UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, April 28, 2025

Albanian Language Media:

Kosovo issues arrest warrant for Milan Radoicic for war crimes in 1999 (media)
Kurti visits Kosovo Post office in Zvecan (Telegrafi)
Kosovo Post office in Leposavic; Minister: 13 post offices in the north (media)
Kurti pays homage to forcibly disappeared persons during the war (media)
“Families deserve full information about fate of their loved ones” (media)
Prattipati meets Jevtic, discuss recent close of institutions (media)
World Bank projects 3,8 percent economic growth in Kosovo in ‘25-26 (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Pristina Basic court issued a warrant for arrest of 20 Serbs for alleged war crimes (Kosovo Online, KiM radio, Danas)
New incidents in Gorazdevac; after graffiti buildings stoned (KiM radio, Radio Gorazdevac, KoSSev)
Office for KiM, Serbian List condemned new incidents in Gorazdevac (Tanjug, media)
Prattipati meets Jevtic, discussed closure of institutions in Strpce (Kosovo Online, social media)
Serbian List: Kurti opens post offices in north, which “merely serve for his personal promotion” (Kosovo Online, Radio Mitrovica sever, Radio KIM)
Petkovic on Kandic receiving “Key to the City” in Pristina (Kosovo Online, Tanjug)
Constitutional Court suspended Law on Health Insurance (Kosovo Online)
Serbian ruling party rejects call for snap elections (N1)
Vucic: Blockades “pure thuggery,” when violence can no longer be tolerated, it’ll be over (N1, FoNet, BETA)
Committee for Culture and Information today on new procedure for election of REM Council members (Beta, NMagazin, N1)

Opinion:

Serbia stalemate begs the question: Can Vucic win? (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

Kosovo issues arrest warrant for Milan Radoicic for war crimes in 1999 (media)

The Basic Court in Pristina issued today an arrest warrant for Milan Radoicic and 19 other Serbs for “war crimes against civilians” in May 1999. Reporteri news website published a document dated April 15 which notes that Radoicic, former deputy leader of the Serbian List, is charged with being a member of a group of Serbs who killed 106 Kosovo Albanian civilians in Gjakova and whose bodies were later found in a mass grave in Serbia.

“The Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo in the request quoted that on March 18, 2025, it issued a decision to initiate investigations against the suspects on reasonable doubt that in the period 1998-1999, at the place called ‘Bridge of Taliq’ in Gjakova from May 7-10 1999, members of Serbian military and police, among them the above mentioned suspects, started going from house to house, and used force and threats to take out all people that were present there, separated the men from the women and children and then killed 106 Albanian civilians, whose bodies were found after the war in a mass grave in Batajnica, Serbia,” the justification for the arrest warrant notes.

Kurti visits Kosovo Post office in Zvecan (Telegrafi)

Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti visited today the Post of Kosovo office in Zvecan, accompanied by Minister for Economy Artane Rizvanolli, chairman of the Kosovo Post Board Gezim Paci, and Kosovo Post CEO Nora Rraci. “The office of the Post of Kosova in Zvecan, opened on 31 March, 2025, was attacked with a hand grenade in early April. However, despite material damages caused by the attack, the office resumed its services in less than two days, proving the sustainability and the determination of the Post and institutions of Kosovo,” a press release issued by Kurti’s office notes.

Kurti thanked the Post staff members for their welcome and commended the Minister of Economy and the Post of Kosovo for their efforts to expand postal services throughout the territory of Kosovo. He also said that despite the grave attack with a hand grenade, the Post of Kosovo continues to offer important services for all citizens. “This is not a place of grenades and bombs, but a place of letters, stamps and goods and of course financial shipments,” he said.

Kosovo Post office in Leposavic; Minister: 13 post offices in the north (media)

Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Minister of Economy Artane Rizvanolli visited Leposavic today where they attended the opening of an office of the Post of Kosovo. Kurti said the office is “a fusion of lawfulness and quality”. “The unlicensed operators that used to function here have been closed and now we have the Post of Kosovo here where in addition to usual postal shipments the citizens of Leposavic can also receive financial means in euros. This is good news for the residents of the municipality but also for the public postal service of the Republic of Kosovo,” Kurti was quoted as saying in a press release.

Rizvanolli meanwhile said that “there are now 13 postal offices in the four northern municipalities”.

