UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, August 10, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

Third murder in one week in Kosovo (media)
Haradinaj blames Kurti-led government for recent killings (Koha)
Citaku: PDK is working on early elections (RTK)
Rasic on Radomirovic: He is being attacked in a surprising way (RTK)
IMF Staff Concludes Visit to Kosovo (media)
Ibrahimi: Law is clear, no need for administrative directive (EO)
Graffiti against Kosovo; experts: Special war by Serbia (Kosovapress)

Serbian Language Media:

Lawyer invites Kurti to be defence witness in case of former prison guard, claims he was bringing him books while in prison (KoSSev, media)
Third murder in Kosovo in a week (N1, KoSSev)
Gashi: Crime in rest of Kosovo on rise because majority police forces concentrated in north (Kosovo Online)
Antonijevic: Attempt to shift responsibility for failed negotiations on Serbia as well (RTK)
Jablanovic: Petition not right way to dissolve mayors in northern Kosovo (Radio KIM)
Ferati: Resignations of mayors would lead to calming down situation in north (Kosovo Online)
Protest in front of Mitrovica North municipality, those affected by January floods have not received aid yet (Radio kontakt plus)

Opinion:

Prison for returnees (Politika, Radio KIM)

International:

The Balkan Drug Route: A Snapshot from the Courtroom (BIRN)
Timeout – Challenging the dominance of men in sports journalism (Kosovo 2.0)

Albanian Language Media

Third murder in one week in Kosovo (media)

A 39-year-old-man was killed and three people were wounded when two masked persons entered a bar and started firing in the municipality of Skenderaj last night, Kosovo Police said today, Radio Free Europe reports. Authorities are working to identify and arrest the suspects. This is the third murder in the last week in Kosovo. The Albanian Post news website reports that “the problem of Kosovo society is not unemployment, but security – three killings in one week over ‘settling of scores’”. Klan Kosova quotes MP from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and head of the Kosovo Assembly Committee for Security and Defence, Beke Berisha, as saying that the head of Kosovo Police must come up with a concrete plan on how to stabilise the situation. Berisha even suggested imposing a curfew. Nacionale reports that the director of the Kosovo Democratic Institute, Ismet Kryeziu, said in a Facebook post today that “state institutions” need to give answers about the recent killings. “Frequent cases of killings are shocking, and they are making life in Kosovo frightening. The state institutions need to provide answers whether these events can be prevented and what is being done to prevent them,” he argued. Paparaci news website reports that “three killings and four suspects at large, while Svecla [Interior Minister] does not interrupt his holidays”. Lajmi too reports that “the media are publishing photos of Svecla at the seaside while killings in Kosovo do not stop”.

Haradinaj blames Kurti-led government for recent killings (Koha)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, has blamed the government today for the recent killings, saying that public security is threatened by the government and Interior Ministry’s lack of vision. “The wrong approach by the Government and the Ministry of Interior Affairs to shift the key element in society – public security – within its purely political agenda, has led to elements with criminal tendencies to organise in gangs and to unimpededly threaten the lives of the people,” he writes in a Facebook post.

“The killings of the last couple of days, including the killing of a foreign national, are the best indicators of the insecurity and threats against people on the streets and also in public spaces, bars and elsewhere,” he argues.

Haradinaj also says that “the appearance of masked criminals, as was the case last in Skenderaj municipality last night where a citizen was killed and three others were wounded, shows the inability of the government and the courage of criminal groups to act”. “The citizens have been left defenceless and without any care from a government that has a great lack of professionalism to address complex issues such as security. This government will be held accountable for the deteriorating security situation in the country. The no-confidence motion is the solution,” he concluded.

Citaku: PDK is working on early elections (RTK)

Deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Vlora Citaku, said in an interview with RTK on Wednesday that the government is not working for the interests of the people, and that the PDK is working on going to early elections.

“What we have seen in the last couple of weeks is a daily unfolding of scandals by Prime Minister Kurti’s government. There is one scandal after another, and we cannot even elaborate the topics to the end. The only thing getting richer in Kosovo in Prime Minister Kurti’s three years in government is the album of scandals,” she argued.

Rasic on Radomirovic: He is being attacked in a surprising way (RTK)

Kosovo’s Minister for Communities and Returns, Nenad Rasic, reacted on Wednesday to accusations from representatives of opposition parties that his deputy, Radoica Radomirovic, was a member of Serbian forces during the war and that he took part in massacres against the Albanians, RTK reports. Rasic said Radomirovic was appointed in late May and that “now in a surprising way political actors have created a joint organisation attacking a professional, a very clean man in every aspect”. “I have been in politics for 17 years and what I saw today is disappointing … I suggested his appointment and I know what is working in the north these days. It is impossible to find an associate like him that is ready to incorporate in the building of institutions, or the rebuilding of institutions in the north. Let us not forget that 5,000 staff withdrew in the north and he is among the first to fight for building reconciliation,” Rasic said.

