UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, October 17, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani: Our experience can help Ukraine in treating sexual violence survivors (Klan)
AAK: Failure to give visa liberalisation to Kosovo, classical discrimination (Telegrafi)
Portuguese MP promises support for visa liberalisation and EU integration (EO)
Palokaj: Visa liberalisation was never closer (KTV)
S. expert: Kurti focusing extensively over Serbia’s recognition (Zeri)
Another two weeks to convert licence plates to RKS (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

KFOR: Cooperation on enthronement of patriarch way forward to peaceful coexistence (KoSSev)
Mayor of Pec attendance of Serbian Patriarch enthronement met with approval (KoSSev)
Local Serbs from Miroc village say 100 hectares of their properties usurped (Kosovo Online)
Vucic: West using all instruments to get "Kosovo" into UN (Tanjug, N1, Beta)
Bilcik: We expect clear red lines towards Russia from Serbia (Beta, N1)
Serbia’s new government expected to be established on October 27 (Beta, N1)
Brnabic: New government to face circumstances unseen since WWII (N1)
Dacic: Imposing sanctions on Russia is Serbia’s matter and not that of EU (N1)
Ambassador Hill: Strategic partnership between the US and Serbia being discussed (N1, VoA)
Von Cramon on German-French proposal (N1, Nova)
Vulin: We don’t belong in EU, they are blackmailing us (N1)
Flag from monument to killed and kidnapped Serbs in Velika Hoca taken away (Radio KIM)

Opinion:

On World Food Day, Let’s Strengthen Our Resolve to Work Together (Prishtina Insight)

International:

Showpiece Factory That Cost Millions is Still Not Operating (BIRN)

Humanitarian/Development:

Inflation in Kosovo reaches historic levels amid trade developments (euractive.com)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani: Our experience can help Ukraine in dealing with sexual violence survivors (Klan)

President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, hosted today a delegation of the Global Network of Victims and Survivors of Sexual Violence of War from Ukraine and Colombia. “Kosovo’s recent history carries the sad story of over 20,000 women raped during the 1999 war by the genocidal regime of Serbia. Today I hosted a delegation of the Global Network of Victims and Survivors of Sexual Violence of War from Ukraine and Colombia. Kosovo’s experience can help Ukraine in dealing with survivors of sexual violence. The people of Kosovo stand by the people of Ukraine, and we will continue to support them with all our possibilities,” Osmani wrote on Facebook.

AAK: Failure to give visa liberalisation to Kosovo, classical discrimination (Telegrafi)

Head of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) parliamentary group, Besnik Tahiri, said today that the failure to give visa liberalisation to Kosovo is a classical discrimination. He told reporters that he raised the issue with the Presidency of the Kosovo Assembly and that he asked Assembly President Glauk Konjufca to write to the Czech Presidency of the EU and to his counterparts in EU member states. “The silence of the Assembly is not fair, and this is why I raised this issue so it can be addressed seriously. Our silence does not do justice to the Republic of Kosovo,” he added.

Portuguese MP promises support for visa liberalisation and EU integration (EO)

Head of the Portuguese Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Sergio Sousa Pinto, said today in Pristina that his country will support Kosovo in getting visa liberalisation. Following a meeting with Kosovo MPs, he said: “We are here to prove our support. We will support Kosovo because we have emotional ties, and a large number of Portuguese troops are in Kosovo. We will support you on visa liberalisation and for joining the European Union. Kosovo’s future is in the EU and you will always have our diplomatic support”.

Palokaj: Visa liberalisation was never closer (KTV)

Brussels-based correspondent, Augustin Palokaj, said in an interview with KTV today that visa liberalisation for Kosovo has never been closer. “This was the first meeting [of the working group] where member states presented their positions. Now consultations among member states are ongoing. There will be another meeting on November 9 with the same working group. There, an effort will be made to see if another step will be taken. This is a challenge or a test. No decision will be made on November 9. It never happened before to have such great interest for a meeting of a working group, and this is why the Czech Presidency issued a statement. Despite the current disappointment, the visa liberalisation has never been closer. This is the beginning of the end of the process,” he argued.

Commenting on the latest EC report on Kosovo, Palokaj said: “the European Commission has asked for the Assembly to be more serious. There is some criticism about some decisions taken by the government. In progress reports, Kosovo is criticised more than Serbia. In Kosovo’s case the word failure is mentioned, while in Serbia’s case it only says that ‘Serbia needs to do this’. These progress reports may not reflect the entire reality of the dialogue process. The government needs to focus on short-term and mid-term challenges. We have a very outdated energy system. There needs to be agreement between the government and the opposition, especially on capital issues,” he said.

