and not confrontation," Lajcak told reporters.

He said that there was a new situation, which has changed his plans and topics. "I came to the region to prepare for the next meeting of leaders and to talk about the progress and normalisation of relations, now we need to resolve this situation. We must not allow a crisis to occur," he said.

Lajcak will be meeting opposition representatives in the EU Delegation building. The Party of Freedom and Justice, the People's Party, the coalition "We Must", the Democratic Party and the Movement of Free Citizens were invited to that meeting.

"It is certainly important for me to hear their opinion and their views," Lajcak told reporters before the meeting, reported N1.

Dacic and Lajcak: Dialogue and compromise the only way for an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina (Beta, N1)

The President of the Assembly of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, and the EU Special Representative for Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, assessed in Belgrade that dialogue was the only right way to reach a sustainable agreement between Belgrade and Pristina.

Dacic said that the only right way to reach a sustainable agreement between Belgrade and Pristina was dialogue and compromise, and that Belgrade remains fully committed to the dialogue and ready for its continuation.

"Our side is ready to continue the dialogue on numerous open issues, but we emphasize that we are not ready to accept any unilateral decisions, which did not result from the agreement in the dialogue, and which directly endanger the rights of members of the Serbian community in Kosovo and Metohija," said Dacic, announced the Assembly of Serbia.

Lajcak, who is the EU special representative for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and other regional issues in the Western Balkans, stressed that dialogue is the only process for normalizing relations between Serbia and Kosovo and stressed the EU's position that the parties should implement what was agreed.

Lajcak also mentioned that he was working on a high-level meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Brussels, and that he wanted their next meeting to be productive, reported Beta.

Petkovic met Lajcak: Serbs from Kosovo will not allow them to be persecuted (Kosovo Online)

The director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, met today with the special representative of the European Union for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajcak, and on that occasion said that Pristina, with the latest moves, brought relations with Belgrade to a boiling point, reported portal Kosovo Online.

According to the statement of the Office for KiM, Petkovic openly conveyed Lajcak Belgrade's position on the latest situation in Kosovo, caused by yesterday's Pristina's unilateral decisions on Serbian license plates and ID cards.

Petkovic pointed out that the recent adoption of the Roadmap for the implementation of the energy agreement has raised expectations that this is a big step that opens the possibility to finally start implementing other agreements, primarily with activities on forming the Community of Serbian Municipalities. Instead, as he pointed out, we got a new crisis that was directly caused by Pristina and which can have unforeseeable consequences for peace and stability in the entire region.

"After yesterday's events, Pristina brought the dialogue to the brink, and it is increasingly certain that the agreements reached in Brussels are completely meaningless. Belgrade is particularly concerned about the unresponsiveness of the international community, which silently observes the moves of Albanian politicians, which lead to destabilization of the situation on the ground and the danger of conflict, which Pristina obviously wants, "Petkovic noted.

He added that "what is clear is that Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija will not allow them to be persecuted, killed."

"On the contrary, today they are more determined than ever, that they will not tolerate Pristina carrying out institutional violence against them. With the latest moves, Pristina has brought relations to a boiling point with Belgrade," Petkovic concluded.

Petkovic said that Belgrade was consistently committed to peaceful resolution of disagreements in the region and creating space for intensifying economic cooperation and free flow of people, goods, capital, and services, and that it will maintain that position, but that Pristina has chosen a different path, reported Kosovo Online, citing the Office for KiM statement.

Petkovic on Pristina's decision: A direct blow to all Serbs south and north of the Ibar (RTS)

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, said that with ''the latest unilateral decisions of the institutions in Pristina regarding Serbian license plates and ID cards, Albin Kurti most openly threat with the war against Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija'', reported Radio Television of Serbia.

''Decision of institutions in Pristina to ban Serbian ID cards and to cancel, after September 30, the validity of license plates with the names of Serbian cities "KM", "GL", "PR", "UR" and others, with the announcement that after that deadline these vehicles will be confiscated, represents a direct blow to all Serbs, both south and especially north of the Ibar,'' Petkovic said in a statement.

He pointed out that it was inadmissible for the representatives of the international community to keep silent and pretend to be clumsy to such a threat of conflict and revenge, while Albin Kurti is preparing the beginning of a great conflict and an attack on Serbs at the end of September, reported RTS, citing the statement.

"By their silence, they become direct accomplices of the new destabilization of the situation on the ground, directed by Albin Kurti, caused by the new unilateral decision of the authorities in Pristina. Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija will not allow themselves to be persecuted, killed and their legitimately acquired property confiscated and everyone in Pristina and Brussels should know that well,'' Petkovic concluded.

