UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, December 5, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

EU Council will ask Kosovo to do more for measures to be lifted (RFE)
Kurti on Ademaj’s murder: Arrest is not enough, merited penalties needed (media)
Protest in Pristina today with motto “no peace without security of women” (Klan)
Stano: We don’t publish documents as they’re being discussed (TV Dukagjini)
Tahiri: If Association draft is worth defending, why is it being kept secret (media)
Uglanin: Request to dismiss mayor, in opposition with instruction (RFE)
Civil society says judicial reforms stuck at crossroad: “Government failed” (EO)

Serbian Language Media:

Council of Europe experts report: Kosovo violates rule of law in case of Visoki Decani Monastery, no will to establish ZSO (Kosovo Online, media)
Citizens attempted to submit requests for dissolution of mayors in northern municipalities, their requests not accepted (Kosovo Online)
Brnabic: SNS will keep Kosovo in Serbia (N1, Kosovo Online)
Djuric opens Serbian-American Economic Forum in Las Vegas (Tanjug)
Vucic thanks outgoing Slovak ambassador for respect for Serbia's sovereignty (Tanjug)
Ziadeh with Fresco on compliance of Kosovo legal framework with CoE (Kosovo Online)

International:

Devised in a Cell, Kosovo Political Prisoner’s Literary Epic Celebrates Freedom (BIRN)
‘Trojan Women – Replica’ Unveils the Universal Power of Art to Advocate for Peace (Prishtina Insight)

Albanian Language Media

EU Council will ask Kosovo to do more for measures to be lifted (RFE)

The EU Council will call on Kosovo to do more in the rule of law area and in the fight against corruption and organized crime, while it will welcome the entering into force of visa liberalization for Kosovo’s citizens starting on January 1 next year. This message, according to the news website, is in the draft of conclusions that EU member states are expected to adopt at the meeting of the General Affairs Council on December 12, at the level of ministers, and which are then expected to be confirmed by EU leaders at a summit scheduled for December 14-15.

Radio Free Europe had access to the draft of the document, which notes that the Council “takes note of Kosovo’s limited progress in the rule of law area”. Most of the conclusions, that refer to Kosovo, relate to the security situation in the north and the dialogue with Serbia. The Council is expected to express “concern over the lack of freedom of speech and the limited pluralism in the north of Kosovo”. “The Council is deeply concerned about the situation in the north of Kosovo, including the security situation. Some unilateral actions by Kosovo and Serbia, including the collective resignation of Kosovo Serbs from the institutions, and the boycott of local elections in the north of Kosovo, have increased the tensions further,” the text notes.

The Council is expected to “harshly condemn the violent attacks by Kosovo Serb protesters against KFOR troops, law enforcement authorities and the media, on May 29, 2023”.

“New elections in the north of Kosovo must be held as soon as possible, and the Kosovo Serbs must take part in them without any conditions. The Kosovo Serbs must also return to the institutions they have left. This should be facilitated by Kosovo and encouraged by Serbia,” the draft of conclusions notes.

As far as the EU measures against Kosovo are concerned, and which were justified with “the lack of steps to de-escalate the situation in the north”, there is readiness to lift the measures if there is progress in meeting the requirements. “The Council welcomes the undertaking of steps to meet some of the EU’s requirements. The Council recalls that the EU remains ready to lift the measures, in the event of further progress in meeting the existing requirements,” the text notes.

The Council is expected to reiterate that there is no justification for violence, and to condemn the attacks against Kosovo Police in the village of Banjska of Zvecan on September 24.

“The Council outlines the improved cooperation between the Kosovo Police and EULEX regarding the attack. The Council welcomes the increased presence of KFOR, especially along the boundary/administrative line between Kosovo and Serbia,” the text notes, also calling on Kosovo and Serbia to refrain from inciting rhetoric.

The EU can undertake measures against both Kosovo and Serbia in the event they don’t refrain from inciting tensions.

“The Council expects Kosovo and Serbia to find a sustainable solution for the situation in the north of Kosovo that would guarantee security and representative democracy for all citizens,” the text notes.

“The Council asks Kosovo to engage in the EU-facilitated dialogue with good will and in the spirit of compromise, to reach a comprehensive, legally-binding agreement, on the normalization of relations in line with international law and EU laws, without further delay. This agreement needs to address all open key issues, and in doing so contribute to the stability of the region.”

The Council is expected to call on Kosovo to implement all agreements from the dialogue. “This includes the implementation of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. The Council expects the readiness of Kosovo and Serbia to accept the draft presented by the EU facilitator, implying that more work is needed based on it,” the text says.

Kurti on Ademaj’s murder: Arrest is not enough, merited penalties needed (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti commented today on the killing of Liridona Ademaj and the kidnapping and then killing of a 14-year-old girl in Skopje in North Macedonia, saying that courts should treat with priority the violence against women and girls and deliver merited penalties.

