Albanian Language Media:

• Serbian judge orders detention for three Kosovo police officers (media)
• Kurti: Terrorism charges against three police officers seem to have been dropped (RFE)
• Kurti meets U.S. Permanent Representative to OSCE, Carpenter (media)
• Kurti is attending Prespa Dialogue Forum, meets BDI leader Ahmeti (media)
• UK statement on latest developments in the north of Kosovo (media)
• Rama: KFOR will submit file to NATO; there won’t be public conclusions (Gazeta Metro)
• Tahiri: Kurti, internationals to engage so that police officers return today (Kosovapress)
• Serbian lawyer: No legal basis to keep police officers in detention (Gazeta Express)
• Lajcak: We need to overcome legacy of the past and seek dialogue (media)
• Media Commission gives Klan Kosova 30-day period to complete business data (media)
• Reactions to suspension of Klan Kosova business certificate (media)
• Begaj: Kosovo an irreversible reality; leaders to sit at table of talks (Telegrafi)
• Montenegro’s Abazovic offers to host new round of Pristina-Belgrade dialogue (media)
• Trucks with Serbian goods not allowed to enter Kosovo today (RFE)
• Protesters tried to enter Leposavic municipal building; Police: Situation calm (media)
• Masked persons in Zvecan throw stones at police vehicle, no injuries (media)
• Edward P. Joseph interview with The Geopost (media)
• Haxhiu: We won’t stop fighting domestic violence, violence against women (Reporteri)

Serbian Language Media:

• Kosovo Minister of Administration entered Leposavic municipality, Serbs protest (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)
• Petkovic: Kurti wants new crises, I informed Lajcak about latest provocations in Leposavic (Kosovo Online)
• CI 'Serbian Survival' message to the international community and KFOR (KiM radio)
• Dacic: Kurti likes constant aggravation of situation, and we like peace (Tanjug)
• Serbian Chamber of Commerce: We did not receive official notification on ban to Serbian goods from entering Kosovo (RTS, Kosovo Online)
• Kosovo special police searched vehicles in Gracanica (Tanjug, Radio KIM)
• UNS and DNKiM: Suspension of Klan Kosova television, act of censorship and threat to media freedom (medijacentar.info)
• Reporting from northern Kosovo has never been harder (medijacentar.info, Radio Mitrovica sever)
• Jarinje: Kosovo police prohibited vehicle of Post Office of Serbia to enter Kosovo (media)
• Walk of support for the arrested Milun, Dusan and Rados in North Mitrovica (Kosovo Online)
• Kosovo police officers arrested in Raska sent to detention, investigation launched (RTS)

Opinion:

• Weller: Are the Brussels Negotiations on Kosovo Nearing Collapse? (Prishtina Insight)
• Kosovo Serbs stuck between Pristina and Belgrade “Trials” (KoSSev)

International:

• North of Kosovo: An extremely dangerous stalemate (DW)

 

 

Albanian Language Media  

 

Serbian judge orders detention for three Kosovo police officers (media)

The High Public Prosecution in Kraljevo, Serbia, has ordered investigations regarding the three Kosovo police officers who were arrested by Serbian forces on June 14. According to Serbian authorities, they are suspected of committing the criminal offence: production, possession, and illegal trafficking of arms and explosive devices. A preliminary procedure judge ordered the detention measure, but the duration for the time being is not known. The Kosovo government claims that the police officers were “kidnapped”, as according to them, they were taken by Serbian forces that entered Kosovo’s territory, while Serbia denies this saying that they were arrested in Serbian territory.

Kurti: Terrorism charges against three police officers seem to have been dropped (RFE)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that it seems that the prosecutor in Serbia has dropped the charges of terrorism against the three arrested Kosovo police officers and has maintained the charges for illegal possession of arms. He made these remarks during his address at the Prespa Dialogue Forum in North Macedonia. “I want to thank the U.S. State Department for calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the three Kosovo police officers. This is the way forward. First, these officers must return, but at the same time, the international community must decisively and clearly condemn Serbia’s aggression against Kosovo,” Kurti said. He also said that NATO should condemn the violation, which according to him, Serbia did against the Kumanovo Agreement that ended the war in Kosovo in 1999.

Kurti also said that what the region needs is for Serbia to declare its independence from all countries of the former Yugoslavia and to give up on its, what he called, hegemonistic policies. “We are facing this problematic moment, but with the basic agreement, which is based on de facto recognition, I believe we can normalise our relations and calm the situation on the ground,” he said.

Kurti repeated that he is ready to announce new elections in the four northern municipalities when the terrain is right for this “otherwise I cannot surrender a democratic Republic to a fascist militia”. “I cannot compensate Belgrade for the losses that Serbia suffered due to Milosevic’s regime. This is a completely different matter, and we need to separate political requests from organised crime and criminal gangs,” he said.

Koha quotes Kurti as saying that Belgrade wants to ruin the Kosovo system. He repeated that he is ready for new elections in the northern municipalities but that he will not stop the fight against criminal gangs. “If we need new elections, I give my generous offer that the [current] four mayors will not have to end their mandates and we can go to early elections,” he said.

Kallxo reports that commenting on the latest developments in the north of Kosovo, Kurti said that “a special military unit from Serbia entered Kosovo’s territory and kidnapped the three police officers”.

Nacionale quotes Kurti as saying, “we want to contribute and only benefit, and we want to protect the European Union. And I believe in trans-Atlantic cooperation. Therefore, to put it differently, I don’t like anti-American Europeans or anti-European Americans”. 

Kurti meets U.S. Permanent Representative to OSCE, Carpenter (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met today with the U.S. Permanent Representative to the OSCE, Ambassador Michael Carpenter, and discussed the situation in Kosovo after three Kosovo police officers were taken by Serbian forces, and the commitment of Kosovo’s institutions for de-escalation and full normalisation in the four northern municipalities. Carpenter said that the rule of law must be supported and highlighted the request for the immediate and unconditional release of the police officers. A press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office quotes Kurti as saying that the incident is a violation of Kosovo’s constitution, legal order, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, and called on the international community to condemn the aggression.

