UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, March 21, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

UN hails agreement between Serbia and Kosovo (media)
Kurti: I expect international factors to reprimand Serbia (media)
Musliu: For PDK, the agreement is unacceptable (Kallxo)
Krasniqi: State Department report shows failure of Kurti’s government (media)
Rexhepi on Association: Doesn’t have to do with minority rights (KTV)
“Bad ending”; Selimi, Ischinger and Maliqi predict failure of Ohrid agreement (Express)
Mustafa: Kosovo didn’t win anything; deal helped avoid instability in the north (media)
What is self-management? (Albanian Post)
Serwer: Ohrid agreement did not have any major content (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucic: Legally binding for Serbia when it signs or verbally agrees (KiM radio, N1, FoNet)
Todic on expropriation, international organisations’ responses (Kosovo-Online)
Belgrade and Pristina complicate life for Serbs from the North of Kosovo with moves around vehicle plates: Is a new crisis approaching? (Danas)
Vucic: Italy a sincere friend, has never put Serbia under grave pressure (Tanjug)
Tajani: Balkans has strategic significance (Tanjug, media)
Dacic: Serbia has set aside 1.5 mln euros more in aid to Syria, Turkey (Tanjug)

Opinion:

Power Has Corrupted Vetëvendosje’s ‘Operating Map’ (BIRN)

International:

After Agreement, Kosovo and Serbia Argue Over Implementation (Balkan Insight)
2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (state.gov.)

Albanian Language Media

UN hails agreement between Serbia and Kosovo (media)

Citing an article by Europa Press, several news websites report that the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has hailed the agreement between Serbia and Kosovo to normalise their relations and has stressed that the parties must work "quickly" and "in good faith" to "materialise all their obligations under the agreement".

“The Secretary General applauds the recent announcement by the European Union on the agreement between the parties for the implementation of the Agreement on the Path towards Normalisation of Relations between Belgrade and Pristina,” a spokesperson for the Secretary General said.

The spokesperson also said that the implementation of the agreement “is for the benefit of all” and pointed out that the UN “remains committed to supporting the implementation of the agreements that emanate from the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina”.

Kurti: I expect international factors to reprimand Serbia (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that he expects international factors to reprimand Serbia, which according to him, has refused to sign the annex for the implementation of the agreement on normalisation. He told reporters in Pristina today that the implementation of the agreement needs to start immediately.

“We have agreed on the Basic Agreement and on the implementation plan. For us, this is an agreement, and I expect the international factors to reprimand Serbia’s behaviour, which says in meetings ‘I don’t sign’, and in-between meetings says ‘I don’t implement anything’. The other side cannot talk like this against Kosovo’s membership in international organisations, it cannot talk as if it were never recognise Kosovo because the agreement is a de facto recognition. This is crucial for the process, and it is important for all our allies and friends to continue to remain alongside Kosovo when we are constructive, committed, and creative like never before,” Kurti said.

Kurti said he is the only one that makes proposals and offers in meetings facilitated by Brussels. “I make proposals and offers that are rejected, and in the end, we agree but they don’t sign. On other issues, we will be in constant touch with the European facilitators, with our American partners we are also in constant touch, and we will need to address the formulation for the self-management for the Serb community, and address other issues that we haven’t addressed yet, and for us this is about a formulation that is faithfully and accurately part of the framework convention for the protection of national minorities according to the Council of Europe,” he said.

Musliu: For PDK, the agreement is unacceptable (Kallxo)

MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Ganimete Musliu, said in a debate on Monday that for the PDK, the agreement accepted by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, is completely unacceptable because it is not centred around Kosovo’s recognition by Serbia. “Kurti said in Brussels that he has accepted the French-German plan, and two days ago he said he has agreed with the annex of the agreement. By doing this, Albin Kurti accepted everything that he had pledged he would never accept,” Musliu said.