“The recent killings, the ordered murder of Liridona Ademaj by her husband and the kidnapping and then murder of the 14-year-old girl in Skopje has hurt our minds and hearts. Those that ordered and carried out Liridona’s murder were caught and put behind bars. Police are acting swiftly and with high efficiency like never before. But the arrests are proving insufficient, because they [perpetrators] know that there are similar and not few cases when the criminals are set free, and the offenses are repeated even more gravely than before. We need the judiciary to treat with priority the cases of violence against girls and women. We cannot overstate the importance of merited penalties. The softness of penalties results in repeated crimes. Establishing justice is a condition for a free and democratic society and we always aspire to be such a society,” Kurti said during a conference in Pristina titled “United against violence – Enough!”.

Protest in Pristina today with motto “no peace without security of women” (Klan)

The Pristina-based Collective for Feminist Thought and Action will organize a nation-wide protest in Pristina at 18:00 today with the motto “there can be no peace without the security of women” after the murdering of 30-year-old Liridona Ademaj last week.

Stano: We don’t publish documents as they’re being discussed (TV Dukagjini)

Spokesperson for the European Union, Peter Stano, said on Monday that the EU proposal for the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities was not made public because of ongoing diplomatic efforts. “We never publish official documents or take part in public discussions about them while they are still being discussed,” he told the TV station.

Stano said they expect the same from the partners because as he said it is normal practice in international mediation for the process to be developed in confidentiality. “About the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, we can only note that a new balanced European proposal on the formation of the Association of Municipalities was presented to the respective partners by the EUSR on the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina during his visit to the region in late October. Later it was discussed with both parties during the leaders’ meeting on the margins of the EU Council,” he said.

Tahiri: If Association draft is worth defending, why is it being kept secret (media)

Kosovo’s former chief negotiator in the dialogue with Serbia, Edita Tahiri, criticized the ruling Vetevendosje Movement for not publishing the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. “Senior Vetevendosje officials are defending the draft statute of the Association in public, but the public has not seen the document! If it is worth defending, why then it is being kept secret!?” Tahiri writes in a Facebook post.

Uglanin: Request to dismiss mayor, in opposition with instruction (RFE)

The news website reports that a group of Serb citizens in the four northern municipalities – Mitrovica North, Leposavic, Zvecan, and Zubin Potok – tried on Tuesday to submit “a request for the dismissal of the current mayors”. The Albanian mayors started working in the municipal premises in the north in late May this year which triggered protests by local Serbs. The Albanian mayors won the elections, which were boycotted by the Serbs.

Sanja Krtinic from Mitrovica North told local Serbian media that a group of citizens “wanted to submit an initiative for the dismissal of the mayor of Mitrovica North”. She said the same was done by citizens in the other municipalities, but that the local authorities are believed to have rejected their “initiative”. “They were not democratic elections. Only two or three percent of voters elected this mayor, and this mayor was elected with the votes of the Albanian community, while over 95 percent of Serbs did not elect him. For this reason, we as citizens, wanted to submit an initiative for the mayor to resign and to be relieved from duty,” she said.

Krtinic also argued that the local authorities in Mitrovica North were “violating” the Kosovo government’s administrative instruction to initiate a petition for dismissing Albanian mayors and that they were “ruining” the rights of the citizens to submit their initiative.

Chairman of the Municipal Assembly of Mitrovica North, Nexhat Uglanin, told Radio Free Europe, that he did not receive the civic “initiative” and that it is not in compliance with the government’s administrative instruction to replace the mayor. “This request was not submitted to the chairman (of the Municipal Assembly) and was not meant for the assembly chairman, but meant for the mayor, claiming that the services for the citizens are not good,” he said.

Civil society says judicial reforms stuck at crossroad: “Government failed” (EO)

A coalition of non-governmental organizations (IKD, FOL and INPO), as part of the Week against Corruption, held a roundtable titled “Reforms in the judiciary” in Pristina today, criticizing the government and arguing that the reforms in the judiciary are stuck at a crossroad.

Betim Musliu from the Kosovo Law Institute said it was disappointing that government representatives did not attend the roundtable and are not willing to address topics related to reforms in the judiciary. He said draft laws adopted in the Assembly failed and that the reforms are at a crossroad. “We want to criticize the institutions for regrettably failing to take part in this panel, although they had confirmed their participation. One of the promises of the current government was the judiciary, and the much anticipated and needed reforms in the judiciary. It is now disappointing to see that when they are in power, they are not willing to come here, and address topics related to reforms in the judiciary. Many drafts laws that were adopted in the Assembly have failed and they have left the reforms at a major crossroad, this requires a solution, but it is not known what the solution will be,” he argued.