IMF Staff Concludes Visit to Kosovo (media)

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Mr. Gabriel Di Bella, conducted a staff visit to Pristina from July 31 to August 4, 2023, to discuss recent macroeconomic and other developments, including progress in the implementation of the precautionary Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

At the conclusion of the visit, Mr. Di Bella issued the following statement:

Amid a challenging global context, macroeconomic conditions in Kosovo have remained favourable so far in 2023. Growth remains resilient, inflation continues to decline, and the current account deficit has started to narrow. Fiscal revenues continue to grow at a healthy pace, the implementation of public investment program has picked up, and fiscal buffers have remained at appropriate levels. However elevated global volatility and tensions in northern Kosovo remain risks to the outlook that if materialised could add to policy challenges”.

“In particular, recent developments in four northern municipalities led to temporary and reversible measures by some traditional donors and partners that restrict new economic and financial collaboration. While these measures are not expected to impact the outlook if reversed in the short term, they could become an obstacle to foreign direct investment and economic development more generally if sustained for longer.”

“During the visit, the IMF team discussed recent macroeconomic and policy developments and progress on the 2024 draft budget. The team also took stock of the good progress made toward meeting key commitments under the Fund-supported programs. Actions under the SBA and the RSF will be formally assessed during the first review mission expected to take place in October.”

“The IMF team held meetings with President Osmani, Prime Minister Kurti, Deputy Prime Minister Bislimi, Acting CBK Governor Nurboja, Minister of Finance, Labor and Transfers Murati, Minister of Economy Rizvanoli, and other senior government officials. The team also met with key stakeholders in the energy sector, representatives from the private sector, representatives from the international community, and development partners.”

“We would like to thank the authorities for candid discussions and their warm hospitality. We look forward to continuing our engagement in support of Kosovo and its people.”

Ibrahimi: Law is clear, no need for administrative directive (EO)

Head of the Association of Municipalities of Kosovo, Sazan Ibrahimi, said in an interview with the news website today, that according to the law on local self-government, sub-legal acts or administrative directives are not needed to initiate procedures for dismissing the mayors of the northern municipalities.

Ibrahimi said that the Association was not invited to join the group that will draft the administrative directive, initiated by the Ministry for Local Government. He also said that civic initiatives to dismiss a mayor can prove to be difficult.

“As the Association, we were not invited, and we did not take part in the meeting. Being that we have the law on local self-government, a law that is exceptionally advanced in terms of development of local democracy, article 72 of the law enables the citizens to initiate procedures for dismissing a municipal mayor. There are three points in article 72 and if someone wants to start such an initiative, they can do so. But so far we didn’t have any case when such an initiative was started because it is not that easy to dismiss a mayor through a civic initiative,” he argued.

Ibrahimi also said that the procedure is not simple and that it does not guarantee that 20 percent of signatures can be collected for the dismissal of mayors.

Graffiti against Kosovo; experts: Special war by Serbia (Kosovapress)

Graffiti in Serbia calling for the return of the Serbian army to Kosovo are being considered dangerous and a product of cooperation between right-wing supporters and Serbian security bodies, the news agency reports. Security experts in Pristina told Kosovapress that the graffiti which have increasingly appeared in Serbia have nationalistic and extreme content and call for violence.

Taulant Elshani, a senior researcher with the Octopus Institute, argued that the messages are a product of close cooperation between the right-wing supporters and Serbian security mechanisms. He also said that such messages will lead to incitement of hatred. He suggests that more investment is needed in the democratisation of Serbia and the change of the political class there.

Nuredin Ibishi, a Pristina-based security expert, believes that the graffitis are a special war by the heads of institutions in Serbia.

The news agency notes that there have been reactions in Kosovo and from international officials to the graffiti.

Serbian Language Media

Lawyer invites Kurti to be defence witness in case of former prison guard, claims he was bringing him books while in prison (KoSSev, media)

Hearing of Dragisa Milenkovic arrested in Gracanica on June 21 started yesterday in Pristina. Milenkovic is accused of allegedly committing war crimes, KoSSev portal reports.

During the hearing, lawyer Dejan A. Vasic proposed Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti as defence witness in this case. Dragisa Milenkovic is a former worker of the District Prison in Pristina.

“In cooperation that had been, I have to say, extraordinary, since the beginning, with the responsible prosecutor in this case, we have agreed, respectively consented, to the hearing of one particular defence witness, the current Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who at the time when Dragisa Milenkovic worked at District Prison in Pristina, was detained there”, lawyer Vasic told KoSSev portal.

Vasic opined that Kurti, himself, should say few words about credibility of the defendant and his behaviour toward him.

“He kept him company, while he (Kurti) was in prison, was bringing him books to read and spending a lot of time with him in conversations”, Vasic claimed.