U.S. expert: Kurti focusing extensively over Serbia’s recognition (Zeri)

U.S. expert on the Western Balkans, Alon Ben Meir, said today that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti is focusing extensively over Serbia’s recognition of Kosovo. “I believe that Kosovo’s PM #Kurti is focusing excessively over Serbia’s recognition of Kosovo. Instead, he should concentrate on working collaboratively with Serbia on any project that would mutually benefit both countries as long as Kosovo’s independence is not compromised,” he wrote on Twitter.

Another two weeks to convert licence plates to RKS (RTK)

The news website notes that “Kosovo Serbs have another two weeks left to convert Serbia’s illegal plates to RKS licence plates. But according to political commentators, the government should extend the deadline beyond October 31, because Serbs need more time to be convinced. Internationals too have asked for an extension of the deadline”.

Arben Fetoshi, international relations expert, told RTK that the Kosovo government, in full coordination with internationals, should extend the deadline in order to avoid any possible escalation in the north of Kosovo. “I believe that the government must coordinate fully with our international partners, especially with the United States, and certainly an extension of the deadline would contribute to the escalation of the situation in the north as we’ve seen on July 31 this year,” he argued.

Artan Muhaxheri, political commentator, said that more time is needed on the issue given that the conversion of licence plates is a delicate matter and that it concerns state and ethnic identity. “This is why more time is needed to convince the Serb citizens to convert the licence plates,” he said.

U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier said Kosovo was right to ask for the conversion of all licence plates into RKS but also that the deadline should be extended. The Head of the EU Office Tomas Szunyog too said the Kosovo Serbs need more time to convert the licence plates.

Serbian Language Media

KFOR: Cooperation on enthronement of patriarch way forward to peaceful coexistence (KoSSev)

“Congratulations for the organisation of the enthronement ceremony of Patriarch Porfirije”, the NATO mission in Kosovo – KFOR said, describing this event as an excellent example of coordination between Kosovo police, the Patriarchate of Pec, Decani Monastery, and Pec municipality, KoSSev portal reports.

“This is the way forward in creating the conditions for peaceful coexistence in Kosovo as indicated by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999 – to ensure a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all the people living in Kosovo”, KFOR said.

They underlined that the dialogue between the parties contributes to improving the overall security condition in the territory while confirming KFOR’s “continuous and impartial efforts to support peace, cooperation, and progress”.

The Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Porfirije, was enthroned on Friday in the Patriarchate of Pec.

During his speech, the patriarch spoke about peace and cooperation with Albanians. Beforehand, he walked through Prizren and spoke with local Kosovo Albanians – a move that garnered the attention of the media in the region and incited positive reactions.

“We pray for all people, compatriots, and those who live with us, including above all our Albanian brothers. Let’s build peace together, as Serbian families used to build it with Albanian families who, in good and bad times, guarded the Pec shrine and the holy Decani. God, as love in its essence, does not care who is who. Those virtuous Albanians knew that everyone is God’s children“, Patriarch said in his sermon.

The enthronement of the Patriarch Porfirije was attended by several thousand Orthodox believers, Kosovo Serb politicians, crown prince Filip Karadjordjevic, as well as the mayor of Pec, Gazmend Muhaxheri, who was the guest of honour at the ceremonial lunch after the enthronement.

The event was secured by the Kosovo police and members of the Italian contingent of KFOR.

Mayor of Pec attendance of Serbian Patriarch enthronement met with approval (KoSSev)

The Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Porfirije, was enthroned in the Patriarchate of Pec on Friday, KoSSev portal reports. During his speech, the Patriarch spoke about peace and cooperation with Albanians. Beforehand, he took a walk through Prizren and spoke with the local Kosovo Albanians – a move that garnered the attention of the media in the region and incited positive reactions, the portal adds.

The Mayor of Pec, Gazmend Muhaxheri, attended the enthronement of the Patriarch.

A Pec-born journalist Idro Seferi, who has been living and working in Belgrade for years, welcomed the fact that the mayor of Pec attended the enthronement.

“I have a lot of objections to some of his work in my town, but in all the media of the region, the name of Gazmend Muhaxheri appears with an extraordinary political maturity. He is a politician who does things that are not expected of him and succeeds in them. Well done“, Seferi said in a Facebook post.

Seferi pointed to one of the articles on yesterday’s enthronement, which mentions that the mayor of Pec attended this event.

As a guest of honour, the mayor of Pec sat on the left side to Patriarch Porfirije at the ceremonial lunch after the enthronement.

