UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, September 4, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

Nagavci on teachers’ salaries: Compensation only for the work done (Koha)
Government reiterates: No salaries for those who were on strike (Gazeta Express)
Jasharaj: Only teachers are not paid; Kurti is trying to ruin SBASHK (T7)
Parents’ Council: We will raise funds to financially aid the teachers (Nacionale)
Poll: Over 3,000 respondents say teachers who were on strike shouldn’t get paid (Klan)
Osmani received outgoing COMKFOR Kajari in farewell meeting (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Serbia in the midst of the raging gas war between Russia EU and US (serbianmonitor.com)
Radojevic: By small turnout Serbs showed re-registration process is doomed to fail (Kosovo Online)
Vucic, Vulin on Ukrainian Ambassador’s statement (N1)
Ukrainian Embassy: We support sovereignty and European aspiration of Serbia (N1)
Manojlovic (DS): With the land exchange in Gracanica, citizens at lost, Serbian List silent (Danas, KiM radio)
Protest over land swap in Gracanica (Radio KIM)
Jeremic: American measure of retortion - encouraging Pristina's membership in the CoE (Danas, TV Nova S)
Eurojust: Serbia reliable partner in fight against organised crime (N1)
Opposition leader: EU stand on Serbia hypocritical in many cases (N1)
Vucic meets Giaufret (Tanjug)

International:

Bosnia Elections: One Loser, no Clear Winners – Uncertain Prospects (Balkan Insight)
Hungary, Austria and Serbia leaders outline plan to curb migration (euronews.com)
Putin Is Pushing Serbia and Bosnia to Back His Ukraine War (The Washington Post)
Orthodox Christians to Rally Against LGBT Pride March in Montenegro (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

School Strike Suspended but Not Over, Union Warns (Prishtina Insight)
Eight young journalists from northern Kosovo and Pristina completed OSCE Media Fellowship program (KoSSev)

Albanian Language Media

Nagavci on teachers’ salaries: Compensation only for the work done (Koha)

Kosovo’s Minister of Education, Arberie Nagavci, criticised today the Union of Education, Science and Culture of Kosovo (SBASHK) for being careless about the salaries of teachers and argued that the union should have compensated the salaries of the teachers who were on strike. She said that municipalities that are responsible for organising pre-university education, did not send the lists of salaries to the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance, although they are obliged to do so.

“For over a year, we had dozens of meetings with the leadership of SBASHK and we pleaded with them not to make uncalculated steps, because we the government have addressed many of the teachers’ concerns and we adopted new policies to increase the budget for education. We discussed with the SBASHK leadership whether they would compensate for the salaries of teachers as happens in most countries because the law prohibits compensation for the work that was not done. There was no attention or care in this respect. On the contrary, there was a one-month strike and grave damage to the children and a lot of noise by those who are responsible about the state of the education sector.”

“Dozens of meetings with one-sided readiness, with one-sided efforts for results that should be mutual. The law must be respected in its entirety. We have promised this, and we keep our promises. We have taken the mandate to draft policies and implement them, and we will not stop. Today we will publish the revised calendar for the school year for the 22 lost days of classes. We will improve the results in education. Cooperation and social dialogue will continue, with principles and fairness, for the best interest of the children. There will be compensation. Compensation for the work that was done”.

Government reiterates: No salaries for those who were on strike (Gazeta Express)

Spokesman for the Kosovo Government, Perparim Kryeziu, reiterated today that salaries will not be paid to teachers who were on strike and that teachers that held classes during this time will be compensated. Kryeziu shared a Facebook post by Education Minister Arberie Nagavci who blamed the municipalities for not contacting the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance. Kryeziu wrote: “The principle ‘salary for work’ will be respected. The teachers that held classes will be compensated”.

Jasharaj: Only teachers are not paid; Kurti is trying to ruin SBASHK (T7)

Leader of the Union of Education, Science and Culture of Kosovo (SBASHK) argued in an interview with the TV station on Monday that the Kurti-led government is trying to ruin the teachers’ union. Criticising the delay in the payment of teachers’ salaries for the month of September, he said: “This is a punishment only against SBASHK, because civil servants too were on strike, and they have received their salaries. It is obvious that the government is focused on ruining SBASHK. They are trying to ruin the strongest union. In the 1990s too there were efforts to bring down the union, but they failed, and Kurti will fail too”.