Kurti is attending Prespa Dialogue Forum, meets BDI leader Ahmeti (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti is attending the Prespa Forum Dialogue in North Macedonia. A press release issued by Kurti’s office notes that he met with BDI leader Ali Ahmeti and “discussed the latest developments in Kosovo, following the Serbian aggression against Kosovo, with the kidnapping of three Kosovo police officers on Wednesday in the territory of Kosovo, and the Prime Minister called for the condemnation of this act of aggression”.

The meeting also discussed the process of normalisation of relations with Serbia, the full and unconditional implementation of the Basic Agreement and the de-escalation in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo. The two leaders also discussed bilateral relations between Kosovo and North Macedonia, the development of infrastructure, with special emphasis on the importance of and status of the project for the road that links Prizren and Tetovo, and the cooperation between municipalities along the Sharr mountains.

UK statement on latest developments in the north of Kosovo (media)

All news websites cover a statement issued by the UK government on latest developments in the north of Kosovo. Below is the full statement: 

We call for the immediate release of the three Kosovo policemen detained on 14 June.

We urge Kosovo and Serbia to exercise maximum restraint, avoid unilateral measures and take immediate action to reduce tensions.

We reiterate our calls for Prime Minister Kurti and his government to ensure that elected mayors carry out their transitional duties from alternate locations outside municipal buildings and that special police units are withdrawn from municipal buildings.

New, inclusive elections should be announced as soon as possible. We expect and encourage Kosovo Serbs to participate in these elections.

We expect Kosovo and Serbia to engage immediately in the EU-facilitated Dialogue and in particular to start work without further delay to establish an Association of Serb Majority Municipalities.

Rama: KFOR will submit file to NATO; there won’t be public conclusions (Gazeta Metro)

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was asked at a joint press conference with his Hungarian counterpart, about the efforts to release the three Kosovo police officers taken by Serbian forces. “It is immediate for the three members of Kosovo police to return home. Beyond claims ‘they were caught here’ or ‘they were found here’ for which KFOR will not make public conclusions but will submit a file to NATO, it is clear that in all cases the police officers did not commit any crime. Even if we were to assume that they stepped on the border, this has only one response: they need to return home. We are focused from the very first moment to make this happen,” he said.

Rama said a joint solution is the one offered by the Euro-Atlantic community with clear and immovable points. “Most important for our interest is that peace is on the table. The document of the agreement is on the table and a historic opportunity is there to close a long and painful chapter and to make Kosovo an internationally-recognised country, including from Serbia. The focus is to reach final peace. The proposal supported by the EU and the U.S. is the best thing that can happen in Kosovo. This agreement and golden opportunity will not necessarily be there forever,” Rama argued.

Tahiri: Kurti, internationals to engage so that police officers return today (Kosovapress)

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) called on Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the international community today to engage so that the three Kosovo police officers taken by Serbian forces return to Kosovo today. PDK parliamentary group chief, Abelard Tahiri, told reporters that “this act of kidnapping can hurt interethnic relations in the country”. He also criticised Kurti for lack of information and said that the opposition will change its approach “for the good of the country”.

Serbian lawyer: No legal basis to keep police officers in detention (Gazeta Express)

Serbian lawyer, Cedomir Stojkovic, who earlier reported that the Kosovo police officers taken by Serbian forces, are in Kraljevo, where they were taken to court, says that they need to be released as there is no legal basis for their detention. Stojkovic writes in a Twitter post: “Kosovo police officers must be released. There is no real legal basis for their detention. If they are not released, this means that Serbia is violating the Brussels Agreement, and that it does not intend peace with Kosovo”.

Lajcak: We need to overcome legacy of the past and seek dialogue (media)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, after attending the Prespa Dialogue Forum in North Macedonia today, tweeted: “At @PrespaForum, we discussed the ingredients for reconciliation in the Western Balkans. I stressed that we need to overcome the legacy of the past, seek dialogue, focus on the common EU future, be courageous and have a vision for the entire region.”

Media Commission gives Klan Kosova 30-day period to complete business data (media)

Head of the Independent Media Commission (IMC), Jeton Mehmeti, said today that the IMC Legal Office gave a recommendation with two provisions regarding the decision to suspend the business certificate of Klan Kosova. Mehmeti said the first provision is that within a 30-day deadline, Klan Kosova is obliged to complete the required documentation to keep its licence, “in line with the regulation for the providers of media services of the IMC dated 2021”. “Second, the failure to comply with the regulation for the providers of media services within the said deadline will result in sanctioning measures outlined in Article 30 of the Law on the IMC,” Mehmeti said. All members of the IMC voted in favour of the recommendation.

Reactions to suspension of Klan Kosova business certificate (media)

The EU Office in Kosovo said in a Twitter post today that they are concerned about the suspension of Klan Kosova’s business licence and that the EU is monitoring the developments closely. “Attention focused especially on the potential impact on media freedom. The EU remains committed to protecting and promoting the freedom of expression and information in Kosovo,” the tweet notes.

UK Ambassador to Kosovo, Nicholas Abbott, said in a Twitter post today he is closely following the case of Klan Kosova “and note that the decision on its business licence is still subject to appeal. I note the widespread concern across civil society and urge the relevant institutions to think very carefully about any further measures as a consequence of this, and to consider the wider implications for media freedom in Kosovo.”

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, said in a Twitter post today that “we share the concerns of @ECPMF, @AGK_AJK, @globalfreemedia and others about the sudden suspension of the business licence of @klankosova_tv, and will follow closely. Ongoing procedures must be fair and not threaten Kosovo’s recent impressive rise in global #mediafreedom rankings.”

The Italian Embassy in Kosovo posted on Twitter: “Concerned about Kosovo Govt sudden decision on @klankosova_tv business license suspension. With EU and other partners we are closely monitoring the case. Decisions must be rigorous and legally complaint and mustn’t threat freedom of media and information”.

