UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, February 20, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Konjufca: O’Brien’s statement is concerning (media)
Sarrazin: Window not closed yet; Kosovo, Serbia to implement Ohrid deal (DW)
Gervalla says she never asked for Rohde’s removal: Untrue and absurd (media)
ESI background paper: Invented pogroms (media)
Gervalla meets German Vice Chancellor (media)
Sources: Agreement near between LDK and AAK in Pristina (Indeksonline)
Hoti: Unprecedented deterioration of budget structure in last 3 years (media)
Tahiri: North without state sovereignty and with increased protectorate (media)
Rohde: Delighted that Foda takes charge of Kosovo national team (media)

Serbian Language Media:

A team of lawyers submitted a request for an assessment of the constitutionality of the CBK Regulation, requesting a suspension until the court's decision (KoSSev)
Communities in Serbian areas could not receive social assistance and child allowances today because of CBK decision (Kosovo Online)
Janjic: Kurti completely ignores reality in Kosovo (Euronews in Serbian, media)
Analysts on Osmani’s statements, Kurti’s goal not to establish ZSO (Kosovo Online)
My word worth more than someone else's firm promise - Vucic tells TASS (Tanjug)
Vucic speaks by phone with Kazakhstan's Tokayev (Tanjug)
Rada Trajkovic says her income blocked by executors (KiM radio, Danas)
''Borrell was supposed to visit Kosovo on February 26, the trip was postponed after the talks in Munich'' (Kosovo Online)

International:

Transparency Questions over ‘Secret’ Kosovo Lobbying Contract (BIRN)
Minority Serbs protest Kosovo’s decision to abolish the Serbian dinar currency (Independent)

Albanian Language Media

Konjufca: O’Brien’s statement is concerning (media)

Kosovo Assembly Speaker Glauk Konjufca commented today on U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O’Brien’s statement about the partnership between the U.S. and Kosovo following the issue of the Serbian Dinar, saying that it is concerning and that partnership means not surprising one another. “This is how I interpret it: the Serb community has lived with the Dinar for 24 years. It’s like when you get used to something, it is your everyday life, you wake up in the morning and go to the store, you pay there with Dinars, you go and get your salary, your pension, and so on. Your whole life is with the Dinar. This is a community of Kosovo that lives in Kosovo. Now if you stop the Dinar, the way that they have been living, their life is turned upside down. They [the Americans] are saying that you are surprising us with these actions. And partnership is about not surprising one another,” he argued. “ … ‘it would’ve been better if you had told us earlier’. So what is happening in the north? The pensioners went out to protest, and that can cause tensions. Tensions threaten the security of Kosovo and if security is under threat the situation can get out of control. When the situation gets out of control, the United States again gets the biggest responsibility. Not the responsibility for the situation getting out of control but for bringing it back on track. They always look at it from a security standpoint.”

Konjufca said “our goal is to understand as best as possible what is the borderline between our homework and what are those that we cannot do on our own and without asking. A state is organized to the extent of wanting to know what it can do on its own and what it needs to ask about.”

Sarrazin: Window not closed yet; Kosovo, Serbia to implement Ohrid deal (DW)

German Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Manuel Sarrazin, said in an interview with Deutsche Welle, that the work of EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, must be supported and that in the process of dialogue “the window is not closed yet”.

“Miroslav Lajcak is working hard; he has an agenda and wants to achieve the implementation of the Ohrid accord. Our approach is to support him and to do everything in our power to use this window. He is very active, and this is our approach too … We support the Ohrid accord, and we want both parties to move forward with the implementation of this accord and I think that this is crucial,” Sarrazin said.

Asked if there is any positive news after EU High Representative Josep Borrell’s separate meetings with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Munich, Sarrazin said: “not something that I could discuss here. But one thing is certain and that is that the German government remains committed to do everything in order to have progress soon”.

Gervalla says she never asked for Rohde’s removal: Untrue and absurd (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla, reacted today to reports in some media according to which she had asked for the removal of German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde. “Claims that I have allegedly asked for the removal of German Ambassador Rohde are both untrue and absurd. This is in the series of campaigns and daily attacks against myself and the institution I lead. We shouldn’t be surprised if we read that I have also asked for the dismissal of Chancellor Scholz and Foreign Minister Baerbock. Madness knows no bounds!” Gervalla said in her reaction.

ESI background paper: Invented pogroms (media)

Several news websites cover the latest background paper by the European Stability Initiative (ESI) titled “Invented pogroms”. Gazeta Express covers the report under the headline “ESI unmasks Serbian propaganda: No international monitor saw ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Serbs in Kosovo”. RTK, Gazeta Metro and Lajmi news websites carry similar headlines.