According to Musliu, “Kurti’s thirst to have a place in the history of the country” has made him always stand against state interests. “With this agreement, he guarantees a mini-Serbia to the Kosovo Serbs, in other words, he has brought Serbia to Kosovo,” she added.

Krasniqi: State Department report shows failure of Kurti’s government (media)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Memli Krasniqi, said today that the section on Kosovo in the U.S. State Department report on human rights shows the failure of the Kurti-led government to build credible, accountable, and uncorrupted institutions, and its failure to create an environment where girls and women are safe. “The report confirms serious government corruption and impunity for such cases, the lack of investigations and responsibility for gender-based violence, including domestic and sexual violence, and raises concerns on how corrupt officials continue to hold senior positions in the public sector,” Krasniqi wrote in a Facebook post.

Krasniqi further argued that in two years the Kurti government has produced only scandals, highlighting reports about the involvement of Kosovo’s Ambassador to Croatia, Martin Berishaj, in a financial scandal.

Rexhepi on Association: Doesn’t have to do with minority rights (KTV)

Koha editor-in-chief, Brikenda Rexhepi, said in a debate on Monday that the case of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities does not have to do with rights for the Serb minority but with expanding the influence of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

“Let’s get one thing clear as an initial premise, this is not about the rights of a minority and not about an attempt to have the voice of Serbs heard, this is an expression we have been hearing since the end of the war, this is about an attempt by the Serbian state and by Vucic to have greater control over Serb-inhabited regions in Kosovo and his attempt to ruin the functionality of the state of Kosovo and to strengthen his own position not only in Kosovo but also internationally,” Rexhepi said.

“Bad ending”; Selimi, Ischinger and Maliqi predict failure of Ohrid agreement (Express)

The ink of the letters on the latest agreement between Kosovo and Serbia in Ohrid is still not dry while commentators of political developments have started talking about the fear and possibility of its failure, the news website reports.

The first to talk about this thesis was former Kosovo chief diplomat, Petrit Selimi, who said that he hoped the Ohrid agreement would have an additional document that would include guarantees, same as Mogherini’s letter to then Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa about the Association. Selimi wrote on Twitter: “The root of this deal was supposed to be the @ischinger proposal based on "2 Germanies model". That was a functional model. This negotiated annex has watered that down to a mere political statement focused on "immediate" creation of "self-management for the Serbian community". I hoped for a side doc, like "Mogherini letter to @IsaMustafaKS", but apparently there are no such written guarantees for Kosovo's recognition, accession, and integration. I haven't finger-pointed for years now on issues of dialogue, but I can predict this will not end well.”

German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger replied to Selimi’s tweet by saying, “I hope you are wrong, but I fear you may be right.”

Political commentator Agon Maliqi wrote in a Twitter post: “The more time passes from Saturday's underwhelming deal, the more one can think of 100s of ways in which this fails & not many in which it succeeds. Western coercion won't be able to compensate for weak incentives. Vucic will likely get what he really wants: preserve status-quo.”

Mustafa: Kosovo didn’t win anything; deal helped avoid instability in the north (media)

Former Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, commented on the Ohrid agreement on Monday saying that Kosovo did not win anything and that the process of dialogue has been extended for another 7-8 years. “The agreement has a clear message of peace, and it is no way a resolution of Kosovo’s status through mutual recognition … The document creates hope for peace in the region, but it does not take us forward. The agreement has helped avoid the risk of instability in the north, but Kosovo has not won anything in terms of its needs in the dialogue,” Mustafa said.

What is self-management? (Albanian Post)

The news website notes that one of the most problematic points for Kosovo in the agreement for normalisation of relations with Serbia is Article 7 which provides specific arrangements to ensure an appropriate level of self-management for the Serb community in Kosovo”.

The Kosovar and Serbian side had different interpretations about the article, for which the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that it should be implemented immediately.