Jasharaj further said that instead of commending the union for stopping the strike and enabling the start of the school year, “they blocked the salaries and strike against us”.

He said he cannot guarantee what will happen if salaries for September are not paid. “We suspended the strike but if the salaries are not paid, I cannot guarantee what will happen in the future. It seems that the Kurti-led government needed the strike,” he added.

Parents’ Council: We will raise funds to financially aid the teachers (Nacionale)

Kosovo Parents’ Council said in a statement today that they will raise funds for the teachers if the Kurti-led government does not pay them the September salaries. “Solidarity! If teachers are not paid for the month of September, we the parents must organise in every school and raise funds as a sign of solidarity to come to the financial aid of the teachers. Our revolt was aimed at opening the kindergartens and schools but never to humiliate the teachers!” the statement notes.

Poll: Over 3,000 respondents say teachers who were on strike shouldn’t get paid (Klan)

Prishtina-based TV station Klan Kosova organised an online poll on whether “the government should pay the teachers who were on strike their salaries for September?”. From a total of 5,351 respondents, 60.06 percent or 3,214 said the government should not pay the teachers their September salaries. 2,086 or 38,98 percent said they should be paid, while 51 respondents said they did not know.

Osmani received outgoing COMKFOR Kajari in farewell meeting (media)

President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, received on Monday in a farewell meeting the outgoing commander of KFOR, Major General Ferenc Kajari. Osmani and Kajari discussed aspects of security and the latest developments in Kosovo, the region and beyond. Osmani appraised NATO's contribution through KFOR as essential for peace and security in the country and the region. She also expressed her appreciation for Hungary's engagement within KFOR. Kajari thanked the President for the cooperation and wished that Kosovo, under the subsequent command of KFOR, would continue to remain a centre of peace and stability, a press release issued by Osmani’s office notes.

Serbian Language Media

Serbia in the midst of the raging gas war between Russia EU and US (serbianmonitor.com)

In the wake of the energy crisis, a furious gas war is going on between Russia on the one hand, and the EU and the US, on the other.

The EU is considering limiting the wholesale price of gas from all suppliers and the European Commission is trying to ensure that this is only done with Russian gas, in order to reduce Moscow’s revenue from that energy source, writes Večernje Novosti daily.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that the country would stop supplying gas if the EU made such a decision. He estimates that in such a situation the export of this Russian gas would be completely interrupted, including the gas arriving via Ukraine and the TurkStream, which also supplies Serbia via Bulgaria. Experts estimate that it is not in Russia’s best interest to give up the markets where it sells its natural gas.

However, bearing in mind that Bulgaria has proven to be a weak link in previous crisis situations and has always yielded to pressure from Brussels, even if it was extremely damaging for the country itself, there is a real fear that this could happen again. Bulgaria paid dearly for abandoning the South Stream project, thus also damaging Serbia because that gas pipeline was planned to pass through Serbia as well. After the conflict in Ukraine, Bulgaria gave up Russian gas by refusing to pay for it in the roubles. At that time, some Bulgarian experts even hinted at the possibility of that country stopping the transit of natural gas to Serbia and Hungary.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Cv30hc

Radojevic: By small turnout Serbs showed re-registration process is doomed to fail (Kosovo Online)

Mitrovica North mayor Milan Radojevic said that ever since the decision of the Pristina government on re-registration of vehicles with Serbian issued licence plates came into force on September 1, only one request for re-registration was filed in this municipality, Kosovo Online portal reports.

He also said the process is unsuccessful because a total of nine requests were submitted in the entire Kosovo which demonstrates “that this process is doomed to fail”.

“Unilateral acts can not pass, nor can unilateral Pristina’s decisions be implemented in northern Kosovo and Metohija. By absence of turnout, Serbs demonstrated unity and what they think of unilateral acts. We urge the Government in Pristina to sit at the negotiation table in Brussels, talk with the negotiation team of the Republic of Serbia and reach a compromise solution that is in the interest of all of us”, Radojevic said.

He also spoke of increased pressure by Pristina, warning it is getting stronger. “We bear witness that Pristina constructs bases, allegedly for police use, for special forces…They construct on territory of Leposavic and Zubin Potok municipalities, and the mayors of those municipalities have reacted, however there is no response”, Radojevic said.