He added he hopes that Kosovo Prime Minister somehow has a good memory of that period and believes that he will also remember Dragisa Milnekovic. He also said he will prepare photo documentation from that period, so that there will be “no misunderstandings regarding the identity of the defendant”. Vasic said he will send a request for this testimony.

Vasic also spoke about the health condition of his client, adding that he has underlying health conditions, in particular diabetes and sight issues. Lawyer also said that two bullets that are still near the spine of his client, a consequence of a shooting at his client by a person who has accused Milenkovic of committing war crimes, create the biggest problems to his health.

Third murder in Kosovo in a week (N1, KoSSev)

After Pristina and Klina, a third shooting occurred in Srbica municipality, when late last night masked persons wounded four persons in a cafe, and one of them passed away, N1 reports. Kosovo police reported that the shooting occurred in the village of Rudnik, in Srbica municipality.

N1 recalled that a few days ago a shooting occurred in a pub in Pristina, killing one person and wounding twenty others. Serbian media in the aftermath of the shooting reported that one of the suspects for the shooting since 2010 was on FBI wanted list for drugs and narcotics trade.

Three days ago, a shooting also occurred in a cafe in Klina, killing one person.

Gashi: Crime in rest of Kosovo on rise because majority police forces concentrated in north (Kosovo Online)

Security expert Bejtush Gashi said the crime rate in the rest of Kosovo was on the rise, because the biggest part of the police forces are concentrated in the four northern municipalities, Kosovo Online portal reports citing Pristina-based Koha.

According to him, engagement of the police in the north decreased the presence of the police in other parts of Kosovo.

“The public security sector is on decline as the current concentration of the police is in four northern municipalities and in this regard commitment to the responsibilities and obligations this institution has in other parts of Kosovo has been neglected. As a result of it, changes that were made go in the direction of decreasing operational actions and physical presence of the police officers on the ground, as well as increase of the number of bureaucrats and officials sitting in the offices (…)”, he said.

He opined the absence of police at problematic spots impacted the crime rate to increase. Following the recent events in Kosovo and murders, he said there should be ‘moral resignations’.

“Under normal conditions and in legal states, there would be reflection on this among the highest leadership in those two institutions, either the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Police. However, in practice no one is resigning because of lack of engagement”, he added.

Antonijevic: Attempt to shift responsibility for failed negotiations on Serbia as well (RTK)

Commenting on the letter sent by more than 50 MPs from EU, US and other countries to the EU, US and UK officials, lawyer and human rights activist Milan Antonijevic told RTK it should be seen from perspective of support to Kosovo and some other processes, as well as an attempt to shift the weight of responsibility for the failed negotiations from Kosovo to Serbia as well.

Antonijevic said official Belgrade should not engage in discussion but rather speak supported by the facts about negative allegations Serbia is accused of.

“I think there are plenty of arguments Serbia can use in this regard. If you speak about Serbian Orthodox Church and accusations about arms smuggling this is the easiest to refute. This letter should be seen from perspective of support to Kosovo and some further processes, as well as an attempt to shift the weight of responsibility for failed negotiations from Kosovo to Serbia and create the balance that does not exist at this moment, because Pristina is clearly requested to establish Community of Serb Municipalities and this is request clearly voiced in this letter”, he said.

Jablanovic: Petition not right way to dissolve mayors in northern Kosovo (Radio KIM)

Leader of the Party of Kosovo Serbs (PKS) Aleksandar Jablanovic said petition is not the right way to dissolve the mayors in northern Serb-majority municipalities, Radio KIM reports citing Pristina-based Gazeta Blic.

He told the media that the latest decision of the Kosovo government on administrative instruction related to the elections in the north was a constructive approach towards the US and the EU.

“In principle this act was just buying time and leads the crisis to last in upcoming months as well. Mayors in the north have no legitimacy and they should resign and open the path to the new elections. The Kosovo Government should open the second part of the path by complete withdrawal of special police units and by removing the checkpoint on Bistrica Bridge which impedes normal movement of the citizens”, Jablanovic said.

He also said that after those two moves political parties from the north of Kosovo should be invited to the talks with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and President Vjosa Osmani to consider the date and procedure of implementing the elections.

“Without those concrete actions on the ground there will be no significant turnout of Serbs at any elections”, he said, adding that they have not discussed the issue of participating in elections yet, but the party will make its stance known prior to September 1.

Ferati: Resignations of mayors would lead to calming down situation in north (Kosovo Online)

Former minister of local self-administration Sadri Ferati commenting on the situation in northern Kosovo said petition to dissolve the mayors is not a solution, adding the current mayors should voluntarily resign, Kosovo Online portal reports citing Klan Kosova.

Ferati said that by their voluntary resignations a faster process would evolve that would result in calming the situation down and normalizations of the institutions in the north of Kosovo.

