UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, August 5, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti travels to Skopje, meets Prime Minister Mickoski (media)
Mexhiti after meeting with Kurti: We discussed strengthening cooperation (Albanian Post)
Milanovic: Allies' support for Kosovo has faded (media)
LVV: Iber Bridge must be opened, there is no argument to remain closed (Koha)
LVV: Consultations on election date will continue (Koha)
Hoti: This mandate will end with complete failure in capital investments (RTK)
Klinaku: There is no need for veterans to go to Serbia (media)
Death of woman from Gracanica, a month of detention for her husband (Kallxo)

Serbian Language Media:

The Kosovo Police entered all the Post Offices of Serbia in the North (KoSSev)
Protest of hundreds of Serbs in Pasjane due to the recent arrest of five compatriots (KiM radio, medijacentar.info, Radio Mitrovica sever, media)
What is controversial about the arrest of five Serbs from Kosovo Pomoravlje for alleged war crimes? (Danas, TV Most, Radio Mitrovica sever)
Fatherland Movement: More than 50 Serbs in Pristina prisons for alleged war crimes (Beta, Danas)
A few days after the Vjosa Osmani incident, Kurti with ministers in North Macedonia (Danas, KoSSev)
Vacancy announcement for recruitment of new members of Kosovo police: Especially for the Serbian community (N1)

International:

The target is training artificial intelligence on the data of Balkan citizens without notification (en.vijesti.me)
Yugoslav Socialist Artist’s Retrospective Recalls Lost Era of Defiance and Hope (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti travels to Skopje, meets Prime Minister Mickoski (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, together with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gervalla, the Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu and the Minister of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, Liburn Aliu, has met with the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski.

After this, the prime ministers continued with the joint meeting with the government cabinets.

After the meetings, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, held a press conference.

Kurti said that the two countries have cooperation in all aspects and have a positive trend. Kurti also mentioned the facilitation of border traffic, especially in Hani i Elezit. The head of the Kosovar executive said that he is waiting for the clarification of the case related to president Osmani at the Skopje Airport.

"The ugly behavior, the violations of the rules and all that has already been said will be clarified by an official report after the relevant investigation. And from what I have heard today and looking at the communiques and stances of our two foreign ministries, I am very optimistic about the future, that such situations will not be repeated and at the same time the regret that was expressed earlier publicly was repeated today in the meeting", he said.

He said that Kosovo and North Macedonia have good bilateral relations. "We have good bilateral relations, while we have worked in every field and we have increased the quality, as well as the economy and trade", said Kurti.

Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, said that they have cooperation with Kosovo. He also mentioned the case of President Osmani at the Airport, saying that he expects a detailed report on this case. He also expressed regret for what happened.

"As a new government, we aim to build sound bilateral relations. We have agreed to increase communication but also joint trade. We talked about the road Bllace-Skopje, but also about the connection between Tetova and Prizren", Mickoski.

Prime Ministers Kurti and Mickoski, have spoken about the detention of the former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Blerim Ramadani, for whom Serbia has requested extradition for war crimes in 1999.

"Our Ministers of Justice will be in direct and continuous contact. Everything will go in function of the general value that is based on the law and the Constitution in the procedures and institutional rules in both countries, but also within the framework of good neighborly and European relations that we wish to cultivate. I believe that it will be concluded as soon as possible so that the law is also implemented, but also that good neighborly relations are preserved and maintained. I am optimistic about the future, this is not the first case that has happened to us, there have been such cases in the past. I believe that the judgments of the courts in the Republic of North Macedonia from the past clearly show the path we will follow in the near future", Kurti said.

Mickoski has said that he does not want to repeat what Kurti said. According to him, good neighborly relations will go in a positive direction.

"The Ministers of Justice will continue to cooperate not only on this case, but also on the 'Monstra' case as well, because good neighborly and bilateral relations will go in a positive direction. This meeting is good because we want to increase and improve relations between the two governments", he said.