Mazllum Baraliu, professor of international law, said in an interview with the news website that “ensuring an appropriate level of self-management” is nothing but territorial autonomy for the Kosovo Serbs. He argued that with this formulation, Serbs win self-determination. “So in opposition with the Constitution and the laws of Kosovo, and while discriminating against other minority communities, the Serbs are given the right to self-determination in the north, plus the Association not only in the north, but all over Kosovo. So this agreement is worse than the Brussels Agreement in 2013 and the one in 2015, because the first one foresaw only an Association and the second one outlined the principles of that mechanism,” he said.

Gezim Visoka, professor of peace and conflict studies at Dublin City University, said that the phrase self-management in this case has a more technical and administrative connotation. “The formulation ‘self-management’ I think is more general than that of self-governance, and as such I think it has more of a technical and administrative meaning, and less of an executive or autonomous meaning. However, it is up to the parties to determine its meaning. Any other interpretation can only be speculative,” he said.

Visar Ymeri, a fellow party member of Albin Kurti, said that the way in which point 7 of the agreement was presented is ambiguous and can be understood in several ways. The part which according to him should be explained is where the reference is Serb community and not Serb-majority municipalities. “If we are talking about the Serb community, then what aspects of managing the life of the community are we talking about?” he argued.

Ymeri also said that what is interesting in this regard is the elaboration of foreign diplomats, especially American diplomats, who are giving more than one meaning to this point and concept. “While earlier there was talk about the rights of management in education, healthcare, and others, rights which the municipalities already have, a certain level of autonomy for the Serbs has also been mentioned,” he added.

Serwer: Ohrid agreement did not have any major content (RTK)

U.S. analyst on the Balkans and professor at John Hopkins University, Daniel Serwer, said in an interview on Monday that the Ohrid agreement has limited results and that without any signatures and with only several points of commitment, it is an agreement without an agreement.

“Limited results in two aspects, limited in procedural aspects and it did not have any major substance or content. It does not mention recognition by the five EU member states, it does not say that Serbia will no longer intimidate Serbs that want to join the Kosovo Security Force, it does not say that Albanians living in the south of Serbia will be treated the same way as Serbs in Kosovo,” he said.

“As far as I am concerned, this is an agreement without an agreement. It is a half-ready agreement, and it is not legally binding as the U.S. Special Envoy for the Balkans, Gabriel Escobar says,” he said, adding that there is some kind of moral pressure to deliver on what has been promised.

Serwer also argued that all municipalities have a high level of management, and that Kosovo is not a completely unitary state.

“Article 7 of the agreement does not refer to municipalities and it cannot be a recognition of the Association,” he said.

The problem, according to Serwer, is that the agreement does not refer to municipalities but to communities or to the Serb community. “This is unfortunate, and I believe it creates a completely special category and I don’t know how it can get self-management. One of the things that can be included in any agreement is that the Albanians must return to their homes in the north of Kosovo,” Serwer said, adding that if Albanians return to the north there will not be a Serb majority there. “Now when they talk about communities and not municipalities, this is what I don’t like at all”.

Serwer said he does not believe that the Association of Serb-majority municipalities should be immediately formed. “There should be negotiations first, negotiations on self-management, and not the formation of the Association. I don’t believe there is going to be an association and there will be no executive competencies,” he said.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic: Legally binding for Serbia when it signs or verbally agrees (KiM radio, N1, FoNet)

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic said regarding the European agreement on Kosovo and the annex on implementation, stated that it is legally binding for Serbia when it signs or seals something or verbally agrees to it, reported Serbian media.

"Serbia will fulfill and work on the implementation of everything it said it would do, despite the fact that I don't think that Pristina will form the Community of Serbian Municipalities," said Vucic at a press conference with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

He repeated that there is no question of Kosovo's recognition, membership in the United Nations and UN agencies and bodies, while we can talk about everything else that leads to better relations with the Albanians.

"Serbia has never used any tricks and that is my message to those who spoke about it at the Forum for Foreign Affairs," said Vucic.

