UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, September 12, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

EU: High-level meeting of Dialogue on Thursday (media)
Joseph: Kurti and Vucic benefit from crisis in the north (Radio Free Europe)
Feilcke: Urgent for Kosovo to find way out of this situation (Telegrafi)
Kurti meets Major General Ozkan Ulutas (media)
S. senators write to Blinken about situation of Albanians in Presevo Valley (media)
Sinani: Historic that Presevo Valley issue reached peaks of world diplomacy (media)
Albanian President meets Albanian political leaders from North Macedonia (AP)

Serbian Language Media:

Spoke with Lajcak, security of Serbs main topic in Brussels, says Vucic (Kosovo Online, N1)
Brnabic on upcoming high-level talks in Brussels (RTS)
Odalovic: The declaration of the Brdo-Brioni summit a wish list, Kurti comes to Brussels only to create problems (RTS)
Marinkovic: In two years number of Serb pupils in Kosovo decreased by 1000 (Radio KIM, BETA)
Radosavljevic: Fining of companies in north aimed at putting additional pressure on Serbs (Kosovo Online)
Subaric: Attack on young man from Gracanica unprovoked, asks international community to react (Kosovo Online, social media)
Journalists’ Association of Serbia branch in KiM statement on incidents against media workers (KiM radio, Kontakt plus radio)

International:

Prishtina’s Chaotic Urban Evolution Evoques Nostalgia About the Past (BIRN)
New Elections Are no ‘Magic Wand’ for Serbia’s Divided Opposition (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

EU: High-level meeting of Dialogue on Thursday (media)

The European Union’s External Action Service said in a statement today that “on Thursday 14 September, High Representative/Vice President Josep Borrell will host a High-level Meeting of the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue in Brussels, with the participation of President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti.”

“The High Representative, with EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajčák, will hold separate meetings with the respective leaders as of 9:00, followed by a joint trilateral meeting. The meeting will focus on the implementation of the Agreement on the Path to Normalisation, as well as current issues,” the statement notes.

Joseph: Kurti and Vucic benefit from crisis in the north (Radio Free Europe)

Edward Joseph, lecturer at the John Hopkins University in Washington, said in an interview with the news website that he doesn’t have great expectations from this week’s meeting between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. He said it would be a pleasant surprise if any progress is reached in the meeting.

Joseph argued that the European Union, as the facilitator of the dialogue, must remind both Kosovo and Serbia that they have an agreement to implement.

Joseph said that to resolve the situation in the north of Kosovo, all parties must play their roles, but also argued that the crisis suits both Vucic and Kurti. “Vucic benefits from everything that obstructs the implementation of the agreement that the U.S. and the EU says he has accepted [on the normalisation of relations with Kosovo] … Kurti certainly benefits, because the pressure now is only on steps to de-escalate [the situation in the north] and not on the issue of the Association [of Serb-majority municipalities],” he added.

According to Joseph, Vucic is not a partner of the U.S., but that Kurti too “has been exceptionally difficult and irresponsible with his approach to the north” and “this is not in line with being a good partner with the United States and the West”.

Feilcke: Urgent for Kosovo to find way out of this situation (Telegrafi)

Adelheid Feilcke, head of the Program for Europe at Deutsche Welle, in an interview with the news website said that “this is an important week especially for Kosovo, because for Serbia the topic of Kosovo does not have the same priority it has for you Kosovars and the development of Kosovo. This disbalance between the two countries is very clear from the outside, from Germany’s perspective, because it is very clear that Kosovo is an important issue for Serbia, but there are also problems that Serbia is faced with”.

Feilcke argued that for Kosovo, developing and aligning its policies with international factors in resolving the problem with Serbia are crucial, especially at a time of measures against Kosovo. “Therefore, expectations to emerge from this conflict are very urgent for Kosovo,” she said.

Feilcke said that tensions in the north of Kosovo are an obstacle for the integration of the Western Balkans in the European Union. “Patience is reaching its limit. Unfortunately, with the war in Ukraine, it is especially important to reach agreements here in the region and to act together. But this requires a shared willingness, and this cannot be seen. There are different interests among the countries of the Western Balkans, but even in the EU there are countries with different interests,” she said.

