UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, October 28, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Konjufca on Association: EU cannot take away our right to propose a draft (media)
Progress Report expected to request urgent implementation of agreements (RFE)
Koopman commends Kosovo on Reforms Agenda for Growth Plan (media)
“Vucic hoping Trump elected in order to start talks on Kosovo partition” (media)
Zeka: Govt didn’t give the right importance to capital investments (Kosovapress)
RTK: Dinar continues to circulate illegally in the northern municipalities
Tahiri: Vetevendosje is not serious, fortunately we are on verge of elections (Klan)
Videnovic: Serbian politicians must apologize for pain caused in Kosovo (media)

Serbian Language Media:

CSOs appeal for international actions on police abuse of non-majority communities (Alternativna, Kosovo Online, social media)
CSOs call upon mayor Atiq to resign (KoSSev, media, social media)
‘How can I trust the police?’: Milos Subotic’s struggle for justice after alleged assault (KoSSev)
Fatherland: Beating of Subotic only tip of an iceberg (KoSSev, media)
One more Serb claim Kosovo police treated him ‘inappropriately’ (Alternativna, social media)
Andric Rakic: Level of public security in north of Kosovo decreased (RTS, Kosovo Online)
Ugljanin: ID cards listing ‘Mitrovica’ violate law and agreements on north-south division (KoSSev)
Bomb thrown in a yard of Serbian woman, member of Kosovo police in Mali Zvecan (KoSSev, media)
Djuric: Deva's restored house illuminated ‘in colors of the Third Reich flag’ (Kosovo Online, social media)
Kosovo Assembly did not adopt any of proposed laws that Government planned for 2024 (KoSSev, Koha)

International:

Kosovo counts cost and benefit of prisoner deal with Denmark (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

Konjufca on Association: EU cannot take away our right to propose a draft (media)

President of the Kosovo Assembly, Glauk Konjufca, said today that the European Union cannot take away Kosovo’s right to propose a draft for the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. “I would call it a discriminatory approach by the European Union and denying Kosovo’s statehood. When the Prime Minister said we accept it, he said we accept it for review. But we will insist to the very end for Kosovo’s right to propose a draft for the Association, which no one can take away from us. The European Union cannot take this right away from us only because it is powerful and because it can condition us or impose measures on us,” he argued.

Konjufca also said that “Kosovo is guaranteed the right to present a draft statute for the Association. The EU can criticize us by saying that you are very late but we can say was there a timeline? The EU has a discriminatory approach and is treating Kosovo as a non-country. Kosovo must protect its right till the end and sit with the EU and finally clarify who has this competency, Kosovo or the EU. I think that Kosovo has this competency. Whether we are late or not, we are under EU measures anyway.”

Progress Report expected to request urgent implementation of agreements (RFE)

The news website reports that the European Commission draft Progress Reports for both Kosovo and Serbia, which will be approved in Brussels at the end of this month, will ask Kosovo and Serbia to, without delay, take steps to implement the Agreement towards the normalization of relations between them, known as the Ohrid Agreement, as well as other obligations, resulting from the dialogue process.

Both parties are reportedly reminded that their journey towards the EU is conditioned by the process of normalizing relations between them. Kosovo and Serbia are requested to avoid inciting actions and rhetoric that endanger stability and are not compatible with dialogue and reconciliation.

The lack of steps by Serbia to bring to justice the perpetrators of the attacks on the Kosovo Police in Banjska is mentioned as an obstacle in the normalization process, but also the lack of concrete steps by Kosovo to start the procedure for the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo. It requires that the draft statute proposed by several European countries, which was submitted to the parties in October 2023, be the ground for this.

It is requested that Serbia fully cooperates and undertakes the necessary measures to catch and quickly bring to justice the perpetrators of these attacks.

The continuation of the boycott of Kosovo's institutions by the Serbs is considered a "serious setback by Serbia in the implementation of its obligations from the dialogue".

Koopman commends Kosovo on Reforms Agenda for Growth Plan (media)

Gert Jan Koopman, Director General for Neighborhood Policy and Engagement Negotiations, said in a post on X that he was happy to accompany President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on her visit to Kosovo. “Kosovo’s recently approved Reform Agenda will allow it to unlock €883 million in additional funding, to bring forward socio-economic convergence and implement EU oriented reforms,” Koopman said.

