UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, February 13, 2025

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani meets CEC chief; “integrity of elections must be guaranteed” (media)
Post of Kosovo President could become part of “deals” for new government (RFE)
Osmani to attend Munich Security Conference (media)
German Ambassador Leaves “X” and Joins “Bluesky” (Telegrafi)
After four years, Montenegro appoints an ambassador to Kosovo (media)
Krstic: Serbian List does not represent interests of Kosovo Serbs (media)
EU Ambassador oversees counting of votes for MPs at the “1 Tetori” hall (media)

Serbian Language Media:

German Embassy says its equipment not used in last elections (Kosovo Online)
Stefan Veljkovic on legality and legitimacy of voting (social media, KoSSev)
D.S. sentenced to 10,000 euros for hooliganism and attack on journalist in Zvecan (KoSSev)
Free transport from N. Mitrovica in organization of “Joe Travel” and group of students to gathering in Kragujevac on Sretenje Statehood Day (KoSSev)
Weber: Kurti’s approach to northern Kosovo and allies, reasons for loss of support in elections (media)
Prosecutors for organised crime to take over corruption probe in Novi Sad railway station tragedy (Tanjug)

International Media:

Countering Violent Extremism: A Success Story from Kosovo (PI)
Surveillance in Serbia: Easy to Purchase, Zero Control (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani meets CEC chief; “integrity of elections must be guaranteed” (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met today with the head of the Central Election Commission, Kreshnik Radoniqi, and the main topic of the meeting was the flow of the election process, with Osmani highlighting the importance of full engagement to guarantee and safeguard the integrity of the process. “Regarding problems evidenced with the electronic platform of reporting the results, Radoniqi explained that the CEC has immediately called on security and judicial institutions to investigate the problem and that the CEC is waiting for the final report from the security institutions about the identified issues that have affected the functioning of the platform. The report will help to assess and address the evidenced issues and ensure full transparency about the reasons that led to the problem. President Osmani was notified by Radoniqi that the CEC is working to guarantee that every vote cast for the political parties is confirmed during the counting of votes for candidates. The CEC chief said the process was being carried out with great attention in order to ensure full compliance between the votes registered in the system and those in the ballots. Since election day, the President has been in continuous contact with Radoniqi and the respective security institutions and has asked for all necessary measures to protect the election process and to guarantee the full respect of the will of the people by reconfirming every vote also through manual counting, in addition to the electronic system. At the meeting, President Osmani also highlighted the need for coordination among institutional mechanisms to safeguard the integrity of the election process and the vote of the people,” the post notes.

Post of Kosovo President could become part of “deals” for new government (RFE)

The news website reports that based on the preliminary results of the February 9 parliamentary elections in Kosovo, one party cannot form a government on its own. Political commentators meanwhile argue that eventual post-election coalitions could include the post of Kosovo President. The mandate of President Vjosa Osmani ends on April 7, 2026. The preliminary results announced by the Central Election Commission show that the Vetevendosje Movement, which won the majority of votes, has secured 47 seats in the Assembly, while it needs at least 61 to form a new government. The Democratic Party of Kosovo has secured 25 seats, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has 20, and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) 8. Out of the 20 remaining seats of the 120-seat Assembly, ten are guaranteed for the Serb community and another ten for other minority communities. Commentators argue that there can be minimal changes in the final election results after the count of conditional votes and the votes of the diaspora, and that based on the current results, there are three scenarios to form the new government. The first scenario is a government formed by the Vetevendosje Movement with the non-Serb communities, a representative of the Serb community and an MP from the opposition parties. A second scenario would be a coalition between the Vetevendosje Movement and one of the opposition parties, either the PDK or the LDK, and with the non-Serb communities. The third scenario would be a coalition between the PDK, LDK, AAK and non-Serb communities.

