UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, April 22, 2025

Albanian Language Media:

Assembly to continue constitutive session tomorrow at 10:00 (media)
Osmani to take part in Pope Francis’ funeral (Klan Kosova)
Rizvanolli: Serbia is not implementing Berlin Process agreements (Koha)
KSF commander visits Turkey, focus on military purchases (Albanian Post)
Croatian KFOR soldiers conduct patrols in Prizren municipality (media)
Plastic bags import falls from 1 million kg in 2021 to 250,000 kg in 2024 (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Odalovic on latest arrests of Serbs in Kosovo, failed Assembly sessions (Kosovo Online, media)
Serbian Democracy reacts to latest arrests of Serbs in Kosovo (social media)
Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije in a visit to Moscow (Tanjug, N1, media)
Anniversary of NATO bombing of RTS (RTS, media)
Over the last 24 hours five cases of domestic violence and 74 traffic accidents recorded in Kosovo (Radio KIM)
“Failure Was Never an Option,” says Luka Djelic on the Epic Ride to Strasbourg and the fight for democracy (KoSSev)

International:

Three Serbs go on trial for 2023 armed attack in Banjska, Kosovo (BIRN)
Court remands custody to minor suspected of murdering police sergeant (PI)

Humanitarian:

The testimony of a Syrian in Kosovo: "How I fled the war but remained trapped in Pristina" (RFE)

Albanian Language Media

Assembly to continue constitutive session tomorrow at 10:00 (media)

Most news websites report that members of the Kosovo Assembly will continue the constitutive session on Wednesday at 10:00. The constitutive session has failed so far after the candidate for the post of Assembly Speaker proposed by the Vetevendosje Movement – Albulena Haxhiu – has been rejected by other political parties.

Osmani to take part in Pope Francis’ funeral (Klan Kosova)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani will take part in the funeral of Pope Francis. “We have received confirmation from state authorities in the Vatican that President Osmani, as head of state, will lead Kosovo’s delegation in the funeral ceremony of Pope Francis,” an advisor to Osmani told Klan Kosova today.

Rizvanolli: Serbia is not implementing Berlin Process agreements (Koha)

Kosovo’s acting Minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanolli, accused Serbia today of not implementing agreements that were reached in the Berlin Process. During a roundtable organized by the Kosovo Democratic Institute in Pristina, Rizvanolli said that the Berlin Process is crucial for regional cooperation. She also argued that “Kosovo is the most proactive country in the region in the Berlin Process” and that this can be seen with the swift ratification of agreements.

KSF commander visits Turkey, focus on military purchases (Albanian Post)

Commander of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF), Bashkim Jashari, visited Turkey on Monday, where he met military leaders and discussed strengthening military cooperation between Kosovo and Turkey. Jashari met with the chief of the Turkish Army General Staff, Metin Gurak, and Turkish Defense Minister, Yasar Guler, and reconfirmed the strategic partnership and Turkey’s strong support for the army of Kosovo. “At the meeting with General Gurak, they discussed furthering military cooperation between the two countries, focused on KSF capacity building, through joint training and drills and exchanging experiences,” a press release issued by the KSF notes. During the visit, Jashari also visited Turkish special forces and held meetings with representatives of the Turkish defense industry.

Croatian KFOR soldiers conduct patrols in Prizren municipality (media)

Croatian soldiers of the Regional Command West of the NATO-led KFOR mission conduct patrols in the municipality of Prizren, KFOR said in a Facebook post. “Patrolling is one of the core activities of KFOR soldiers. It is a constant effort reflecting the principles of transparency and impartiality, helping to maintain stability and security in the area, aligning with the mission’s objectives,” the post also notes.

Plastic bags import falls from 1 million kg in 2021 to 250,000 kg in 2024 (media)

Several news websites cover a Facebook post by the Pristina-based Atlas Institute which notes that “setting the 5 cent price for plastic bags in October 2023 has delivered tangible results: imports have fallen from 1 million kg in 2021 to just 250,000 kg in 2024 – a saving of around €1 million per year. This proves that fiscal policies can have a real impact on reducing environmental pollution. However, the Environmental Protection Agency has not yet published data on local production, as required by law, until March 31 each year. Single-use plastic bags should be banned completely!”