Mexhiti after meeting with Kurti: We discussed strengthening cooperation (Albanian Post)

The first deputy prime minister of North Macedonia, Izet Mexhiti, after the meeting with the prime minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti in Skopje, said the main topic was the strengthening of ties.

"With special pleasure we welcomed the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, on a working, fruitful, constructive, but also fraternal visit. We discussed important issues for strengthening the cooperation between our two countries with special focus on our strong ties, which we intend to strengthen even further", he wrote on Facebook.

Mexhiti emphasized that this meeting also marks an important step for the common future of the region, demonstrating the close and successful cooperation between North Macedonia and the Republic of Kosovo."Through this cooperation, we intend to improve our position at the regional and international level. Welcome, prime minister," he added.

Milanovic: Allies' support for Kosovo has faded (media)

The President of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, has assessed that the support of the allies towards Kosovo has faded. As he called Kosovo a friendly country and said that like Croatia, both countries had a similar fate, Milanovic said that Kosovo was initially protected by the allied countries, but things have changed, the Croatian medium "TPortal" reported on Monday.

He gave these comments in the note of the anniversary of "Sinsjka Alka", which is organized in honor of the sacrifice of Croatian soldiers in defense of the homeland. President Vjosa Osmani was also present at this event.

"We had a difficult start, we were protected by few good people and we didn't have any help at the beginning. Kosovo started differently, with a lot of support that has since faded. And now they are left on their own, five members of the EU and NATO have not recognized them. That is why she is here today as my guest and that is why, in addition to our celebrations and our days of pride and glory, it is also a tribute and gratitude to our friendly country", said President Milanovic.

LVV: Iber Bridge must be opened, there is no argument to remain closed (Koha)

The head of the Parliamentary Group of the Vetevendosje Movement, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, said that the IberBridge should be opened and that there is no argument for it to remain closed.

"No argumentation can be found, a genuine cause for preventing the opening of the bridge, we are talking about free movement and the necessity of normalizing life in that part of Kosovo, the bridge has remained synonymous with the blockade and as a synonym for a quasi-separation that it was claimed to be done many years ago", she said on Monday in a joint press conference with the government MP Adnan Rrustemi.

According to her, all the risks associated with the closing of the bridge have already been eliminated. "It is senseless that every citizen of the Republic, regardless of nationality, can go with Kosovo license plates unhindered to the most northern border of Kosovo, but cannot cross the bridge in Mitrovica by vehicle, which separates a former city and the two cities of the present", said Kusari-Lila.

LVV: Consultations on election date will continue (Koha)

Adnan Rrustemi, MP of the Vetevendosje Movement, has said that the consultations on the date of the elections will continue.

In the joint conference with the head of the Vetevendosje Parliamentary Group, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, where they talked about the conclusion of the spring session of the Assembly, Rrustemi said that the Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, was not at the meeting called by President Vjosa Osmani, to discuss the date of the elections since there was a pre-arranged meeting. "Consultations will continue because there is a deadline for these consultations', said Rrustemi.

While talking about the approved draft laws, he said that this legislature broke the record in the approval of draft laws in relation to the previous legislatures.

Meanwhile, Kusari-Lila stated that in the spring session the Assembly held 26 sessions, approved 36 draft laws, 20 of them international agreements.

Hoti: This mandate will end with complete failure in capital investments (RTK)

Former Prime Minister of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti said that with this government, everything except for development can be expected.

He said that in the first six months of this year, only 21% of capital investments were realized. Hoti wrote that hundreds of projects foreseen in the budget in various ministries have not started to be realized.

Hoti wrote on "Facebook" that an economy without sufficient public and private capital investments, has no development.

Klinaku: There is no need for veterans to go to Serbia (media)

The acting head of the Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans Organization, Faton Klinaku, has asked war veterans to be careful when traveling outside Kosovo, and especially when traveling through Serbia. Klinaku, a few days ago in a public reaction, said that Serbia is continuing to update the lists, adding veterans to the Interpol list. Klinaku, in a statement for the Telegrafi, said that war veterans should not pass through Serbia, nor in countries that consider the Serbian state a friend.

