UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, January 29, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Hovenier urges enforcement of cash operations regulation be postponed (media)
EU calls on Kosovo to resolve issue of Serbian Dinar through dialogue (Klan)
Mustafa against talks in Brussels about use of Dinar in Kosovo (Gazeta Blic)
EU confirms Lajcak visit to Pristina, “dialogue a key topic” (Reporteri)
Kurti: Kosovo neither forgives nor forgets Serbia’s crimes (Albanian Post)
Kosovo and Türkiye sign military framework agreement (media)
Kastrati: PDK aims to be the leading party in the next elections (media)
AAK calls for extraordinary assembly session on healthcare (Lajmi)
Parallel municipalities that operated illegally in Dragash closed (media)
Kosovo buses pelted with stones while traveling through Serbia (Indeksonline)
Police confiscate 3 hunting rifles, 3 radios and 2 knives in Leposavic (media)
Daughter of Serbian opposition politician pays homage in Prekaz (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucic meets Lajcak, says it is necessary to establish ZSO, hold elections in northern Kosovo (RTS)
Petkovic: During meeting with Lajcak, Vucic emphasized difficult position of Serbs in Kosovo (Kosovo Online, Tanjug)
SNV: “Hold on a bit Mr. Kurti, put portraits of Djokovic and Krivokapic back, those of Vucic and Djuric we leave to you” (KoSSev)
Vorgucic about Kurti: If someone speaks Serbian and beats you at the same time, it doesn't mean much to us (N1)
What happened to the tent in Leposavic? (KoSSev)
Endangered cultural and historical monuments in Kosovo: Barbed wire does not protect against political games (KoSSev, Insajder, KiM radio)
Spahiu on banned official visits (Kosovo Online)

International:

Time is the Enemy for Kosovo’s New War Crimes Institute (BIRN)
Sandulovic’s daughter on being stopped by Serbian agents (Euronews Albania)
Bilčik: The problems of Serbia’s elections can never be resolved inside the EU institutions (EWB)
Talat Xhaferi, Taboo-Breaker who Became North Macedonia’s First Albanian PM (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

Hovenier urges enforcement of cash operations regulation be postponed (media)

U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, met today with the Governor of the Central Bank of Kosovo, Ahmet Ismaili, and discussed the recent regulation on cash operations. “Today I had a productive meeting with the Governor of the Central Bank of Kosovo, Ahmet Ismaili. I reiterated U.S. concerns about the implementation of the amended regulation on cash operations. We urge that enforcement be postponed to allow ample time for effective transition and public communication to mitigate negative impact on citizens,” Hovenier wrote in a post on X after the meeting.

After the meeting, Hovenier told reporters: “The United States absolutely accepts the Constitution of Kosovo and we do expect the Constitution in its entirety to be fully implemented. In this particular case, we believe these regulations may have consequences that have not been fully thought through. So what we are asking the Central Bank and the authorities to do is to postpone implementation on some of the provisions, to give some time to make sure that they have done the preparation to ensure that the affected populations are not negatively affected, that people who have been receiving payments in a certain way have arrangements to receive payments in another way. We absolutely respect the authority, the Central Bank of Kosovo, to regulate financial transactions throughout Kosovo, that is their responsibility and authority. And I believe that part of this regulation goes at something that we and a lot of others have been asking for a long time which is to ensure appropriate financial controls, to avoid financial crimes, money laundering, terrorist financing, and things like that. But we do believe that time is needed. A transition period is needed. And some issues need to be worked through that from our perspective don’t appear to have been worked through yet. So that’s why we as the Quint have asked for the postponement of the implementation of the decision to allow for this work to happen.”

EU calls on Kosovo to resolve issue of Serbian Dinar through dialogue (Klan)

The European Union called on Kosovo today to find a solution for the use of the Serbian Dinar in Kosovo through the process of EU-facilitated talks with Serbia. According to a recent regulation by the Central Bank of Kosovo, the use of this currency would be banned in the territory of Kosovo starting from February 1. “We have certainly taken note of this, and we have also taken note of the consequences that this decision has on the Serb community. This raises concerns precisely about the impact that it will have on the Serb community, especially in schools and hospitals, for which there is no available alternative process for the moment,” EU spokesperson Peter Stano told a press conference in Brussels today. “This regulation will have a direct impact on the daily lives of the majority of the Serb community in Kosovo, who receive payments or financial assistance from Serbia, in Serbian Dinars. Therefore, given the potential consequences of this regulation on the process of normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, we expect that aspects that affect the Serb community in Kosovo, will be addressed within the EU-facilitated dialogue framework. We call for a certain period of transition that will allow finding a negotiated solution to this specific matter”.

