UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, October 29, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti: Increase in public sector wages in January next year (media)
Kurti: I don’t form Associations; I offered to write draft but was rejected (media)
Lajcak: Optimistic about some progress, will continue in coming weeks (RTK)
Hacker: I guarantee Germany is working to help Kosovo join CoE (media)
Osmani to Erdogan: Kosovo committed to strengthening partnership (media)
Haradinaj: Kurti is a political amateur, he has made many mistakes (EO)
KFOR Strategic Force leaves Kosovo (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucevic not optimist that any major conclusion will be reached at UNSC session tomorrow (Kosovo Online, Tanjug, Radio Mitrovica sever, media)
SL with Michalcova and Hupin: The most urgent to prevent institutional violence and form the CSM (Radio Mitrovica sever, Kosovo Online)
Lajcak optimist on progress of ''some key issues'' in Belgrade-Pristina dialogue (Kosovo Online)
Gacevic: Formation of A/CSM essential as first step in protecting collective rights of Serbs (Danas, Kosovo Online)
Radosavljevic: Time to ask how useful EULEX is considering how expensive it is (Euronews Serbia, Kosovo Online)
Trial of four Serbs in relation to alleged involvement in attack on Municipal Election Commission Office continues (Kosovo Online)
House arrest measure of four young Serbs arrested in Mitrovica North last month revoked (KoSSev)
Bottcher: Position of German Embassy and ambassador is well known - “Deva was a known Nazi collaborator” (Kosovo Online)
Questions about Serbia’s strategic course: How EC assesses Belgrade’s path to EU (N1, Hina)

International:

Relentless hoax bomb threats leave police in Balkans frustrated (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti: Increase in public sector wages in January next year (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti told a press conference in Pristina today that his government has decided to increase wages in the public sector by €55 in January next year. “We will have a substantial increase of wages in the public sector at the start of next year by safeguarding the long-term sustainability of the budget and in compliance with the legislation in force,” he said.

Kurti said the objective is to support those that have lower wages and to narrow the gap between the lowest and highest wages. “We have gone to the maximum allowed budget increase for wages and we decided not to increase the level of the coefficient, but to increase the coefficient by one unit”.

Kurti also said that he would increase wages for a second time in summer next year. “In other words, wages for all employees in the public sector will increase by €55 starting from January next year and by €110 starting from July next year. In doing so we distribute the budget increase proportionally among those with the lowest wages, by narrowing the gap between the lowest and the highest wage,” he said.

Kurti: I don’t form Associations; I offered to write draft but was rejected (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that it is not the competence of a Prime Minister to establish associations of municipalities and that this should be done by the municipalities. “Prime Ministers don’t establish associations of municipalities; the municipalities reach out and cooperate. We have an association of municipalities, if someone wants another one, this should be done by the municipalities. The Prime Minister does not establish associations. Municipalities associate with one another. If the Prime Minister were to establish an association, it would be an imposition on the municipalities. The association is a freedom and a right, I don’t know this, let alone for a neighboring country that may have such tendencies,” he said

Kurti said that in March last year he expressed readiness to write the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, but that “I was rejected, and I was told that a management team should do this”.

Kurti also called for Serbia to hand over “Serb chief terrorist Milan Radoicic”.

On the EU-facilitated dialogue with Serbia in Brussels, Kurti argued that discussions are failing because the Serbian side is destructive and does not make proposals. “We made three proposals for the sequencing plan. Serbia never makes any proposals. In addition to being noncooperative, they are also actively destructive and this is why we have these results. It is not good to say that discussions in the dialogue are failing, because discussions are failing as a result of Serbia’s position. It is not enough to conclude that there is a failure,” he said.

Lajçak: Optimistic about some progress, will continue in the coming weeks (RTK)

The EU special envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, has given details about the meetings he had last week with the chief negotiator of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, and that of Serbia, Petar Petkovic. In a post on Facebook, he announced that the focus was on the advancement and normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, especially through the implementation of the 2023 Agreement on the Road to Normalization.