Commenting on this week’s meeting between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Feilcke said it is a positive step but that she doesn’t believe an agreement will be reached anytime soon. “Nevertheless, small steps in the right direction are always very welcome. In the north a way out of the problem needs to be found … Now I see that some small steps have been made because it is clear that new elections are needed. But the procedure on how to hold the elections and how to convince the citizens to take part in the elections will again be a challenge because there needs to be readiness among all parties and we know very well that everything is related to Belgrade’s policy,” she added.

Kurti meets Major General Ozkan Ulutas (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met on Monday evening with Major General Ozkan Ulutas from Turkey who is expected to be the new commander of KFOR peacekeeping troops in Kosovo. “I had the pleasure to host and meet with the incoming NATO KFOR Commander, Major General Özkan Ulutaş and his team, yesterday over dinner. Led by common commitment to peace and security, I look forward to working closely on mutual goals and objectives,” Kurti said after the meeting.

U.S. senators write to Blinken about situation of Albanians in Presevo Valley (media)

U.S. senators, Joni Ernst and Gary Peters, have written a letter to Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, about the situation facing the Albanian community in the Presevo Valley of southern Serbia. “As Senators with active Albanian constituencies, we are concerned with the treatment of this minority community in Serbia and urge you and the State Department to raise these concerns, and the need for full and lasting implementation of the Seven Point Plan, in your dealings with your Serbian counterparts,” the letter notes.

“The issue of discrimination of the ethnic Albanians in Presevo has not just been documented by local authorities. International institutions, including the State Department, have catalogued and reported instances of mistreatment faced by the Albanian population at the hands of Serbian authorities. On May 10th this year, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the Commission Country Report for Serbia 2022 in which it repeats its call for Serbia to cease all discriminatory practices and targeting especially ‘the passivisation’ of the residential addresses of citizens of Albanian ethnicity in central and southern Serbia.”

“The international community, with the agreement of Serbia, has laid out a comprehensive framework to address the issues raised by the Albanians of the Presevo Valley. The Seven Point, developed by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), was adopted by the Serbian government in 2013. Since that time however, the government in Belgrade has made limited in the implementation of this agenda. None of the seven priority areas laid out in the agreement have been completed in full and in certain areas, such as representation in government institutions, there has been almost no progress.”

“The Seven Point Plan represents a robust framework to addressing the issues raised by the Albanian community in Serbia. It represents a diplomatic path forward for a region and a community who suffered so much during the conflicts of the 1990s. A loss of momentum for this process would represent a significant, and wholly preventable, step backwards.”

“We stand in support of this dialogue process and believe that a resolution to the legitimate concerns raised by the ethnic Albanians of the Presevo Valley is key to lasting peace and stability in the region.”

Sinani: Historic that Presevo Valley issue reached peaks of world diplomacy (media)

Ardita Sinani, former mayor of Presevo municipality and current political advisor to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti for Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, welcomed the letter that two U.S. senators sent to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, about the situation faced by the Albanian community in Presevo Valley in southern Serbia. “It is historic, because for the first time the issue of Presevo Valley has reached the peaks of world diplomacy and decision-making. We are endlessly grateful to all those who contributed to the topic of Albanians in the Valley to reach this point. For the unreserved engagement to the national cause in general and to raise the awareness about the situation of Albanians in the Valley, we are endlessly grateful to the Albanian-American Civic League with Mr. Joseph and Ms. Shirley DioGuardi, and to the tireless Mr. Faton Bislimi. God bless America,” she said.

Albanian President meets Albanian political leaders from North Macedonia (AP)

Albanian President Bajram Begaj, during his stay in Skopje, met with the leaders of the main Albanian political parties in North Macedonia. In his meetings, Begaj focused on the need for closer coordination and cooperation among the Albanian factor in the region. He said this would primarily benefit the well-being of Albanians and would also be in the service of fulfilling the strategic objective of the integration of the Western Balkans in the European Union.

Serbian Language Media

Spoke with Lajcak, security of Serbs main topic in Brussels, says Vucic (Kosovo Online, N1)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that at Thursday's meeting in Brussels one of the main topics will be the security of Serbs in Kosovo, reported Kosovo Online.

Vucic said this during his tour of the start of construction works on the factory of the Austrian company Palfinger, answering a journalist's question whether he would insist on the issue of the threat to the security of Serbs in Kosovo, given that yesterday another attack and beating of a Serbian young man from Gracanica took place, as well as that the house of a returnee was set on fire in the municipality of Vucitrn.

