UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, December 21, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

U.S. State Department: We will continue to ask Serbia to return to dialogue and reduce tensions(Express)
Ahmeti: Greece is one step close to recognizing Kosovo (Koha)
Musliu: Kosovo faced aggression of Serbian terrorist attacks like never before (Reporter)
Kosovo claims that Rajska Banja is theirs, to Serbia it was occupied (RFE)
Rizvanolli: Government has not paid electricity bills in north for a year (Koha)
Kosovo’s Competition Authority fines company owned by Serbian telecom MTS with over €1.5 million (Reporteri)
Representatives from Kosovo and Serbia to meet in January for missing persons (Reporteri)
Police Union after meeting Svecla: We expect improvement of well-being of every member (media)
Jablanovic: Serbian List has lost trust of Serb citizens of Kosovo (Indeksonline)

Serbian Language Media:

Lucic: Pristina fined MTS in Kosovo to prevent it from expanding (RTS, Tanjug)
The custody of Zoran Kostic from Priluzje extended for two months (RTS)
OSCE: Bring to justice those responsible for desecration the Serbian cemetery in Orahovac (Kosovo Online, KiM radio, KoSSev)
Trikos: The state’s interest was to ensure K.Serbs’ right to vote in their hometowns, but the party’s interest took precedent (KoSSev)
Bilcik covering up criticism of the Serbian authorities (N1)
CoE Congress calls for investigation of irregularities in Serbia’s elections (N1)

International Media:

State Department: Urgent call for breakthrough on the association of Serb Majority Municipalities (The Pavlovic Today)
Serbia to hold election rerun at 30 polling stations (DW)

Albanian Language Media

U.S. State Department: We will continue to ask Serbia to return to dialogue and reduce tensions(Express)

The spokesperson of the Department of State, Matthew Miller, at the press conference on December 19, was asked about the elections in Serbia, which were contested by the OSCE, due to a multitude of irregularities identified by credible international observers.

"Allegations of irregularities reported by both the OSCE and other election observation teams must be investigated, and the violence directed at electoral authorities, journalists, accredited observers, which we have seen reports of, is unacceptable. And so we will continue to make it clear to Serbia and, as I said, urge them to work with the OSCE to address these concerns that have been raised," he said.

Asked if these kinds of elections will affect relations between the U.S. and Serbia, Miller was not specific in his answer.

"I will say with regard to the government in Belgrade and actions in the region, we will continue to urge them to de-escalate tensions and return to the EU-facilitated dialogue related to relations with its neighbors, often asked at this conference", he said.

Ahmeti: Greece is one step closer to recognizing Kosovo (Koha)

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Kreshnik Ahmeti, has stated that Kosovo has achieved success in foreign diplomacy this year, stressing that relations with Greece have become closer. He said on Wednesday on KTV's "60 Minutes" that Greece is close to recognizing Kosovo, stressing that joint documents and memoranda have been signed.

"We worked on bringing new recognitions. There has been extremely special progress with Greece, where, in addition to raising the status of our Office, which meant formalizing the relations between our Office there and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we have also begun to sign joint documents...So, Greece is a step close to recognition in my opinion", he said.

According to Ahmeti, next year Kosovo will open the first mission in Poland, while other missions are expected to be realized.

"In the current context, the Republic of Kosovo, its foreign policy, cannot be evaluated only by the number of recognitions that we have already established as a reality in the international arena, not saying that it is not important, but it is not the only key that can be appreciated", he added.

Speaking about the issue of visa liberalization, Ahmeti said that the process came to an end "as a success of the good governance of this government".

According to him, the dialogue process with Serbia is not expected to be related to Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe.

Musliu: Kosovo faced aggression of Serbian terrorist attacks like never before (Reporter)

The chairperson of the Committee for the Supervision of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, Ganimete Musliu stated in a press conference held immediately after the reporting of the director of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency Petrit Ajeti that the attack in Banjska was the most dangerous for Kosovo since the declaration of Kosovo's independence and as such can be repeated. She said that thanks to the professional work of the KIA, it has been possible to put an end to the cases that violated national security.

"At the level of national security, the case of Banjska is one of the cases of the highest level of dangerousness of the state of Kosovo, and this case still continues in its own ways to present a danger to our country", she said.

But, in addition to national security, Deputy Musliu said that the security institutions must be alert for other issues as well.

"As security institutions, we dare not in any way ignore other security threats, such as the large presence of narcotics and distribution to young age groups, with special emphasis or focus on students and schools. The introduction from outside of Kosovo of the fake two-euro currency in the economic financial market has also seriously damaged the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo and caused financial problems in the already poor economy of Kosovo,” she said.

Kosovo claims that Rajska Banja is theirs, to Serbia it was occupied (RFE)

Kosovo’s Ministry of the Interior will decide on the final purpose of the Rajska Banja tourist complex in the north of Kosovo, its head, Xhelal Svecla, said on Wednesday.