Commenting on the suspension, a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Pristina told Reporteri that “we are aware of the decision” and “we are following the issue closely”. “We note that the decision was sudden and that revoking the licence of a media is an important step that requires detailed consideration … As we have said continuously, free and independent media are essential for strong and sustainable democracies,” the spokesperson said.

KOHA media group director, Flaka Surroi, said today that “the institutions must not make any executive decision on Klan Kosova, until the administrative procedure at the Business Registration Agency is over”. She argued in a Facebook post that “the Independent Media Commission today is faced with a major problem which it has mismanaged for years – the issue of the ownership of licenced media”.

The American Chamber in Kosovo issued a press release today expressing concern over the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s decision to suspend the business certificate of Klan Kosova. “The decision not only violates the provisions of the Law on Trade Associations, but it also sends a concerning message for the business community and potential investors. As representatives of the American business community in Kosovo, we strongly believe in the respect for principles of fair and transparent business practices, and the protection of rights of businesses that operate in the country,” the statement notes.

Nacionale news website reports that Kosovo’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Rozeta Hajdari, refused to answer a question by a reporter today about why the business certificate of Klan Kosova was revoked. “The Ministry doesn’t revoke licence,” she said briefly.

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) leader, Memli Krasniqi, said today that the decision to suspend Klan Kosova’s business certificate goes against the freedom of speech and the principles of democracy. “Today more than ever, Kosovo needs free, independent, uninfluenced media. I call on the government to immediately revoke its decision and to remove this stain from our state and society,” he said.

The SafeJournalists network, which represents more than 8,200 media professionals in the Western Balkans, said in a statement today that it joins its members AJK to call on the Independent Media Commission to not act on revoking media licence, and allow for administrative procedures to take place, without pressure. Read full statement at: https://t.ly/Ajiv

The Pristina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) in a press release today reacted against the decision to suspend the Klan Kosova business certificate. “CDHRF strongly supports the freedom of speech and the independence of the media, as one f the basic human rights without which democracies would not have any meaning. In this context, we call on the Independent Media Commission not to be influenced by politics in making a decision that would damage the freedom of information and the independence of the media in general, and in the concrete case of Klan Kosova in particular,” the release notes.

Begaj: Kosovo an irreversible reality; leaders to sit at table of talks (Telegrafi)

Albanian President Bajram Begaj said today that Kosovo is an irreversible political reality and that its territorial integrity and sovereignty cannot be put to question. During his address at the Prespa Dialogue Forum, Begaj called on leaders from Kosovo and Serbia to sit at the table of talks for the implementation of the Ohrid accord which leads to the normalisation of relations and mutual recognition.

“The latest public accord reached in Ohrid between Kosovo and Serbia was a moment of optimism but it very soon seemed to be turning into a moment of disappointment,” he said. “I wouldn’t go into any details, because European and American partners are making an exceptional contribution for the parties to reach a compromise on the normalisation of relations and mutual recognition.”

Montenegro’s Abazovic offers to host new round of Pristina-Belgrade dialogue (media)

Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic said in a Twitter post after “an important conversation” with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in North Macedonia that “as a friendly country to Serbia and Kosovo, and all other countries in the region, is ready, together with the inclusion of European and American officials, to host the new round of Dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina”. “Promoting peace, stability and regional cooperation is one of the objectives of Montenegro’s foreign policy. Our shared interest is to find an acceptable solution for all parties through open dialogue,” he tweeted.

Trucks with Serbian goods not allowed to enter Kosovo today (RFE)

No truck with goods originating from Serbia has entered the territory of Kosovo, since the Kosovo government decided to ban the entrance of trucks with Serbian products and licence plates two days ago. “There was no entrance. The security measure to ban entrance is being implemented,” spokesperson for Kosovo Customs, Adriatik Stavileci said.

The news website notes that on June 14, the Kosovo government decided to tighten up border controls with Serbia. The decision was made following the arrest of three Kosovo police officers by Serbian forces.

Protesters tried to enter Leposavic municipal building; Police: Situation calm (media)

Gazeta Express reports on a tense situation in the municipality of Leposavic today when Serb protesters tried to enter the municipal building with force. Kosovo Police confirmed the information, and said that the situation is now calm. Police spokesperson Veton Elshani told the news website that the protesters have left.

Reporteri earlier reported that Kosovo’s Minister for Local Government, Elbert Krasniqi, entered the municipal building this morning to meet with Leposavic mayor Lulzim Hetemi, and that this led to a group of Serbs gathering in front of the building. 

According to RTV21, KFOR soldiers did not allow the protesters to enter the building. No incident was reported, but the situation remains tense.

Masked persons in Zvecan throw stones at police vehicle, no injuries (media)

Kosovo Police said in a report today that three masked persons in Zvecan have thrown stones at police officers and their vehicle. No injuries have been reported.

Edward P. Joseph interview with The Geopost (media)

Several news websites are covering an interview that Edward P. Joseph, foreign policy analyst based in Washington D.C., gave to The Geopost, highlighting his remarks that the point of his recent article in Foreign Policy is that “the U.S. is making a mistake by all this blame on Pristina and Prime Minister Kurti who deserves some blame and does share in the blame, but praising not only letting Vucic escape from his responsibility, which is very high for this situation, and plus we have an immediate crisis even higher with the arrest of three Kosovo police”.

Watch full interview here: https://t.ly/pXvXH

Haxhiu: We won’t stop fighting domestic violence, violence against women (Reporteri)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said today that the implementation of the National Strategy for Protection from Domestic Violence and Violence against Women is an obligation for all institutions. She said that today she met with representatives of reporting institutions to discuss the implementation of activities and the accurate reporting on the implementation process.

“We have pledged that we will never stop the fight and efforts for equality. Challenges are individual, they are shared, therefore, better coordination and cooperation would bring results and will directly impact the protection, security, and integrity of every victim,” Haxhiu said.

