Albanian Language Media:

• Borrell: We’ve made proposal to resolve situation in north of Kosovo (Express)
• Kurti at Vienna Economic Forum: Kosovo has achieved high economic growth (Koha)
• AAK won’t attend President’s meeting with parties on elections in north (Klan)
• Mayoral elections in northern municipalities could be held on Dec 18 (Albanian Post)
• Ibrahimi on Association: Decision of Constitutional Court must not be ignored (EO)
• Aurescu encourages dialogue: Tensions in north must be stopped (media)
• Car with Serbian licence plates of Kosovo national set on fire in Mitrovica (Kallxo)

Serbian Language Media:

• Jarinje: Excessive use of force by Kosovo police against NGO Aktiv Director (Radio kontakt plus, KiM radio, medijacentar.info)
• Petkovic: Pristina authorities should not ‘play with fire’ (Beta, N1)
• Serbian FM says Belgrade won’t negotiate on something that was already agreed on (N1)
• Graffiti calling for resistance appear in Zubin Potok and Zvecan as well (Kosovo Online)
• Citizens again complain that special forces stop them on the roads, the police claim that this is not intimidation, but provision of security (KoSSev)
• Vucic meets ambassadors from Asia and Africa accredited to Serbia, briefs them about Kosovo (Kosovo Online)
• Djordjevic, Obradovic on what could happen in Kosovo after November 21 (Danas)
• Sentence to Stanisic reduced from 20 to 15 years in prison (Kosovo Online)
• Brnabic to visit Singapore for Bloomberg New Economy Forum (Tanjug)
• Slovenian President: Visit to Western Balkans first trip abroad (N1)

International:

• Music Mobilisation: The Concerts Connecting Neo-Nazis in Croatia (BIRN)

 

 

Albanian Language Media  

 

Borrell: We’ve made proposal to resolve situation in north of Kosovo (Express)

EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, said in a meeting with the EU Council of Ministers that the EU has made a proposal to resolve the situation in the north of Kosovo after the resignations of Serb officials from Kosovo’s institutions. He said that the EU proposal should be discussed as a good way out of the situation.

“Kosovo and Serbia have kept me busy. I met in Paris with Prime Minister Kurti and President Vucic. We are not satisfied being that we are on the verge of another crisis. We need to emerge from perspectives of crisis and seek an approach toward a solution. We have presented a proposal, which should be discussed as a good way out of this situation. I called on both sides to respect and meet their obligations in implementing the agreements which they reached several years ago and I am seeking a solution,” Borrell said.

Kurti at Vienna Economic Forum: Kosovo has achieved high economic growth (Koha)

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said today at the Vienna Economic Forum that Kosovo has achieved the highest economic growth in the region with 10.7 percent. He argued that this is the highest growth in the postwar period and that the GDP has increased by four percent.

“Kosovo’s economy is growing rapidly and most importantly our democracy is growing stronger. We are closer to our democratic aspirations. I am very pleased that the prime ministers of the Western Balkans have signed three important agreements in Berlin. The agreements are expected to be ratified soon by the parliaments of respective countries,” he said.

Kurti further argued that economic growth in South-East Europe can be achieved best by the democratisation of government and values.

Talking about renewable energy, Kurti said that a key strategy is decarbonisation, increased efficiency, and consumer protection. “By 2031, we will have 400 megawatts of energy from wind which is 35 percent of energy production in Kosovo,” he said.

AAK won’t attend President’s meeting with parties on elections in north (Klan)

The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) said today it will not take part in the meeting that President Vjosa Osmani has called with political parties to discuss a date for the mayoral elections in the four northern municipalities after the resignations of mayors there. 

The AAK has made a four-point proposal to return the situation to normality and said that until these demands are taken into consideration, it will not take part in any political initiatives.

The AAK proposal notes that the Kosovo government must immediately decide to postpone the decision on licence plates until a final settlement is reached; Kosovo’s institutions must initiate an intensive dialogue with the Kosovo Serbs to return them to the institutions and to restore mutual trust; the government must initiate intensive communication with relevant stakeholders in the country, including the opposition, not only to reflect on the created situation but also to find a way out from this situation; to ask for a several-day summit in the United States of America until a final agreement on mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia is reached. “For this reason, the AAK has called an interpellation with Prime Minister Kurti. And until these demands are taken into consideration, we will not take part in any initiative that only further complicates the situation in the country,” the AAK statement notes.