“Last week, I hosted another round of the EU-facilitated dialogue at the level of Chief Negotiators, focusing on advancing the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, particularly through the implementation of the 2023 Agreement on the Path to Normalisation. While we didn’t make leaps forward on this one, I’m optimistic about some progress made on several other key issues, which we will follow up on in the coming weeks.

I also had the chance to meet with the Director of the Energy Community Secretariat to discuss energy cooperation in the Western Balkans and the importance of EU market integration amid the complexities in Kosovo-Serbia relations.

Additionally, I engaged in a fruitful discussion with the Japanese Ambassador to the EU, updating on the state of play in the Dialogue and exploring avenues for strengthening our ties and collaboration. I appreciate Japan’s long standing engagement in the Western Balkans aimed at supporting the region’s reform efforts.

Looking ahead, I’ll be trading my EU hat for that of a former President of the UN 🇺🇳 General Assembly as I participate in our traditional gathering in Seoul, where we’ll address pressing issues currently on the UN agenda,” Lajcak wrote.

Hacker: I guarantee Germany is working to help Kosovo join CoE (media)

Thomas Hacker, German MP and Rapporteur for the Western Balkans, said in an interview with Kosovo media on Monday, that Germany is working to secure the required majority for Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe. “Germany is one of the countries that support Kosovo the most. We were the ones that pushed Kosovo to apply for membership in the Council of Europe, because we think that Kosovo belongs there. Unfortunately, when the time of the voting came we feared that Kosovo did not have the majority, therefore, we suggested for the application to be postponed,” he said. “I guarantee that Germany is working to help Kosovo secure the required majority at the Council of Europe”.

Osmani to Erdogan: Kosovo committed to strengthening partnership (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani has congratulated the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and all the people of Turkey on the occasion of the Republic Day. Through a post on "X", Osmani wrote that Kosovo thanks Turkey for its support and lasting friendship over the years.

"Dear President Erdogan, on this meaningful day when the Turkish nation celebrates Republic Day, I hope that the spirit of unity and solidarity prevails throughout your country. The people of Kosovo sincerely thank Turkey for its steadfast support and lasting friendship over the years. We are determined to further strengthen our partnership and look forward to using with great enthusiasm the opportunities offered by our cooperation", Osmani's full post reads.

Haradinaj: Kurti is a political amateur, he has made many mistakes (EO)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, in an interview with the news website today, argued that Prime Minister Albin Kurti is trying “to hide the shame he has caused during his governance and leadership of the dialogue”. According to Haradinaj, Kurti’s approach toward internationals is not serious and that the Association of Serb-majority municipalities deserves a more serious treatment.

“The government and the Prime Minister have accepted [the European draft on the Association]. It is true that this is not a good draft, namely, the draft that we have today, and which has been proposed by the EU is not a good one. It deserves serious treatment by the Constitutional Court. We are in the election [campaign] and he wants to hide the shame for what they have done, and the mistakes they have made in their leadership of the dialogue,” he said.

Haradinaj also claimed that Kurti lacks a strategy for the dialogue with Serbia and that he has forgotten the importance of NATO. “It is clear that he is an amateur in politics. He has overestimated the daily victors for a handful of votes. He has forgotten how important NATO is, and what it would mean for Kosovo to become a member of NATO … All his choices have caused many consequences, including sanctions,” he added.

KFOR Strategic Force leaves Kosovo (media)

KFOR’s Strategic Reserve Force deployed by the United Kingdom, will leave Kosovo after completing a 45-day mission that has supported KFOR’s efforts to contribute to a secure and stable environment for all residents of Kosovo.

According to the announcement, this mission involved the KFOR Strategic Reserve Force and the Allied Reserve Force and fulfilled a wide range of tasks, such as routine patrols and reconnaissance missions, some of which took place along Kosovo-Serbia borderline.