"My constant appeal to the veterans is that they should not go through Serbia, they should not go to Slavic countries or countries that consider Serbia a friend. As for Albania, they do not need to be afraid at all, as they know that Albania does not extradite anyone. My call was, the war veterans have nothing to look for in Serbia, because they are constantly following them, but the danger is already in North Macedonia, Montenegro, that is, in the friendly states of Serbia," he said.

Meanwhile, regarding the Kosovars that Serbia is arresting and keeping in prison, Klinaku said that the citizens who are being arrested were not even involved in the war. "The people who are being detained are not war veterans, and the people have been in Germany and have nothing to do with the war, but even their family members have said this," he emphasized.

According to Klinaku, in these cases there should be a reaction from the international community, since Serbia should not be pursuing anyone.

Death of woman from Gracanica, a month of detention for her husband (Kallxo)

A woman died on 02.08.2024 at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo while being treated for the injuries she suffered from the physical attack by her husband. The latter, by decision of the Basic Court in Pristina, has been detained for one month. The news has been confirmed by the spokesperson of the Court, Mirlinda Gashi. "The judge of the preliminary procedure has approved as grounded the request of the Basic Prosecution in Pristina, for the appointment of the detention measure for the defendant D. Z. and the same has been assigned a measure of detention for a duration of one month" - said Gashi. She added that they accepted the request for the detention measure on 02.08.2024 and on the same date held the hearing, deciding the criminal case against the defendant D. Z., due to the criminal offense of aggravated murder. The case was initially initiated as "Domestic Violence" and "Serious Bodily Injury", but after the death of the victim, this event was re-qualified as "Serious Murder". This has been confirmed by the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Pristina through a press release.

Serbian Language Media

The Kosovo Police entered all the Post Offices of Serbia in the North (KoSSev)

Members of the Kosovo Police have entered 9 facilities of the Post of Serbia in four municipalities in the North of Kosovo, KoSSev reports.

The information that it is a simultaneous action in all 9 facilities was confirmed for KoSSev by the deputy commander for the North region, Veton Elshani.

Police officers entered the Post Office based on the request of the Regulatory Body for Electronic and Postal Communications (ARKEP)

When asked why the police officers are in these facilities, Elshani says:

"We received information that these facilities are operating without a license."

Less than three months ago, an action by Kosovo authorities was conducted in the same way, after which all financial institutions of the Republic of Serbia in Kosovo were closed.

Protest of hundreds of Serbs in Pasjane due to the recent arrest of five compatriots (KiM radio, medijacentar.info, Radio Mitrovica sever, media)

The protest, which gathered hundreds of Serbs in Pasjane, was organized due to the recent arrest of five compatriots who were sentenced to one-month detention by the Basic Court in Pristina on the same day (Saturday, August 3) because they are accused of having allegedly committed a war crime on April 5, 1999, reports KiM radio.

The protest in Pasjane is secured by the Kosovo police, and those gathered carry banners that read: "They are arresting us to expel all Serbs", "We are asking KFOR to protect us", "Arrested and not guilty", "You taught them badly teacher so they would arrest you "...

"My father finished school and never went to prison. He taught Serbs and Albanians, and he sits behind the bars on God's justice," said Srdjan Nicic, the son of one of the arrested, at the beginning of the gathering.

"This is not just support for my son who was arrested, and four others arrested, this is support for the entire Serbian people for survival in Kosovo and Metohija," said Vasilije Sosic, the father of one of the arrested.

"When I got up in the morning to see, it was a full courtyard, all armed to the teeth, like I trampled the whole world, as if my son did I don't know what, and not as if he was one of their workers,'' he added.