Demush Shasha from the European Policy Institute of Kosovo (EPIK) said that if the Vetevendosje Movement manages to form a new government with non-Serb communities, the post of Kosovo President will not be part of “political deals”. “But in the other two scenarios, the Vetevendosje Movement will be in a coalition with an Albanian party, or the whole opposition will be united. In those cases, the post of the President will be included in the talks, because simply there will be a lot of actors involved and all of them could rightfully ask for their piece of the pie,” he argued. “Their primary interest will be the executive government. I think that the post of the President will be treated more as a second-hand benefit”.

Belgzim Kamberi from the Pristina-based Institute for Social Policies “Musine Kokolari” has a different take, saying that only in the event of a “big coalition” the post of the President could become part of a political deal. He argues that if the new government is formed by the Vetevendosje Movement with the non-Serb communities or by the opposition parties with the non-Serb communities, the required votes for electing a new President are not certain.

Osmani to attend Munich Security Conference (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani travelled to Germany where she will attend the Munich Security Forum, one of the most prestigious global forums on security and foreign policy affairs. During her stay in Munich, Osmani is scheduled to meet world leaders, representatives of international organizations and important actors from global politics, with the aim of strengthening strategic partnership and advancing Kosovo’s interests on the international arena.

German Ambassador Leaves “X” and Joins “Bluesky” (Telegrafi)

German Ambassador Jorn Rohde has announced that he will close his account on “X”.

Rohde has explained the reasons for this decision in a video. “I have decided to disconnect from X or Twitter, as it was once known for good. For me, X has degenerated to such an extent that it has been flooded with hate speech, disinformation and conspiracy theories”, Rohde said in his address.

The German ambassador further added that many posts aim to undermine democratic institutions and are driven by algorithms where proper exchange or debate is no longer possible. “I see this daily in my feed and I am done with this overload. And all this is happening under the false flag of free speech. Continue to join me and stay connected on Bluesky”, Rohde said.

See the video here: https://tinyurl.com/4njbu9bj

After four years, Montenegro appoints an ambassador to Kosovo (media)

The Committee on International Relations of the Montenegrin Parliament has supported the government’s proposal to appoint Bernard Cobaj and Nebojsha Djokovic as ambassadors to Kosovo and Serbia. With this decision, after four years, the ambassadorial positions in Pristina and Belgrade will be filled again.

The future ambassador to Kosovo, Cobaj, was recently the chargé d’affaires at the Montenegrin embassy in Pristina. “The Embassy of Montenegro has been recognized as one of the most visible embassies in Kosovo. This is mainly thanks to cultural diplomacy,” said Cobaj. He described the relationship with Kosovo as friendly neighbors oriented toward a European future. Before entering Montenegrin diplomacy, Cobaj worked for many years at the U.S. Embassy in Podgorica. He is not a member of any political party.

Krstic: Serbian List does not represent interests of Kosovo Serbs (media)

Analyst Branislav Krstic has told Kosovapress that for many years, Serbian List has not represented the interests of Kosovo Serb residents. He emphasized that this party works only for its own interests and is at the same time an instrument of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic. “We have experience, in the last 12 years, the Serbian List has had 10 MPs in the Parliament of the state of Kosovo, but it seems to me that they have come out and spoken to their colleagues in parliament only three times. They have not supported the interests of their community for years. They are a kind of Machiavellians who work only for their own interests and are an instrument of the regime of Aleksandar Vucic,” Krstic said.

According to him the February 9 elections were a surprise, due to the low turnout of residents – less than 50 percent, and added that one of the reasons was the offensive language used during the campaign. Regarding the problems of the Central Election Commission, he said that this institution has failed in these elections, especially in the north. He criticized the government for “politicization within this institution”.

“I believe that we will have a very serious political crisis. I am not sure that Kurti will form the government, will buy time to combine the parliamentary and local elections, the opposition will insist, because the opposition together has benefited from these elections. We will not have serious unrest, we will not have situations of incidents on the streets, but we will have a government that will not be stable”, Krstic said.

EU Ambassador oversees counting of votes for MPs at the “1 Tetori” hall (media)

The Head of the European Union Office in Kosovo, Aivo Orav, was seen at the “1 Tetori” Hall in Pristina, where the counting of votes for MP candidates and verification of party results are taking place. Seven polling stations have remained unprocessed to complete the process of counting regular votes for the elections.