He added that it seems that the signatures of many do not mean anything.

When asked about the role of Italy in the negotiations, Vucic said that Serbia always wanted a stronger Italian presence.

"We don't have the same views on all issues, but we want to preserve peace and stability," said Vucic and added that Serbia also wants peace in Ukraine because that would bring us relief, reported KiM radio, citing N1.

Todic on expropriation, international organisations’ responses (Kosovo-Online)

The European Union Office in Pristina and OSCE Mission in Kosovo have responded to letters former Leposavic mayor Zoran Todic sent to them regarding the decision of Pristina authorities to expropriate properties owned by Serbs in Leposavic, Kosovo Online portal reports.

According to the portal those two international organisations expressed concerns over the acts and called upon the Kosovo government to respect property rights and applicable law. Todic told the portal that responses he received only confirmed what he had been saying since beginning that the decisions of the government on expropriation were illegitimate.

“Everything we had been saying since beginning about this unilateral, illegitimate, unlawful and discriminatory decision of the Pristina government to expropriate more than 83 hectares in cadastral zones of Dren and Lesak, in Leposavic municipality, we included in a letter sent on February 14. We received responses from the European Union Office and OSCE Mission in Kosovo (…)”, Todic said, adding that although they sent letters to other international missions in Kosovo and Quint embassies, no response came from them to date.

“I believe that representatives of other international missions and embassies in Kosovo are also aware of illegality and unlawfulness of the Pristina government's decision, and we will continue to fight with the support of our legal team and work in the interests of our population, using all legal and other democratic mechanisms aiming to protect the rights of owners and heirs of those properties”, Todic said.

EU and OSCE Missions in Kosovo concerned with expropriation, urge government to respect property rights

“The OSCE Mission is concerned with the issue of respecting property rights and legal procedures in this and similar cases in northern Kosovo over the last couple of months, and our staff members actively monitor this issue since August last year. I have expressed my concern to the government and called for respect of the rights of all property owners and regular procedure in line with the law”, reads the letter of the OSCE Mission, the portal reported.

The letter also said that OSCE staff members attended the public hearing in Leposavic on February 15, but that government representatives could not discuss the purpose of the expropriations, noting it was important to present official information about the purpose of the expropriation. It also said that following the preliminary decision on expropriation affected owners will have the right to dispute expropriations at courts in line with legal provisions related to legitimacy, necessity, proportions, non-discrimination and respect for the law.

The response of the EU Office in Pristina said that “the EU with concern monitors all activities taking place in cadastral zones of Leposavic and Zubin Potok municipalities”, adding that the rights of the property owners must be fully respected in line with applicable law.

The EU also appealed to the Kosovo government to “undertake all the efforts in order to ensure respect for the procedure and fully respect the rights of the property owners”.

Belgrade and Pristina complicate life for Serbs from the North of Kosovo with moves around vehicle plates: Is a new crisis approaching? (Danas)

Political analyst Onjen Gogic told Danas daily that Serbs from the north of Kosovo and Metohija, who have both KM and Kosovo-issued licence plates, find life complicated on the ground, while the public in Belgrade and Pristina deal almost exclusively with events surrounding the European proposal for Kosovo. Gogic believes that this topic is being used for some new tightening of the situation and considers that the European proposal for Kosovo should prevent this new crisis.

As Gogic says, apart from Pristina, which causes problems for those with KM plates, Belgrade, as of a few days ago, does not allow those with RKS plates to enter central Serbia, reported Danas daily.

Daily recalls that the issue of plates last year was one of the main reasons for the escalation of tension on the Belgrade-Pristina route.

After the barricades on July 31, the announcement of fines and even the confiscation of vehicles by Pristina, the representatives of the negotiating teams, with the mediation of Miroslav Lajcak, the EU's special envoy for dialogue, reached an agreement in Brussels on November 23.