Serbian Language Media

Odalovic on latest arrests of Serbs in Kosovo, failed Assembly sessions (Kosovo Online, media)

Chairman of the Serbian Government Missing Persons Commission Veljko Odalovic in his reaction to the arrest of three Serbs in Lipjan and Pristina under charges of alleged war crimes said that “(Albin) Kurti and the others, who are behind the arrests, know very well that those who worked as guards in prisons during the conflict in Kosovo helped them, immediately after the bombing of the prison in Dubrava”.

According to him, when the decision was made to relocate the Albanian prisoners, about 2,000 of them, and be placed across the prisons in Serbia, it was the guards who made it possible to do so safely. “Those people also guarded Kurti. I’m not referring specifically to these three, but back then, all those who were arrested have returned home safely”, Odalović told K1 television, adding there were also Serbs in prisons in Kosovo at the time.

Commenting on the fourth failed attempt to constitute a new convocation of the Assembly of Kosovo, Odalovic noted although Prime Minister in technical mandate Albin Kurti will try to improve his position with the help of the “political machinery at his disposal”, the number of mandates won clearly shows that, despite winning relatively the most votes, he actually lost the elections.

Odalovic also said although Kurti puts his hopes in the president of the Nisma initiative, Fatmir Limaj, and the few votes that his parliamentary group has within the list on which it went to the elections, Kurti himself knows that this support is very questionable and fragile.

According to Odalovic, Kurti continues to behave as he did on the first day after the election, when he realized that he would not have a majority, after which he immediately started with obstructions, trying to delay the process, even to the point of cancelling votes from the diaspora because he did not like the results.

“He belittled the entire opposition, which is not at all marginal, these are the people who were in power before his arrival”, he pointed out.

As he added there is no unity in the opposition bloc in Pristina either, which was announced immediately after the elections on February 9. According to him, Kurti is not the main problem, but the international community, which is stubbornly silent.

“The only real support for Kurti are Americans, and they practically have dropped him. Europe cannot build a unified internal stance; the British are directly responsible for everything that happened to us. Kurti knows very well that Europe does not have that strength”, Odalovic opined.

Serbian Democracy reacts to latest arrests of Serbs in Kosovo (social media)

Serbian Democracy Vice President from Leposavic, Vladimir Radosavljevic said in a post on Facebook on Monday that “in light of the frequent arrests of members of the Serbian community in Kosovo, a serious question arises as to whether these arrests are based on evidence or are being carried out on an ethnic basis.

In addition, the dilemma arises as to whether such actions are consciously diverting attention from the internal political and social problems facing the Kosovo government.

All of this is happening in the full view of the international community, which, despite its obligation to guarantee peace and stability, remains silent.

Does the international community, by its silence, intentionally or accidentally, accept that the Serbian people are being intimidated and unjustly persecuted, all with the aim of expelling them from their ancestral homes?”.

Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije in a visit to Moscow (Tanjug, N1, media)

At the invitation of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) Patriarch Porfirije arrived in Moscow on Monday, where he will spend the Bright Week, the SOC said in a statement.

During his visit, the SOC head will be awarded an honorary doctorate in theology (honoris causa) by the Moscow Orthodox Theological Academy. The decision was made by the Academy’s academic council, led by Bishop Kirill of Sergiev Posad and Dmitrov, who also serves as the dean. The honor is being granted in recognition of Patriarch Porfirije’s scholarly and educational contributions to theological studies and his efforts to strengthen ties between the two sister churches, said the SOC.

On April 25, the two patriarchs will jointly serve the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Assumption in the Holy Trinity–St. Sergius Lavra, the SOC also said.

Anniversary of NATO bombing of RTS (RTS, media)

26 years ago, on the night between April 22 and 23, NATO bombed the Serbian public broadcaster RTS building in Belgrade, killing 16 of its employees. For the first time in the history of warfare a media outlet building was targeted upon previously being declared a legitimate military target, RTS writes today. The building was struck during a news broadcast at six minutes after 2 a.m.

The employees killed were mainly technical staff, makeup artist, security, electricians, cameraman, program designer and program director. RTS listed their full names and professions.

Only the-then director general of the RTS, Dragoljub Milanovic, was held responsible as he disobeyed the order of the Yugoslav Federal Government to relocate the workers to a safer location. For NATO, RTS was a legitimate target.