KFOR announced that with the start of the withdrawal, an increase in the movement of vehicles and military equipment is expected on the main transit roads of Kosovo.

Serbian Language Media

Vucevic not optimist that any major conclusion will be reached at UNSC session tomorrow (Kosovo Online, Tanjug, Radio Mitrovica sever, media)

Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic told reports today he is not optimistic that tomorrow's session of the UN Security Council will reach any major conclusion, given that countries with polarized views are participating in the discussion - those who consider Kosovo as independent and those who respect international law and the UN Charter.

"I am sure that any discussion in the UN Security Council will lead to a clear polarization between those countries that consider Kosovo an independent country and those that respect international law and the UN Charter, those who think that it is independent will glorify or justify the actions of Albin Kurti, and those who respect international law will point to the violation of basic human rights which, unfortunately, happens every day primarily to Serbs or the non-Albanian population on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija," said Vucevic. He added that it's always good that the voice of truth about Kosovo is heard in the UN.

SL with Michalcova and Hupin: The most urgent to prevent institutional violence and form the CSM (Radio Mitrovica sever, Kosovo Online)

The President of the Serbian List, Zlatan Elek, met today in North Mitrovica with the head of the Department for the Western Balkans of the European External Affairs Service, Zuzana Michalcova Sutiakova, and the head of the Kosovo desk, Alexis Hupin, reported Radio Mitrovica sever.

''The SL representatives pointed out at the meeting the extremely difficult situation in which the Serbian people in Kosovo found themselves, created by the regime in Pristina with the aim of persecuting everything Serbian from these areas',' reported Radio Mitrovica sever citing the SL statement.

"Representatives of the European External Affairs Service were informed of the systematic violation of the rights of the Serbian people by the Kosovo institutions, especially the police brutality, repression, groundless arrests and daily harassment experienced by our citizens.''

''A clear position was expressed that the European Union should most urgently engage and prevent the institutional violence carried out by the regime in Pristina and that the measures and announcements so far have proven to be absolutely inadequate, because the violence against our people continues. The most urgent need is to form the Community of Serbian Municipalities, which the Serbian people have been waiting for 11 years, and which should institutionally protect the rights of the Serbian people," said the announcement of the Serbian List.

Lajcak optimist on progress of ''some key issues'' in Belgrade-Pristina dialogue (Kosovo Online)

The EU special envoy for Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, said, even though there was no progress in the implementation of the 2023 Normalization Agreement at the last dialogue meeting, he was optimistic about progress in relation to some other key issues, reported Kosovo Online.

"Last week, I hosted another round of dialogue with the support of the EU at the level of the main negotiators, focusing on advancing the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, especially through the implementation of the Agreement on the Road to Normalization from 2023. Although we have not made a breakthrough on this issue, I am optimistic about some progress on some other key issues, which we will monitor in the coming weeks," Lajcak said in a Facebook post.

He added that last week he had the opportunity to meet with the director of the Secretariat of the Energy Community and to discuss energy cooperation in the Western Balkans and the importance of market integration in the EU amid, as he stated, the complexity of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

"I also engaged in a fruitful discussion with the Japanese ambassador to the EU, updating the state of the dialogue and exploring ways to strengthen our ties and cooperation. I appreciate Japan's long-term engagement in the Western Balkans with the aim of supporting the region's reform efforts," Lajcak wrote.

Gacevic: Formation of A/CSM essential as first step in protecting collective rights of Serbs (Danas, Kosovo Online)

Assistant Minister for European Integration of Serbia Miroslav Gacevic, reacted to the statement of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti that the Association/Community of Serbian Municipalities, requested by Serbia, would undermine Kosovo Constitution and that this also applies to guarantees for Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) churches and monasteries, pointed out that the formation of the A/CSM was of an essential importance as the first step in protecting the collective rights of Serbs, reported Danas.