The President of Serbia said that he already discussed this with the EU's special envoy for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajcak.

"All I can say about that is that I already talked to Lajcak and pointed out that problem. It will be the main topic on Thursday", said Vucic.

Elections maybe even before March 2

Vucic said the government will meet the opposition’s demands regarding the date for the holding of early elections, but not necessarily regarding when they will be called, reported N1.

“I have read the opposition parties’ letter, according to them elections should be held no later than March 2, maybe even sooner, they’ll get an answer by the end of the month, they’ll be happy with the decision,” said Vucic.

Brnabic on upcoming high-level talks in Brussels (RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told RTS that upcoming talks of Belgrade and Pristina delegations in Brussels will be difficult. She recalled that the Community of Serb Municipalities had not been established yet and accused Pristina of not wanting to implement agreements, and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti of not even wanting to say the words - Brussels agreement.

She also said that additional escalation on the ground was witnessed.

“Gratitude goes to the President (Aleksandar) Vucic because he undertook leading of those talks and freed the government so it can deal with other matters”, Brnabic said.

According to her, implementation of the Brussels agreement and establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities was necessary.

Odalovic: The declaration of the Brdo-Brioni summit a wish list, Kurti comes to Brussels only to create problems (RTS)

President of the Serbian Government Commission for Missing Persons Veljko Odalovic believes that the message of the summit of the Brdo-Brioni process is quite unconvincing.

"There are reasons for well-founded scepticism, since the process of European integration is taking a long time. It will take a long time to fulfil the wishes due to the lack of interest of the EU in enlargement," Odalovic told RTS.

The Declaration calls for the WB to join the EU by 2030 at the latest, but Odlaovic believes that there is no will to resolve open issues, to solve decades-old problems in seven years.

According to him, the atypical standards for enlargement that were set before Serbia through Chapter 35, a noose around Belgrade's neck was put with the message that it can join the EU only with the recognition of Pristina.

He does not expect that the continuation of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on Thursday will bring results, stressing that indications of the Community of Serbian Municipalities does not yet exist.

As he states, the presentation of the action plan for the CSM Pristina was ridiculed, the north of Kosovo is institutionally occupied by the mayors of Albin Kurti, who received one percent of the votes in the elections.

"What is the de-escalation of the situation in the whole of Kosovo when 50 special forces raid the Lola factory in Zubin Potok?" Odalovic adds.

He emphasises that the attacks on Serbs count in the hundreds, which Brussels does not pay attention to or mention in the meetings.

"MTS is still the only lightbulb burning in Kosovo, which Kurti wants to put out, the police with long pipes still raid the bars of Serbs," says Odalovic.

"Pristina's Minister of Local Self-Government presented a plan for the withdrawal of Albanian mayors, which cannot be completed until the New Year. Kurti will continue to work in his own way, and there will still be no goods from central Serbia," says Veljko Odalovic.

He believes that Kurti comes to Brussels only to cause problems. "The text of the Declaration on Missing Persons has been agreed upon, which the prime minister of the temporary institutions in Pristina does not want to discuss," Odalovic told RTS.

Marinkovic: In two years number of Serb pupils in Kosovo decreased by 1000 (Radio KIM, BETA)

Miodrag Marinkovic from Mitrovica North-based Center for Affirmative Social Actions (CASA) said the number of pupils attending the schools in Serbian language in Kosovo decreased by almost 1000 in the last two years, Radio KIM reports.

“According to available information of the School Administration for Kosovo and Metohija in 2021 a total of 15.520 pupils attended primary and secondary schools in Kosovo, Two years later, according to the same source, the total number of pupils attending those schools in Kosovo is 14.610. Namely, in two years only we have almost 1000 less pupils in the schools”, Marinkovic told BETA news agency.

Serbian Ministry of Education in a reply to the same news agency said that 1.127 pupils enrolled in the first grade of primary schools in Kosovo, while 1.174 enrolled in the first grade of secondary schools. The Ministry also said the education process in Serbian language takes place in one hundred school premises, and that a total number of 14.610 Serbian pupils attend primary and secondary education in Kosovo.

Marinkovic also said that the number of Serbian pupils in Kosovo over the last decade decreased by more than 10.000.