Vucic: Pristina preparing assault on north Kosovo (N1)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Wednesday that the authorities in Pristina are planning an assault on the mainly-Serb populated northern Kosovo, N1 reports.

Speaking after a meeting with European Union Envoy for Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak, Vucic said the fact that the Kosovo government set a deadline of September 31 to replace Serbian licence plates means that is when the assault is being planned. Serbia is always ready for a dialogue but some people are never ready and they had the support of the Western powers, he said adding: “They had the full support of Great Britain, Germany and the other Quint countries.

“They have taken two decisions: one denying the right of entry with personal ID cards where they introduce papers to allow entry. The second decision is aimed at expelling the Serbs from the north of Kosovo, creating a new “Storm” (Croatian military operation against Serb-held areas in the war of the 1990s leading to massive expulsion of Serb civilians) where they want to convince the Serbs in the space of two months to register with “RKS” Albanian licence plates. They will probably hand out leaflets, pamphlets, you know how it was done in World War II to convince the Serbs and if they don’t convince them they will take their license plates and vehicles. They are not interested in how many Serbs will survive”, Vucic said.

Opinion

Rakocevic: We have been living these "Storms" for 20 years, we have been pushed into the ghetto (N1)

The president of Serbian Journalists Association (UNS) and the director of the House of Culture in Gracanica, Zivojin Rakocevic, stated in the N1's Studio Live TV Show, talking about the position of Serbs in Kosovo and President Vucic's statement about "new Storms", that they "have been living these 'storms' for 20 years".

“We’ve ghettoized ourselves, we’ve been pushed into the ghetto, those horrible phrases hit you and renew what you’ve been living in different ways for twenty years,” he said.

Sometimes, he added, "we don't need to be reminded of those terrible terms, such as Storm."

"For twenty years, we have lived in such a society in which we feel every day that we are losing our rights and freedoms, which is the basic feeling of the majority of Serbs, and it is defined in different ways. You cannot live normally with so much stress and pressure, deprivation of rights. We have been ghettoized, we have been pushed into the ghetto, those terrible phrases affect you and renew what you have been living in different ways for twenty years," he said, reported N1.

"When it comes to Kosovo and Metohija, one cannot speak in that way, Gracanica, Visoki Decani, the Patriarchate of Pec cannot disappear in the Storm, I hope that all Kosovo Albanians, the international community and Belgrade understood that. After the March 17 pogrom, it turned out that it was not possible and that one had to live on," he stated.

He pointed out that the key question now was "how politics sees life".

"Politics do not see a life as much, because if it saw a life, Lajcak would not meet with politicians, but with people from the ghetto, with Albanians who can start a dialogue in the direction of normalization, with people who have a plan ... There is a Kosovo project, which the international community wants to complete by all means," he said.

Rakocevic said that first there was "independence or nothing", and that now there was "either recognition or nothing" position.

"Serbia and all of us are under pressure to recognize Kosovo. Until the declaration of independence, it was here that there would be human rights, there would be freedom, they convinced us that our documents would all be valid, that it is quite natural for us to recognize Belgrade as our capital ... None of that happened. We had a UN resolution that we were handing over, Belgrade handed over its rights systematically. Concessions on the ground did not help us," he said.

We have come, claimed Rakocevic, "to the point that there is absolutely nothing from ZSO, that we have nothing more to give".

"It is very problematic how to explain our situation in Kosovo and Metohija, undemocratic processes have been going on for twenty years. The only address is patience and the public, which can raise the general awareness of injustice," said Rakocevic, reported N1.

Radosavljevic: Vucic threatening with war and “Storm” to hide the sale of land (Beta)

In an interview to Beta news agency, the editor-in-chief of RTV Mir from Leposavic, Nenad Radosavljevic, said today that Serbs from Kosovo Noth did not understand yet the consequences of the Kosovo government’s decision to ban personal documents from Serbia and Serbian license plates, but that they will soon wake up from the “hypnosis of lies and fraud” with which the Belgrade government has been deceiving them for ten years or more.

Radosavljevic said that the Serbs south of the Ibar were abandoned a long time ago and forgotten by the government of the state of Serbia, and that now they can share their “misfortune” with the brothers in the north of Kosovo.

“Serbs in the north have not yet understood what it is about, but today they will wake up from the hypnosis of lies and deceptions with which the Belgrade government deceived them for ten years or more. The governance over Serbs in Kosovo, in the form of Serbian List, is now contemplating how to present it to the people that it is someone else’s fault, that they did a good job, but as it happens, everyone is corrupt, but that they are still necessary to rule over Serbs despite the fact that they did nothing and do not know how to do it. And since they secured their livelihood in Serbia, it does not even bother them,” Radosavljevic said.