The patriarch thanked the mayor of Pec for coming and wished him that the town where the Patriarchate of Pec is located becomes the most successful town in Kosovo, which was met by applause from those present. Crown Prince Filip Karadjordjevic also thanked the mayor after the enthronement.

Muhaxheri also attended the enthronement of the previous Patriarch Irinej in 2010. Gazmend Muhaxheri showed respect for Serbs and Orthodox believers in his municipality during the previous years as well. He celebrated the Orthodox Easter with religious leaders this year, and three years ago he celebrated the Beheading of Saint John the Forerunner in Pec with about a hundred Serbian returnees and the Abbot of Visoki Decani. Two years before that, the first official cooperation between a Kosovo and Serbian municipality – Pec and Sabac – was established. Gazmend Muhaxheri was also the first Kosovo official to condemn the attack in Gorazdevac in 2015.

See at: https://bit.ly/3yGRugD

Local Serbs from Miroc village say 100 hectares of their properties usurped (Kosovo Online)

Local Serbs displaced from Miroc village, Vucitrn municipality told Kosovo Online portal that for more than 20 years they do not have access to their properties in this village. They also said their houses were destroyed and properties usurped.

14 Serb families lived in the village until 1999. They told the portal that upon leaving the village, local Albanians from neighbouring Karac village started usurping their properties.

“This turned now into a pasture, and there used to be at least ten parcels, owned by six different people. Everything is ploughed and destroyed. All our houses were destroyed, and wherever the plough was able to pass, everything was ploughed, all boundaries between properties erased”, the owner of the property in Miroc village, Dusan Milenkovic said.

Radomir Peric from the same village claims that no one of the displaced Serbs may access their properties.

Serbs from Miroc initiated individual proceedings at the court in Vucitrn demanding release of more than 100 hectares of their usurped land.

“Concerning the one who had usurped an entire village, he took from my family, the Miladinovic family, almost 40 hectares of land. I can not access it at all. I provided different recordings to the court, and for two years of trial I attended 19 hearings and nothing came out of it”, Milutin Miladinovic, owner of the property in Miroc village said.

According to the Serbs displaced from Miroc, their village represents a unique case “that one Albanian usurped an entire village”.

“We stand no chances of resolving this. We need to be wise and united, as well as seek support from the Serbian state, Office for Kosovo and Metohija, because this is a unique case even for Kosovo, that an entire village was usurped by one man”, Dusko Milenkovic said.

The portal added that displaced Serbs from Miroc occasionally gather at the church in neighbouring Gojbulja village.

Kosovo Online reported later during the day that the Office for Kosovo and Metohija said it will extend free legal aid to the Serbs from Miroc attempting to reclaim their properties.

“I spoke with Mr. Milenkovic and told him that he and his neighbours can use our mechanism of free legal aid and get a lawyer who will represent them in their cases, free of charge and he told me he will do so”, Igor Popovic, assistant director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija said.

Vucic: West using all instruments to get "Kosovo" into UN (Tanjug, N1, Beta)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday the West was using all instruments to achieve its ultimate objective of getting the so-called Kosovo into the UN.

Asked by reporters if stepped-up pressure on Serbia to impose sanctions on Russia was, in fact, aimed at making Belgrade recognise “the so-called Kosovo”, Vucic responded that the West was threatening Serbia because it did not want the country to remain "a living proof of someone's arrogance, hypocrisy and wrong policy".

"By sacrificing itself, this country would be supposed to correct their mistakes and convalidate all the bad things they did two and a half decades ago," he said.

Even if Serbia were to impose sanctions on Russia, for three days, they would be saying "very nice - you have become a member of the European family," but on the fifth day, they would say that "Serbia must finally decide whether it is on the right side of history or not", Vucic noted.

"And the right side of history is what they tell you, however pointless, arrogant and incorrect it may be," he added, reported Tanjug agency.

N1 reported that Vucic said that his meeting today with the High Representative of the European Union, Miroslav Lajcak, will be a "difficult conversation between serious, responsible people".

When asked by the N1 journalist whether 2024 was the deadline for the final agreement between Belgrade and Pristina - as mentioned, Vucic, said that the deadline given to him was much shorter.

"They didn't tell me 2024, they mentioned something much less to me, in weeks, not even months, those I talked to," Vucic said this today during the marking of twenty years of the establishment of the Security and Information Agency.

Bilcik: We expect clear red lines towards Russia from Serbia (Beta, N1)

European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia Vladimir Bilcik repeatedly called on Serbia to impose sanctions on Russia, noting that the European Union (EU) expects “clear red lines towards Russia and its political envoys”.