 

 

Serbian Language Media 

 

Kosovo Minister of Administration entered Leposavic municipality, Serbs protest (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)

Kosovo Minister of Administration and Local Self-Governance Elbert Krasniqi entered this morning Leposavic municipal building to meet with new Albanian mayor from the ranks of Self-determination, whom Serbs deem illegitimate due to low turnout in elections that Serbs have boycotted, Tanjug news agency reports.

Hetemi has been staying in the municipal facilities ever since May 29. Krasniqi entered during the change of shift of the Kosovo police. As Tanjug correspondent reported they attempted to bring municipal assembly councillors in as well, but have not managed so far.  

Serbs protesting in Leposavic for days perceive this latest Pristina act as provocation. They also perceive the attempt to bring in Leposavic deputy mayor and municipal councillors as an attempt to make some decisions that would run contrary to the will of Leposavic residents.

Large group of Serbs continue protesting in front of Lepsavic municipal facility. They have the same demands that Kosovo special police and Hetemi leave this building. Part of the gathered Serbs are located next to the entry door to the municipality. Gathered people chant “go away, go away”, Kosovo Online portal reports. The portal later reported that the Serbs agreed to move away from the municipal entry, but demanded from KFOR not to allow anyone else to enter the premises.

Kosovo Online later in the afternoon also reported that Krasniqi decided to return to Pristina and was waiting for the transport to be arranged for him. 

Petkovic: Kurti wants new crises, I informed Lajcak about latest provocations in Leposavic (Kosovo Online)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic said he has informed EU Special Envoy for Belgrade-Pristina talks Miroslav Lajcak about latest provocations of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Leposavic, Kosovo Online portal reports.

As portal further reported Minister of Administration and Local Self-Governance Elbert Krasniqi entered municipal building in Leposavic this morning and it was also planned to bring in new deputy mayor and municipal councillors which gathered Serbs opposed, seeing those acts as an attempt to make decisions that would run contrary to the will of majority of Leposavic municipality population.

“New provocation and an attempt of violent taking over of Leposavic municipality by Albin Kurti. I immediately informed Lajcak about those violent Kurti’s acts. Instead of withdrawing the fake mayor from the building, Kurti wants to bring in fake municipal councillors. It has been clear that he wishes for new crises. It won’t fly”, Petkovic wrote in a post on Twitter. 

CI 'Serbian Survival' message to the international community and KFOR (KiM radio)

The Civic Initiative "Serbian Survival" announced that it is standing up for the protection of the people whom Pristina accused of violating the constitutional order, and that they are not defending the constitutional order, but the Brussels order that has been neglected since 2013. They also proposed two solutions to de-escalate the situation in the north of Kosovo, reported KiM radio. 

The CI 'Serbian Survival' noted that they did not receive the promised autonomy and representation of Serbs in the police based on the demographic structure of the population.

"Based on Article 9 of the 2013 Brussels Agreement, Serb police officers left their jobs in November 2022 because the Kosovo government began deploying its parallel police since February 2022, and took away the competences of the Regional Police Directorate North, built illegal bases and deployed Albanian special forces to intimidate and harass the Serbs in the north. We did not receive the promised autonomy in the judiciary, where we were promised an appellate panel composed of majority Serb judges in point 10 of the First Agreement. We did not receive the promised autonomy in the affairs of local and central administration through the Community of Serbian Municipalities," the announcement stated and added: 

"Mr. Kurti is the one who violates the constitutional order, not only in the part that concerns the amendments resulting from the Brussels agreements, but even the original Ahtisaari plan. And this is most visibly reflected through the illegal units of the Kosovo police who are here to intimidate and desecrate Serbian symbols in the municipalities and seize private land for the needs of the repressive apparatus".

The announcement added that there were two parts to the solution to the issue of persecution of their fellow citizens to avoid the risks of destabilising the situation:

"Partial amnesty for alleged rioters from 2021 until today for cases of “violation of the constitutional order'' and similar crimes, based on the Amnesty Law from 2013, which was part of the integration package when a new legal order was agreed based on the Brussels agreements,'' as well as that ''cases of attacks and their processing be taken over by EULEX''.

"Given the mistrust of the Serbian community towards the Kosovo institutions and the deep belief in their ethnic motivation. That belief in ethnic motivation is based on: the detention of Rados Petrovic and Dusan Obrenovic, even though the recordings showed that they were arrested before the incident began; several months' imprisonment for the Serbs because they sang songs in Gazimestan, while young Albanians freely sing about “shkija'' ( a derogatory term for Serbs) with the flags of “Great Albania” in front of the police; Ivan Todosijevic is imprisoned for a verbal offence, while Albanian politicians publicly threaten ethnic cleansing without any consequences; the silence of institutions on illegal bases, mistreatment of citizens and shooting at them".

We are asking for the protection of KFOR from the Kosovo police

They also believe that it is evident that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti wants to provoke conflicts at any cost.

"There is a belief that this government is abusing the riots with KFOR for the purposes of its agenda of escalation under the auspices of the rule of law. Unfortunately, our citizens got into incidents with KFOR because of a misunderstanding because at that moment they believed that KFOR, instead of protecting them, placed itself in the service of protecting the ethnically motivated Kosovo police. Three days before that, the same heavily armed Kosovo police forcibly occupied municipalities, broke and spat on our identity symbols, beat our citizens, and among others, the leader of our initiative, Aleksandar Arsenijevic. KFOR in its mandate has a commitment to security and freedom of movement for all. We ask for the protection of KFOR from the Kosovo police. Unfortunately, the international community is always a few steps late. We have not seen a timely and adequate response to the securitization of the north conducted by Mr. Kurti for the last year and a half through illegal bases and police intimidation of the Serbian community," stated CI Serbian Survival. 