Serbian Language Media

German Embassy says its equipment not used in last elections (Kosovo Online)

Computer equipment and servers, donated by Germany, were not used in the last parliamentary elections in Kosovo, Kosovo Online portal reported citing Pristina-based Nacionale.

"The German Embassy has been informed that donated equipment was not used during the February 9 election. Other than that, we have nothing to comment on”, said the Embassy in a written response.

This, as the portal said, practically refutes statements of Kosovo Government spokesperson, Perparim Krieziu, who said earlier that Kosovo Government has no links with Central Election Commission (CEC) servers or software for the digitization of the election process, including for reporting on turnout and preliminary results, and that CEC, as a donation from Germany, received servers and supporting equipment for the Centre for Counting and Results, while the procurement of software was carried out by OSCE as a donor.

Nationale, citing its sources, claimed that German servers and equipment were not used in the parliamentary elections.

"The equipment provided is intended to improve the CEC's IT infrastructure, but it does not include equipment for counting ballots. The donation was organized, and the equipment was procured by OSCE Mission in Kosovo, and the funds were provided by Germany", the portal claimed.

The German Ambassador in Pristina, Jorn Rohde, together with the acting head of OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Connie Taylor, handed over servers and other equipment, worth 140,000 euros, to CEC, ahead of elections.

"This equipment will help ensure a smooth electoral process in Kosovo", reads an announcement posted on German Embassy Facebook from February 5.

Stefan Veljkovic on legality and legitimacy of voting (social media, KoSSev)

Serbian Democracy Vice President Stefan Veljkovic, in a post on X social platform https://tinyurl.com/zac7fybw shared the screenshots showing the vote counting results from a polling station at Petar Kocic Elementary School in Bube village, Zubin Potok and wrote the following:

“The village of Bube, Zubin Potok municipality, a Serbian village where there have never been any Albanian inhabitants.

First, on February 10, the Albanian party ‘Partia Balli Kombëtar Demokrat Shqiptar’ emerged as the party with the most votes (121), and then on February 12, that number was reduced to 0 — all on the official website of the CEC.

There are massive manipulations of the election results, which makes us doubt their legality and legitimacy. This is just one of many examples!”, he said.

Previously, KoSSev portal reported that Self-determination member, Getoar Mjeku claimed that votes of his party at several polling stations, including 121 votes in Bube village, were attributed to another party, and announced an appeal to it.

D.S. sentenced to 10,000 euros for hooliganism and attack on journalist in Zvecan (KoSSev)

The basic court in Mitrovica sentenced today the Serb D.S. to a fine of slightly more than 10,000 euros for criminal acts - "assault" and "participation in a crowd that commits hooliganism", reported KoSSev, citing media in Pristina.

As his lawyer Srdjan Mitrovic said D.S. was sentenced to 8.000 euros for hooliganism, 2.000 euros for the attack on a journalist, 100 euros for the court’s expenses and 20 euros for compensation to the victims of criminal acts.

D.S. was arrested on June 17, 2023 at Jarinje, due to an alleged attack on a journalist in Zvecan in May two years ago. After his arrest, he was in custody for a month, after which he was released on bail.

After the indictment accusing him of deliberately attacking an Albanian journalist, D.S. pleaded guilty at the first hearing, and then a special session was held regarding the plea agreement reached by the defendant with the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Mitrovica.

Today, judge Marigona Lajci sentenced him to a fine of 10,000 euros, plus court costs.

Free transport from N. Mitrovica in organization of “Joe Travel” and group of students to gathering in Kragujevac on Sretenje Statehood Day (KoSSev)

Local Joe Travel transport agency and a group of students from the University of Pristina, located in North Mitrovica, are organizing free transportation to Kragujevac for Sretenje Statehood Day of Serbia, on Saturday, February 15, where a large student gathering of all state universities has been announced, reported KoSSev.

"Announcement! Free transportation for students and citizens who would go to Kragujevac on February 15 for the Meeting organized by the students of the University of Pristina with Joe Travel," announced a group of students of the University of Pristina.