When asked to comment the statement of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic that the Pristina authorities are planning a general attack on northern Kosovo in September and that their goal is a new “Storm,” Radosavljevic said that the statement was irresponsible at the level of “a punk from Belgrade asphalt”, reported Beta agency.

He added that Vucic, in “the search for external and all kinds of other enemies as well as cataclysms, decided to go to war in order to perfidiously divert attention from having destroyed the industry, economy and agriculture, from the sale of land and mineral resources, criminalizing the state, from handing over part of the territory, looting everything which could be plundered and from having impoverished the people”.

Commenting on the statement of the director of the Office for KiM, Petar Petkovic, that with the decision on ID cards and plates, Albin Kurti most openly threatened the war with Serbs in Kosovo, Radosavljevic said that Petkovic should explain how licence plates and personal documents lead to war.

“Petkovic is obliged to explain, but before the courts in the future, what he did to avoid problems and how he deceived the people that everything was fine and that every time after his ‘diplomatic victories’ in negotiations with Pristina we suffered heavy defeats. This statement indicates that he and his boss intend to provoke incidents with the blackmailed people they manipulated, where they would use the people’s dissatisfaction with Pristina’s decisions as a weapon to escalate problems that would hide their responsibility for all emerging problems from energy to plates and personal documents,” Radosavljevic emphasized.

Radosavljevic opined that there would be no war, no “Storms” or violence in Kosovo, “not because it would not be suitable for the Serbian establishment, for the sake of selfish personal interests of survival in power, but because in the current circumstances of defeat in Ukraine, NATO would not jeopardize the meaning of its declarative existence”.

When asked whether and to what extent Serbs in Kosovo benefited from the implementation of the Brussels Agreement, Radosavljevic said that the integration of police was useful but “unfortunately, the rest of the agreement is either to the detriment or without effect on solving the problems of life of Serbs in Kosovo” he said. He added that in the past 10 years, the authorities in Belgrade have done great damage for the Serbian community in Kosovo but also for the “possibility of reconciliation and building tolerance and coexistence”.

“There are no positive decisions. The positive effect, however, is that they did not stop paying for health and education and some other institutions, and that at least part of the money went to end users through projects, without having those from Serbian List robbing it and returning one portion to their bosses in Belgrade,” he said.

Asked who and in what way endangers survival and the return of Serbian people to Kosovo, Radosavljevic said that a global decision had never been made to return the Serbs to Kosovo.

“Even before 2008, Serbs were a problem if they decided to return. They were a problem for KFOR and UNMIK because they had more work to do regarding their security, care, and compensation for destroyed property. Opponents of Serbian return are also usurpers of their property, Albanian neighbours. And with its lack of actions, the authorities from Belgrade contributed to not having the return of Serbs in significant numbers, which would also support the survival of those who remained in Kosovo after 1999,” Radosavljevic said.

According to him, nothing depends on the Serbian List because it lacks integrity and credibility “so it doesn’t matter at all whether they are in the government or not.”

“The decision on whether the Serbian List will be part of the Kosovo government is made by Vucic, as well as everything in Serbia. It is dangerous if it occurs to him to destabilize the situation, and so based on that, the Serbian List “forces” the people on an adventure, or more than that, which could have severe consequences,” he concluded, reported Beta.

International

Kosovo Move in Car Plates Row Aims to ‘Expel Serbs’ – Vucic (BIRN)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic condemned the Kosovo government’s latest decision about licence plates for Serbs living in northern Kosovo, claiming its goal is “to expel Serbs, especially from the north of Kosovo and Metohija”. He said Kosovo’s goal was “to make a new Storm”, referencing the Croatian army operation in 1995, codenamed Storm, that forced most Serbs to flee Croatia.

“Their Interior Ministry will campaign to persuade Serbs [in Kosovo] to register with so-called RKS [Republic of Kosovo] licence plates,” Vucic said. “And if they [Serbs] are not convinced, they will take away not only their license plates but also their vehicles … so then… they reckon that all the Serbs will leave“, he added.

Kosovo on Wednesday said all vehicles with licence plates issued in Serbia from June 10, 1999 to April 21, 2022, would have until September 30, 2022, to get RKS plates.

But Vucic insisted that the September deadline “means they [Kosovo] are planning a general attack on northern Kosovo by October 1 at the latest, which they will call whatever they want”.

The Kosovo government also decided that from now on, “every person that presents themself to cross the state border with personal identification documents issued by Serbian authorities will be equipped at the border crossing points with a declaration form that temporarily replaces the usage of such document“.

Violeta Haxholli, from the Kosovo-based think tank Kosovo Democratic Institute, KDI, told BIRN that the latest decision of the Kosovo government was no more than “implementation of the points of the agreement on freedom of movement reached between Kosovo and Serbia on July 2, 2011“.