“The number of Serbs in Kosovo is on permanent decline. Official statistical records about the number of Serbs leaving Kosovo are not available because Kosovo Serbs did not take part in the last several censuses organised by Pristina authorities, nor were they registered in the same period by the Republic of Serbia. The School Administration for Kosovo and Metohija in 2012 spoke about some 25.000 pupils enrolled in preschool facilities and primary and secondary schools in Kosovo. Those comparable data demonstrate an alarming decrease in the number of pupils and most probably departure of their families from Kosovo”, Marinkovic assessed.

Marinkovic opined that young people think the education system in Kosovo permanently loses its quality, adding that “large impact on decisions of young people to leave Kosovo also lies in unstable security situation and lack of employment opportunities, both due to unfavorable economic opportunities but also widespread corruption, nepotism and party employment”.

Marinkovic has warned about the departure of Serbs from Kosovo earlier as well.

Radosavljevic: Fining of companies in north aimed at putting additional pressure on Serbs (Kosovo Online)

“The announcement of Kosovo Tax Administration that companies in the north which have not been registered in the Kosovo system will be fined is another form of pressure on Serbs”, Jovana Radosavljevic from Mitrovica North-based New Social Initiative told Kosovo Online portal.

She added that the deadline given for the registration of companies is in some way a consequence of the previous, unsuccessful action of the current local authorities in the north, when inspectors tried to fine cafés and restaurants for not removing their outdoor sections.

“Since it did not bear fruit, that is, they are aware that it can cause a serious reaction from the local population, if they start forcibly removing them, they came up with, let’s say, some solution, which is related to business registration. This is very strange, because I believe that most of the businesses in the north of Kosovo are registered. The research of Inter from 2017 alone shows there were 3,100 companies registered in the north then, and 3,800 in 2020. So, it all looks like an attempt to find a way to nevertheless implement some kind of pressure on Kosovo Serbs”, she said.

Radosavljevic pointed out that the residents of northern Kosovo see the latest moves of the Pristina authorities as hostile.

“For the last year, we have been in a constant state of crisis, and from the perspective of the local community, they see Priština’s behaviour and decisions exclusively as hostile. It is not surprising that perception is that these decisions are directed against the Serbian community in Kosovo. And so, if we were to see some more affirmative decisions coming from Pristina, perhaps we would not speak about it in that context, but it definitely appears that way”, she said.

Speaking about the case of MTS, whose operating licence Pristina authorities are trying to revoke, Radosavljevic argued that Kosovo government is focused solely on punishments.

Subaric: Attack on young man from Gracanica unprovoked, asks international community to react (Kosovo Online, social media)

Gracanica mayor Ljiljana Subaric said the attack on a 20-year old Serb from this municipality, in which three Albanians beat him up, took place only because, as she said, he was a Serb and asked international community if it intends to stop such occurrences from happening, Kosovo Online portal reports.

In a post on Facebook, Subaric also said that “hate speech against anything Serbian is increasing lately”.

“Violence and hate speech against anything Serbian, spreading in the public spaces over the last months, sadly yields its results, probably expected ones, in order to spread fear, uncertainty and uneasiness, so the people would ask who is the next? And my question goes to responsible institutions and the international community - Are you waiting for the next Serb to be beaten up and mistreated or do you intend to stop this?”, she said.

Journalists’ Association of Serbia branch in KiM statement on incidents against media workers (KiM radio, Kontakt plus radio)

During the previous 365 days, Journalists’ Association of Serbia (UNS) branch Kosovo and Metohija (DNKiM) registered 28 cases of job endangerment, physical attacks, and threats to employees in the media.

The report of the DNKiM states that in the previous year, of all forms of threats to press freedom, the most frequent was prevention of their work - 16 cases.

UNS is concerned about the fact that eight physical attacks were recorded, as well as two cases of threats and pressure on journalists.

The case of Svetlana Vukmirović - a dangerous form of suppression of media freedom

Suppression of media freedom has reached alarming proportions in the mentioned period, and an obvious example is the prevention of the work of RTS journalist and the author of the show “Pravo na sutra” (Right to Tomorrow) Svetlana Vukmirovic, who was banned from entering Kosovo.

On this occasion, the Journalists’ Association of Serbia sent a letter to the International Federation of Journalists and to the addresses of seven other journalistic, media organizations and networks, from which the help was requested.

Journalists and civil society organizations sent letters to the ministries of internal affairs and foreign affairs in Pristina, as well as to the Ombudsman - asking for an explanation about Vukmirovic’s entry ban in Kosovo.