"Our citizens do not want incidents and to move under pressure. They just want to live on their own and manage their lives the way the international community promised them. In the areas of police, judiciary, local and central administration. You have to help us to systematically solve the issue of Serbian autonomy in Kosovo, and start building a coexistence based on mutual respect, not subjugation," concludes the statement delivered to the media.

Dacic: Kurti likes constant aggravation of situation, and we like peace (Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said today Pristina PM Albin Kurti is in favour of constant aggravation of the situation, unlike Serbia that wishes peace and stability, because survival of the Serbian population was the most important, Tanjug news agency reports.

Dacic told TV Pink Pristina authorities do all they can to cause reactions of Serbs living in Kosovo and their conflict with KFOR so that the international community could take a harsher stance on Serbia.

“Kurti has his day or week failed unless he causes some new incident. I think we reached the point of not having anywhere else to go, in a sense that Serbs are forced to struggle for bare existence. This is not about political competition, political disputes, whether Serbs will be politically organised and have certain number of MPs or councillors in institutions, this is about physical survival, because arrests of people are happening, shooting at people are happening, it is about infringement of the fundamental human and civic rights”, Dacic said. 

Serbian Chamber of Commerce: We did not receive official notification on ban to Serbian goods from entering Kosovo (RTS, Kosovo Online)

Nenad Djurdjevic from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce said they have not received an official notification on the ban of Serbian goods from entering Kosovo at the administrative points Jarinje, Brnjak and Konculj, RTS reports.

“We did not receive an official notification. The official notification does not exist yet and according to our contacts and sources we have in Pristina with our colleagues from Kosovo Chamber of Commerce, this decision officially does not exist. That is why we waited the entire day yesterday to receive that decision so we could react officially also with the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce. There is no such decision”, Djudjevic said.

He also said the two chambers over the previous time worked intensively on harmonisation of documents and various certificates and also on other necessary documents so the goods could flow through official channels. He said the current situation impacts both the Serbian and Kosovo economy.

Kosovo Online portal reports this morning that convoys of trucks are still halted at Merdare, Jarinje and Konculj crossing points and can not enter Kosovo.

Kosovo special police searched vehicles in Gracanica (Tanjug, Radio KIM)

Kosovo special police carried out vehicles’ searches in Gracanica yesterday, Tanjug news agency reports, adding that Gracanica is Serb-majority area.

Dozen members of Kosovo special police stopped all the vehicles and carried out complete searches of the vehicles and people, near the place where young Serbs in Gracanica gather and near the House of Culture, Tanjug news correspondent reported from the ground.  

Asked by Radio KIM who and why carries out vehicles’ searches and whether it is about regular check ups or something else, station commander in Gracanica Bratislav Trajkovic briefly responded that he has no information or reports, and that they carry out their work regularly. 

UNS and DNKiM: Suspension of Klan Kosova television, act of censorship and threat to media freedom (medijacentar.info)

The Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) with its branch in Kosovo is concerned about the suspension of the Klan Kosova television operating certificate, and requests that this procedure be suspended until the final decision of the court, reported medijacentar.info portal yesterday.

UNS points out that the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade of Kosovo launched a criminal complaint in the Department for Serious Crimes of the Kosovo Police against the Trading Company "KLAN KOSOVA" DOO, against the responsible officials in the Agency for Business Registers as well as the responsible persons of the company, "due to suspicion to abuse of official duties, as well as abuse of economic powers".

The UNS with its branch in Kosovo believes that the media must not bear the consequences of litigation or criminal proceedings between media publishers and third parties. Otherwise, it would be an act of censorship, endangering freedom, and media pluralism, especially media whose work does not violate professional standards, read the statement.

Reporting from northern Kosovo has never been harder (medijacentar.info, Radio Mitrovica sever)

Reporting from northern Kosovo has never been more difficult, it was said at the debate "The role and challenges of media and journalists in crisis situations", organised by the Caglavica Media Center. According to the Data of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, as of May 20 this year, 23 attacks on journalists and media workers in the municipalities of Zvecan, Leposavic, Zubin Potok and North Mitrovica took place.

"These are attacks on journalists, cameramen, photojournalists and vehicles of teams monitoring this situation. The biggest concern was on the ground because it is about life, they do not have security provided for the performance of their duty to present the reality in that part of Kosovo," journalist and board member of the Association of Kosovo Journalists, Burim Zariqi said. 

Zariqi also recounted his experience of being attacked during reporting in northern Kosovo.

"In my case, it was when we, on that day, in the municipality of Zvecan, followed an attack by a group of protesters wearing masks who attacked a Kosovo police vehicle. We always kept our distance and after we went to the place where the attack on the police vehicle was conducted, several of them were coming back in our direction, towards the media. At that moment one of them came and attacked me because they wanted us to turn off our equipment, so we wouldn't report on what was happening. They didn't want us to be there at all. This proves that they are bothered by the presence of the media, they are bothered by reality and verification, because photography and filming is a kind of verification of what is happening in that part and in that municipality," Zariqi said.

Kallxo journalist Adelina Ahmeti stated that her newsroom team was attacked 3 times during reporting from northern Kosovo and that it was mostly property damage.

"Breaking glass on cars, damaging license plates, writing nationalist inscriptions... Although there were not so many large attacks, they were more verbal, we did not respond to them, we wanted to keep the peace, because we went there to report and say what was happening," Ahmeti said.

Ahmeti said she was disappointed that there was no reaction from, as she said, the organizers of the protests, because of the attacks on the press crews.

"Let's not forget, those who run these protests are senior officials, these are former MPs of the Republic of Kosovo, from the Serbian List. I was there when former Leposavic president Zoran Todic denied that we had been attacked, and we were attacked just moments after he had a conversation with a group that attacked us. He started covering them and denying the attack, saying it was a peaceful protest," Ahmeti said.

President of the Association of Journalists of Serbia in Kosovo Ivana Petronic Vanovac said that so far during the crisis in northern Kosovo, there have been mostly verbal attacks on Serbian journalists and media workers. She stated that the media in furry situations, when there are no police or law enforcement agencies to guard them, have to take care of their own safety.