Kurti pays homage to forcibly disappeared persons during the war (media)

On Kosovo’s National Day of the Forcibly Disappeared, acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti, together with the head of the government committee for missing persons, Andin Hoti, members of the Assembly, members of the government cabinet, and family members of the forcibly disappeared, paid homage to the forcibly disappeared at the Monument of Missing Persons near the Assembly of Kosovo and then at the memorial park near the National Library of Kosovo. A press release issued by Kurti’s office notes that on the day – which also marks the 26th anniversary of the massacre of unarmed Kosovo Albanian civilians by Serbian forces in Meja – Kurti said that the memory of all those that fall on Kosovo’s long road to freedom will be eternal.

“Families deserve full information about fate of their loved ones” (media)

The United States Embassy in Kosovo said in a Facebook post today that on Sunday, “Chargé d’affaires Anu Prattipati paid respects to the missing persons of the conflict in Kosovo. The U.S. Embassy is committed to supporting truth, justice, and reconciliation efforts. Families deserve full information about the fate of their loved ones”.

Prattipati meets Jevtic, discuss recent close of institutions (media)

The U.S. Embassy in Kosovo said in a Facebook post today that “this morning, Chargé d’affaires Anu Prattipati visited the Strpce/Shterpce municipality and had a productive first official meeting with Mayor Jevtic. They discussed the recent closures of institutions in the municipality, and she thanked him for his constructive leadership. CDA Prattipati reaffirmed the U.S. Government’s continued support for a multiethnic Kosovo that meets the needs of all of its people”.

World Bank projects 3,8 percent economic growth in Kosovo in ‘25-26 (media)

Several news websites report that in its latest report about the Western Balkans, the World Bank has projected a 3,8 percent economic growth in Kosovo in 2025 and 2026. “Economic growth is supported by consumption and investment activity. However, the economic uncertainty – especially related to global trade policies – has grown in the last couple of months. Delays in forming a new government could have a negative impact on investments and the implementation of structured reforms,” the report notes.

Massimiliano Paolucci, World Bank manager for Kosovo and North Macedonia, said today that “Kosovo’s economy continues to have a strong performance, but Kosovo needs to generate additional sources for its increased needs for investments, including the areas of energy, infrastructure, human capital and connectivity”.

Serbian Language Media

Pristina Basic court issued a warrant for arrest of 20 Serbs for alleged war crimes (Kosovo Online, KiM radio, Danas)

The Basic Court in Pristina, Special Department, issued a warrant for 20 Serbs on suspicion of having committed a war crime in Djakovica in 1999, reported Kosovo Online, citing Reporteri.

In the decision of the pre-trial judge Lutfi Shale, published by Reporteri, an arrest warrant is issued for the suspects for the alleged war crime.

The arrest warrant was issued on April 15, 2025, at the request of the Special Prosecutor's Office dated March 27, 2025.

"The Special Prosecutor's Office submitted a request to the court for the issuance of warrant PPS.No. 25/2025 dated March 25, 2025, against the defendants Milovan Kovacevic, Radomir Colic, Milos Djosan, Predrag Ristic, Srdjan Krstic, Ljubisa Obradovic, Zivko Saric, Spasa Saric, Lazar Draskovic, Zvonko Ristic, Darko Gligorijevic, Cedomir Bozovic, Vladimir Bozovic, Robert Dobrunaja, Radomir Rakovic, Ljubisa Rakovic, Milos Scepanovic, Milan Radoicic, Svetislav Gligorijevic and Tomica Avramovic, for the crime of war crimes against the civilian population in connection with Article 22 of the Criminal Code of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia," the statement said.

Also, it is added that the prosecution on 18.03.2025. issued a decision on the initiation of an investigation due to the well-founded suspicion that "in the period 1998-1999, at a place called `Talicki most' in Djakovica from May 7 to May 10, 1999, members of the uniformed Serbian military and police forces, including the aforementioned defendants, began to enter houses, where they forcibly and intimidatingly took all those present out of the houses, separating men from women and children, and then killed a total of 106 civilians of Albanian nationality, and after the war their bodies were found in a mass grave in Batajnica," the decision states.