Gacevic also pointed out that the data presented by Kurti was not correct - only four percent of the population are Serbs.

"Kurti's claim that only four percent of the population of Kosovo and Metohija are Serbs is a blatant lie, but it reveals his real goal: to reduce that number to less than 1 percent," Gacevic wrote in a post on the X social network.

Radosavljevic: Time to ask how useful EULEX is considering how expensive it is (Euronews Serbia, Kosovo Online)

Jovana Radosavljevic from the New Social Initiative told Euronews Serbia that the appeal to EULEX, made by civil organizations after the police abuse of Milos Subotic, partially bore fruit, and that their action resonated "both in local and regional media".

"This is the first time that civil society has interrupted cooperation and communication with this mission in this way. For a long time, there has been dissatisfaction with concretely non-transparency of the work of EULEX mission in Kosovo, especially because they regularly monitor cases, but they do not announce these cases to the public. So, it seems that, even though we have problems in the processes themselves, those reports are directed only to those who create those problems, and not to the general public, which can serve as a qualitative factor and exert additional influence on the institutions to do their work," Radosavljevic points out.

She also stated that this way they managed to "push this topic to the surface" and make it more important.

"We have already published three announcements aimed at EULEX; the last one of course was a reaction to their reaction. Although we think it is good that they announced, this is not enough. We want them to continue doing their work, i.e., to follow this process and the investigation itself, but they also regularly inform the public about these findings," she pointed out.

When asked if this case could lead to changes in the work of EULEX, she believes that it depends on how this organization will treat the increasing number of appeals sent by the Serbian community.

"Every year, this mission undergoes a process of review, i.e. establishing whether their mandate will be extended or not. And I think this is the ideal moment when specific questions should be asked about how useful this mission is, considering how expensive it is, i.e. how much it costs European taxpayers," she added, pointing out that her organization believed that this was one of the ways to try to inform the public about a systemic problem that the local community in the north of Kosovo has been facing for the past four years.

"I think this is related to the case of Milos Subotic this weekend, and after that we had another incident in Zubin Potok, which luckily did not involve physical violence, that is, the use of physical force by the police," she said.

It also indicates that the local population faces daily the inadequate behavior of police officers in the north of Kosovo, both regular and special police.

"The special police are not even trained to do their job properly, and on the other hand, if they do not speak the Serbian language, that is, the language of the majority who live in the north of Kosovo, the situation is definitely tense and it seems that somehow everything is becoming more tense, especially that now in these circumstances we have a change in reality. We are literally becoming observers of our lives, because now on the main promenade in Mitrovica, where we have newly opened cafes and food stores of Kosovo Albanians, which are now visited en masse by Kosovo Albanians and from other parts of Kosovo, there are an indication that even they come in an organized manner. It is especially visible on weekends, when we have a large, literal wave of people who, from our perspective, come to the zoo to observe those rare species that are on the verge of extinction. It is a very unpleasant one and a tense atmosphere," said Radosavljevic.

She stated that, on the one hand, women face situations of sexual harassment, while on the other hand, men avoid walking the streets later in the evening, because, as she said, they were very likely to be identified by the police and even arrested.

Speaking about the bill that the Government of Serbia adopted concerning the declaration of Kosovo as an area of special social protection, Radosavljevic reminded that parts of that plan, which was announced at the beginning of September, have already come true, mentioning registrars that opened at the crossing or moved to central Serbia.

''Demands set by the government of Serbia, which relate to the formation of the CSM, to the reintegration of people into institutions, I believe that they will not happen soon and will certainly not happen without a more comprehensive political agreement, as it requires political will. But at this moment, before the American elections, but also before the Kosovo elections at the beginning of February next year, it is very unlikely that we will see any concrete developments, i.e., the rapprochement of the Kosovo and Serbian sides and the resolution of these issues," concluded Radosavljevic.