Mayoral elections in northern municipalities could be held on Dec 18 (Albanian Post)

Citing unnamed sources, the news website reports that mayoral elections in the four Serb-majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo could be held on December 18. 

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani will host a meeting with representatives of political parties today to consult on setting a date for the extraordinary elections.

Ibrahimi on Association: Decision of Constitutional Court must not be ignored (EO)

Executive Director of the Association of Municipalities of Kosovo, Sazan Ibrahimi, said in an interview with the news website that if formed in line with the ruling of the Constitutional Court, the Association of Serb-majority municipalities will protect the interests of municipalities. He also argued that if the court’s ruling is not respected, another tier of government could be formed in Kosovo. “From our experience, we haven’t seen any association that can play a different role from that of representing and safeguarding the interests of municipalities regardless of political or ethnic affiliation,” he said. “We hope that everything will be done based on the decision of the Constitutional Court … If the court’s decision is not respected, there could be another tier of government in Kosovo, and this should not happen because it would be against the Constitution. We believe that everything that was decided and recommended by the Constitutional Court should be respected in its entirety and there shouldn’t be any problems if the court’s requests are respected.”

In another interview, with Klan Kosova, Ibrahimi said that when the Association of Municipalities of Kosovo was formed in 2001, it also included the northern municipalities. He said that in 2002, “some internationals started discussions for a new status for the Serb-majority municipalities” and that after that the northern municipalities no longer participated in the association. Ibrahimi also said that Serb-majority municipalities in the other part of Kosovo continue to be part of the association, contribute financially for their membership and also benefit from the projects of the association.

Aurescu encourages dialogue: Tensions in north must be stopped (media)

Romanian Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, said today that Kosovo and Serbia should resume the dialogue and that the situation in the north of Kosovo must be kept under control. “It is very important for tensions in the north of Kosovo to stop. And from this standpoint, from the overall engagement of the EU in the Western Balkans, I think that the summit which will be held on December 6 in Tirana, will be very important. We continue to encourage the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, and we hope that the situation will be kept under control. The aid package for energy security in the Balkans is very welcome. As you know it amounts to €1 billion and it is very important to support the region,” he said.

Car with Serbian licence plates of Kosovo national set on fire in Mitrovica (Kallxo)

A Kosovo national reported to police on Saturday that his vehicle with Serbian licence plates was set on fire in Mitrovica. Police said in a statement that firefighters went to the site and put out the fire. A suspect was identified by police and the prosecution ordered he be sent to detention.

 

 

Serbian Language Media 

 

Jarinje: Excessive use of force by Kosovo police against NGO Aktiv Director (Radio kontakt plus, KiM radio, medijacentar.info)

Executive Director of Mitrovica North-based non-governmental organisation Aktiv, Miodrag Milicevic was exposed to a physical and verbal mistreatment by Kosovo special police members in the north of  Kosovo, Aktiv said in a press statement, Radio kontakt plus reports.

As the statement said the incident occurred at around 9.30, near Jarinje crossing point when Milicevic was pulled over by the members of Kosovo special police unit, singled out from the convoy, and at the moment of interrogation one of the police officers hit him in the stomach with a fist.

At the same time, a verbal mistreatment against Milicevic occurred with police officers yelling at him and requesting him to “be silent” and asking him questions “why he does not have Kosovo documents”, the statement adds.

“During the entire procedure from the moment of stopping until the moment of interrogation, Aktiv Executive Director fully cooperated with the police and didn’t cause by anything the violent reaction of police members”, it was further said.

NGO Aktiv also said it is appalled by this incident and condemns in the strongest terms the violent behaviour of the special police unit members.

“The blow in the stomach is a mere brutality and by nothing caused excessive use of force by members of Kosovo special police unit point out to impeded security environment in the north of Kosovo and uncontrolled behaviour of police members that threatens to further deepen the crisis and possible escalation of already impaired security environment in the north of Kosovo”, NGO Aktiv said.

Aktiv also warned of the impermissible attitude of special police unit members and called upon Kosovo government and respective institutions to launch immediate investigation to determine responsibility of the members of a special police unit and thus prevent recurrence of similar situations.

“This is a particularly dangerous situation ahead of the deadline to issue reprimands and announcement of implementation of the second phase of Kosovo Government decision to punish owners of the vehicles with old licence plates' ', NGO Aktiv warned.