Serbia gave up on further issuing KM licence plates, and Kosovo gave up all steps such as warnings or fines for licence plates. But already at the beginning of this year, the Kosovo Police started with a random disallowance to those who have KM plates to cross the administrative lines from central Serbia to Kosovo.

As Danas daily learned from the citizens of the northern part of Kosovo and Metohija, who wished to remain anonymous, those were the ones who extended their vehicle insurance after the month of November.

Therefore, those who drive vehicles with plates of the Ministry of Interior of Serbia, have no problem only if the plates for those vehicles were issued before November, despite the appeal to the Pristina authorities from the European Union that such moves violate the agreement from Brussels.

Specifically, EU spokesperson Peter Stano stated that Belgrade did not violate the agreement with Pristina, because the renewal of insurance and technical inspections of vehicles with KM plates does not mean issuing new plates.

Serbia, as specified after Brussels, decided that it will only renew insurance and technical inspections, but not new licence plates.

The problem arises when citizens with licence plates who have extended insurance or a technical inspection after November can enter central Serbia with Kosovo, but then they are not allowed to return to Kosovo.

Gogic points out that this is not the only problem with the vehicle plates.

- Pristina continued with its practice of randomly not allowing people to cross administrative crossings. After Brussels, Serbia does not issue new plates, but only extends insurance and technical inspection, and KM plates are valid indefinitely. The Kosovo police know about it and ask to check the paper when crossing. According to the insurance renewal date, they know whether it was done before or after the agreement. The problem is with those who extended insurance after the agreement was reached. Checks are done randomly and sometimes, not everyone checks. This creates uncertainty and people do not know what awaits them. There are days when nothing is done about it, says Gogic.

As an additional problem, the fact that the Kosovo police is asking for authorizations for those who cross the administrative line with vehicles that are not registered on their name.

- For example, a man drives a car registered to his wife, and it's not the first time he's done it. He left Kosovo normally, but when he was returning via Jarinje, they asked him for authorization. They go to a notary in central Serbia to get that paper and the Kosovo police acknowledges it. However, some others do not recognize these powers because they say that they do not accept the work of notaries in municipalities in Serbia or the work of the police station of the MIA of Serbia in Kosovska Mitrovica, says Gogic.

However, the problem is not created only by Pristina, Gogic points out for Danas daily. As he notes, Belgrade does not allow those who have vehicles registered with Kosovo licence plates to cross administrative crossings, knowing that they have recently been changed.

- It started happening in the previous days. Belgrade is doing this to demotivate citizens to get Kosovo licence plates, says Gogic.

He sees the creation of tensions among Serbs in the North of Kosovo as a motive for both sides, who are in a situation, he states, where they do not know what to do, which creates the potential for new tensions, but also keeps the topic alive so that, if necessary, could be reactivated.

- The Serbs in the north of Kosovo do not really know what to do. They feel that the hoop is tightening and that at some point it will be their turn, knowing that at some point their insurance will expire. Terrible nervousness is created - whatever you do, you will regret it, you will regret it if you take the Kosovo plates, you will regret it if you leave the KM plates, describes Gogic.

This, he says, creates anxiety among people, which, if necessary, will be used for some new barricades or protests.

- The topic is kept alive to be reactivated if there is a need for it. For example, this European agreement includes the explicit recognition of national symbols and plates, and there are no deadlines. If Serbia does not start releasing Kosovo plates without stickers, Kosovo will reactivate the issue of KM plates, which are illegal for them. It will be used as an instrument to enforce compliance with those provisions, for example, on national symbols. In the simplest terms, Pristina will take it out from their sleeves when they need it, says Ognjen Gogic for Danas daily.

Vucic: Italy a sincere friend, has never put Serbia under grave pressure (Tanjug)

Italy is a sincere friend to Serbia, and it has never been among the countries putting Serbia under grave pressure, but one that opened the door to cooperation, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday, Tanjug news agency reports.