“War in no time for ambiguity. We want Serbia to choose Europe and to build trust with European Union partners. EU institutions expect from all serious accession countries, including Serbia, clear red lines towards Russia and its political envoys as Moscow continues the brutal attack on Ukraine,” Bilcik wrote on Twitter.

Bilcik earlier said that, if it wants to join the EU, Serbia “has to choose”, while there is growing pressure from European officials on Belgrade to align its foreign policy with that of the EU.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov’s deputy Alexander Grushko during his visit to Belgrade on October 13 and 14.

The Ministry added that Grushko also spoke with Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic and Internal Affairs Minister Aleksandar Vulin.

Serbia’s new government expected to be established on October 27 (Beta, N1)

Serbia’s new government is expected to be established on the religious holiday of St. Parascheva (Sveta Petka), October 27, reported Serbian media, citing daily Vecernje Novosti.

According to the daily, the session of the Presidency of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) where candidates for the ministerial positions will be presented will take place on Sunday, October 23.

Two days later, Serbia’s Assembly should discuss laws on the Government and ministries, so that the new Government would be established on October 27.

As previously reported in the media, the new government was expected to include the leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, the mayor of Novi Sad, Milos Vucevic, and the current Minister of Finance, Sinisa Mali.

Today, the vice-president of the SNS, Milos Vucevic told TV Prva that the session of the SNS Presidency has not yet been scheduled, but it was possible that it will be held on October 23, adding that the new government will certainly be elected within the deadline.

He stated that there were indications of SPS (Socialist party of Serbia) and Jedinstvena Srbija (United Serbia) as coalition partners, and that the session would be an opportunity to determine policy and personnel solutions.

He added that the contours of the new government will already be visible from the Law on Government and Ministries.

He announced a stronger participation of the Union of Vojvodina Hungarians, as well as that, in addition to them and the Bosniaks, some other minority might have a place.

"It wouldn't be fair for me to say it without the mandate holder, Ana Brnabic saying it first," he answered the question about the distribution of portfolios in the future government.

Vucevic announced that Sinisa Mali will remain vice president and finance minister, and that Ivica Dacic will be the first deputy prime minister and will probably cover the departments mentioned.

"The energy of the government is much more important, so that there are no dissonant tones," he said.

Asked about the demands of the part of the opposition around "Ujedinjeni'' (United), to impose sanctions on Russia, Vucevic said that it would have been correct if they had said that in the pre-election campaign.

He reminded that some political options demand that Serbia declare that it will never impose sanctions on Russia.

"We should not declare ourselves daily but lead our own politics. Let us do our work. Decisions made at the highest state bodies have not been changed," he said.

Asked to comment on Minister Vulin's views, Vucevic said that there are also ministers who demand the introduction of sanctions against Russia.

"That should not be heard from members of the government. They should follow a defined policy. They can present their views at government meetings and working bodies. When something is voted on, you either follow it, or you say that you are not part of the team," he said.

He emphasised that once the policy is established, it should be followed in sync.

Regarding the pressures on Kosovo, Vucevic said that Serbia was ready to talk, but will never ''recognize the independence of Kosovo and Metohija, or it to be part of the UN''

"We would like a historic agreement with the Albanians, but it is not possible to demand that Serbia be on its knees and lose everything," he said.

Vucevic said that Kosovo has been an open question for more than a century, and that there was no perfect solution for this "Gordian Knot".

Brnabic: New government to face circumstances unseen since WWII (N1)

The new government will definitely be a government for crisis times, Prime Minister Designate Ana Brnabic said, adding that “unfortunately, we constantly function in crises” but the new government will be faced with something that we have not seen since World War II – energy crisis, beginning of WW3 “in a proxy fashion”, inflation and struggle for food, N1 reports.

A new energy policy is our top priority, Brnabic told Happy TV, stressing that energy “is a matter of national security”.

“If we want to preserve independence in decision-making, so our people decide and not foreigners using levers of power, we have to change our energy policy”, she added.

“We have to work so Serbia would become more independent and more secure energy-wise, and these things change on a daily basis”, she noted, citing the example of Croatia and the JANAF oil pipeline.

“The positive side is that we have been working on our energy policy since 2015 – that is when Aleksandar Vucic, as the Prime Minister, realised that the gas connection with Bulgaria is one of the key projects”, Brnabic said, adding that the European Union (EU) also accepted this but that, because of its complex procedures, “we started building the gas interconnector only seven years later”.