A complaint against special police unit members will be filed to the Kosovo Police Inspectorate and to all respective bodies, the statement concluded. 

Petkovic: Pristina authorities should not ‘play with fire’ (Beta, N1)

Director of the office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, said on Saturday that the latest announcement by Pristina officials that the security forces of “so-called Kosovo can operate on the territory of the entire province”, including the north, as another alarming threat and “ominous announcement from Pristina with the aim of expelling Serbs from their centuries-old homes”. 

He said it was clear to all international factors that “the so-called Kosovo Security Forces (KBS) have nothing to seek in the north of the province” but that (Kosovo PM Albin) Kurti “and his henchmen” obviously want to violate agreements that preserve peace and guarantee the safety of Serbs.

“According to the agreement signed and guaranteed by the then NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmunsen with the authorities in Pristina in 2013, it was unequivocally stated that any military formations from Pristina cannot operate in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, without the prior double approval of the commander of KFOR and four mayors from the north of Kosovo and Metohija,” said Petkovic.

He told Pristina that they “should not play with fire and stop further destabilising the security situation in Kosovo and Metohija with incendiary statements, announcements and moves.” He also assessed that they have already damaged the situation with their illegal and violent moves regarding the license plates, reported Beta agency.

Serbian FM says Belgrade won’t negotiate on something that was already agreed on (N1)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said by signing the Brussels agreement the European Union became a guarantee that the Community of Serb Municipalities will be formed in Kosovo, however, there are “ongoing attempts to reopen this already closed topic, which Pristina gladly accepts”, N1 reports.

“It is unacceptable to Belgrade to go back to something that was signed and agreed upon just because Brussels and the USA hesitate to force (Albin) Kurti to fulfil the obligation. We will not fall into that trap, nor will we agree that the battle for supremacy between Brussels and Paris, Berlin and Washington, takes place behind our backs”, Dacic told Vecernje Novosti daily.

As he said, “all of them individually, and especially united, only if they want to, do have the power and mechanisms to force Pristina to comply with its part of the Brussels agreement”.

“This is not done only by the appeals they have been sending in recent days, because Pristina has turned a deaf ear to them countless times so far”, Dacic underlined. 

Graffiti calling for resistance appear in Zubin Potok and Zvecan as well (Kosovo Online)

Graffiti calling on residents in northern Kosovo to resist implementation of Pristina government’s decision on licence plates appeared today in Zvecan and Zubin Potok municipalities, Kosovo Online portal reports.

Graffiti first appeared in Mitrovica North and this morning in Leposavic as well, followed by two other northern municipalities.

“As of November 21, it is everyone’s obligation to resist at every step. Brigade North”, reads the inscription.  

Kosovo police said yesterday it has launched an investigation into graffiti in northern Mitrovica. 

Citizens again complain that special forces stop them on the roads, the police claim that this is not intimidation, but provision of security (KoSSev)

Portal KoSSev wrote yesterday that complaints again are coming from the citizens of the North about the behaviour of members of the special police units stationed in the newly built bases towards Jarinje and Brnjak. According to this portal, people complain that police officers with long pipes try to perform the work of the traffic police, addressing them in Albanian, which the citizens often do not understand. They describe the robust behaviour of the special forces as "hostile", they have a feeling of discomfort and intimidation. 

On the other hand, and in contrast to such experiences, the Kosovo Police said that no police unit has the intention of provoking or creating insecurity, on the contrary. It maintains order and security in the North, without distinction, and prevents smuggling and organised crime, claim in Pristina.

Resident of Kosovska Mitrovica, N.B. contacted KoSSev portal after the car, with him, driver and secretary was stopped by a five-man patrol of Kosovo Special Unit patrol stopped them the same morning in the immediate vicinity of Jarinje. According to N.B., they were on a business trip to central Serbia. And while the vehicle was registered with Belgrade plates, the passengers had Serbian documents as residents of the North.

"They stopped us on the part of the road where the base of the special police is now, and where the speed bump is, in the immediate vicinity of Jarinj.They also stopped other vehicles from the direction of Raska towards the North, while we were moving in the opposite direction. They asked for a driver's licence in Albanian. They asked all the questions in Albanian, only the driver mumbled something, we hardly understood what they were asking. Also, as the stickers came off from our vehicle plates, they were threatened with a 60 euros fine, it somehow passed (without it), they asked the driver to stick the stickers again, and he really didn't remove them on purpose, they just fell off while driving. They opened the trunk and then they opened my toiletry bag, they opened the cologne. All of them were armed, they were holding automatic rifles, they looked at us with extreme hostility. The most terrible thing was that they were doing traffic police work with automatic rifles, in a language we don't understand, and I think this shows how, in the absence of the Kosovo Police, ROSU implements democracy in Kosovo," this Mitrovica native told portal KoSSev.