"A crisis situation is a crisis situation. The citizens who were gathered there that day were at times quite revolted, quite under emotion, under adrenaline. I think it's wise for us to learn a little bit more about how we should act in these situations. Many journalists are even often and unnecessarily very close to these potentially conflicting locations. We need to learn how we should behave in these situations. We are neither paid warriors, nor are we trained for such situations, nor physically often ready, but we know that when there is some tightening or when we realise that all this takes a serious dimension that we withdraw a little, as much as we can," said Petronic Vanovac.

Kim Radio journalist Zorica Vorgucic said that reporting from the north of Kosovo has never been easy, but that the media has not been in a more difficult situation until now.

"There were always some slurs, warnings not to film, and during the barricades, but now it's the most intense. Two days ago, in North Mitrovica we had a situation where we could not make quality reports from the protest because journalists and citizens who were there were forbidden to use cameras and mobile phones and there were very unpleasant situations. Also, in Zvecan before that, on May 29, it was also critical for journalists when there was a conflict between demonstrators and KFOR. WE simply didn't know who to take care of ourselves,'' said Vorgucic. 

She added that the media, reporting on the situation in the north of Kosovo in the Albanian language, was more exposed to danger.

"A very unpleasant situation for journalists. I think that somehow it should stand in the way and that the Associations and the security structures in Kosovo, especially KFOR, should protect journalists. What is happening is very worrying. We had numerous attacks, provocations, insults addressed to journalists, insults on a national basis, we were also called spies. Now they are accusing us of being responsible for the arrests. Our job is to report and to do it professionally," said Vorgucic.

Radio Mitrovica reported that Vorgucic emphasised that the job of journalists is to report and be professional.

However, she also stated that some media sometimes forget that.

"There is a lot of misinformation, i.e., fake news, and our role is to truthfully report on what is happening," Vorgucic added.

The journalist of the Kallxo portal, Adelina Ahmeti, said that, recently in Leposavic, representatives of certain Serbian media told colleagues from her editorial office not to approach them so that they too would not be attacked by the demonstrators.

They were attacked there, they were pelted with eggs from the citizens present, she emphasised.

Ahmeti made claims that there are many people from "criminal groups and the Russian organisation Wagner" on the field.

"I saw that there are journalists from Albania in Zvecan and Leposavic. They too were attacked by suspicious persons who were masked. I do not know if any journalist, who does not speak the Albanian language, has been attacked so far. Those who speak Albanian were attacked."

Vorgucic reacted after the story about "criminal and Wanger groups", saying that the task of journalists is not to label and use phrases of representatives of Kosovo institutions, but to verify information.

"I don't know that anyone has any evidence for that. Formulations used by Albin Kurti and Xhelal Svecla on a daily basis are used here. Among those masked people there are very young guys who are afraid that media footage could contribute to their arrest. On the other hand, they should not and must not obstruct journalists in their reporting, attack them for that and prevent them from filming, because on the day in Zvecan when the conflict broke out, members of the KP special forces were filming from the municipal building. Two days ago, the police released a drone in North Mitrovica. So, I don't think our recordings are at all threatening to them. After all, they are under masks. How could their identity be revealed if they already have masks? Journalists have the right to film at a public meeting," Vorgucic emphasised.

Jarinje: Kosovo police prohibited vehicle of Post Office of Serbia to enter Kosovo (media)

Kosovo police prohibited the vehicle of the Serbian Post Office, which was transporting regular mail to the north of Kosovo, to cross the Jarinje administrative crossing.

The vehicle was stopped, and the Kosovo police did not allow it to continue its journey.

Walk of support for the arrested Milun, Dusan and Rados in North Mitrovica (Kosovo Online)

The Sports Association of Kosovo and Metohija invited citizens to join the walk in North Mitrovica at 1 p.m. and thus provide support to the arrested Milun Milenkovic, Dusan Obrenovic and Rados Petrovic.

The Sport Association states that the gathering is scheduled at the Knez Lazar monument.

Obrenovic and Petrovic were arrested on May 29 in Zvecan during a Serb protest against the incursion of Kosovo policemen into municipal buildings in the north and the imposition of illegitimate Albanian mayors elected in elections in which the turnout was around 3.5 percent boycotted by the Serbs, reported Kosovo Online.

On June 13, athlete Milun Milenkovic Lune was arrested in North Mitrovica.

The portal later reported that several thousand citizens from northern Kosovo took part in the walk of support to arrested Serbs. Their families’ members and young members of the kick box club where Milenkovic is trainer were in the first row. Gathered people carried banners “Justice for Sladjan”, “We Are All Lune”, “He Is Not Guilty”, “We Are All Rados and Dusan” and others.

The next walk of support will take place on Monday. 

Kosovo police officers arrested in Raska sent to detention, investigation launched (RTS)

The judge of a Higher Court in Kraljevo has decided to send three Kosovo special police members arrested in the village of Gnjilica, near Raska, in central Serbia to detention, RTS reports today.

The Higher Prosecutor Office in Kraljevo made the decision to launch an investigation into B.S.; R.Z.; and M.Sh. due to the grounded suspicion that they have each committed one criminal offence of “Illegal production, possession, carrying and trafficking of weapons and explosive substances”.

 

 

Opinion 

 

Weller: Are the Brussels Negotiations on Kosovo Nearing Collapse? (Prishtina Insight)

Text by Marc Weller, Professor of International Law and International Constitutional Studies in the University of Cambridge. He has advised on dozens of international peace negotiations and constitutional processes, is the co-editor of International Law and Peace-settlements (Cambridge University Press, 2021), and has served as occasional advisor to the governments of Kosovo since 1992.

The EU has led what is known as the normalization dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia for over a decade. A clutch of practical, technical agreements have resulted, although only partially implemented. But the process may now be heading for its collapse in any event.