The report notes:

On 6 July 2023, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic declared publicly that NATO and the UN had fourteen days to disarm Kosovo’s police forces and to protect Kosovo Serbs from ongoing Albanian “pogroms and ethnic cleansing.” Otherwise “someone else” would need to do this.

Warnings that Serbia might need to send troops into Kosovo to protect Serbs are not new. Already in August 2018, when the president of Kosovo was Hashim Thaci, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic described Kosovo as a powder-keg: “Everyone will wait for an opportunity to strike the other in order to achieve an advantage on the ground. And every day we will worry if they attack us in the North, where they will strike us, with whose support …” However, in 2018 statements argued that if Serbs are attacked in Kosovo, Serbia will defend them. Since 2023, statements argue that Serbs are now attacked and need to be defended.

ESI warned in late July 2023 about this being a serious threat to peace in the Balkans.4 A few months later, Serbian paramilitaries did attack Kosovo police in Northern Kosovo. It is time to take seriously what is currently being said by politicians in Belgrade. If pogroms are invented, then violence follows. If such false claims are not called out, the situation will escalate further.

It should not be difficult for international organisations to rebut false, misleading and dangerous claims about imaginary pogroms every time they are made. None of the many international observers with staff on the ground in Kosovo – from KFOR to EULEX, the EU Rule of Law Mission, from UNMIK to the OSCE – have seen or described “ethnic cleansing of Serbs” or Albanian “terror” in recent years in any of their copious reports. But absence of evidence has not stopped incendiary claims being made.

One of the tools in this battle of narratives has also been statistics. On 5 October 2023, president Vucic explained that, as a result of “Albanian terror”, 11 percent of Kosovo Serbs had left Kosovo since early 2021. On 8 February 2024, speaking at the UN Security Council, Vucic referred to “14 percent” of Kosovo Serbs who had left in just one year.

No evidence has been offered for the alleged pogroms, systemic violence or alleged “ethnic cleansing” in recent years. But what about evidence for these numbers that president Vucic and others have quoted? What do they reveal? What do we really know?

Read full background paper at: https://shorturl.at/nuxBK

Gervalla meets German Vice Chancellor (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla, said in a post on X that she met with German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. “Exchanged views on the current security situation in Kosovo and the Western Balkans and emphasized the importance of taking action to uphold peace and stability in our region,” Gervalla said.

Sources: Agreement near between LDK and AAK in Pristina (Indeksonline)

The news website reports that shortly after the coalition agreement with the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) in Pristina was broken, Mayor Perparim Rama is close to getting a new ally. According to unnamed sources, talks with the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) are on the right track and a concrete coalition agreement is expected this week. Based on the agreement, the AAK would get several municipal departments and public enterprises, and Rama would get closer to the required number of votes in the municipal assembly to pass the necessary projects.

Hoti: Unprecedented deterioration of budget structure in last 3 years (media)

MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Avdullah Hoti, argued in a Facebook post today that “there has been an unprecedented deterioration of the budget structure in the last three years: three times more is spent on subsidies and transfers than on the construction of roads, schools, hospitals or in army and police equipment”. He further notes that “such a budget policy does not ensure development” and that “this is not the way to eliminate poverty”.

Tahiri: North without state sovereignty and with increased protectorate (media)

Several news websites report that Kosovo’s former chief negotiator in talks with Serbia, Edita Tahiri, argued in a Facebook post today that “the north [of Kosovo] is without the sovereignty of the state and with increased protectorate. KFOR troops are increasing every day in the north and the government’s propaganda about substantial changes in the north is not true. Kosovo’s courts do not function in the north, the four northern municipalities do not function, electricity is not paid, in fact the citizens did not even get the electricity bills. The only institution that functions is the Kosovo Police but without Serb police officers”. She also argued that previous governments managed to wield sovereignty in the north.

Rohde: Delighted that Foda takes charge of Kosovo national team (media)

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, said in a post on X today: “great news just in time for Kosovo Independence Day last weekend: Delighted that Franco Foda of Germany takes charge of the Kosovo national team in football! I wish him & his entire team great success. Acting @FFK_KS GenSec Weidner & Coach Foda strongly underline our special Germany-Kosovo relations, also in football!”

Serbian Language Media

A team of lawyers submitted a request for an assessment of the constitutionality of the CBK Regulation, requesting a suspension until the court's decision (KoSSev)

KoSSev portal reported that a request was submitted today to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo for an assessment of the constitutionality of the Regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo, which removes the dinar from payment circulation. The request also asked the Regulation to be suspended, until the Constitutional Court decides, that is, confirm or refute that it is constitutional.