"If there are fewer of us, we would take the regular line at 6.50 am. And if there were more of us, then a special line. The return would be at 8 p.m.," they said. Those interested can contact the students through their Instagram page.

On Serbian Statehood Day on Saturday, February 15, on the holiday of Sretenje, students of almost all public universities, who have been blocking their faculties for the third month and at the same time protesting, demanding responsibility from the state for the tragedy in Novi Sad in which 15 people died, are organizing the biggest gathering so far.

The meeting is held in Kragujevac and is called "Let's meet at Sretenje".

Students from Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis, Novi Pazar, but also those from Uzice, Cacak, and Kraljevo set out on foot to Kragujevac. Some also travel to Kragujevac by bicycle, recalled KoSSev.

Weber: Kurti’s approach to northern Kosovo and allies, reasons for loss of support in elections (media)

Bodo Weber, German analyst and political expert said Albin Kurti’s approach to northern Kosovo, clash with Belgrade and confrontation with Kosovo Serbs are the reasons for 10-percent loss in votes at the last parliamentary elections compared to the ones four years ago, Kosovo Online portal reported.

“Unlike its previous plan to focus on internal reforms, Kurti’s government at the end focused on political dialogue, conflict with Belgrade and confrontations with Kosovo Serbs”, Weber said.

He added the approach of Kurti’s government towards allies and actions undertaken in the north have interrupted relations between Kosovo and the West, but also that with Kosovo Serbs.

As far as possible coalitions were concerned, Weber said diaspora votes could change the outcome in Kurti’s favour, adding it is difficult to imagine how Kurti’s stance on establishing the government without an opposition party could materialize.

At the end political stability of Kosovo would depend upon the international context and effects of Western factors, Weber added.

Prosecutors for organised crime to take over corruption probe in Novi Sad railway station tragedy (Tanjug)

Serbian Supreme Public Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac has decided that cases of several potential corruption-related criminal offences committed in all actions of launching, planning, designing and executing works at the Novi Sad railway station and putting the station into commission be submitted to the Public Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime, Tanjug news agency reported.

An official statement said the decision was due to suspicion that criminal offences in the competence of state authorities in charge of prosecuting organised crime and terrorism had been committed during the process. The statement noted that proceedings to determine the responsibility for the death of 15 people in an overhang collapse at the railway station, which are being conducted by the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad, continued independently of this as a top priority and that an indictment against 13 people was expected to take effect soon.

"Supreme Public Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac avails of this opportunity, too, to invite representatives of student protests to a meeting to discuss the degree of fulfilment of their demands that are in the competence of the Public Prosecutor's Office", the statement said. Former Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesic is among the 13 people indicted for the tragic accident.

International

Countering Violent Extremism: A Success Story from Kosovo (PI)

As we mark the International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extremism, BIRN Kosovo looks back on what it has done over the past decade to address this phenomenon.

Haunting scenes of Kosovar fighters on the Syria fronts are still fresh in people’s memories over a decade after around 400 young Kosovars made their way to fight alongside ISIS in a move that raised eyebrows to many.

As we mark 12 of February as the United Nations’ International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extremism, we must acknowledge Kosovo’s success in dealing with the phenomenon, which first took Kosovo’s society by surprise back in the early 2010s when groups of young people joined the ranks of terrorist organisations.

The Western Balkans was a war zone in the 1990s. The region was hit by extreme nationalism that led to four wars.

In the 21st century, the entire region had just come out of war, and the state of education was in shambles. Kosovo probably had the worst luck, as for 10 years Kosovars used the home school system after Kosovar Albanians were kicked out of their school premises.

In the immediate aftermath of the war, our immediate challenge was to minimise the influence of ultra-radical ethno-nationalists that led us to war and to stop interethnic violence in the Balkans. Civil society was the first one to manage to build bridges and engage in transitional justice and reconciliation. Civil society organizations engaged in the psychological treatment of victims, social assistance, and economic strengthening. The most important area at the time, however, were projects aimed at lowering ethnic tensions.