Vucic, Vulin on Ukrainian Ambassador’s statement (N1)

If foreign diplomats think it is time to arrogantly exert pressure on our country, they have chosen the wrong moment, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in response to Ukrainian Ambassador to Belgrade Volodymyr Tolkach’s statement for N1 that Kiev is finding it increasingly difficult to understand Serbia’s arguments against imposing sanctions on Russia.

“We will not allow even those who are much stronger to do this. We have done nothing bad against Ukraine”, Vucic told the media, adding that Serbia has not recognized the annexation of Ukrainian regions or the referendums held by Russia.

Vucic also said he does not remember that Ukraine went out of its way in 1999 to help Yugoslavia or to suspend flights from Kiev to the countries that bombed former Yugoslavia.

“They can lecture someone else. I don’t have a problem with that”, said Vucic, adding that Serbia’s situation is “clean” and that no one can put pressure on it or tell it what to do.

“Dozens of Serb boys and girls were killed in the NATO bombing. I don’t remember any Ukrainian request for a special UN Security Council session or for the imposing of sanctions on the aggressors on Serbia. It is not late for Ukraine and all other countries requesting war crimes trials for the Ukraine-Russia conflict to ask that the murderers of Serbian children in the NATO aggression be tried, there is not statute of limitations for war crimes, here’s a chance to show that someone is principled”, Minister of Interior, Aleksandar Vulin said in his reaction to Ukrainian Ambassador statement.

Ukrainian Embassy: We support sovereignty and European aspiration of Serbia (N1)

The Ukrainian Embassy to Serbia said today “it has an honour to reiterate that the stance of Ukraine regarding territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia is principled, stable and well known”, N1 reports. “Ukraine supports territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Serbia”, it said.

The Embassy also said Ukraine supports the European choice and aspirations of Serbia. “We support Belgrade-Pristina dialogue under EU auspices”, the statement reads.

It also said it considers as unacceptable attempts of the Kremlin to use “Kosovo precedent” for the attempts to legitimise the attack of Russia on Ukraine, an independent and sovereign European state.

This statement came after reactions of Serbian officials, including President Aleksandar Vucic and Minister of Interior, Aleksandar Vulin criticising the statement of Ukrainian Ambassador Volodymyr Tolakach that Ukraine has difficulties to understand Serbia’s decision not to impose sanctions on Russia.

Manojlovic (DS): With the land exchange in Gracanica, citizens at lost, Serbian List silent (Danas, KiM radio)

Regarding the decision of the Gracanica Municipal Assembly to exchange a part of the cadastral plot of 17 hectares on the outskirts of Gracanica for 0.44 acres of land in the category of road infrastructure, which the residents of Gracanica are dissatisfied with, MP of the Democratic Party (DS) in the Assembly of Serbia, Tatjana Manojlovic addressed the public today at a press conference, announced this party, reported daily Danas.

She said that the citizens who contacted her claim that everything indicates that it is about, as she said, ''embezzlement and illegal actions to corruptly transfer 17 hectares of land in the municipality’’, and added that the explanation, given by the Gracanica municipality, was without arguments and that it served to obscure the truth.

"Who wins in this 'business'? Those who produced this 'infernal plan' win. The owner of the cadastral plot wins, because he charges for the road again, which he already charged through the sale of lots, and now he also has 17 hectares of attractive land on the shore of the lake, the value of which will skyrocket when the urban and development plan of the municipality of Gracanica changes in a few years! Who loses? Citizens of the municipality of Gracanica are losing by the most direct threat to the public and national interest. That is why, as a member of parliament, on behalf of the disaffected, outraged locals, I call on the councillors of the municipality of Gracanica and the mayor to reverse this very harmful decision," said Tatjana Manojlovic.

If there are obligations of the municipality, Manojlovic suggests public interest to be declared, and that the issue be resolved by the Law on Expropriation. The municipality will certainly get the money to pay for 0.44 acres, but it will never get back the land it intended to replace.

"I also remind you that four years ago the municipality of Gracanica donated part of the territory to the municipality of Kosovo Polje, where there are no Serbs, as Aleksandar Vucic claimed. It is not that there are none of them, there is a small number of them in the surrounding villages, but similar moves by irresponsible representatives of the Serbian List have a disincentive effect on them. Why are the Serbian List representatives silent? Why did not the Office for KiM announce? The last decision of the municipality of Gracanica is a dangerous precedent and there is not a single valid argument for it. Dissatisfied citizens from Gracanica say - silence is suffocating us," concluded Tatjana Manojlovic, wrote daily Danas.