A day earlier, the Kosovo Privatization Agency (AKP), with the help of police forces, took control of this complex. The KPA claims that it is located on land owned by the company Trepca Standard from North Mitrovica, which is under its administration.

Trepca Standard, based on a 2019 Institute for Development and European Affairs (RIDEA) research, was previously responsible for the preparation of food for the employees of the Trepca mine in the north of Kosovo, as well as for their recreational, cultural and educational activities.

KPA told RFE that the decision to take over the complex followed the request of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo to take the facility under management. Otherwise, the Kosovo Privatization Agency manages all former socially owned enterprises in Kosovo and claims to be the sole owner of these assets.

The Rajska Banja complex is located in Banjska in the municipality of Zvecan - an area inhabited by a majority of Serbs.

The village of Banjska received special attention in September of this year, when an armed group of Serbs attacked the Kosovo police, killing policeman Afrim Bunjaku. The responsibility for the organization and participation in the attack was taken by Millan Radoicic, former deputy-leader of Serbian List - the largest party of Kosovo Serbs, which enjoys the support of official Belgrade.

In the premises of the Rajska Banja complex, the Kosovo Police arrested two people for possession of weapons without a permit.

Sources in the government of Kosovo confirmed for RFE that the institutions will continue with actions for the return of properties in the north, but did not specify exactly which properties are in question.

Rizvanolli: Government has not paid electricity bills in north for a year (Koha)

Kosovo’s Minister of Economy Artane Rizvanolli said that the electricity bills of the Serbs in the northern municipalities have not been paid from Kosovo government’s budget since December 2022.

‘A very positive aspect in all this, if there is a positive aspect in this matter, is that citizens of the Republic of Kosovo in the north, regardless of their ethnic background, understand and accept that consumed electricity must be paid. In this case, we do not expect resistance. Of course, they would not like to pay for a service they have not paid for in the past, but we do not expect serious resistance,” she said.

According to Rizvanolli, Kosovo institutions are in communication with the European Union to support the payment of the previous electricity debt in the north and the debt is €18 million.

Kosovo’s Competition Authority fines company owned by Serbian telecom MTS with over €1.5 million (Reporteri)

Kosovo’s Competition Authority announced a statement that based on the legislation in force in Kosovo, more precisely on the basis of the Law on the Protection of Competition, it has decided to impose an administrative sanction on the Enterprise MTS d.o.o. Branch in Kosovo - fine in the amount of 1,563,959.26 (one million five hundred sixty-three thousand nine hundred fifty nine euros and twenty six cents).

AKRK announces that the Company MTS d.o.o. has violated the provisions of the Law on the Protection of Competition, by not submitting the request for the mandatory notice of concentration for the purchase of 100% of the shares of the companies: VGN NET d.o.o., LIKA d.o.o., PP. PRKDS-IMPULS on behalf of I. R. – B.I. and Herc International.

The Competition Authority of Kosovo as a public institution, independent in the performance of its duties defined in the law, will be at the service of all citizens and in defense of the competition law, reads the communique.

Representatives from Kosovo and Serbia to meet in January for missing persons (Reporteri)

An extraordinary meeting between the representatives of Kosovo and Serbia on the issue of missing persons will be held in Switzerland in January next year. This meeting will be held with the mediation of the international Red Cross, and the Kosovar side will present the requests to continue the excavations and obtain data from Serbia.

Doubts that in the territory of Serbia, there are still mass graves where the bodies of those killed during the last war were sent, continue to exist. This year, Kosovo's institutions managed to excavate for only two weeks, in the location called Shtaval in Serbia. But whether it will be excavated in the next year, this is not known for sure.

"It is an immediate extraordinary meeting that will actually be held in Geneva, in Switzerland and will be mediated by the International Red Cross, and it is an opportunity for our international friends, the international factor to see directly our demands, the form of our blockage, which Serbia is doing", said Andin Hoti - Governmental Commission for the Disappeared.

According to Hoti, who is pessimistic that Serbia will change in this matter, he says that the location in Shtaval is complicated, as the location is a large mine where tons are dumped there on a daily or weekly basis.

Police Union after meeting Svecla: We expect improvement of well-being of every member (media)

The Kosovo Police Union, after the meeting they held on Wednesday with the Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Svecla and the Director General of the Kosovo Police, Gazmend Hoxha, said that they discussed the current situation, the economic situation of the members as well as the working conditions. The meeting came after two protests of the Police Special Unit.

"Minister Svecla expressed his willingness to cooperate with the Kosovo Police Union, the management of the Kosovo Police and the Ministry of Internal Affairs for handling the requests presented in writing, aiming to increase the well-being of every member of the Kosovo Police and improve the conditions of work", the communiqué states. Furthermore, the union has said that they continue to support the dialogue between the government and Police employees, but that the urgent issues of this security institution must be addressed.