This request, which contested the constitutionality and legality of the Regulation, also requested the Regulation to be assessed and because of the effect of the damage caused to the citizens themselves. This request was submitted to the Constitutional Court today by a lawyer from Gnjilane, Vasilije Arsic.

KoSSev wrote that the request was drawn up by a four-member lawyer team, in addition to Arsic, the team also includes Dragutin Nenezic, Aleksandar Radovanovic and Dusan Celic.

Read more at:http://tinyurl.com/34fy9z75

Communities in Serbian areas could not receive social assistance and child allowances today because of CBK decision (Kosovo Online)

Serbia has transferred the funds to the accounts of social assistance and child allowances beneficiaries, however, communities in the Serbian areas in central Kosovo were not able to withdraw even the limited amount that was possible in the north, because of the days long ban to deliver dinars in Gracanica, Kosovo Online portal reports.

Long queues were formed in front of post offices and banks in Mitrovica North, but as citizens told the portal it was only possible to withdraw up to 10.000 dinars (approximately 85 euros).

“The payment is limited to 10.000 dinars. I feel threatened, I am here 26 years and I do not plan to leave. Decisions of Pristina authorities are absurd, and aim at silent expulsion of the Serbs. I hope we will endure and remain here”, a young man from Mitrovica North said.

These measures affect the most vulnerable ones, elderly people and those receiving social assistance, residents of Mitrovica North opined.

“The situation is as such that not only children enrolling at the facilities are leaving, but also those attending secondary schools (…)”, some of the residents said, expressing hope that certain measures will follow and people will be able to live normally.

Long queues were formed in Leposavic as well and citizens there could withdraw the same limited amount. One of the female residents said people find themselves in difficult situations, and have difficulties paying utilities, in particular elderly.

Situation in central Kosovo difficult

Beneficiaries of social assistance, who attempted to withdraw the money in Gracanica were displeased with the current situation. They said they need the money to support their families, and the culprit for their situation is the policy of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

As they said, because of the decision to abolish dinar they are forced to travel to Kursumlija or Raska towns, outside of Kosovo, to get their social assistance and other allowances there.

“There is no money, who knows if there would be any, we expected there would be. I have four children. What shall I do now? I have to travel to central Serbia with them. Perhaps this is how (Albin) Kurti decided, the situation is disastrous”, a resident of Gracanica said.

“This is the situation because of politics. The (ordinary) people are suffering, who else? Have you seen any politicians suffering because of their decisions? The people are suffering and paying. It all goes to the detriment of our pockets, nerves and health. I have three children, it is difficult, it is troubling to travel, pay for the trip, we can not make any payments”, another female Gracanica resident said.

“You are working and you can not withdraw your salary, it is a mess”, a woman said.

According to the information from the post office in Gracanica, they have not received the money for quite some time. According to the latest information there are 31.586 beneficiaries of social aid in Kosovo, receiving allowances from the Serbian budget and those receiving child allowances and other support, the portal recalled.

Janjic: Kurti completely ignores reality in Kosovo (Euronews in Serbian, media)

US diplomats and officials are sending loud warnings to Pristina demanding from it to refrain from unilateral acts as those decisions do not contribute to the continuation of the dialogue or normalization of relations with Belgrade, Euronews in Serbian writes today.

Connoisseurs of the situation in Kosovo opined that acts Pristina made do not go in direction to the stabilization of the situation in Kosovo, adding that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has already “narrow” communication with US, and is becoming their problem, but that they do not expect sanctions on his government.

Explaining the recent reactions from the US, political analyst Dusan Janjic said something was happening but that it was not a conflict between Kosovo and the US. “There is no crisis of US politics towards Kosovo (…)”, he said, adding it is about requests of US administration that Kurti “stops with his reciprocity policy” and “stop responding to any provocation by acts he had not consulted about it with Quint and secondly, to stop, with those, as Americans say, unilateral acts”.

He also opined that Kurti completely ignores reality in Kosovo, and reality is that there has been a security and institutional crisis ever since Serbs left institutions.

Analysts on Osmani’s statements, Kurti’s goal not to establish ZSO (Kosovo Online)

Pristina analysts Dukadjin Gorani, Shpend Ahmeti and Valon Murati have criticized current actions of Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti assessing that Osmani acts “childishly” in relatoin to the US and EU, while Kurti, as it was said, with manipulation does his utmost to avoid establishing Community of Serbian Municipalities.

Criticizing strategy in relations with the US, Dukadjin Gorani said that Osmani’s statement that “the government and allies should sit and agree on a plan to remove dinar” was “scandalous and childish”.

“Look at the manner they want to present the problem between the international community and the Kosovo Government. Someone at such a high position utters a sentence, which is to put it mildly, infantile and childish”, Gorani is quoted as saying.