"Early at dawn, on August 3, Kosovo police officers entered our homes, into our lives, into our rights, into our freedom without explanation and with the clear intention of scaring us. To tell us that we don't belong here, that they don't want to see us here. But I have to say this, we were not afraid, but we were encouraged," said Jovan Cvetkovic, the parish priest of Gracanica and the son of one of the arrested, Dragan Cvetkovic. He added that the residents of Pasjane are completely sure "that they will survive this torment and injustice".

"Thank you to all the people who came to support our arrested parents. They came because they know that nobody in Pasjane has anything to do with what they are accused of. None of them even fired a shot. We also have Albanian friends; we communicate and live with them. This process is a political process and a sign for all Serbs that they are not welcome," said Petar Cvetkovic, the son of the arrested Dragan, who is seriously ill.

"This has not happened to us for a long time. We somehow calmed down, stabilized, and made plans for life and survival. This disturbed us, a target was set for every Serb in the Kosovo Pomoravlje, or even in the whole of Kosovo. We are sure that these people who have been arrested are not murderers. It's about political pressure on the remaining Serbs," said Dragan Petkovic, president of Partes Municipality.

"This can ignite a new fire and create such chaos that, quite simply, it will not be good for anyone and there will not be a suitable place to live in Kosovo and Metohija," he said.

According to the Special Prosecutor's Office, their arrest was preceded by a months-long investigation, reported KiM radio.

"There is a well-founded suspicion that the same, in co-perpetration with another N.N. persons, members of this group, armed and dressed in camouflage uniforms and irregular uniforms of the Serbian police or army, on April 5, 1999, in the early hours of the morning, carried out an action in the villages of Kokaj, Lovce, Podgradje and Ugljare," the statement of the Prosecutor's Office said.

However, those gathered at the protest in Pasjane said that they were arrested without a court order, 25 years after the war for alleged war crimes and added that none of them left Kosovo all the time after the war because, as they stated, they did nothing.

Those gathered believe that the goal of their arrest is to spread panic and expel the Serbs. They appealed to the EU and EULEX to implement their mandates, to stop the political processes towards the Serbs and to request the release of the arrested Serbs.

After half an hour, the crowd began to disperse, reported KiM radio.

What is controversial about the arrest of five Serbs from Kosovo Pomoravlje for alleged war crimes? (Danas, TV Most, Radio Mitrovica sever)

The arrest of five Serbs, from Pasjane and one from the village of Bosce, is another political pressure on Serbs, especially in Kosovo Pomoravlje, with the aim of intimidation and their displacement, the assistant director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija told TV Most Igor Popovic, reported Danas daily.

So far, as Popovic says, Kosovo Pomoravlje has been spared those arrests like in northern and central Kosovo.

"The regime in Pristina periodically exerts pressure on one, now on the other Serbian environment so that they would evenly terrorize the Serbian community in Kosovo and Metohija with the aim of displacing and intimidating them. This shows that Kurti's regime is primarily trying to win points with its nationalist voters in the pre-election campaign, by putting pressure on the Serbian community, to show how it deals with the Serbs, in order to cover up all the problems that the regime in Pristina has related to the emigration of the population, related to the lack of economy, related to any perspective of that regime. Unfortunately, the Serbs are a collateral victim of that pressure, and yesterday's arrest shows that. People were arrested and immediately taken to detention for 30 days. This shows a continuity of terror against Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, with earlier arrested persons from North and Central Kosovo,'' says Popovic.

He emphasizes that the Office for KiM will provide all the necessary legal and logistical assistance as much as possible.

"We addressed the representatives of international missions in Kosovo, the Quint countries, embassies, during earlier arrests. We asked for interventions, we asked above all for those missions that established their activities in KiM with the mandate to establish the rule of law, with the mandate to protect human rights, we appeal to them to fulfill their mandate. I'm afraid that so far it hasn't had a greater effect, because above all politics is interfering here again. They are afraid not to resent the Albanian political community, they are afraid to intervene, they justify it by some kind of independence of judicial proceedings of Pristina institutions, however we see that these institutions are only one instrument for the purpose of ethnic cleansing and that they are primarily implementing the policy of Albin Kurti's regime. We will also ask the countries of the Quint that they first of all intervene, that their diplomats exert the necessary pressure on Pristina, that our people first of all be freed, that they are release pending trial," says Popovic.