Regarding this case, the organization Reporters Without Borders also contacted the Kosovo authorities, UNS said.

The functioning of Klan Kosova television was also completely disabled, whose work permit was revoked by the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade of Kosovo in Pristina.

The aforementioned ministry submitted a criminal complaint to the KP against TV Klan Kosova “due to suspicion of abuse of official duties, as well as abuse of economic powers.”

At the time, the ambassadors of the USA, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, as well as representatives of the EU, expressed concern about the withdrawal of the license from this television.

Pressure on journalists from Serbian media by Kosovo Police

The show of force by the KP was also experienced by the President of the Association of Journalists of Serbia Zivojin Rakocevic together with the editor of the “Gracanica” Cultural Centre Zarko Milenkovic.

Rakocevic and Milenkovic were stopped at the roundabout in Preoce village by a group of police officers, who kicked them, insulted them and behaved aggressively towards them.

The case was reported to the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo and international institutions.

In mid-July, the Kosovo police forbade journalists from Serbian media to film the house from which, during the celebration of Saint Vraci in the village of Krajiste near Lipljan, loud music was broadcast that disrupted the liturgy. Then, journalists and videographers were asked for their IDs, and the police asked them to say which media were present at this event.

This year, the safety of journalists in the north of Kosovo has been threatened several times

At the height of tensions, in May and June, the safety of journalists in the north of KiM was threatened several times, especially during the protests. During the live broadcast, Tanjug journalist Dimitri Mirkovic had a stun grenade explode near his leg.

Just one day after Mirkovic was injured, new incidents followed, when a group of journalists reporting for the Albanian-language media was attacked in Leposavic.

In June, journalists from the Serbian-language media, while they were filming a dispute between a group of Zvecan residents and representatives of Serbian opposition parties, were threatened, insulted and demanded by some protest participants to turn off their cameras and mobile phones.

At the beginning of September last year, the journalist and editor of the Second Channel of the Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK2), Marija Peric, was verbally attacked by a group of minors in the centre of Pristina, not far from the television building where she works, while she was trying to park a car with a Serbian license plates on her way to work.

Translation into Serbian language - a burning problem for journalists of Serbian media

The most frequent form of threat to press freedom is the inability to work due to the lack of translation into the Serbian language, and journalists from Serbian newsrooms have faced this problem more than once in this period alone.

The Law on the use of languages is violated by central and local institutions, but also by various organizations. Even after numerous appeals, protests and condemnation of such actions, Kosovo institutions do not provide translation into the Serbian language and prevent journalists from doing their work.

In this period, cases of a selective approach of inviting the media to events of public importance were also recorded. Let us remind you that some media reporting in the Serbian language were not invited to the events organized by the Municipality of Gracanica and the American Embassy in Pristina, and even the mayor of North Mitrovica Erden Atiq, after taking the oath, addressed only some journalists.

International

Prishtina’s Chaotic Urban Evolution Evoques Nostalgia About the Past (BIRN)

Architectural landscape of Prishtina has changed a lot after the war. How did Prishtina turn from a quaint capital to a hub of chaos, and is there a way to steer it in a different direction?

In one of Prishtina’s oldest neighborhoods, Dardania, the walls of a cafe still whisper echoes of the past century. Brimming with evocative black and white photographs, café ‘Te Pini’ stands as a testament to a bygone Prishtina.

Named after Pinnes, the son of King Agron and Queen Teuta of Illyria, ‘Te Pini’ proudly showcases around 100 photographs of old Prishtina. Its owner, Metiner Rexha, now 61, opened the café in a time when there were no buildings surrounding it.

A lot has changed in the meantime. Rexha reminisces about the past, though he understands that development is inevitable. However, he finds the current state of Prishtina disconcerting, characterized by chaotic growth and uncontrolled urban expansion.

Prishtina’s architectural landscape, once modest with few buildings up until the late 1990s, has undergone a profound metamorphosis in the post-war era. It now boasts an eclectic mix of styles and structures that seemingly defy gravity. However, this evolution has not been without its share of controversy. Many locals perceive it as a bewildering departure from the city’s historical identity, contributing to a sense of disorder and disarray in the urban fabric.

A mosque on one side, a church on the other, and an iconic fort with small cafes around, in the heart of the city, used to be architectural features of Prishtina.