KoSSev wrote that it was just one of a series of similar testimonies that this portal was receiving for months, in which citizens complain that they do not understand questions or messages, but also that they feel intimidated, while they are robustly stopped on the roads they use regularly, by special police forces with long pipes and perform the work of traffic or border police.

However, as in the previous month, the Kosovo police responded to KoSSev portal and said that the special police present in the North perform their work in accordance with the law and regulations.

The main goal was to preserve public order and security and to prevent organised crime, and that no police unit of the public order and border police has the intention of causing or creating insecurity, on the contrary, emphasised the Police. 

"The Kosovo Police has a mission to provide law enforcement in the Republic of Kosovo in a professional and efficient manner. The Kosovo Police conducts its mission by performing general duties and legal powers in the direction of providing security, law enforcement, preventing and suppressing criminal activities, preventing risks to all citizens without distinction, maintaining order and public safety, as well as managing and controlling the state border. The Kosovo Police, with its competent units, performs its duties and legal powers on the entire territory of the country without distinction", they repeated in a written response to KoSSev.

KoSSev asked about a specific case, but also whether they are familiar with the complaints of citizens in the North, and whether this type of traffic control is part of the regular work of the special police.

They placed the fight against criminal offences and smuggling at the forefront of their response, while maintaining public order and security, reported the portal.

"As part of the fulfilment of duties and legal powers, the realisation of vehicle control points according to the plans for combating criminal acts and smuggling in the entire city is included. Such a police task throughout the territory of the Republic of Kosovo is also conducted in the north of Mitrovica, where their main goal is to maintain public order and security, provide security for all citizens without distinction, as well as prevent organised crime smuggling. None of the police units of public order and border police that perform tasks in the area of responsibility, which you emphasised, do not intend to cause or create insecurity, on the contrary, they are present everywhere in Kosovo, according to the operational need and risk assessment, they perform police duties, in order to provide security to all citizens and that place," stated the Kosovo Police.

The questions about how many police officers are currently employed in the North, and from which regions, i.e., whether regular police work was performed by special units - were not answered, wrote KoSSev portal.

The portal recalled that so far, 578 police officers of the North region have left this service, but the Kosovo interior minister, who visited Jarinje again yesterday, claimed that there were "enough policemen who work with exceptional will to maintain the situation".

On the roads of the North, increased patrols of vehicles of the special units of the Kosovo Police, EULEX and KFOR can be seen.

Vucic meets ambassadors from Asia and Africa accredited to Serbia, briefs them about Kosovo (Kosovo Online)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic organised today a solemn lunch for ambassadors of Arab and African states accredited to Serbia, and discussed with them about the situation in Kosovo, Western Balkans and mutual cooperation, Kosovo Online portal reports.

Vucic said in a post on his official Instagram account that Serbia continues tradition of good relations with the countries on African and Asian continents, intends to foster and additionally advance cooperation in all the fields as well as intensify dialogue at all levels on the issues of global importance, in which the vote of those countries is of highest importance for Serbia.

Djordjevic, Obradovic on what could happen in Kosovo after November 21 (Danas)

“Given that I am just returning from Kosovska Mitrovica I had a chance to witness deployed Kosovo police special units, which serve to intimidate people. No one may feel safe to see a special police officer with a machine gun on the road, let alone that someone armed like that stops you”, Biljana Djordjevic, MP from opposition Let’s Not Drown Belgrade Movement told Danas daily.

She made those remarks answering the question of what she thinks would happen in northern Kosovo after November 21.

Commenting on graffiti calling for resistance against decision on licence plates that appeared in northern Kosovo over the last two days, Djordjevic said “graffiti of Brigade North was the least problem at this moment”.

“Even without those graffiti, Serbs in northern Kosovo would not re-register their vehicles by November 21, and in particular they would not do so following suspension of the police commander of the region north and consequential departure of Serbs from Kosovo institutions”, she opined.

She added that everybody from the international community called for postponement or cancellation of the re-registration process, however it seems that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti doesn’t give much consideration to it.  