New incidents in Gorazdevac; after graffiti buildings stoned (KiM radio, Radio Gorazdevac, KoSSev)

In Gorazdevac, there were several incidents the previous evening that disturbed the local population. The building used by Zivko Raskovic, a displaced person from Pec, was stoned, reported KiM radio, citing radio Gorazdevac.

"I was watching TV, like every night, normally. Around half past ten I only heard the crack of glass, glass breaking. I went outside, looked - there were no living souls up or down. I went back inside, took a lighter, looked, saw that the glass was broken, then went outside. The glass was broken. I reported the case to the police," he said.

On the same evening, windows were also broken in the building of the Jovic family, at the entrance to Gorazdevac.

"This building was left to me by my late brother. I maintain it every day, but what can I tell you? I want to protect it. Fifty times they came to buy it. I will never sell it because it is ours. They have already broken it seven times... And it was reported, and I went, and it was filmed, and photographed, and everything possible. Unfortunately, it has no effect. I think this is purely against the Serbian people. Whether you wanted it or not, write, don't write, report, don't report, but we've had enough. It's worse now than in 1999," he said.

Both cases were reported to the police, and the investigation is ongoing. The residents of Gorazdevac say that they are worried about their safety and are looking for an immediate response from the competent institutions.

In addition to these two buildings, Radio Gorazdevac received information that another building owned by the Bukumiric family, which does not live there, was stoned, but the case was not reported to the police.

This is another in a series of incidents that have been happening in Gorazdevac in recent days. Three days ago, graffiti "KLA" appeared on a house near the center.

The graffiti disturbed the locals, especially since the building is located in a busy part of the village, and the owner of the house does not live in Gorazdevac.

Office for KiM, Serbian List condemned new incidents in Gorazdevac (Tanjug, media)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija said today the latest ethnically motivated incident targeting the Serbs in Gorazdevac village, in Pec municipality, where several buildings were stoned, was “a consequence of Pristina’s extremists policy, but also silence and lack of reaction by international community, which did not condemn a single incident targeting Serbs in this village in Metohija”, Tanjug news agency reported.

The Office said the broken window and inflicted material damages will be repaired but “that anxiety and fear among the Serbs who are becoming frequent targets of attacks and incidents by Albanian perpetrators remain a lasting stain on the face of the international community”.

The Office recalled that during the previous period a Serbian flag was taken down from a memorial complex dedicated to the victims in this village, KLA graffiti were inscribed on the Serbian houses and roads, and no one was held responsible for that, although the village is covered by Kosovo police surveillance cameras”.

The Serbian List in their reaction called on the international community to condemn ethnically motivated violence against the Serbs, and increase presence of KFOR and EULEX in Serbian areas south of the Ibar River, who are targets of attacks on a daily basis.

“We have no expectations that Kosovo police will find those responsible for these attacks, as they have not done so in the previous cases either. We call on the international community to invest its authority in order for incidents against Serbs in this village to end, and those responsible be sanctioned”, Serbian List added.

Prattipati meets Jevtic, discussed closure of institutions in Strpce (Kosovo Online, social media)

The US Charge d’affaires Anu Prattipati visited Strpce today and met mayor Dalibor Jevtic, Kosovo Online portal reported. The two officials discussed closure of Serbian institutions in this municipality, the portal added. This was the first official meeting between Prattipati and Jevtic.

“This morning, Chargé d’affaires Anu Prattipati visited the Strpce/Shterpce municipality and had a productive first official meeting with Mayor Jevtic. They discussed the recent closures of institutions in the municipality, and she thanked him for his constructive leadership. CDA Prattipati reaffirmed the U.S. Government’s continued support for a multiethnic Kosovo that meets the needs of all of its people”, the US Embassy wrote in a post on Facebook.

Serbian List: Kurti opens post offices in north, which “merely serve for his personal promotion” (Kosovo Online, Radio Mitrovica sever, Radio KIM)

Serbian List reacted to the opening of Kosovo Post Office branches in Leposavic and Zvecan this morning, also attended by Kosovo caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti, saying that in inability to elect an assembly speaker “former prime minister and current MP Albin Kurti came to provoke today, by opening the post offices, which serve nothing, but his personal promotion”, Kosovo Online portal reported.

"When he could not become prime minister, because he didn't have the votes for it, Kurti decided to become a mailman. And that (become so) in the Serbian municipalities of Zvecan and Leposavic. An obvious frustration caused by the lack of votes in the parliament, Kurti wants to cure with increased Serbo-phobia and today's safari tours in Leposavic and Zvecan, where people ignored him as much as possible, so escorted by dozens of special police officers he escaped back to Pristina as fast as he could”.

