UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, November 13, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti: We hope opposition will stop habit of blocking positive reforms (media)
Ratcliffe appointed CIA chief, “strong ties with Albanians in the US” (media)
CEC publishes list of 941 voting centres (RTK)
British Embassy donates four drones to Kosovo Police (media)
COMKFOR Barduani meets Norwegian Special Rep for Western Balkans (media)
Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian NGO head reacts to stabbing in Ferizaj (Nacionale)

Serbian Language Media:

Simic: Serbs rejoice over Trump’s victory, but are afraid of Kurti’s reaction (Kosovo Online, RTS)
Today’s witness did not recognize Dragisa Milenkovic (Radio KIM)
Ristic: We will submit the joint list on December 10; Serbian parties: Independently to the elections (KiM radio)
What does the new enlargement commissioner say about the division of Kosovo? (Danas)

Opinion:

Four years of Kosovo’s stalled foreign policy under Kurti government (Sbunker)

International:

With U.S. ties in balance, Kallas seeks bold EU stance on Russia and China (RFE)
As Balkan leaders attend climate summit air pollution chokes cities back home (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti: We hope opposition will stop habit of blocking positive reforms (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti qualified today as “blocking positive reforms” the fact that the opposition sends laws to the Constitutional Court and the latter decides on them. Talking about the Law on the Sovereign Fund, Kurti said that the law has been in the drawers of the Constitutional Court for one year now. He argued that every day lost is very precious because “it is obstructing our state at a time of changes and great opportunities in the world economy, while we mark the highest economic growth accompanied also by the highest democratic progress”.

Kurti also said that “the Sovereign Fund is crucial for economic growth, increased investments and enriching the structure for attracting investments. We hope that the warnings of the opposition that the Constitutional Court will reject our law on the Sovereign Fund, according to their internal information, will come out untrue. We hope for a stop to the habit of blocking positive and progressive reforms as happened with the law on the bureau [for the confiscation of unjustifiable assets], the law on the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, the law on ceiling prices on basic products, and so on”.

MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Blerta Deliu-Kodra took to Facebook to react to Kurti’s remarks saying that the “Constitutional Court is not to blame. The blame rests with your ministers, deputy ministers, MPs, and numerous advisors, who are drafting laws that completely violate the highest legal act of our country. Leave the Constitutional Court and every other institution that is trying to protect the state from your bad governance alone!”

Executive Director of the Kosovo Law Institute, Ehat Miftaraj, too reacted in a Facebook post saying that “not only the Constitutional Court declared the Law on the Bureau and the Law on the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council in violation of the constitution, but the Venice Commission too which treated not once or twice but several times the laws on the bureau and the KPC. The Venice Commission on both laws several times issued legal opinions saying that these laws violate the principles of justice and that they limit human rights and freedoms”.

Ratcliffe appointed CIA chief, “strong ties with Albanians in the US” (media)

Most news websites report today that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has appointed John Ratcliffe as the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Telegrafi news website notes that Ratcliffe is known to have strong ties with the Albanian community in the U.S. In 2016, Ratcliffe attended and delivered a speech at the “All-national Economic Forum of the Albanian Diaspora” in New York, organised by the Albanian-American network. In other photos Ratcliffe is seen with Pandeli Majko, former Albanian Minister for Diaspora, and Fatmir Mediu, former Albanian Minister of Defense. Ratcliff also had meetings in the past with officials and MPs from Kosovo. The news website also notes that Ratcliffe has close friends in the Albanian business community in the U.S.

Koha news website reports that in 2019 it reported about “Ratcliffe’s strong ties with the Albanian community in the U.S. and the support he gave to Kosovo’s independence and the Albanian cause in the Balkans”.

Kosovo’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Petrit Selimi, said in a post on X today that he met Ratcliffe once in an Albanian diaspora summit in New York and that he is a well known supporter of Kosovo and Balkans. “Very insightful and forward-looking man. I’ve tweeted about his previous work for President Trump 5 years ago. Ratcliffe is now nominated to lead the CIA,” Selimi said.

CEC publishes list of 941 voting centers (RTK)

The Central Election Commission has announced that the list of voting centers for the elections for the Assembly of Kosovo, which will be held on February 9, 2025, has been published. According to the decision of the CEC, the number of polling centers in the 38 municipalities of Kosovo where the voting process will take place is 941, of which 38, one for each municipality, will serve only for conditional voting.