Protest over land swap in Gracanica (Radio KIM)

Decision of Gracanica Municipal Assembly to swap part of cadaster parcel of 17 hectares in Gracanica for 0.44 acres of private road in Caglavica has angered people and made them protest in front of municipal building, Radio KIM reports. Around 20 present protesters also announced launching a petition to annul the decision they termed as ‘criminal’.

Former Gracanica mayor, Branimir Stojanovic initiated the protest and claimed that Gracanica Municipality would allow an Albanian R.Sh. who “gained the profit by selling houses”, to “obtain an extra profit by giving him a land parcel in Gracanica”.

“By giving him part of it or a complete parcel, we are not certain of this yet, however, it is very likely that the entire 17 hectares will be swapped for 0.44 acres, which is an abnormal ratio. This protest and initiation of petition is an attempt to prevent a dangerous precedent because by this a new rule has been created allowing many who have built settlements over the last decade in this area be able to make (similar) demands”, Stojanovic said.

He added signing of petition will last for a month, and they will also inform all relevant stakeholders, including political leadership in Belgrade and international community in Pristina as well as request their intervention because “they believe there were serious allegations that this is about corruption as there was no public interest which could explain such decision, apart from some personal, private and corruptive interests”.

People who took part in a protest said they are disappointed by this decision of Gracanica Municipal Assembly and leadership of the municipality. They also alleged this to be related to corruption and could impact the demographic structure of the population in this municipality.

Jeremic: American measure of retortion - encouraging Pristina's membership in the CoE (Danas, TV Nova S)

The President of the People's Party (NS) Vuk Jeremic told TV Nova S that in the future the USA will "actively encourage the process of accession of the self-proclaimed 'Kosovo' to the Council of Europe and that this is a diplomatic retortion's measure", which America will apply in response to the signing of a technical agreement by the ministries of foreign affairs of Serbia and Russia in New York, reported daily Danas.

"Until now, Washington has discouraged Pristina from actively speeding up that process, and now it will support it, and this is a consequence of publicising the fact that Selakovic and Lavrov signed some kind of technical agreement in New York. According to my information, America has informed Serbia through the ambassador in Washington that it will apply retaliatory measures because of this, and that the first thing in this regard will be a change in the position of the US regarding the technique of Pristina joining CoE,'' said Jeremic.

Asked about the introduction of sanctions against Russia, Jeremic replied that the majority of the world is against the introduction of economic sanctions, which are perceived as an instrument peculiar to the West that the majority of the world "do not like".

"Serbia's current position is in line with most of the world and it could be changed exclusively to our detriment. I do not believe that Western companies will withdraw from Serbia, where they receive fat subsidies and make excellent profits, nor do I believe that the EU will formally cancel the process of integration of the Western Balkans, which in reality has already reached a dead end, if we impose sanctions on Russia," Jeremic said.

Jeremic stated that by introducing sanctions against Russia that were not approved by the UN Security Council, Serbia would "unambiguously side with the West".

"We, due to circumstances, are in a situation where unequivocal alignment with the West entails potential consequences, including for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia and eventual membership of the self-proclaimed Kosovo in the UN. We did not choose to be in that situation," Jeremic added.

He stated that at the UN he spoke with several heads of state and government and dozens of officials from countries around the world, and that "the vast majority of them did not have sleepless nights regarding whether Serbia will impose sanctions on Russia".

"Serbia was mentioned among those who do not follow the Balkans in connection with the sale of a large house on Fifth Avenue in New York, which used to be the mission of the SFRY, and until recently, Serbia at the UN. Those who follow the Balkans have noticed that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic did not mention in his pre-written speech that Pristina's membership in the UN is unacceptable for Serbia," Jeremic said.

Asked if "the fact that Vucic said it a million times changes anything", Jeremic replied that it is possible "to say it 32 times at Pink TV, with Milomir Maric, and in the answers to journalists between two outbursts of anger", but that there is no better and more visible stage than UN to say that this is a red line for Serbia, as well as that ''what is said and what is not said is equally valued on that lectern".

"We suggested to Vucic that he send a letter to the presidents of Russia and China in which he will inform them that Serbia will not recognize Kosovo and invite them to veto it in the UN Security Council if that topic comes up on the agenda. We even offered him draft letters, he promised to send them, but he did not do it," Jeremic said.

When asked if the People's Party expects to be invited to join the new bloc announced by Vucic, Jeremic replied that he personally and the NS "are the last to be invited there".