Vucic made those remarks at the opening of a Serbia-Italy business and scientific forum, also attended by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

"To us, Italy is a sincere friend and we have always been able to count on Italy on our European path as well as in cooperation on all important issues, which have not always been easy. Italy has never been among the countries putting Serbia under grave pressure - it was there to help and open the door to some kind of agreement and continued cooperation, rather than to conflicts and problems", Vucic noted. He said Italian entrepreneurs were more than welcome in Serbia.

Tajani: Balkans has strategic significance (Tanjug, media)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday in Belgrade Italy wanted greater presence in Serbia and the Balkans, which he noted had strategic significance.

"We have started from a large Balkan country that is an EU membership candidate. It is a political commitment Italy has worked for to re-establish presence in Serbia and all parts of the Balkans", Tajani said at the opening of a Serbia-Italy business and scientific forum.

He thanked Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and the Serbian government for everything they were doing for peace in the Balkans.

"I believe Vucic and the government will contribute to development of cooperation between the two countries and build an important path to stability in the Balkans and entire Europe", Tajani said.

"We want Serbia in the EU and we want it to attain effective membership. We want to create jobs. We are facing challenges such as the fight against climate change. We must cooperate in fundamental sectors. It is important that businesspeople meet and together build something to the benefit of our countries, and that we commit to science and research, without which there is no growth. The connection between the economy and scientific cooperation between our countries is crucial", he added.

Tajani said that Monday's ministerial meeting in Brussels had addressed the situation in the Balkans, as well as opportunities the Balkans offered to Europe and its companies.

He also thanked Italian troops in Kosovo and Metohija for guaranteeing the inviolability of Serbian monasteries.

"It is right to preserve the Christian roots that are the foundation of our identity. We are ready for dialogue, and I believe the Serbs understand that", Tajani concluded.

Dacic: Serbia has set aside 1.5 mln euros more in aid to Syria, Turkey (Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said Monday in Brussels that Serbia had set aside an additional 1.5 mln euros in aid to earthquake-stricken Turkey and Syria, with each country to receive 750,000 euros.

Addressing a plenary session at a donor conference, Dacic said the Serbian government had set up a team to coordinate humanitarian assistance soon after the tragedy.

He noted that the government had sent 2.8 mln euros in aid to Turkey and 2.98 mln euros to Syria.

"We welcome the initiative by the EU and Sweden and I take this opportunity to extend my condolences to the families of those killed", Dacic said.

Serbia's assistance will not stop here and we are ready to continue to provide support, he said.

"Events like these serve as a reminder that it is only together that we can provide adequate responses to global challenges. European unity is very important in these circumstances", Dacic concluded.

Opinion

Power Has Corrupted Vetëvendosje’s ‘Operating Map’ (BIRN)

Opinion piece by Agron Demi, a senior researcher at Pristina-based GAP Institute.

In its first two years in government, Vetëvendosje has back-tracked or done nothing on almost all the issues it promised to prioritise and reform in opposition.

Late on the night of February 14, 2021, when preliminary results showed that Vetëvendosje had achieved a historic result in the early parliamentary elections, then-PM candidate Albin Kurti and Presidential candidate Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu addressed journalists and supporters.

Responding to questions about the EU-led dialogue with Serbia, Kurti declared that public opinion polls in Kosovo show that dialogue with Serbia ranks only sixth or seventh as the most important issue for citizens, and that his government will deal with it accordingly, prioritising justice and employment.

Once in power, Vetëvendosje faced a political landscape that did not align with the map it had used for years in opposition.

Two years later, Kosovo and Serbia are on the verge of a historic agreement, expected to be finalised this March, while problems with justice and employment remain the same.

International

After Agreement, Kosovo and Serbia Argue Over Implementation (Balkan Insight)

International mediators are urging Kosovo and Serbia’s leaders to implement the commitments they agreed at the weekend, but officials in Pristina and Belgrade appear to be interpreting the normalisation plan differently.