Dacic: Imposing sanctions on Russia is Serbia’s matter and not that of EU (N1)

Leader of Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) Ivica Dacic said imposing sanctions on Russia was a matter of official Belgrade, and not that of the EU, N1 reports.

Dacic told TV Pink commenting on the parts of the European Commission report criticising Serbia for not imposing sanctions on Russia, that Belgrade should be driven by its own national interests.

“Whether we (Serbia) are going to impose sanctions on Russia is not a matter of the EU, but ours”, Dacic said.

He recalled Russia’s support to Serbia regarding Kosovo issue, adding if anyone believes that support would remain if Serbia opts to impose sanctions on Moscow. He also said he is not against the EU, but he is rather for Serbia.

“We should pursue our own interests and continue our European path”, he said.

Dacic also dismissed criticism of Serbian cooperation with China, adding that “German Chancellor Olaf Shoulz on November 5 will take a delegation of 100 German enterprenuers to China”. He wondered what the reaction of Western officials would be if Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic took the same number of entrepreneurs to China.

Ambassador Hill: Strategic partnership between the US and Serbia being discussed (N1, VoA)

US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill said in an interview for Voice of America that a potential strategic partnership between the two countries was being discussed and that such an agreement was possible in the future, reported N1, citing VoA.

In the context of the war in Ukraine and Serbia’s refusal to impose sanctions on Russia, Hill said that even when Belgrade’s dependence on Russian energy sources was considered, it was not good for Serbia to sit on the fence “between good and evil”. He denied that there were specific deadlines that the US set to resolve the Kosovo issue but said that he hoped for progress soon and that America supported the proposal by France and Germany.

Hill, who took over the post on March 31 this year, also said he believes Serbia was a “complicated country”.

Opinion

On World Food Day, Let’s Strengthen Our Resolve to Work Together (Prishtina Insight)

Opinion piece by Vladimir Olegovich Rakhmanin, the Food and Agriculture Organization Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia.

Today is a day to reflect on our collective actions and efforts to end world hunger, writes in his op-ed for Prishtina Insight, the FAO Regional Representative for Central Europe and Asia, Vladimir Olegovich Rakhmanin.

Every year on 16 October, the observance of World Food Day is led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). It is a day to reflect on what we can do, collectively, to end hunger. It is a day for us to work for the 3.1 billion people around the world who cannot afford a healthy diet and the 828 million people who go to bed hungry each day. It is a day to decide what can be done to end the famine and malnutrition that are leading to loss of lives and putting at risk a healthy future for our children – globally, as well as in Europe and Central Asia.

Collectively, we need to empower the most vulnerable, including smallholder producers, by investing in agrifood systems

Although we have made progress towards building a better world, progress has slowed down recently. The world has faced many global crises in the past two years that resulted in too many people being left behind.

The COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events disrupting food production, rising food and energy prices and conflicts have affected our region, too. Hunger and malnutrition are rising and more people are falling into poverty.

It is time, now more than ever, for us to work together to build a new era of hope, for everyone, everywhere.

International

Showpiece Factory That Cost Millions is Still Not Operating (BIRN)

More than 10 million euros have been invested in a factory to process animal waste that, years later, is still not working.

In 2010, the EU office in Kosovo and the Kosovo government agreed to co-finance a factory that would be the first one in the region to process animal waste.

With an initial plan of investment of 7.7 million euros, the factory has so far cost Kosovar and European taxpayers 10 million euros.

Five years after the first feasibility study was done, in 2010, construction of the factory finished in 2018.

But an investigation by BIRN shows that the money invested in the new factory has still not resulted in a functional enterprise, mostly due to unfinished work that is the responsibility of the Kosovo government.

Failures to test the wastewater impiant and government indecisiveness over ownership of the factory – and the lack of a gas tank – are among several reasons why the factory is not yet generating any money for Kosovar citizens.

In 2018, when the project was inaugurated, it was said that the factory would be a great development for Kosovo, as animal waste would be recycled and generate money.

Humanitarian/Development

Inflation in Kosovo reaches historic levels amid trade developments (euractiv.com)

Inflation in Kosovo has increased by 13% in the last 12 months as trade with neighbouring foe Serbia increases.

According to official statistics, the cost of fuel has increased by 9.2%, vegetables and fruit by 2%, and furniture and home items by 2.5%. But even more significant increases were seen in solid fuels and firewood, which increased in price by 60.2% on the previous year, as well as edible oils by nearly 50%, bread by 33.5%, dairy by 25.8%, and meat by 22%.

The average wage in Kosovo is around €500 per person per month, but the minimum wage is approximately half of that figure, with many living below the poverty line.