"Our answer would certainly be 'no' to everything that Vucic offers, in domestic or international politics," said Jeremic.

Jeremic stated that tomorrow he will participate in the meeting on ''the Proclamation for gathering in defence of Kosovo and Metohija” and added that distinguished intellectuals will organise the meeting.

"We responded to that call out of deep respect for the people who sent us that proclamation. The position of the NS on Kosovo and Metohija is crystal clear,'' concluded Jeremic.

Jeremic attended the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly as the former president of that body of the World Organization.

Eurojust: Serbia reliable partner in fight against organised crime (N1)

President of the European Union (EU) Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) Ladislav Hamran said that Serbia is a reliable partner in the fight against organised crime and that, in the past year and a half, the Serbian police significantly contributed to joint international operations against all forms of crime.

Hamran and Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs Aleksandar Vulin assessed at a meeting in Belgrade that cooperation between the Serbian police and police departments of other countries has been raised to a higher level in the past year and a half.

“The Criminal Police Directorate members’ operational work and cooperation with their colleagues from other countries has significantly improved, especially the exchange of information on high-tech crimes, money laundering and human trafficking”, Vulin said.

The project EU Support to Regional Security in the Western Balkans, aimed at stepping up the fight against organized crime, terrorism and border security, was presented at the meeting.

Opposition leader: EU stand on Serbia hypocritical in many cases (N1)

Leader of Serbian opposition Freedom and Justice Party (SSP) Dragan Djilas told N1 on Monday that the European Union’s attitude towards Serbia was hypocritical in many cases. He said the EU looked away from events in Serbia even though they were about the values the Union is based on.

“Ending the negotiations is not punishment for the authorities but for us the citizens because it takes us further away and increases the number of people opposed to EU membership”, he told N1.

“Do not punish Serbia and the people living in it who want to live like people in the EU”, he said, adding that his party thinks that an end to the accession talks would be a disaster.

He warned that the authorities are formally advocating EU membership but added that it’s clear from campaign statements that the majority in power wants to continue the same policies that have been in place for 20 years. “We have a stagnation in integration and someone in Brussels is pretending not to see it”, he noted.

Vucic meets Giaufret (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with the head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret on Tuesday to discuss Serbia-EU relations, the upcoming Prague summit, ways of strengthening cooperation in fields of mutual interest, such as energy security, alignment of the visa policy with the EU with the aim of fighting illegal migration, as well as cooperation in major infrastructure projects, Tanjug news agency reports.

Vucic said Serbia was working with commitment on implementation of objectives that were in line with its European orientation, such as strong economic progress and maintaining peace and stability in the region through initiatives promoting connectivity, and noted that the country had thus demonstrated it was a serious, responsible and dependable partner of the EU, the presidential press office said in a statement.

The parties also exchanged views on the upcoming Prague summit, at which a debate will be held on an initiative to establish a European Political Community as a platform for dialogue between EU member states and aspiring members.

Giaufret reiterated Brussels's predominant position on alignment of Serbia's foreign policy with the EU agenda and on imposing sanctions on the Russian Federation, and expressed readiness for cooperation with Serbia when it comes to solving open issues that were crucial for Serbia's further progress on the European integration path.

International

Bosnia Elections: One Loser, no Clear Winners – Uncertain Prospects (Balkan Insight)

Amid conflicting views of the results, old-new claims of rigged ballots and Western intervention on the election night, the consequences of Bosnia’s latest election are as yet hard to decipher.

The humiliating defeat of Bakir Izetbegovic, leader of the main Bosniak political party, the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, in his race for a seat on the state presidency, was one of the biggest surprises of Bosnia’s elections on Sunday.

Humanitarian/Development

School Strike Suspended but Not Over, Union Warns (Prishtina Insight)

Pupils have returned to school after more than a month of strikes in education that have been suspended till January but not terminated.

September 1 should have been the first day of the academic year for almost 320,000 pupils in Kosovo. Due to strikes in education, however, school pupils are starting their classes one month late, on October 3, together with university students.

The Union of Independent Trade Unions of Kosovo announced on Saturday that it had suspended the strike that began on August 25 in public administration and education until January 2023.

The head of the teachers’ union, Rrahman Jasharaj, told a press conference on Saturday that the strike had not stopped but was only being suspended. He urged the government to take advantage of the suspension of the strike and reflect.