Mexhide Demolli-Nimani, head of the FOL Movement, too criticized government representatives for failing to attend the roundtable, and said they came to power by promising changes that they are not delivering. “It is unfortunate that representatives of our institutions are not here. They came to power by making promises, but we have seen in the last years that there is much room for progress … I can say that the process will fail if they continue like this. As a summary, the much promised reform by the government is a failed reform,” she said.

Gzim Shala, senior researcher at the Kosovo Law Institute, said the government did not work on the fight against corruption, although it criticized this constantly while it was in the opposition. He suggested that the government must implement reforms in line with the Constitution. “We are not seeing reforms in the judiciary, or reforms that were promised in other areas too. This government has been in power for three years now and there is no fight against corruption,” he argued.

Serbian Language Media

Council of Europe experts report: Kosovo violates rule of law in case of Visoki Decani Monastery, no will to establish ZSO (Kosovo Online, media)

In the report on harmonization of Kosovo legal system with the Council of Europe standards, Kosovo was portrayed as not respecting the court’s decisions or international agreements. The document was prepared by Council of Europe legal experts who visited Kosovo in the period from 24 to 27 September, and describes stalemates in the rule of law areas, Kosovo Online portal reports citing Pristina based Koha.

The report notes that although Kosovo political institutions demonstrated stronger determination in the fight against corruption and organized crime, they did not always respect independence of judiciary, adding there is a worrisome tendency of excessive use of special police forces in the north of Kosovo.

In the part related to the tensions in the north, culminating with the incidents in Banjska, Kosovo is requested to refrain from police actions that could lead to larger conflicts. As the document said only because of KFOR it had been possible to avoid the greatest escalation of the situation.

"In the event of violent and illegal protests or roadblocks, Kosovo authorities favor the rapid and violent use of special forces to restore public order, even if there is a high risk that the use of force by the police will lead to violence and mass bloodshed. Only thanks to the strong stance of KFOR, it became possible to avoid further escalation of violence in recent cases”, the document said.

It also noted lack of willingness on the side of Pristina authorities to establish a Community of Serbian Municipalities.

Non-implementation of court’s decision on Visoki Decani Monastery violation of rule of law

The report also refers to non-implementation of the Constitutional Court decision on the Visoki Decani Monastery land case.

"The authorities have not so far implemented the court decision dating back to 2016. The court decided that 24 hectares of disputed land belong to Visoki Decani Monastery. This verdict was criticized by politicians and, despite repeated calls from the international community, it has not been implemented. This is a clear violation of the rule of law. Kosovo authorities must implement the verdict of the Constitutional Court without further delay”, reads the report.

Resignations of Serbs in the north, land expropriation

While resignations of Serbs from Pristina institutions in northern Kosovo, including police, judiciary and prosecutor's office, were described as problematic, the report welcomes the fact that these resignations were not approved by the Judicial Council and the Prosecutorial Council, leaving an opportunity for Serbs to return to their positions.

The report also mentions the decisions of the Kosovo Government from August last year on the expropriation of land in the north of Kosovo, that Serbs complained about.

"Representatives of the international community, including OSCE, EU, EULEX and USA, expressed deep concern about these decisions because the procedure that followed was not in accordance with the laws and regulations of Kosovo. Among other things, the decisions did not establish, as prescribed by Article 44 of the Constitution, the public purpose or public interest for which these expropriations were necessary. However, it is generally assumed that the intention is to build police stations on these properties. This way of acting is not in accordance with the rule of law and will probably impair the trust between the Serbian community and Kosovo Government institutions. The authorities should also make greater efforts to communicate the reasons for the expropriation to the general public", the report said.

A major problem, as it was said, relates to the protection of witnesses in sensitive cases such as war crimes, which are dealt with by the Special Chambers in The Hague.

Read the full report at: https://tinyurl.com/tb8r5dhw

Citizens attempted to submit requests for dissolution of mayors in northern municipalities, their requests not accepted (Kosovo Online)

Representatives of citizens in four northern municipalities, Mitrovica North, Zvecan, Leposavic and Zubin Potok attempted this morning to submit requests for dissolution of Albanian mayors in line with recent administrative instruction, but were unable to do so, Kosovo Online portal reports.

They wanted to handover requests to the municipal assemblies’ chairs in accordance with the administrative instruction prepared by the Pristina government this summer, however all municipalities declined to accept the request.

Residents of Zvecan who attempted to submit a request to Lipa village, where the Zvecan mayor performs his duties, were asked for personal documents by Kosovo police.

Because of the latest developments citizens from all four municipalities will submit requests to the Central Election Commission and inform representatives of the Quint states and EU in Pristina.