“Vucic hoping Trump elected in order to start talks on Kosovo partition” (media)

Several media cover an interview that U.S. political commentator on the Balkans and professor at the John Hopkins University, Daniel Serwer, gave to Danas highlighting his statement that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is hoping Donald Trump will be elected President in order to start talks on Kosovo’s partition and that “it could destabilize the whole region of the Balkans”.

Asked about a solution between Serbia and Kosovo, Serwer said a solution would be for Serbia to announce that it respects the government and territorial integrity of Kosovo. “Then it could prosecute those responsible for the Banjska terrorist incident and attacks against KFOR troops. That would dramatically change the dialogue, even without a formal recognition. But instead, Belgrade is doing the opposite. It continues to question Kosovo’s authority and territorial integrity in every chance it gets,” he argued.

Zeka: Govt didn’t give the right importance to capital investments (Kosovapress)

Head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo, Arian Zeka, in an interview with the news agency, argued that the Kosovo government did not give the right importance to capital investments. He said that the pace of capital investments is slow and that greater dynamics is needed alongside new projects.

According to Zeka, the financial support for Kosovo foreseen in the EU Growth Plan could be conditioned with the implementation of agreements, “including those with Serbia”.

Zeka also said that Kosovo’s deteriorating relations with the United States of America, after what he called unilateral actions in the north, have not impacted economic development because there is no measure that directly stops U.S. financial support for Kosovo. He however said that for U.S investors it is important to know the quality of U.S. relations with a place they plan to invest in.

RTK: Dinar continues to circulate illegally in the northern municipalities

The public broadcaster reported on Sunday that the Serbian Dinar continues to circulate freely in the Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo. Payments are being made in Dinar although the Central Bank of Kosovo in May had concluded the transitional three-month period on the enforcement of the cash payment operations. To confirm that payments were being made in Dinar, an RTK team went to several stores in the north of Kosovo and the employers did not hesitate to accept Dinars. “I mostly use the Dinar although I receive the Kosovo pension in euros. They have increased our pensions now,” a person in the north told RTK. Others hesitated to talk to the TV station, while some others complained that they must go to Raska to get their pensions. The RTK asked the Central Bank of Kosovo if they are running checks in the municipalities but received no response. According to RTK, in addition to the northern municipalities, the Dinar is circulating freely in the Serb-majority municipality of Gracanica too.

Tahiri: Vetevendosje is not serious, fortunately we are on verge of elections (Klan)

Head of the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Abelard Tahiri said that Kosovo under the leadership of Vetevendosje, is in a miserable condition, but that the only good fortune is that Kosovo is on the verge of elections.

Commenting on the statement of th3e Assembly Speaker Glauk Konjufca, he said that they are only electoral campaign statements, while the interest of the people is not considered. “This is the Vetevendosje Movement, they unfortunately have no determination. They do not consider the interest of the citizens,” Tahiri said.

Videnovic: Serbian politicians must apologize for pain caused in Kosovo (media)

Ivan Videnovic, a professor at the University of Belgrade, during a visit to Kosovo a couple of weeks ago, publicly apologized to the people of Kosovo for the losses and pain they suffered in 1998-1999. In an interview on Sunday, Videnovic said that politicians in Serbia must apologize too. “Apologizing is the duty of politicians in power and our duty, as civilized, open and free people, as neighbors that want to respect and appreciate one another, and to apologize the minute that we set foot on Kosovo. But first of all, our apology and regret needs to be made toward the countless innocent victims of that horrible darkness by some members of my people in 1998 and 1999, and then try to turn a new page in our common lives in these areas,” he said.

Videnovic said he is seeing a small change among Serbs and that he was surprised that there was a positive reaction to his statements on Kosovo. “There was also dissatisfaction, but it was very moderate. There was no insult which usually happens when I make my public presentations. I made it clear that I don’t have the legitimacy to speak on behalf of the Serbian people, but I have the legitimacy to speak on behalf of over 5,000 people who in last year’s elections in December and despite all obstacles supported the policy and the principles that I present, and asked who would join me in apologizing in Kosovo,” he said.

