UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, February 12, 2025

Albanian Language Media:

CEC: Vote integrity hasn’t been jeopardized; final results will be accurate (media)
NATO will cooperate with any government formed in Kosovo (RTK)
EU Mission Head: Vucic interfered in Kosovo elections (media)
Rohde congratulates Kosovo on progress in fight against corruption (media)
Osmani: Kosovo on global map of discussions on artificial intelligence (media)
Maqedonci is attending meeting of Contact Group for Ukraine (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Djuric: Attempts to tamper with results of Serbian List, Pristina aims to cut off links between Serbs and Belgrade (Tanjug, media)
Petkovic on vote counting in Kosovo, says CEC system down, ‘a complete breakdown’ (Tanjug, social media)
3 days after elections votes from 11 polling stations still not counted (Alternativna.com)
Bisevac thanks supporters for trust, says their votes were not purchased (Radio KIM)
Selimi claims KLA did not arrest people in Drenica, in Kosovo he served sentence for torturing prisoners (KoSSev)
Brnabic: We are ready to meet demands identified by students as unfulfilled (Tanjug)
15 Minutes of Silence vigil commemorating victims of Novi Sad tragedy held in Mitrovica North (KoSSev)

Opinion:

Trump’s dismantling of USAID harms U.S. interests and is a gift to our competitors (media)

Humanitarian:

Charity and sales exhibition of pottery works in Gracanica tomorrow (KoSSev)

Albanian Language Media

CEC: Vote integrity hasn’t been jeopardized; final results will be accurate (media)

Kosovo’s Central Election Commission (CEC) said today that the integrity of the February 9 elections has not been jeopardized and that regardless of some problems the final election results will be accurate.

The CEC said in a press statement that it is “maximally committed” to conclude the counting of votes for MP candidates and to verify the votes of political parties. “The CEC is maximally committed for all these processes to be completed as fast as possible, all the while ensuring the accuracy in recording the will of every voter. The CEC explains that the integrity of the vote has not been jeopardized and that regardless of delays that were caused as a result of problems with the electronic platform, the final results will be accurate and reflect the will of the people expressed through their vote,” the statement notes.

NATO will cooperate with any government formed in Kosovo (RTK)

The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Mark Route, has said that NATO will cooperate with any government formed in Kosovo, as a result of parliamentary elections. “My understanding is that there are initial results, but as far as I know, these are not final results. The Electoral Commission remains to report on final results. And based on the initial results, it seems that there will be a coalition government. And of course, we will make sure that we will work with whoever leads the country. And of course, we wish success to the course of our politicians in searching solutions in the current political landscape, ensuring a stable government as soon as possible,” Rutte said.

He made these statements on the eve of a meeting of defense ministers, where the allies were joined for the first time by their newly appointed American counterpart, Pete Hegseth.

EU Mission Head: Vucic interfered in Kosovo elections (media)

The Head of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EOM) in Kosovo, Nathalie Loiseau, has said that Serbia interfered in Kosovo’s election process on February 9. She said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and other officials from Belgrade have been pressuring a list to be voted on. “There are positive aspects, firstly there is a variety of lists, including in the north, so there are many options for voters, and voters coming from outside Kosovo will also be able to vote easily as in previous elections, despite the rumors.”

“I would be more negative about the reports of pressure coming from Serbia to vote for a certain list. We have heard from Serbian officials who support a certain list, which is interference in the electoral process,” Loiseau said.

“We have regularly heard President Vucic, but also other members of the Serbian government or parliament, telling voters that they should vote for a certain list, and this should not have happened,” Loiseau told Kosovapress.

Rohde congratulates Kosovo on progress in fight against corruption (media)

The Ambassador of Germany to Kosovo Jorn Rohde has congratulated Kosovo’s institutions for being ranked ten places higher in the Corruption Perceptions Index of “Transparency International”. Through a post on the X platform, said that this success shows Kosovo's commitment to the rule of law, transparency and good governance.

"Kudos! Since my arrival here in 2020, Kosovo has risen 31 places in the Transparency International Index, now ranking 73rd globally and second in the region after Montenegro. This success shows Kosovo's commitment to the rule of law, transparency and good governance. Continue this positive trend!” Rohde wrote.

Osmani: Kosovo on global map of discussions on artificial intelligence (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in a Facebook post today that “Kosovo is on the global map of discussions on artificial intelligence”. Osmani, who took part at the Summit on Artificial Intelligence in Paris, said that “leaders from all over the world and field professionals gathered in Paris to discuss solutions that will transform the world, by putting technology in the service of humanity. Technology is spearheading an unprecedented global revolution and Kosovo must be ready to be part of this transformation”.