Trial of four Serbs in relation to alleged involvement in attack on Municipal Election Commission Office continues (Kosovo Online)

The trial of Milun Milenkovic, Dejan Pantic, Aleksandar Vlajic and Momir Vakic accused by Kosovo Special Prosecution for “terrorism” and in relation to their alleged involvement in the attack on Municipal Election Commission Office in Mitrovica North in December 2022 continued today at the Basic Court in Pristina, Kosovo Online portal reported.

Two witnesses of the prosecution interviewed earlier could not identify defendants, the portal recalled.

The four Serbs pleaded not guilty to the charges of the prosecution. Milan Milenkovic and Aleksandar Vlajic are in detention, while Pantic and Vakic are released pending trial.

D.S. is the first witness of defense to be interviewed today.

House arrest measure of four young Serbs arrested in Mitrovica North last month revoked (KoSSev)

The house arrest measure imposed on four young Serbs arrested in Mitrovica North at the beginning of September over alleged insult and attack on one plainclothes Kosovo police officer had been revoked, KoSSev portal reported.

Lawyer of one of the young men, Jelena Krivokapic confirmed the news to the portal. The measure, she added, had been revoked following a decision of the Court of Appeals related to the appeal filed by defense.

The measure had been revoked effectively on October 24, four days ago. “They will now defend while free. This is a significant achievement because those young men are students and were not able to attend the classes at their faculties”, she said. “Now the struggle awaits to prove they did nothing what they are accused of”, Krivokapic noted.

The arrest of four young Serbs at the beginning of September sparked protests and accusations of the excessive use of force by Kosovo police during their arrest. Videos of the arrest were shared on social media, showing the use of force with some people claiming that young men were beaten before and during the arrest.

Lawyer of one of them, Milos Delevic confirmed that at least one young Serb was abused by the police, and Deputy Ombudsperson Srdjan Sentic said there were elements of the human rights violations and inhuman acts of police present in this case. He also said back then physical injuries visible on young men were not recorded in the official medical reports.

Bottcher: Position of German Embassy and ambassador is well known - “Deva was a known Nazi collaborator” (Kosovo Online)

Christian Bottcher, German embassy spokesperson, said in a written response to Kosovo Online that the attitude of the German embassy and ambassador regarding the renovation of the former home of Xhafer Deva is well known. “Deva was a well-known Nazi collaborator and also a protagonist of the SS division Skanderbeg - facts that cannot be separated from the history of this building,” it was said in the response according to this portal.

"Honestly dealing with the past means putting historical figures, events and buildings in context", Bottcher said.

Kosovo Online recalls that in reference to the house of Xhafer Deva in South Mitrovica, which renovation was recently completed, the Kosovo Ministry of Culture announced that it considers it a place of cultural heritage that deserves preservation due to its architectural significance, "as the first building built in a modern Western European style in Mitrovica".

500,000 euros were invested in the renovation. The works lasted two years and were completed despite the opposition of UNDP and the EU.

Questions about Serbia’s strategic course: How EC assesses Belgrade’s path to EU (N1, Hina)

Serbia has not introduced sanctions against Russia and has maintained relations with that country at a high level, intensifying relations with China, which raises questions about its strategic course, reads a European Commission (EC) draft report on Serbia’s progress on the path to European Union (EU) membership.

“Serbia has not aligned with any of the EU’s restrictions against Russia or the relevant statements by the High Representative. It has maintained relations with the Russian Federation at a high level, intensifying relations with China, which raises questions about Serbia’s strategic course,” says the draft report made available to the Croatian agency Hina.

On Wednesday, the EC will publish its enlargement package whose main parts are reports with assessments on progress in reforms made by EU aspirants. Progress reports are published once a year and play an important role in following the progress of candidate countries on their journey to the EU.

Serbia has also not adopted a number of other statements by the EU High Representative and introduced restrictions against China, Belarus, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela, with flights to Russia having become more frequent, the report says.