All residents of Kosovo with the right to vote can find out their voting center through the electronic platform: https://qv.kqz-ks.org", says the announcement of the CEC.

It is further emphasised that through the same electronic platform, until December 26, 2024, residents with the right to vote can change their polling station, designating it as close as possible to their place of residence.

British Embassy donates four drones to Kosovo Police (media)

Kosovo Police said in a statement today that Police Deputy Director Fehmi Hoti and British Ambassador to Kosovo, Jonathan Hargreaves, signed today an agreement on the donation of four drones that will help police units in different cases to identify, trace, monitor and locate suspected vehicles and persons. “By using high resolution/imagery and thermal capabilities, police units will be able to make decisions based on information, photographs, videos, and images/evidence. The specialised equipment will play a crucial role for the Kosovo Police, will further increase the professionalism of the police force, especially for border units that help prevent trans-border crime, smuggling and illegal migration,” the statement notes.

COMKFOR Barduani meets Norwegian Special Rep for Western Balkans (media)

Commander of NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, Major General Enrico Barduani, met today in Pristina with Norway’s Special Representative for the Western Balkans, Eirik Nestas Mathisen. “The meeting was an opportunity for the Commander of the NATO-led KFOR mission to share his intent and exchange views on the current security situation in Kosovo with the Norway Special Representative to the Western Balkans. Major General Enrico Barduani highlighted KFOR’s steadfast commitment to support all efforts by the International Community, for the benefit of lasting security across Kosovo and regional stability. The visit was part of the KFOR Commander’s regular exchanges with his main counterparts in Kosovo,” KFOR said in a Facebook post.

Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian NGO head reacts to stabbing in Ferizaj (Nacionale)

Director of the organisation “Voice of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians”, Isak Skenderi, reacted today to the recent stabbing of four members of the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian community, in Ferizaj. He called for accountability of the assault which he says is ethnically motivated. “This act of violence cannot and should not be tolerated. Moreover, its true nature must not be relativized. The first reports said that the aggressor assaulted people who were passing by but all victims are members of these minority communities. This model points to something much deeper and concerning: an ethnically motivated act incited by hatred. The authorities must qualify this act appropriately. Every life is precious, and the objective of this crime must be resolved and punished appropriately. The mayor of the municipality of Ferizaj confirmed that the aggressor was arrested after the assault, but it is crucial for the motives to be investigated in detail,” he argued. “Our authorities must react urgently to address the roots of this violence. This is not an isolated event; it is the symptom of a deep societal disease. The longer we tolerate this hatred, the more we will slip into a dark country where stereotypes flourish and violence becomes normal”.

Serbian Language Media

Simic: Serbs rejoice over Trump’s victory, but are afraid of Kurti’s reaction (Kosovo Online, RTS)

Serbian List Presidency member Igor Simic said today Serbs in Kosovo are optimistically expecting the U.S. administration led by Donald Trump to take over, but also expressed fear that this will cause an additional reaction from Pristina authorities, led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Kosovo Online portal reported. Simic told RTS’s morning program that the possibility of Richard Grenell returning to the White House causes a “headache” for the Kosovo authorities.

“This is what scares them and why is there confusion in Pristina. They have not learned to be led by a man who directly confronts them with their mentors. Albin Kurti managed to do it. I think that the terrible period when there was no understanding neither in the territory of the EU nor the USA for our problems is slowly behind us. And that inspires optimism and hope. But, on the other hand, it also causes fear of what Kurti will do to the detriment of Serbs now that we are approaching the elections. This is the only way and the matrix he uses to score cheap political points and at the same time he does not feel any fear of using his institutions against the Serbian people and for the persecution of the Serbian people”, Simic warned.

Commenting on the victory of Donald Trump at US presidential elections, Simic said Serbian people in Kosovo had the greatest sympathy for Donald Trump, but that they do not expect epoch-making changes in American foreign policy.

“Serbs in Kosovo expect, with optimism, for the Trump administration to take over. Of course, we are aware that there will be no epoch-making changes that each of us would like. But we absolutely do expect that there will be more listening, Serbs would be heard, our problems are discussed and that they are solved through dialogue. The fact is that this victory made the Serbs in Kosovo happy and gave hope, awakened optimism, and absolutely disappointed the Kosovo Albanians, above all the regime in Pristina, which was openly on the side of Kamala Harris”, he added.