Maqedonci is attending meeting of Contact Group for Ukraine (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, is attending the meeting of the Contact Group for Ukraine which is being held at NATO headquarters in Brussels. The meeting is focused on discussions about the global security situation and continuous efforts to guarantee international peace and stability. The meeting is also aimed at strengthening international cooperation and coordination in support of Ukraine.

Serbian Language Media

Djuric: Attempts to tamper with results of Serbian List, Pristina aims to cut off links between Serbs and Belgrade (Tanjug, media)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric said today Serbia remains committed to dialogue and will insist on fighting for the rights of Serbs in Kosovo, Tanjug news agency reported. Djuric also expressed concern there would be attempts to tamper with the results of elections in Kosovo to the detriment of the Serbian List, because, as he said, Pristina wants to cut off all links between Serbs in Kosovo with Belgrade.

“And it is known that the Serbian List closely politically cooperates with Belgrade”, Djuric told RTS. He once again congratulated the Serbian List and Serbs in Kosovo for demonstrating political maturity and responsibility and for showing a unified and harmonized approach towards Pristina and the international community.

Djuric said very few people understand under what impossible circumstances Serbs in Kosovo have achieved yet another historic result and won ten guaranteed seats in the Assembly.

Petkovic on vote counting in Kosovo, says CEC system down, ‘a complete breakdown’ (Tanjug, social media)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic termed the situation with vote counting in Kosovo “a complete breakdown”.

In a post on X social platform Petkovic said that for the third day in a row the Central Election Commission is not recording results from 10 last polling stations in Kosovo.

“We are still waiting for Serbian votes from Silovo and Socanica, and counting of conditional votes has not even started yet. The CEC system is down, Democracy in Action says the trust in electoral process has been undermined, while votes for the Serbian List do not match CEC results. A complete breakdown”, Petkovic wrote in a post.

3 days after elections votes from 11 polling stations still not counted (Alternativna.com)

Three days after parliamentary elections there are still no results from 11 polling stations, Alternativna.com portal reports citing records of the official Central Election Commission platform.

Coalition of non-governmental organizations Democracy in Action warned that delays in vote counting may undermine trust in the electoral process. Also, the vote counting for candidates for Kosovo Assembly started on Tuesday and only in 4 municipalities. According to applicable legislation this vote counting should have started one day after elections in all 38 municipalities.

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic in a post on X social platform said the votes from Serb-populated areas of Silovo and Socanica are still being awaited for, terming CEC delays “a complete breakdown”.

Bisevac thanks supporters for trust, says their votes were not purchased (Radio KIM)

“Although the results (of parliamentary elections) were not as we wished them to be, this will not discourage us. On the contrary, this is yet another step in a longer pursuit and fortification of our political party in the values we believe, because we know that our votes were not purchased, and were not received by blackmails and threats. That is why they are worth more”, one of the leaders of the Serbian People’s Movement Milija Bisevac said, Radio KIM reported.

He also said his party will continue working, fighting and getting stronger, thanking all supporters for the trust they gave them.

“We are also aware that in this fight, we faced much stronger opponents, starting from the so-called Serbian List which brought nothing good to our people to (Albin) Kurti who in all possible ways tries to make our lives more difficult. Yet, we raised our voices and got free, managed to stay dignified and consistent in our intention to improve the lives of our people and we opposed all of them”, Bisevac added.

Selimi claims KLA did not arrest people in Drenica, in Kosovo he served sentence for torturing prisoners (KoSSev)

Former KLA commander in Drenica, Sulejman Selimi during his testimony at the Special Court in the Hague yesterday, claimed that in this zone, during the conflict in Kosovo there were not prisoners, but that some people were “interrogated” only, KoSSev portal reported, citing BETA news agency.

Selimi made these claims in a trial to the former KLA high officials, Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi who are standing trial for the war crimes against Albanians, Serbs and Roma in more than 40 KLA detention centers in Kosovo and Albania, in the period from 1998 to 1999.

Selimi was sentenced to seven years in prison in Kosovo in 2015, for torturing prisoners in one of the detention centers in Drenica village of Likovac, Srbica municipality, where his headquarters was also located. After serving two-third of his sentence, Selimi was released in 2019.