Serbian Language Media

CSOs appeal for international actions on police abuse of non-majority communities (Alternativna, Kosovo Online, social media)

Five civil society organizations (CSOs) from northern Kosovo, Aktiv, CASA, New Social Initiave (NSI), Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC) and InTer called upon international organizations and diplomatic missions in Kosovo to structurally deal with “systematic use of torture and excessive use of force in the north of Kosovo, to include those information in their reports, but also in the discussions on potential membership of Kosovo in the Council of Europe (CoE)”, Alternativna portal reports.

“After the EULEX Kosovo (Official) mission responded to our call regarding the Subotić case, we inform the public that we acknowledge this first step in establishing accountability for police torture against our fellow citizen Miloš Subotić, and we eagerly await further reports on the actions of the Police Inspectorate in this case. We remind EULEX that only the public release of reports can have a corrective effect; therefore, we demand regular public updates on the findings of the monitoring mission in this case. The practice of presenting reports internally to the very institutions that violate citizens' rights, especially after recent events in the north, has proven inadequate and does not contribute to the essential goals of the EULEX mission”, CSOs said in a newly published statement.

In a statement CSOs added that to this end, they call upon:

• The Council of Europe Office in Pristina, in its reports on police torture in northern Kosovo, inform all members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and to include the issue of systematic police abuse against non-majority groups in Kosovo in discussions regarding Kosovo's potential membership in this organization.

• The European Union in Kosovo, in its annual report on Kosovo's progress towards the EU, report on cases of police torture against Serbian citizens and provide resources to strengthen civilian oversight of the police apparatus through its mechanisms.

• The U.S. Embassy Pristina, Kosovo - United States to, in the State Department's annual report on human rights in Kosovo, highlight the practice of excessive use of force by the Kosovo police and urge the Government of Kosovo to take immediate and concrete steps to establish ethnic balance within police structures in line with constitutional principles.

• International organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to include parameters for police conduct towards non-majority communities in Kosovo in their methodologies for assessing the state of democracy, and to integrate findings on these practices into the ratings assigned to Kosovo.

Additionally, we call on other international missions in Kosovo, including the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK - United Nations Mission in Kosovo, and OHCHR to intensify activities in monitoring the conduct of the Kosovo police towards non-majority communities and to report regularly to the public.

Read the full statement at: https://tinyurl.com/t4wmkcns

CSOs call upon mayor Atiq to resign (KoSSev, media, social media)

Five non-governmental organizations from northern Kosovo requested Mitrovica North mayor Erden Atiq to resign, following his statement that Serbian civil society organizations react to actions of Kosovo police or the government, but not to the other incidents, including the alleged attack on Goran Rakic or vehicles arson cases in the north, KoSSev portal reported.

Atiq made those remarks after civil society organizations from the north reacted to the reports on Milos Subotic being beaten up at a police station and suspended their cooperation with EULEX until it came up with the statement of Subotic’s case and other human rights violations committed by Kosovo police in the north. Civil society organizations also called on the Kosovo Ombudsman to open an investigation into Subotic’s case, while Deputy Ombudsperson Srdjan Sentic stressed the need to stop inhuman treatment and inappropriate use of force.

“Instead of protecting citizens, mayor supports inhuman treatment by police”

“After yesterday's incident, in which our fellow citizen Miloš Subotić was arrested and then subjected to torture at the police station, Mayor Atić had two options. The first was, considering that the victim of police torture is a citizen of the municipality he represents, to react by calling for a thorough investigation into this case, reaching out to Miloš Subotić and offering legal assistance, and advocating for the consistent enforcement of laws to protect citizens from police torture. Unfortunately, he chose the second option — to remain silent, thereby endorsing the police's actions, and to respond by attacking those who are alerting the public to the police's unlawful actions, specifically civil society organizations”, civil society organizations said in a statement.

“Yesterday's statement from Mayor Atić was nothing more than an evasion of responsibility and pressure on civil society organizations, demonstrating that his primary focus is party interests rather than the citizens of North Mitrovica, whom he is supposed to represent. Furthermore, in his statement, Mayor Atić randomly targets individuals and organizations that spoke out on this matter, publicly framing civil sector activists as "enemies" of Kosovo society.

Therefore, out of legal and moral responsibility, we call on Mayor Atić to resign, demonstrating that he does not support the systemic use of excessive force, torture, and inhumane police treatment, which occur almost daily”, the statement concluded.