He points out that ''25 years after the war, to arrest people who have been living all the time on the territory of Kosovo, in the Kosovo Pomoravlje, where, as he says, there were no armed conflicts in 1998 and 1999, to arrest those people, people who are hosts, people over 50 years old, and sick like Dragan Cvetkovic, who is 90 percent disabled, to be arrested, to be taken out in front of their families in the morning hours, to be sent to Podujevo to prison, this is above all a great pressure on the Serbs. He adds that it will be continued with help, to maintain our community, especially in Kosovo Pomoravlje''.

"If they want to investigate war crimes, they should first of all investigate crimes against Serbs, especially unsolved crimes in Kosovo Pomoravlje. Who attacked the Serbs in Cernica, we had a four-year-old boy who was killed in May 2000 in front of a store in Cernica, we had several terrorist attacks and more victims in that martyred Cernica, we had victims of Livada Lake who were victims, immediately after the conflict, of ethnic cleansing in Gnjilane, we had victims of the cleansing on March 17 and 18. So, if someone wants to investigate war crimes and repeated crimes against the Serbian community, he has the opportunity to investigate. Such an arrest only shows that the goal is to displace Serbs. Especially Serbs in Kosovo Pomoravlje, which is a strong ethnic community, with people who are born there, where there is a maternity hospital opened by the Republic of Serbia in Pasjane, and above all to put pressure on those people," said Popovic.

Fatherland Movement: More than 50 Serbs in Pristina prisons for alleged war crimes (Beta, Danas)

The national movement of the Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija "Fatherland" warned today that on charges of alleged war crimes, more than 50 Serbs are in prisons under the control of Pristina, and that the state of Serbia is "doing nothing to protect them except lamentations and whining", reported Danas.

In the announcement regarding the arrest of five Serbs from the vicinity of Gnjilane for alleged war crimes, they also stated that they had not "heard or seen" that the Serbian List announced about that and other arrests and "terror" against Serbs from Kosovo or that they held at least one press conference in ''the assembly of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo''.

"After the arrest of innocent Serbs from the vicinity of Gjilane for alleged war crimes, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic made an unusual statement that 'darkness is thickest before the dawn'. We don't know what the poet wanted to say, so we ask him to explain to us, so that there is no military and political debacle on the Serbian side like in Banjska," said the Fatherland movement, reported Danas.

"The Serbian List serves more as an institution that should defend the image and work of Aleksandar Vucic and not fight for the rights of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. And it used to not be like that," they announced, reported KoSSev portal.

They recalled that the Serbs from Kosovo had a great influence and influence in decision-making in Belgrade.

"Unfortunately, today they came down to the organization that signs Aleksandar Vucic's statements," they added.

"In his media confrontation with the statements of the National Movement of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija, the Fatherland, the President of Serbia uses the Serbian List, but the tone, language, and style of the inscription of the Serbian List shows that Aleksandar Vucic as the author. It is already recognizable to everyone".

A week ago, when the Serbian List reacted to the statement of the Fatherland, stating that more than 700 jobs were closed, by calling out the staff of both the Fatherland and the Serbian National Council, one of those called, Momcilo Trajkovic, then called a leader of the Serbian List, the Fatherland reveals today.

But they do not say which one, nor do they state a specific reason why Trajkovic did it, but they reveal the answer, reported KoSSev.

"Some time ago, after a statement by the Serbian List in which they attacked both the Fatherland and the Serbian National Council, during the conversation of Momcilo Trajkovic with one of the leaders of the Serbian National Council with a man from the top of the Serbian List, he admitted that they did not write the statement at all, but that it came to them from of Belgrade. They just signed it. Mr. Trajkovic has recorded the entire conversation. It's unfortunate, but it's true," reported KoSSev.