When asked about the campaign against Serbia that followed Trump’s victory, Simic said it was not only a consequence of Pristina’s fear that Trump would enable Belgrade to ask much more about the situation in Kosovo.

“At the moment when Albin Kurti’s regime terrorised the Serbs and started the terror that has been going on for two, two and a half years, especially the Serbs in the north of Kosovo, have been suffering from his parapolice units, Richard Grenell was one of the few who came and met with the representatives of the Serbian List and of the Serbian people from Kosovo and sent a clear message that the US will not support anyone perpetrating institutional violence against the Serbian people. In the previous period, the administration led by Donald Trump removed Kurti from the post of Prime Minister in Pristina because he refused to respect what was signed and refused to implement what was agreed in the dialogue, which was supported by the EU and the US”, Simic recalled.

Asked about the removal of posters which Serbs used to congratulate Trump on his victory, and then put them up in Pristina, Simic said this was the result of confusion over his election as U.S. President.

“They tore up the posters with the image of Trump, the American and Serbian flags, and it was not just anyone, it was the police officers. They were ordered to tear those posters in the north of Kosovo, where the Serbs welcomed Trump’s victory. I profoundly believe that the people of the future Trump administration will not just forget it, just as they did not forget all those undiplomatic statements, statements of ill-mannered people who most rudely insult someone on whom they depend, someone who created what they have today in Pristina and someone from whom it directly depends on whether it will be the same in the future”, he added.

Commenting on Pristina’s claims that Serbian goods are no longer among the top five on the list of imports, Simic replied that “what a wise person is ashamed of, the one who is not wise is proud of”.

Today’s witness did not recognize Dragisa Milenkovic (Radio KIM)

A trial of Dragisa Milenkovic from Kisnica village, near Gracanica, accused of allegedly committing war crimes continues today in Pristina, at the Basic Court, Radio KIM reported. The first witness of the prosecution today, E.K. a former detainee of Lipljan prison, did not recognize Milenkovic who worked as a prison guard in the period prior and during the conflict in Kosovo.

E.K. who is a former KLA member described events from prisons in Prizren, Pristina, Dubrava but also Sremska Mitrovica and Nis, where, as he said, prisoners were physically and psychologically mistreated.

Upon being asked by prosecutor Adhe Dema does he remember Dragisa Milenkovic and if he mistreated him, the witness said he does not remember him.

Two more witnesses will be examined today, Radio KIM added.

Milenkovic was arrested on June 21, 2023 and an indictment against him was raised in December of the same year. He remains in detention ever since his arrest.

Ristic: We will submit the joint list on December 10; Serbian parties: Independently to the elections (KiM radio)

Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia Zarko Ristic announced yesterday that he has "expanded cooperation with the group of Serbs from Kosovo" and announced that he will participate in the upcoming elections in Kosovo on February 9 next year with "joint forces".

KiM radio reports today that however the political actors, radio spoke with, have divided opinions when it comes to participating in the elections, and they reject joint performance.

Zarko Ristic told KiM radio that the goal is to gather all people who think differently about the current situation, for which, according to him, Serbian List is responsible.

"Our idea is not to stay only with the number of people mentioned, it is an invitation for all Serbs who want to stay and live in Kosovo and Metohija and find their life in a multi-ethnic society. We want to change the way of life, that there is no pressure, blackmail, but that they have freedom of movement, life, and normal thinking. To that end, we gather all political actors and talk with them. We will show everything on December 10 when we submit the joint list," he said.

Ristic answered the question of Kim Radio - who will be on that list.

"All benevolent Serbs will be on that list. I can't tell you the exact names because we haven't signed the agreement yet," he said.

SNF and SNV will not participate in the elections

The president of the Serbian National Forum (SNF), Momcilo Trajkovic, did not want to comment on Zarko Ristic's statement. Instead, he emphasized that the Serbian National Council (SNV) and the Serbian National Forum (SNF) will not participate in the elections in February.

"SNF and SNV will not participate in the elections. We will support everyone who wants to and will participate, but we certainly won't. That's all I can say," Trajkovic said briefly.

Bisevac: We will go to the elections as SNP

Milija Bisevac from the Serbian People's Movement (SNP) confirmed for KiM Radio that they recently spoke with Ristic and that they "saw his desire" to help the Serbs in Kosovo. However, he emphasised that they would participate in the elections as the SNP.

"In a recent conversation with Mr. Ristic, we saw his desire to help the Serbs here, because he himself has origins in Kosovo and Metohija. But we still haven't officially agreed on any further path of joint action. We will go to the elections as the SNP and provide the people with an alternative to replace this disastrous policy of the Serbian List," he said.