Rada Trajkovic, President of the Serb Movement from Kosovo in a post on X social network said that “mayor Atiq fails to understand two basic things”. “1 – Crime and violent behaviors committed by unknown persons – job for police”. 2 – Discrimination and violent behavior against citizens by intuition – job for civil society organizations. It can’t be someone expecting that NGOs sector to do the job of police”, she said in a post.

‘How can I trust the police?’: Milos Subotic’s struggle for justice after alleged assault (KoSSev)

Milos Subotic, a resident of North Mitrovica, has made a chilling statement following an alleged assault by Kosovo police officers, whom he says beat him during a late-night detention at the North Mitrovica police station. Expressing deep concern for his safety and that of his family, he declared that “if anything happens to me, I blame the Kosovo government and Kosovo police”, KoSSev portal reported.

Subotic recounts that he was detained just after midnight near the main bridge over the Ibar River, having, as he said, simply moved some bags on the promenade, next to a store, so he and his wife could pass. Moments later, police officers stationed nearby stopped him.

A legal professional, Subotic complied, putting his hands behind his back without resistance, yet he claims the officers never explained why he was being detained. “They didn’t tell me why I was being detained, not on the street and not even once I was at the station”, Subotić told KoSSev.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/yE1sk

Fatherland: Beating of Subotic only tip of an iceberg (KoSSev, media)

“The violence and beating of Milos Subotic by Albanian KPS police in Kosovska Mitrovica is only a tip of an iceberg of torture which Serbs in this city experience. Milos Subotic, a legal staff at University of Pristina Rectorate with a seat in Kosovska Mitrovica is responsible for international cooperation. He is a decent family man, against whom Kosovo police used a brutal force in presence of his wife”, Fatherland Movement said in a statement, KoSSev portal reported.

This is yet another reaction that came in relation to Milos Subotic’s case who said that Kosovo police beat him up in a police station in this town. Previously Serbian political officials, both from Belgrade and Kosovo, as well as civil society organizations, journalists and activists reacted to the case, media reported.

Fatherland listed in the statement “numerous serious problems that Serbs in Kosovo face, stressing it is about violence and torture in order to drive Serbs out of Kosovo”. They also said those cases not only happen in Mitrovica North but also in other parts of northern Kosovo. Fatherland has also criticized Serbian List for not doing enough to protect Serbian people in Kosovo, apart from issuing ‘futile’ statements. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic was also criticized because he has only contributed to the deterioration of the situation of Serbian people in Kosovo by decisions he made, including the one to make Serbian police officers leaving the service.

They termed as ‘weird’ the statement of Mitrovica North mayor Erden Atiq in relation to civil society organizations reaction to Subotic’s case, adding that Atiq “justifies brutal actions against the Serbian population, and repressive measures undertaken against Serbs by Albin Kurti’s government”.

Fatherland also expressed concern over, as they said, indifference of the international community, in particular Quint states, who “close their eyes before the violence”. They accused Germany for the support it offered to Pristina and linked the current events with a similar violence that took place in 2004, the statement reads.

One more Serb claim Kosovo police treated him ‘inappropriately’ (Alternativna, social media)

Miodrag Dancetovic, from Babin Most, Vucitrn municipality in a video published by Serbian Democracy accused members of Kosovo police for acting aggressively upon stopping him on his way back from a family celebration in Zubin Potok, Alternativna portal reported. Dancetovic said in a video that police vehicle full beam headlights on, police officers wore dark uniforms and at first glance he did not realize those were police officers.

“I stopped the vehicle at the moment they started benging on it. I pulled over, and then one of them came, when I opened the window, forced his hand in and took out the keys, hit me with an elbow”, Dancetovic said.

He added police officers spoke in Albanian language, and once they “have become more aggressive”, he started talking to one of them in English. He also said he told this police officer to jointly go to the spot where he was in order to prove that he was not able to see them initially because of their lights on.

“When I said that, they dragged me out of the car and asked me to open the trunk. When I opened the trung they looked at some unimportant things, not what the traffic police should look for in a trunk. They did not ask for a first aid kit…Instead they opened the book they found, which was there by chance and went through it, talking in Albanian all the time”, Dancetovic said.

After some time they told me “we will let you go this time”, adding that since he comes from the south he “should speak Albanian”. He said he will not report the case to Kosovo Police Inspectorate because he has no trust in this institution and that this was not the first time for him to experience unpleasantries with Kosovo police.