KoSSev reported that they tried to get an answer from Trajkovic about the identity of the leader of the Serbian List, as well as the reason for making the call, but by the time the news was published, they did not receive an answer.

A few days after the Vjosa Osmani incident, Kurti with ministers in North Macedonia (Danas, KoSSev)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, together with ministers from his cabinet, will pay a working visit to North Macedonia today, the Kosovo government announced yesterday, reported Danas.

The talks will be about bilateral relations between Kosovo and North Macedonia, their cooperation, projects...

"A bilateral meeting will be held with the PM of North Macedonia, with whom he will discuss bilateral relations, regional cooperation and infrastructural projects of interest to the two countries," the announcement stated.

It was noted that this was agreed earlier, on July 20.

It is not specified which ministers from Kurti's cabinet will go with him.

The daily recalls that the visit of the Kosovo PM to North Macedonia comes just a few days after the incident at the Skopje airport in which the main actor was the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani.

According to the daily, it all started with her refusal to allow airport security to subject her to airport security control, so that the security of the president of the assembly of North Macedonia was then involved in the whole case.

The North Macedonia authorities opened an investigation to shed light on the case, and the Kosovo side sent them a note of protest, recalls the daily.

Vacancy announcement for recruitment of new members of Kosovo police: Especially for the Serbian community (N1)

Almost two years ago, the Kosovo police lost 550 Serbian police officers who quit their jobs in protest over the re-registration of Serbian license plates. Now there is a new vacancy announcement and a new call for Serbian young men and women to apply to KPS, reported N1 last night.

Since the Serbs collectively left the Kosovo institutions, among them the Kosovo police, there are no police officers from the four northern municipalities in the north.

Therefore, the latest vacancy announcement of Kosovo Police for the recruitment of new police officers invites the Serbian community to apply.

“Out of 300 or more people, only 50 police officers are Serbs, it would be best if we had more, because we will replace our police officers with people from this area, but police officers are police officers everywhere, they do their job, and it is not a problem. It is important for us that we have more cases reported in these six months than in the first six months of 2022,” said commander Veton Elshani.

The government stated that they want Serbs to be represented in the police in multi-ethnic areas, for easier understanding with citizens, especially when it comes to the Serbian language, which Albanian police officers rarely speak.

Citizens in the north say that it would be good to have their own people, however, there is a dilemma as to whether that will happen.

Currently, in the police station for the north region located in North Mitrovica, there are Serbian police officers brought from municipalities south of the Ibar, who had a hard time working as well, especially in times of crisis, “as they were threatened because they stayed in Kosovo police”, reported N1.

Last year, posts with the names and photos of Serbs who were employed by the Kosovo police and who were declared traitors were even circulating on social media.

N1 recalled that the members of the Serbian community in the north were integrated into the Kosovo Police based on the Brussels Agreement of 2013, and most of them are now more than 30 years old.

About 550 Serbian police officers left their jobs in November 2022 as a sign of dissatisfaction with the decision of the Government of Kosovo to re-register vehicles with Serbian plates into Kosovo ones, but also due to the delay in the formation of the A/CSM.

International

The target is training artificial intelligence on the data of Balkan citizens without notification (en.vijesti.me)

Meta collects publicly published content that users share through the company's platforms, so the new service it provides through the development of artificial intelligence will build on this practice

Posts, comments, video clips, photos, numerous personal data that are shared publicly via Instagram, Facebook and other applications owned by the company Meta, since the end of June, are not just content that we share with friends.

By changing the privacy policy, the Targets can become material for training artificial intelligence (artificial intelligence - AI) developed by this American company.

Everything happened without announcement or explanation, and millions of users in the Western Balkans were not even informed about Meta's new "Privacy Policy", which was published on June 26.