“I think there is a better option than petition and it is cooperation between central institutions with mayors. Although they have no strong legitimacy, they are legal as they were elected in line with all legal procedures. Therefore, central institutions must convince the mayors to submit resignations”, Ferati said.

Protest in front of Mitrovica North municipality, those affected by January floods have not received aid yet (Radio kontakt plus)

Money allocated in February for the aid to the citizens affected by the January floods in Mitrovica North had not been paid to them yet, Radio Kontakt plus reports.

Twenty residents, mainly from the Albanian community, went to the municipality to find out the reasons for delay. New mayor Erden Atiq did not receive them, his deputy did so instead and representatives of the local assembly. The MA chair told KoSSev about the new ‘obligatory’ decision on allocation of the funds to be made, but also announced filing a criminal report against executives if this decision is not implemented.

Floods in January hit several parts of Kosovo, causing significant material damages in the northern part of Mitrovica as well. The properties of those living near the Ibar River in Bosniak Mahala settlement were affected the most.

One of the municipal council, Nedzad Ugljanin commenting on the non-attendance of the meeting by mayor Atiq said “it is very bad for his image”. He stressed there are families who have not returned to their affected homes yet, as those houses do not offer normal living conditions.

Opinion

Prison for returnees (Politika, Radio KIM)

By Zivojin Rakocevic, Gracanica-based journalist and President of the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS)

Zarko Zaric from Ljubozda is living in the Kosovo special prison the consequences of the rapture of the first months of his return, he is living dozens of conversations he had with foreigners and Albanians about coexistence in Metohija, Zivojin Rakocevic writes in an article for Belgrade-based Politika daily.

"Zarko Zaric has been arrested", reads a brief news from media agencies. Serb, returnee, Istok, Metohija. Suspected, questioned, detained. The same, monotonous story in which the accusation of a war crime covers an entire life and everything quickly turns into the prisoner's silence of the new Kosovo justice and reality.

Who is Zarko from Ljubozda, why did he return to Metohija, what did he do, who did he threaten, what did he do to the Albanians?

We found him in his native village, fifteen days upon his return (in 2017), at the doorstep of a collective accommodation that resembled a catacomb. He welcomed us smiling and well-groomed as if he had just left the palace. Pillows and beds are missing in it, many houses are left with only beams, so they look as if they have been starved. Oil was poured into a water glass, a wick was made from a shoelace, and the first returning candle was lit on the eve of Easter 2017.

"We packed the icon first when we were running away, and then what fits in the tractor", Zarko told Politika daily.

As soon as the men from the Zaric, the Blagojevic, and the Tijanic families arrived, the Albanians gathered, protested their return and said that they should go home.

The masses decided that this was no longer their homeland. They are now from Kraljevo, Knic, Novi Sad (cities and towns in central Serbia), Montenegro... Then threats, suspicions, and stones started to follow.

Now in the Kosovo special prison, Zaric lives the stories of his childhood and his youth, he lives the consequences of the gaiety and rapture of the first months of his return, he lives dozens of conversations he had with foreigners and Albanians about coexistence and the future in one of the most beautiful villages of Metohija. Was such a man a criminal in a small environment where everything is known? Couldn't they tell right away - this well-neated man committed crimes against the civilian population? Would he return to await arrest, surrounded by Albanians?

“Gavrilo Milosavljevic from Istok was recently arrested under the same accusations. It is symptomatic that in the last eleven apprehensions, the suspects were reported on the day of the arrest", Zaric's lawyer, Dejan A. Vasic said. Almost at the same time of Zaric’s arrest, Momir Pantic was arrested at Merdare crossing under accusations for commanding responsibility for some events in Istok. Both were sent to 30 days in detention.

"Whoever looked wrongly at Albanian before, will not return to Kosovo", local Serbs say, adding the fear of arrest and from any contacts related to their properties deeply affected the Serbs in those ghetto areas. It is better for the property to remain usurped than for someone to end up accused of war crimes and in Kosovo prisons. The case of Milorad Djokovic from Vitomirica near Pec became a symbol of what happens to those who return their property.

International

The Balkan Drug Route: A Snapshot from the Courtroom (BIRN)

When US judge Dean B. Pineles presided over the retrial of two Kosovo men involved in trafficking heroin to Switzerland, he got an insight into how the Balkan narcotics-smuggling route worked in practice.

Last month, Balkan Insight published an article citing a new report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime which posited that the war in Ukraine may have shifted drug trafficking routes from that country towards the so-called ‘Balkan Route’.

The report also said that larger flows of heroin are to be expected in South-East Europe while on their way from source countries like Afghanistan and Iran to Western Europe.

But of course the Balkan Route, which includes various routes throughout the many countries in the Balkans, including Albania and Kosovo, has long been a preferred route for transporting illicit drugs to Western Europe.