The dialogue was called for the UN General Assembly, when it welcomed the decision of the International Court of Justice which had found that Kosovo’s declaration of independence had been in accordance with international law. On this basis, the General Assembly called on the EU to facilitate a process to promote cooperation between Serbia and Kosovo.

In answer to this call, the EU commenced the Brussels dialogue with the aim of full and comprehensive normalization expressed in a legally binding way. Reaching this aim would be a key criterion for future EU membership of both states. Indeed, it is not easily possible to see how the EU could accept a member state, Serbia, that retains the aim of incorporating its neighbour, Kosovo, within its territory. 

Kosovo’s independence came at a price. It accepted the very involving requirements negotiated under the auspices of UN envoy Martii Ahtisaari, the former President of Finland. This meant offering far more extensive rights to minority communities in Kosovo than any other state in Europe has accepted and granting specially enhanced powers of self-government to municipalities with an ethnic Serb majority.

Serbia banked these concessions, but failed to sign the Ahtisaari agreement, which was nevertheless implemented fully by Kosovo.

In fact, Serbia has used this technique from beginning to end. It negotiated hard at the Rambouillet conference that aimed to prevent the outbreak of wider war in Kosovo. In the end, Kosovo accepted and Serbia refused. The outcome was war between NATO and Serbia.

Read full text at: https://t.ly/bDIJX

Kosovo Serbs stuck between Pristina and Belgrade “Trials” (KoSSev)

By Darko Dimitrijevic, editor of Radio Gorazdevac

Judging by everything that has been taking place in the north of Kosovo lately, what ordinary people are experiencing and suffering, the kind of chaos in which, under the pretext of establishing democracy carried out by Pristina and Belgrade, people are subjected to a „Trial“ in which the innocent are condemned to suffering and discrimination from all sides.

Franz Kafka, in his famous novel The Trial, described an alienated world that gradually seems more normal and acceptable to the reader with each page. Even though the Brussels dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina aims to improve the life of the common man, that common man has always experienced the „Trial“, being condemned to some forced decisions instead of prosperity. After Albin Kurti came to power in Pristina, after ten years, the Brussels dialogue managed to paint a similar reality for Kosovo Serbs; the same one that Kafka managed to present to his main character Josef.

Thanks to different processes and systems of unequal opportunities, discrimination and humiliation, the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija have become alienated from themselves. The people are judged from both sides by imposing solutions and political representatives. With the fact that in Kosovo’s „Trial“, unlike Kafka’s, the epilogue is clear. The people are the sole losers.

On the one hand, Kurti condemns the entire population of the north of Kosovo in advance and on a daily basis and tries to impose solutions under the pretext of the rule of law and democracy, regardless of the fact that such values do not go hand in hand with weapons and the imposition of political will. Kurti is doing in the north exactly what Milosevic did in Albanian-majority places during the nineties. Just like in Kafka’s novel, where some kind of blame is levied on Josef.

On the other hand, the people are condemned by the authorities in Belgrade to rely on the people from Srpska Lista, who blindly listen to the Belgrade authorities and Vucic, although he often presents himself at spectacular meetings as if he is the one listening to them.

The Serbs in the north of Kosovo are condemned to some kind of hooded mob with criminal fighting methods, which even hinders journalists from doing their job. This kind of struggle for rights and justice is a battle lost in advance.

If you are fighting for your rights, why do you need hoods and masks? You need to keep your head high and nose clean! Unfortunately, I have the impression that many young people wear these masks out of fear that they will be arrested solely for being present there.

The repression that Kurti is trying to establish in the north is opposed only by clean noses and exposed faces, not hoods and other criminal methods.

The regime in Belgrade was never fundamentally interested in the opinion of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija. In the last 30 years, with the exception of Oliver Ivanovic, that opinion was imposed by Belgrade on all politicians, on officials who always „knew what we needed better“ than we do.

The government will not and does not want to accept the fact that the values and our heritage in Kosovo and Metohija are not defended by remote control from Belgrade, but by existence and presence in every place, from Lesak in the north, to Strpce in the south and from Gorazdevac in the West, to Pasjane in the east. All this time, no one asked the people, who live in these, but also in all other Serb-majority places, anything, instead, opinions were only imposed on them.

During the last decade of the rule of SNS and Srpska Lista, the imposition of opinions was at a historical high. This led to very bad interpersonal relations and conflicts within the Serbian community. Among brothers, relatives, work colleagues and in all segments of society, it has become a reality in the last ten years.

In the last decade, every critical thought has been stifled, the intellectual elite has died, doctors, university and high school professors have fallen silent. All those who should be the first to raise their voices when the basic principles of a society’s system are violated have become silent. Instead of building these principles, they continued to render them meaningless and damage the reputation of once prestigious institutions. The professors of Pristina University in Kosovska Mitrovica, doctors, prominent cultural figures fell silent.

The guilt of the Serbs, just like in Kafka’s „The Trial“, rests in their very existence. Serbian existence and rich cultural and historical heritage bother Kurti, who shows with every example that he does not want the Serbian community within his system. It is continuously tried in various processes. Many court processes in Pristina are constructed and ethnically motivated, often with undisguised motives.

On the other hand, the Serbs in Kosovo also bother Vucic, who is not used to fighting for the people by all political means. He gave the Kosovo Serbs the false hope that he would defend them with „clubs“, raised the army combat readiness, sent various groups with hoods, his men set up and removed barricades, and ordinary people always suffered because of it. One gets the impression that in this latest „Trial“, directed by Albin Kurti and Srpska Lista, the people of the north of Kosovo have been condemned in advance.

The lukewarm and almost non-existent reaction of the international community also contributed to citizens living in this reality. Their passivity in the „Trial“, as well as the rewarding of the political elites in the Balkans, who have a deformed system of values, has largely contributed to the damaged interpersonal relations in Kosovo and beyond.

As long as the political court only whispers to us from both sides and the accused in those processes obey without a word, without a normal system of values, without radical desires and ideas, without empty nationalism, we will have injustice and „Trials“, which will continue against the people.