Sanja Krtinic said people in Mitrovica North wanted to submit an initiative for dissolution of Mitrovica North Albanian mayor whom they see elected in illegal and illegitimate manner, adding that their initiative was rejected and not accepted as such.

She also said Serbs in Kosovo do not feel safe, the terror against them continues and they no longer wish to remain silent. She warned that the rights of the Serbs in Kosovo are violated and called upon the international community to pressure the Pristina government so their rights are respected.

Brnabic: SNS will keep Kosovo in Serbia (N1, Kosovo Online)

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Tuesday that her Serbian Progressive Party’s (SNS) policy is to keep Kosovo a part of Serbia.

“We will keep Kosovo a part of Serbia, we will continue Serbia’s European path,” she said speaking live on the pro-regime TV Prva. The Kosovo online portal quoted her as saying that 28 countries revoked their decisions to recognize Kosovo while President Aleksandar Vucic was in power.

According to her, the SNS has clearly defined goals for the future of the country which includes average salaries of 1,400 Euro by 2027 and average pensions of 650 Euro along with the construction of roads and assistance for entrepreneurs.

Djuric opens Serbian-American Economic Forum in Las Vegas (Tanjug)

Serbian Ambassador to the US Marko Djuric opened the Serbian-American Economic Forum, held in Las Vegas for the first time, Tanjug news agency reports.

Serbia sees great potential for boosting its ties with business circles in the US state of Nevada - the host of the forum - and welcomes with open arms all partners when it comes to carrying out successful future undertakings, Djuric said in a keynote speech on Monday.

He said Serbia was now a country of wonderful stories of comprehensive progress, dynamic development and healthy ambitions.

From a GDP that doubled in just a few years and from attracting the bulk of investments in the region, leading-edge factories, high-speed trains, a new highway network, free trade and an increase in the number of Air Serbia flights to the West and the East and growth of living standards to the golden goal of Expo 2027, which we are proud to host and for which preparations are well underway, Djuric added.

He said Serbia-US economic cooperation was especially important and that the participants of the forum themselves reflected a positive contribution to further development of business and economic ties, the Serbian embassy in Washington said.

Vucic thanks outgoing Slovak ambassador for respect for Serbia's sovereignty (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Tuesday received a farewell visit from Slovak Ambassador to Belgrade Fedor Rosocha, thanking him for his committed work and consistent and principled position of respect for Serbia's sovereignty.

"I thanked Ambassador Rosocha for his committed work during his tenure in Serbia and, especially, for his friendship and his favor for Serbia, which he has demonstrated on every occasion", Vucic wrote in a post on his official Instagram account.

Ziadeh with Fresco on compliance of Kosovo's legal framework with CoE (Kosovo Online)

The head of the UNMIK Mission in Kosovo, Caroline Ziadeh, welcomed today in Pristina Beatrice Fresco, the rapporteur of the Committee for Equality and Non-Discrimination of the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE, discussing the compliance of the legal framework of Kosovo with the standards of the CoE, reported Kosovo Online.

The conversation emphasized the need for additional efforts to implement court decisions, it was said in the UNMIK's post on X, reported Kosovo Online.

"Acknowledging the existing norms and mechanisms in Kosovo, the head of UNMIK emphasized the need for additional efforts to implement administrative decisions and court decisions. She also emphasized the positive and continuous cooperation with CoE in the promotion of human rights in Kosovo," stated the post on X, cited the portal.

International

Devised in a Cell, Kosovo Political Prisoner’s Literary Epic Celebrates Freedom (BIRN)

Bajram Kosumi, a political prisoner who became a top politician after the Kosovo war, started writing a book in his head in a Yugoslav isolation cell in the 1980s. After decades of work, his encyclopaedia-style novel has now been published.

Back in 1985, Bajram Kosumi, then a 25-year-old political prisoner, was walking around his isolation cell in a prison in the Serbian city of Nis, where he was serving a sentence for participating in a protest by ethnic Albanian students for more autonomy for Kosovo within Yugoslavia.

“A prison cell is cold, but in the winter it freezes you,” Kosumi told BIRN at his office at Pristina University, where he works as a professor in the Department of Journalism.

Kosumi recalled how, during the frosty winter nights, alone in his cell, he memorised the ideas for what would turn out almost four decades later to be a 770-page experimental novel, Imaginary Encyclopaedia, which was recently published in Kosovo.

“The book initially started as an idea, not on paper,” he said.

This was because, for the first four years of his sentence, he wasn’t allowed any paper or a pen in his cell, so he decided to focus on words and phrases that represented ideas that he could develop later.

“I had to find key words, key phraseologies in Albanian which express the culture, mentality and character of the people [in the book] and their lives with one single word,” he explained.

Kosumi is now 63 and Imaginary Encyclopaedia is his first novel, although he has written almost a dozen other books on journalism, poetry and his prison experiences.