Jablanovic: Serbian List has lost trust of Serb citizens of Kosovo (Indeksonline)

The Serb politician, Aleksandar Jablanovic, has said that the Serbian List has lost the trust of Serb citizens living in Kosovo. He said that in the current situation he will not participate in local elections in the north if they are held.

"At this moment, as things stand, no, I will not participate. I have a personal desire to participate in the elections, to use the position of the citizens that the Serbian List has lost the trust of the citizens. Going to the elections and giving the Serbs a new alternative, we must in advance have a conversation between the representatives of the Serbs in the north and the government of Kosovo", he told RTV Dukagjini.

Jablanovic emphasized that the government of Kosovo should talk with the Serb parties operating in the north, in order to solve the problems.

Serbian Language Media

Lucic: Pristina fined MTS in Kosovo to prevent it from expanding (RTS, Tanjug)

Regarding the decision of the Kosovo Authority for the Protection of Competition to fine the branch of MTS in Kosovo with EUR 1.56 million, the general director of Telekom Serbia Vladimir Lucic said that the goal of this penalty was to prevent the expansion of MTS.

"What I can say is that they will lose this circle, because it is evident that in this case, they do not respect even their own laws that they created," said Vladimir Lucic for Tanjug agency.

The CEO of Telekom Serbia says that they have about 30 days to appeal to the Commercial Court.

"This does not delay the execution of the monetary compensation, however, when we appeal to the court, we will ask the regulator to delay the payment. I do not believe that they will accept it, but I am absolutely sure that we will get it in court and that, if by chance, we would pay, then they will return it with interest," Lucic said.

The custody of Zoran Kostic from Priluzje extended for two months (RTS)

Zoran Kostic from Priluzje, arrested in September for alleged war crimes, has had his detention extended for another two months, his defense lawyer Predrag Miljkovic confirmed.

Miljkovic told RTS that he was worried about the very poor state of health of his client, who was arrested on September 20.

"Kostic was taken from the detention center in Podujevo to KC Pristina on several occasions. The last report he received on December 8, he was discharged on December 12, six different diagnoses were noted. He is a 73-year-old man who has had heart problems for 30 years, his heart works at 30 percent capacity," said Miljkovic.

He points out that no one, especially the court and the prosecutor's office, do not take Kostic's health into account.

"As a defense attorney, I no longer ask the question of whether he will get out, but whether he will stay alive until the indictment is filed," warns Miljkovic.

OSCE: Bring to justice those responsible for desecration the Serbian cemetery in Orahovac (Kosovo Online, KiM radio, KoSSev)

The OESC mission in Kosovo condemned the re-desecration of the Serbian Orthodox cemetery in Orahovac and called on the responsible institutions to investigate the case and bring the perpetrators to justice, reported Kosovo Online.

“Saddened to hear about the desecration once again of the Serbian Orthodox cemetery in Rahovec/Orahovac on 18 December. We call on responsible institutions to investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice as well as take measures to prevent any future act of vandalism.

All communities in Kosovo deserve the protection of their holy places and respect for their deceased loved ones,” this mission said in a post on X last night, reported the portal.

Trikos: The state’s interest was to ensure K.Serbs’ right to vote in their hometowns, but the party’s interest took precedent (KoSSev)

“We are witnessing how much the call to withdraw from the Kosovo Police, the judiciary and other institutions cost Kosovo Serbs, the day after the Rajska banja complex was taken over by the Privatization Agency of Kosovo,” said communications strategist Djordje Trikos.

The facility has already been rented out to the police; the director of PAK confirmed for RFE yesterday. This young expert from Belgrade, who lives in London, spent time in Kosovo before the Serbian elections on Sunday. “The omnipresent awareness of vulnerability among Kosovo Serbs, which has only increased since Kurti came to power, clearly brings out the best and the worst in our people in Kosovo. Some turn to raw rebellion and even self-destructive aggression, while others turn to creativity, progressiveness and refined diplomatic trait,” he noted.

Many moves by the Belgrade political elite appear to be reckless, especially the one that involved a call for withdrawal from Kosovo police, judicial and other structures, Trikos stressed.

International Media

State Department: Urgent call for breakthrough on the association of Serb Majority Municipalities (The Pavlovic Today)

State Department pushes for a breakthrough in the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue. Urgent call for the full implementation of all commitments, which include the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities.

In the realm of international diplomacy, while Ukraine and Gaza take center stage, the Western Balkans remains an underreported hotspot. The EU-led Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue finds itself at a standstill post the Ohrid Agreement, with the resolution of the establishment of the Associations of Serb-Majority Municipalities in Kosovo still pending.