Alternativna portal said it sent the media inquiry about those allegations to Kosovo police but it received no response by the time the article was published last night.

Andric Rakic: Level of public security in north of Kosovo decreased (RTS, Kosovo Online)

Milica Andric Rakic, the New Social Initiative program manager, told RTS today that the level of public safety has dropped significantly, especially during the weekend.

"We have an influx of organized arrivals of Albanians in the central pedestrian zone in North Mitrovica, which is why most parents in that peak period from 12 to three or four no longer take their children there. Generally, if they are present, a high level of tension is felt, because they are not necessarily well-intentioned people, nor is it a natural process, it's not that communities feel it's time for greater interaction, but you have an artificial way of exposing two communities to each other and that in conditions of bad inter-ethnic relations," said Milica Andric Rakic.

She added it can be very tense and uncomfortable, as well as that it conditions a change in the daily behavior of the people who live there.

"So far, there have been no serious incidents. There are curses, attempts to ponce at some people, especially those who are a little more recognizable in the Albanian public. We had one opposition politician who was pounced at by those people. But in general, it is a very unpleasant atmosphere and subjected to, unfortunately, potential incidents," stated Andric Rakic.

She pointed out that in addition to the arrest of Milos Subotic, there was also an example of mistreatment by the police last night, but without physical abuse.

"If you are a man and if you find yourself on the street after 12, there is a high chance that you will be arrested, and if you are arrested, there is not such a small chance that you will be beaten, and this is where the risk factor for men during the night is great," stated Milica Andric Rakic.

As for the women, she added, they began to see a pattern of sexual harassment.

"I have to say that this is generally a problem throughout Kosovo. It has been a problem for Serbian women for a long time, decades, but it was not talked about excessively. In the north, it did not happen, because this is a small compact community and sexual harassment happened exclusively in the context of the family. It was unacceptable on the street, for the simple reason that that woman would recognize you, she knows your family, it was simply not part of the pattern of behavior," said Milica Andric Rakic.

She pointed out that women in the north, since they are not used to it, started talking about it, and they are joined by women from the south of Kosovo who have endured this pattern of behavior for a long time. She said that they wrote to KFOR about that, but did not receive an answer, which was why they went to the media.

"We are really aware of how sensitive this topic is, and we constantly appeal that it must not be misused, especially from Serbia, for the purpose of propaganda against the Albanian people. So, these are cases that happen by individuals, which are encouraged by a very ultra-nationalist government, and it really creates a problem for us if it is processed in a propaganda way and discredits our claims and cannot solve the problem," stated the NSI program manager.

She added that the international community did not respond adequately and that they asked KFOR for additional patrols in key places in the city, but this did not happen, while they received assurances from EULEX that they had increased foot patrols, but that she saw them only once, reported RTS.

The President of the Defense and Internal Affairs Committee of the National Assembly of Serbia, Milovan Drecun, told RTS that for the Serbian people in Kosovo, there is great uncertainty and a maximum lack of security.

"Because the terror that is carried out against the Serbs is a political decision of the temporary institutions of self-government in Pristina, and it is the policy of Albin Kurti, which he wants to completely control the north of Kosovo and force Serbian people to integrate into that fake state of Kosovo," Drecun said. He noted that it is conducted systematically and that it is a long-term campaign. He added that when you reduce Serbs to second-class citizens in a legal sense and when they are not protected by Kosovo institutions, then you are encouraging extremists to attack Serbs, because they know that they will not bear responsibility.

He assessed, among other things, it is good that the issue of sexual harassment of women was brought up and that there should be much more talk about it.

Ugljanin: ID cards listing ‘Mitrovica’ violate law and agreements on north-south division (KoSSev)

A number of North Mitrovica residents recently discovered inconsistencies in their identification documents that, rather than listing “North Mitrovica” as their residence, it simply includes “Mitrovica.” This discrepancy is allegedly a result of outdated data in Kosovo Interior Ministry (MIA) system, according to Nedžad Ugljanin, chair of North Mitrovica Municipal Assembly. Ugljanin characterized the issue as a “technical problem,” for which the municipality has formally requested MIA to make necessary corrections.

Ugljanin also specified that this labeling inconsistency violated both Kosovo laws and key agreements, including the Ahtisaari Plan and the Brussels Agreement, which set administrative guidelines for both North and South Mitrovica as distinct entities.