In a hearing yesterday, the prosecutor Mathew Halling asked Selimi if "interrogation of arrested persons” was taking place in Likovac. Selimi responded that there “were no arrested persons. Some people were maybe interrogated…I do not remember that anyone was arrested”. He confirmed that the KLA military police unit under command of Sahit Jashari was operational in the Drenica zone. Drecica operational zone was under Selimi’s command as of May 1998.

The prosecution then presented KLA documents and that of the Jashari’s KLA military police unit about the arrest and interrogation of several Serbs, including the names of Zarko and Vladimir Spasic and Dejan Stojilkovic, however Selimi claimed he does not recall any such case. He stuck to the same answer also when the prosecution showed him a KLA military police document containing the questions for captured Serbs.

The prosecution then played a video recording of the interrogation of one of the captured Serbs, with KLA members asking the questions listed on the document, including the one about “massacre in Drenica area”.

In the video it was heard that one of the captured Serbs said he heard about it “from the media” and that members of KLA “are treating him well”. The same person says he is “the last imprisoned” and hopes he will be “the last victim of the war”.

“Even if this was in Drenica, I did not know about it, nor about the questions”, Selimi claimed.

“But these are people of Sahit Jashari, your own military police officers”, the prosecutor insisted, but Selimi said he is not sure the prisoner was handed over to Jashari and that he does not know who and where interrogated him.

The prosecutor then asked Selimi if it was true that he was sentenced in Kosovo over the war crimes committed in KLA detention in Likovac, with the verdict being upheld by the Court of Appeals and Constitutional Court, making it final? Selimi responded positively to the question. The hearing continues today, the portal added. According to the indictment, the KLA killed at least eight prisoners in detention camp in Likovac. Selimi is mentioned as an accomplice in a joint criminal enterprise in this case.

Brnabic: We are ready to meet demands identified by students as unfulfilled (Tanjug)

Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic said on Wednesday state institutions were ready to meet, within 48 hours, demands identified by student protesters as unfulfilled. In an appearance on Happy TV, Brnabic said there was no need to amend the Law on Higher Education to meet the students' fourth demand - an increase of funding for universities.

Brnabic said steps to address the demand would be taken by next week "so that we can agree that at least that one demand has been met in full". The problem is that an extra-institutional struggle is going on in the streets in Serbia, Brnabic said, adding that this was due to the fact the student protesters had no political representatives in institutions. Extra-institutional struggle is a problem for democracy in a society, she opined.

"The students engaging in blockades and the citizens who support them have no representatives in institutions - if they had them in the parliament, the struggle would be going on in the parliament. The opposition in the parliament is not representing anyone anymore. We have an opposition that has no credibility, they have become extremists", Brnabic said.

15 Minutes of Silence vigil commemorating victims of Novi Sad tragedy held in Mitrovica North (KoSSev)

The third 15 Minutes of Silence vigil organized by students in Mitrovica North paying tribute to 15 victims of Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse was organized today at Mitrovica North promenade, KoSSev portal reported.

Around 100 students and people attended the vigil. Students were carrying a banner urging people to attend the February 15 gathering students will organize in Kragujevac on the occasion of Serbia’s Statehood Day.

Opinion

Trump’s dismantling of USAID harms U.S. interests and is a gift to our competitors (media)

Several news websites in Kosovo cover an opinion piece by former U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Jeff Hovenier originally published in The Bellingham Herald.

The Trump administration’s effort to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) harms strategic U.S. interests, damages our international standing, increases risk to the world’s most vulnerable populations, and unjustly harms loyal and non-partisan public servants.

I should know — until six weeks ago, I was U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo — a country hosting a large USAID Mission. Our USAID colleagues were an integral and essential part of the interagency “Country Team” that I led, supporting our strategic efforts to promote stability and prosperity in an insecure corner of Europe.

USAID is a valuable tool of American foreign policy. At less than 1% of the federal budget, the work of our USAID colleagues is a bargain for America. The return on investment is huge with such successes as:

Partnering with our military to combat ISIS in Syria

Containing emerging health threats like Ebola globally

Reducing illegal immigration by improving conditions in other countries

Competing with China for economic influence

Advancing security and stability in former war-torn regions such as Kosovo.

Diminishing or eliminating USAID programs and staff is a gift to our competitors.

China’s development investments around the world have skyrocketed by 525% over the last 15 years; a withdrawal of U.S. development programs and personnel reduces our influence and ability to respond effectively to developments in key strategic regions.