Petkovic on Kandic receiving “Key to the City” in Pristina (Kosovo Online, Tanjug)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic reacting to the award “Key to the City” in Pristina presented to Natasa Kandic, Belgrade Humanitarian Law Centre Director, said “she received with a smile the key to Pristina, the city from which around 40.000 Serbs have been expelled”, Kosovo Online portal reported.

He also asked, “was it by coincidence that Kandic was tributed in a city where Serbs no longer live”.

"Natasa Kandic with a smile received the key to Pristina, a city from which around 40 thousand Serbs were expelled. Is it a coincidence that where she is being honoured, Serbs no longer live, but only those for whose "justice, truth and reconciliation" she fought for with the help of foreign money?", Petkovic said in a post on X.

"And just as she fought against the interests of Serbia and the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, so today she is fighting against those interests in Belgrade by supporting the coloured revolution. (Albin) Kurti would like to see people like Natasa Kandic in power in Belgrade. But one thing is certain, she will never get the key to Belgrade", he added.

Constitutional Court suspended Law on Health Insurance (Kosovo Online)

Kosovo Online reported, citing Index online, that the promise on implementation of the Law on Health Insurance would begin to be implemented, made during the mandate of the "Kurti 2" government, was at zero point. It was even said the process was in a final stage.

The law on health insurance was supposed to be implemented more than a decade ago, based on constant promises by the Kosovo government, but so far it has not happened.

The Ministry of Health, still headed by Arben Vitija, points out that the Constitutional Court has suspended the Law on Health Insurance.

"The Law on Health Insurance has been suspended by the Constitutional Court and a decision is awaited," stated the Ministry of Health's response to "Front Online".

Former ministers of health and experts in this department reacted to the failure to implement this very important law, stressing that such delays harmed the health system and patients in Kosovo.

Serbian ruling party rejects call for snap elections (N1)

Milos Vucevic, the leader of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), dismissed the idea of early parliamentary elections proposed by Miroslav Aleksic, leader of the People's Movement of Serbia (NPS), labelling it "irresponsible and unserious", N1 reported. “Elections will not be called as Aleksic imagined, whenever he feels like it“, Vucevic wrote in a post on X.

Earlier, Aleksic stated that “the regime is fighting against the interests of the people and the state, and the only way out of the crisis Serbia is currently in is through early parliamentary elections“. During a session of the NPS Main Board in Novi Sad, Aleksic said that no one in Serbia wants a revolution or for anyone to suffer, “but to end things in a civilized manner“. “I don’t see any other solution at this moment, except for early parliamentary elections“, the NPS leader asserted.

The SNS leader described Aleksic’s stance as “pathetic and hypocritical“. “The man who until yesterday not only pushed the story of a so-called transitional government but also created a complete list of ministers, divided up portfolios… he resignedly rejected any mention of going to elections“, Vucevic wrote.

“Now that his coloured revolution, transitional government, the violence and chaos he created in Parliament, and hiding behind a student ID didn’t work, he wants elections, under any conditions“, Vucevic added. “With such public deception… he is only trying to buy time until he provokes some new chaos. But that won’t work for him“, Vucevic concluded.

Vucic: Blockades “pure thuggery,” when violence can no longer be tolerated, it’ll be over (N1, FoNet, BETA)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Monday “the state will choose the right moment to respond to the violence”, which is how he described the student blockades, N1 reported. “The moment we can no longer tolerate this violence, it’ll be over”, Vucic told reporters in Cacak while visiting the construction site of a section of the highway between Preljina and Pozega.

Vucic described the blockades as acts of violence, calling every one of them “pure thuggery.” He stressed that it’s crucial for people to recognize this and increasingly condemn it. He claimed that student protests, which began last November following the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad train station that killed 16 people, have “destroyed the country” over the past six months. Vucic noted that no one has formally requested snap elections, despite some students and opposition groups floating the idea.

He added that, since the protests and blockades began six months ago, the students haven’t made any specific demands of him, as he’s “not the relevant authority” for their demands. Vucic said he never thought of the students as “flip-flopping opportunists without ideas or ideals”.