According to Bosko Obradovic, leader and MP from Dveri Movement no one sane wishes war or any conflict to happen.

He said that however, “Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija have no other option but to resist” in the same manner as Albanians for decades resisted the Serbian state, using all sorts of boycotts, blockades, protests, parallel institutions.

He added that Serbs in Kosovo can not succeed in it without the Serbian state and return of it in Kosovo and Metohija. 

Sentence to Stanisic reduced from 20 to 15 years in prison (Kosovo Online)

The Appellate Court in Pristina has accepted partially as grounded the complaint of Goran Stanisic charged with the murder of 13 civilians in 1999 and reduced the sentence rendered by first-instance court from 20 to 15 years in prison, Kosovo Online portal reports.

The Basic Court in Pristina on October 5, 2021, sentenced Stanisic to 20 years in prison for the murder of 13 Albanian civilians during the conflict in Kosovo in 1999.

His defence lawyer filed an appeal requesting to either acquit Stanisic or order his retrial. The appeal also cited numerous violations of criminal proceedings and criminal code, inaccurate and incomplete verification of facts, however, the second instance court found those parts as ungrounded.

The crime in Slovinje village, near Lipljan in which many civilians were killed has been investigated since 1999, first by The Hague Tribunal investigators, then District Court at that time, while UNMIK in 2005 and 2006 conducted comprehensive investigation.

According to Stanisic’s defence lawyer Ljubomir Panotovic “the main witness in the case, a woman who lost five members of her family on April 15, 1999, for all those years gave six statements. In the first five statements she listed people by names, surnames and nicknames, but never mentioned Goran Stanisic”. Only after his arrest, the lawyer continued, she gave the statement to the Kosovo special prosecutor, saying after 20 years “that she saw Goran Stanisic murdering her relatives”. According to Panotivc, witnesses were making statements different from those they gave during previous investigations into this crime.

Stanisic was arrested in July 2019. 

Brnabic to visit Singapore for Bloomberg New Economy Forum (Tanjug)

Serbian PM Ana Brnabic will be visiting Singapore on Tuesday and Wednesday for the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, Tanjug news agency reports.

As part of the forum, Brnabic will attend a panel on pushing digital boundaries, also be attended by Econet Group founder and Executive Chairman Strive Masiyiwa, Infosys Limited Chairman and co-founder Nandan Nilekani and Grab co-founder Tan Hooi Ling.

While in Singapore, Brnabic will meet with the country's President Halimah Yacob and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also the coordinating minister for national security. A Serbian delegation accompanying Brnabic will include Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovation Jelena Begovic.

The visit will include a ceremonial presentation of a patent letter to Serbia's Honorary Consul to Singapore Calvin Cheng Ern Lee on occasion of the opening of a Serbian consulate in Singapore, the Serbian government announced in a statement.

Slovenian President: Visit to Western Balkans first trip abroad (N1)

Newly elected Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar announced that she will choose the Western Balkans for her first trip abroad because she believes that Slovenia is the “European Union’s window and door” for this region.

She told Radio Slovenia that her first choice would have been Germany, Slovenia’s main trade partner, but that recent developments in the Western Balkans prompted her to change her mind.

In her fist interview following election victory Pirc Musar said she was particularly concerned about the relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

Pirc Musar is Slovenia’s first female president.

 

 

 

 

International 

 

Music Mobilisation: The Concerts Connecting Neo-Nazis in Croatia (BIRN)

In closed messaging groups and through small-scale concerts, the Croatian branch of Blood and Honour is networking with other neo-Nazis in Europe.

Patrik denies being a member of Blood and Honour, but the symbols he displays on his clothes show he shares its neo-Nazi principles. 

Blood and Honour has been banned in Germany and Spain and declared a terrorist organisation in Canada, but that does not stop Patrik from proudly sporting a hoodie bearing its name at a café in the northern Croatian port city of Rijeka.

“I look at it as a kind of patriotism,” Patrik told BIRN. “I see it more as some kind of provocation,” and an expression of opposition to communism. “I would like to be a policeman,” he said.

Despite denying he is a member, Patrik is one of four men in Croatia that BIRN has been able to link to the Croatian branch of Blood and Honour, banned in Germany as a “neo-Nazi, racist and xenophobic organisation whose purpose is similar to that of National Socialism.” In Britain, its members are prohibited from joining the police.

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