The case was handled by the Special Commission of the Hague Tribunal, but did not suggest to the prosecution to launch criminal proceedings in this regard.

UNS and Unions: “NATO committed a war crime by bombing RTS, but no one was held accountable for it” (N1, BETA, media)

The Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS), the Professional Union of Radio and Television of Serbia and the Union of Serbian Journalists (SINOS) assessed today, on the eve of anniversary of the murder of 16 RTS employees in the NATO bombing in 1999 that “the North Atlantic Alliance committed a war crime with this attack, but that, despite this, no one was held accountable for it”, BETA news agency reported.

These journalists’ associations said in a statement that NATO introduced practice of attacking media in international conflicts, adding that Amnesty International in its report from 2000 said that this represented gross violation of the rules of war, respectively that the murder of 16 civilians and media workers was qualified as a war crime, N1 reported.

"Amnesty International's report includes a quote from former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said that RTS was bombed also because it broadcasted footages of civilian suffering, which were also picked up by Western media, which, according to him, weakened support for the war within the NATO alliance", the statement added.

The statement also said that “NATO officials in Brussels told Amnesty International that they did not give a specific warning about the attack because it would endanger their pilots”.

"UNS, the Professional Union of RTS and SINOS said it is high time that order givers and implementers are held accountable for this war crime", reads the statement issued on the anniversary of the attack on RTS in 1999.

On April 23, 1999, NATO aviation bombed the RTS building in Belgrade, killing 16 workers and injuring as many more, N1 recalled.

Over the last 24 hours five cases of domestic violence and 74 traffic accidents recorded in Kosovo (Radio KIM)

Kosovo police in different municipalities across Kosovo over the last 24 hours recorded five cases of domestic violence and 74 traffic accidents, Radio KIM reported.

Domestic violence cases were recorded in Pristina, Podujevo, Urosevac, Pec and Djakovica. In all five reported cases affected parties are women.

“Failure Was Never an Option,” says Luka Djelic on the Epic Ride to Strasbourg and the fight for democracy (KoSSev)

“Failure was never an option.” With that short but resolute phrase, 24-year-old Luka Djelic from North Mitrovica summed up his 13-day, 1,400-kilometer cycling journey to Strasbourg — part of the historic “Tour to Strasbourg,” undertaken by 80 students determined to deliver a message of democratic urgency to the heart of Europe.

An applied graphic design student at the Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad, Djelic spent the Orthodox Easter holidays with his family in his hometown, reflecting on what had unfolded. As one of the ride’s organizers and its most emblematic participants, he carried not just the flag of his university, but of a city — and a cause.

He bought his bicycle just days before departure. For his parents and for himself, the road ahead felt like a rollercoaster.

“This ride wouldn’t have been possible if we didn’t have strong support — from our people, and the overwhelming warmth from those who welcomed us across the route,” he said.

A Personal and Collective Awakening

Riding through towns and cities of European countries, Djelic said he grew as a person, “hugging people who, until yesterday, were so far from us, about whom we were taught differently.”

What he discovered instead was a shared thread of joy, grief, and history that transcended borders.

“That kind of connection doesn’t just change your awareness — it changes theirs too. Because when we embrace each other, we pass on something that’s been missing for years,” Djelic said.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/4y7ycdx4

International

Three Serbs go on trial for 2023 armed attack in Banjska, Kosovo (BIRN)

During opening statements on Thursday at Pristina Basic Court in the trial for the attack by armed Serbs on a police patrol in the Kosovo village of Banjska in September 2023, which left one police officer dead, the prosecution claimed it will prove that the incident was staged by a well-trained and organised group.

Blagoje Spasojevic, Vladimir Tolic and Dusan Maksimovic are charged with terrorism and with endangering the constitutional order of Kosovo. They have all pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutor Naim Abazi said the prosecution “will prove that the group was well organised, trained, and had the intent to commit the attack on September 24, 2023”.

The prosecutor said that “on the critical day in the village of Banjska, I was present at the scene of the incident, and during my time there I observed one of the most serious scenes and images of the most serious weaponry, which did not resemble a normal crime scene.

“The weapons that were distributed in these areas, including weapons such as automatic weapons, long-barrelled guns, sniper rifles, mines and hand grenades, were all seized and confiscated by our authorities, which will be documented through photographs,” Abazi added.