 

 

International 

 

North of Kosovo: An extremely dangerous stalemate (DW)

Tensions in the north of Kosovo are not abating. A political solution is not in sight, but that is why the number of NATO peacekeepers is increasing, reports DW in Serbian language. 

In the north of Kosovo, the atmosphere heated up again. It can be said that this is the result of a constant and multi-year deterioration of the security situation, while political agreements between Belgrade and Pristina under the auspices of the EU do not provide solutions.

"We are currently at a very dangerous stalemate in the dialogue, which is a huge challenge for security. Not only is there no talk of implementing the Brussels and Ohrid agreements, but we've been talking about de-escalation for two weeks, and that's not in sight either," Visar Ymeri, director of the Musine Kokalari Institute for Social Policy, told DW.

Ymeri is also worried that he does not see that Kosovo PM Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic show even the slightest willingness to normalize the security situation in order to move to political solutions.

How to de-escalate?

The EU and the USA see de-escalation in the withdrawal of special units of the Kosovo Police from municipal buildings and the suspension of protests, and politically in the calling of new elections that Serbian political representatives would not boycott.

The EU's request for de-escalation is unanimous, which is rare in the foreign policy of the bloc of 27 countries, reminds Ian Bancroft, former diplomat, and author of a book about the north of Kosovo.

However, there are no steps towards de-escalation, which led to the introduction of EU and US measures against Kosovo - the side of which depend, they believe, the first step: the withdrawal of the police from the municipalities. The USA therefore cancelled Kosovo's participation in the NATO exercise, and the EU cancelled the meetings to monitor the implementation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement.

"It is clear that Kurti has lost the support of Kosovo's friends in the international community, which is an unprecedented situation in the last 15 years since Kosovo declared independence," says Bancroft, but also points out that Belgrade is also under pressure.

"Serbia is under pressure to drop the conditions for participating in the elections," Bancroft told DW. At the same time, he reminds that the elections are only a temporary solution, and that after that, problems in the implementation of all previous agreements should be solved.

Growing cracks in the dominance of the Serbian List

The demand for the unconditional participation of Serbs in the elections is further complicated by the arrests conducted in North Mitrovica by special units of the Kosovo Police whose withdrawal is demanded. After that, there was an eruption of citizens' dissatisfaction with the police, but also with the political representatives of the Serbian List.

The citizens of Mitrovica, revolted by the action of the special forces, damaged several police vehicles with stones, physically attacked the representatives of the Serbian List and chanted against Vucic. As in previous weeks, journalists were also the target of attacks, against whom more than 20 attacks have been recorded since May 26.

The obvious and growing cracks in the dominance of the Serbian List are being filled by alternative political actors, some who have been dormant since 2013, but also some new ones. However, in the state of emergency that prevails in Serbian communities in Kosovo, it is not possible to talk about real political life, warns Branimir Stojanovic, the leader of the Serbian National Movement from Gracanica.

"Serbs in Kosovo need political changes, but first we need stability so that the process is democratic, and the elected people have the legitimacy to speak on behalf of the Serbian people," Stojanovic told DW.

The move, however, is not yet up to the Kosovo Serbs, believes Stojanovic. First of all, stability should be ensured at the negotiating table in Brussels.

"It is important that we see the continuation of the dialogue at the highest level as soon as possible, which will result primarily in the calming of the situation, and after that, further discussions on other topics," says Stojanovic. At the same time, he adds that political pluralism in the Serbian community in Kosovo could lead to a more significant role for Kosovo Serbs in the dialogue, which has not been the case so far.

Bancroft, however, does not see that the role of Kosovo Serbs in the negotiations could be strengthened: "This process will continue to be dominated by those who do not have to live with the consequences of the decisions made in Brussels."

He also says that it is characteristic of the majority of those voices that are appearing now that they oppose the integration of Serbs into the Kosovo system, but he adds: "It is difficult to mobilize dissatisfaction into tangible political options if you do not have enough resources. Therefore, those voices, even if they are well received at the local level, will have difficulty converting street popularity into votes. The key argument, persuasive for many Serbian voters, is still that the division into several political options will only weaken the voice of Kosovo Serbs."

Half deals are not sustainable

For the last two years, the dialogue has been focused on regulating relations between Kosovo and Serbia, while issues of integration of Kosovo Serbs that were previously at the core of the dialogue - such as car registration, verification of diplomas, energy, but also the formation of the CSM (ZSO) - have been sidelined. Only after about 3,000 Kosovo Serbs resigned from Kosovo institutions in November, the focus of the mediators in the dialogue returned to the CSM (ZSO).

Visar Ymeri warns of the unsustainability of such half-hearted agreements: "The security situation, now more than ever before, affects inter-ethnic relations, and we have all witnessed how quickly it can deteriorate. That should be an additional incentive for the European Union to step up its dynamics and reach an agreement more quickly. There is no clearer sign that the agreement is needed by all communities in Kosovo," says Ymeri.

A day after the latest arrest in North Mitrovica, the Serbian police also detained three Kosovo border police officers. Belgrade claims that they were arrested in the territory of central Serbia and Pristina that they were 'kidnapped' from the territory of Kosovo.

KFOR, as the only neutral party, remains tactically silent two days after the event. They only announced to the public that they "were not at the place of arrest" and that they were in contact with the Kosovo and Serbian authorities.

In response to the detention of Kosovo police officers, the government of Albin Kurti banned trucks with Serbian license plates and Serbian goods from entering Kosovo.

"Citizens of the north are afraid of who could be the target of the next arrest and on what basis, especially after the arrest of the Kosovo border officers. Their patience is being tested again and again by Pristina's unilateral moves, and banning the import of goods from Serbia will only add to their list of objections," says Bancroft.

If changes are not made quickly, KFOR resources will continue to be used on the ground, and full coordination of the Kosovo Police with KFOR and EULEX is required. "And neither of them like surprises," concludes Bancroft.