Arsenijevic: We are not so desperate to unite

Regarding the joint list that Zarko Ristic talked about, the president of Serbian Democracy (SD) Aleksandar Arsenijevic told KiM radio that "they are not so desperate to unite and make rotten compromises with everyone".

"First of all, we are an independent party that, together with its citizens, went through the most difficult moments where blood and sweat were shed. Apart from us, we did not see other actors sharing the people's sufferings. When he mentioned 'with prominent Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija', I don't know why they are prominent, I didn't see any activity. I have been in politics for four years and I have not seen the activity of political parties," he said.

Arsenijevic added that the Serbian Democracy plans to participate in the Kosovo parliamentary elections next February.

"We do not see ourselves in a political story with them, we are going independently into the political struggles that lie ahead of us. If we participate, it will be in front of our party, independently. We want to create something new, which is that there is no joystick management of Nis-Belgrade-Pristina - both from the position and from the opposition," added the SD leader.

He believes that the announced joint list will be similar to the Serbian List.

"Our concept is not based on entering into some structures that will be like the Serbian List, that is, such a leadership. We do not support the whole concept of the Serbian List, and I see this as something similar to that. We wish Mr. Ristic, and the gathering society, all the luck and a fair fight in the upcoming elections," concluded Arsenijevic.

What does the new enlargement commissioner say about the division of Kosovo? (Danas)

The European Union will provide in the future foreign and security policy and expansion the main support to Ukraine for defence against Russian attack. And in the policy of expansion to the Western Balkans, it will reward candidates who implement reforms, help reconciliation and regional cooperation while the solution of the Kosovo problem by dividing the territory, has been rejected, reported Danas.

This stems from the presentation of the proposed High Representative for Diplomacy and Security of the EU, Kaja Kallas, and the candidate for Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, who pointed out in the European Parliament (EP) that the EU twenty-seven will help Kyiv to prepare for EU membership, and the key geopolitical goal is for the Western Balkans to achieve tangible progress within the existing enlargement process.

The EP must confirm the candidates proposed by the EC for high positions, and during the hearing, Kaja Kallas underlined to the members of the Parliament of the Union that clear results are needed in the next five years when it comes to EU enlargement, because it is of geostrategic interest to Europeans.

Marta Kos said "division of Kosovo is out of the question", adding that neither the EU nor she is aiming for that. She answered the question of a Slovenian MP whether she thinks that "the solution to the problem of Kosovo, which is being talked about again, is the division of the territory with Serbia", which was in play during the previous administration of Donald Trump, who has now been re-elected as president of America.

So far, almost nothing has been learned about the future policy of the Trump administration towards the WB, and the elected American president only said at a pre-election rally, according to American media reports, that the previous government of Joe Biden in Washington "made empty promises to the Western Balkans".

The proposed Commissioner for Enlargement particularly emphasised that the rule of law is a fundamental principle for the EU and a key condition in all partnership agreements with candidates for membership, and she also emphasised that there is no entry into the Union without upholding European values and democracy.

"If the reforms and commitments undertaken are not carried out, there will be no funds from (EU) funds, both for Serbia or Kosovo, and for any other candidate", she said.

There are no shortcuts, Kos said, and only the quality of the reforms will determine the speed of joining the Union, and this especially refers to rule of law, independence of judiciary and fight against corruption.

Those candidates who implement reforms will be rewarded and advance in the membership process, included in the sectors of the EU single market, but she also said that those who lag behind or do not implement the conditions will be returned.

Opinion

Four years of Kosovo’s stalled foreign policy under Kurti government (Sbunker)

By Visar Xhambazi

The Kurti government's first year marked a rocky beginning in foreign policy, and the situation deteriorated further in the second year, underscoring the urgent need for recalibration. By the third year, the situation was worsened by an unqualified foreign minister and inexperienced lobbyists tasked with representing Kosovo’s interests abroad.

Under the Kurti government, undiplomatic behaviour has been the modus operandi. Despite being the first government to complete a full four-year mandate, it has failed to secure any new state recognitions or memberships in prominent international organisations, making it both the longest-serving Kosovo government and the only one to achieve no progress in this domain.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Kurti government has failed to deliver on almost all foreign policy fronts, showcasing a lack of knowledge and strategy, leaving the country in a very precarious position and isolated more than ever.