Former Pristina mayor Shpend Ahmeti said opposition is incapable of dealing with Albin Kurti’s propaganda.

“I am worried because the opposition is not capable of fighting against the propaganda of Albin Kurti. If you have the authorities that rule with propaganda, then you must respond in the same manner. You can not complain any longer that there is an army of analysts in the Self-determination office and to attack them”, Ahmeti said.

Valon Murati assessed that Kurti is very skilful in switching the thesis and that everybody had fallen in that game.

“He has remarkable capability, have you seen, in presenting things and manipulating. The way he presented license plates, abolishment of dinar, elections, interventions in the north…..In sequences it is ok, but it is all in the function that he is essence does not wish to implement the agreement”, Murati said. He added neither side is serious when it comes to implementing Franco-German plan.

My word worth more than someone else's firm promise - Vucic tells TASS (Tanjug)

In an interview for Russia's TASS news agency, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said he intends to maintain an independent policy of not imposing sanctions against Russia despite colossal pressure from the West.

"We are not beating our chests or anything but, as you can see, my response will remain that we will be trying to defend our position for as long as possible. We have been able to do that for two years. Will we continue to do that? I do not know, but I hope so", Vucic told TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov.

"When the conflict in Ukraine started, I said that I do not know how events would unfold. And then we made a decision to condemn the conflict at the state level, just like everyone else, but we said that it is our position not to impose sanctions. I said it back then, because we know from our own experience what it feels like when sanctions are imposed against you. We have a friendly nation, and it would have been unfair to do so to the Russian people", Vucic added.

"But I have told the Serbs that I cannot guarantee that, because I do not know what all this pressure will be like in the future. I was unwilling to play a hero for a day or two and then change my decision. But the fact is that I say 'I do not know,' and when I say 'I do not know' - my word is worth more than someone else’s firm promise", Vucic noted.

Vucic speaks by phone with Kazakhstan's Tokayev (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke by phone with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev on Tuesday.

"An excellent conversation with President Tokayev, during which we confirmed a commitment to respect the norms of international public law and mutual support for territorial integrity. We agreed that a session of the joint committee on cooperation between our two countries be held as soon as possible", Vucic wrote in a post on his official Instagram account.

He added that he had invited Tokayev to visit Serbia this year.

Rada Trajkovic says her income blocked by executors (KiM radio, Danas)

The President of the European Movement, Rada Trajkovic, stated that the executor blocked her income, and according to ''the complaint of the BIA official from Kosovo'', reported KiM radio.

"My income was blocked by the executor D.C. following a lawsuit filed by a BIA official from Kosovo, B. D., which was never served to me and was ruled in B.D. favor without my knowledge of the case. This is how Serbia functions today," Trajkovic said among other things on the X social network.

''Borrell was supposed to visit Kosovo on February 26, the trip was postponed after the talks in Munich'' (Kosovo Online)

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy and Security, Giuseppe Borrell planned to visit Kosovo on February 26, but that trip was postponed after talks with Kosovo PM Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Munich, Kosovo Online learned from a diplomatic source in Pristina.

The portal reports that the same source confirmed that after Pristina, on February 28, Borrell was also planning to visit Belgrade.

"The visits are pending after the talks in Munich. There are no signs that the parties are committed to further progress in the dialogue," a diplomatic source from Pristina told portal Kosovo online.

The spokesperson of the European Commission, Peter Stano, said yesterday for the Beta agency that at this moment the EU cannot announce a new round of high-level dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, recalled the portal.

International

Transparency Questions over ‘Secret’ Kosovo Lobbying Contract (BIRN)

Kosovo has repeatedly tried to keep lobbying contracts under wraps, only to be undone by US transparency rules.

On June 26 last year, having been punished by its closest Western allies for its role in fomenting tensions among minority Serbs, Kosovo’s government signed a contract with two Albanian American lobbyists to “advance bilateral relations” with Washington.

Kosovo had just been slapped with sanctions by the European Union and expelled from US-led military exercises after violence erupted in northern, majority-Serb Kosovo over the installation of ethnic Albanian mayors elected in polls that were boycotted by Serbs. NATO-led peacekeepers were injured in the clashes.

Since the Western military alliance bombed for 11 weeks to drive Serb forces from Kosovo in 1999, Pristina has long counted the US as its closest ally, and on NATO as its best protector against Serbian pretensions to take the territory back.

So the government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti quickly went into damage-limitation mode; Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla- Schwarz signed a 147,000-euro contract with Avni Mustafaj and Aferdita Rakipi for “strategic advice, advocacy, and communication with the legislative and executive branches of the US government to advance bilateral relations between the US and the Government of Kosovo”.