Mustafa against talks in Brussels about use of Dinar in Kosovo (Gazeta Blic)

Kosovo’s former Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, said suspending the regulation about banning the use of the Serbian Dinar is another challenge for the government of Kosovo. He said that other currencies are used in Kosovo, but that they must be converted into Euros and that this regulation has existed for some time now. “The Euro is the official currency in Kosovo. Other currencies are used but converted into Euros. This rule has not been decided now by the Board of the Central Bank of Kosovo but has already existed,” he argued. “Suspending the regulation on banning the Serbian Dinar is now an additional challenge for the government, because it is paradoxical to say that in one part of the country both the Euro and the Dinar can be used for payments”.

According to Mustafa, “even the Quint countries” should not have made their request on the issue. “The manner of implementation is an issue that needs to be coordinated with our partners. But I don’t think there is room to discuss this issue in Brussels,” he said.

EU confirms Lajcak visit to Pristina, “dialogue a key topic” (Reporteri)

The European Union confirmed today that after his visit to Serbia today, the EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, will stay in Pristina on Tuesday. “I can confirm that the Special Representative for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue will meet Serbian President Vucic in Belgrade today and tomorrow he will be in Pristina for meetings with Kosovo counterparts. This is part of his regular contacts and interactions with partners to help them move forward in the EU-facilitated Dialogue,” EU spokesperson Peter Stano told the news website.

Kurti: Kosovo neither forgives nor forgets Serbia’s crimes (Albanian Post)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today in a commemoration post for the massacres committed by Serbian troops in late January 1999 in Rugova in Has and Goden and Bishtazhin of Gjakova, that Kosovo will neither forget nor forgive the crimes committed by Serbia. “The wounds of crimes do not become obsolete. The Republic of Kosovo neither forgets nor forgives the crimes committed by Serbia,” he said in a Facebook post.

Kosovo and Türkiye sign military framework agreement (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, said in a Facebook post today that Kosovo has signed a military framework agreement with Türkiye. Maqedonci, who traveled to Türkiye following an invitation from Turkish National Defense Minister Yasar Guler, said the agreement will “further military cooperation in many directions”. “Exchange of military personnel, education, joint training, investment in the defense industry and medical treatment for Kosovo Security Force members in Türkiye, were among the issues we discussed, and the agreement will pave the way to their implementation,” Maqedonci said. “Alongside the cultural ties between our two countries, there is now close cooperation in the military aspect, with the aim of contributing jointly to safeguarding peace and stability in the region and beyond”.

Kastrati: PDK aims to be the leading party in the next elections (media)

MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Ardian Kastrati, said in an interview with Gazeta Blic, that the PDK did not ask for early general elections this year but consistency from the government. “The government has proved that with its bad governance, its inability to manage even the smallest projects, it is sending Kosovo to total misery. This is why we need to go to elections because this government is making it impossible to live here,” he said.

Kastrati said that the PDK aims to be the leading party in the next elections, and he did not rule out a possible coalition with other parties.

Commenting on the implementation annex reached in Ohrid, Kastrati claimed that Prime Minister Albin Kurti lied when he asked for the agreement to be signed. “It doesn’t require signatures; this is a deception by Kurti. The moment the agreement was accepted, it became mandatory,” he said.

AAK calls for extraordinary assembly session on healthcare (Lajmi)

MP from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Shemsedin Dreshaj, criticized the Kurti-led government today for the state of the healthcare system. He said the AAK is collecting signatures from MPs for an extraordinary session of the Kosovo Assembly that would discuss the issue. According to Dreshaj, the government has no strategy for healthcare and that Kosovo does not have a genuine health insurance system.

Parallel municipalities that operated illegally in Dragash closed (media)

Kosovo’s Minister for Local Government, Elbert Krasniqi, said on Saturday that they closed four parallel municipalities that operated illegally for years in the village of Vranisht, in the municipality of Dragash. “They operated illegally in the village and issued documents for the municipalities of Prizren, Suhareka, Rahovec and Dragash. Starting from today it is no longer operational. The Republic of Kosovo is a unitary state and as such will not allow any anti-constitutional parallelism,” Krasniqi wrote in a Facebook post.

Kosovo buses pelted with stones while traveling through Serbia (Indeksonline)

The news website reports that two Kosovo buses were pelted with stones while traveling through Serbia. “No one was injured and only the window was broken. While on the other bus, only the metallic part was hit with stones,” a representative of the bus company said.

Police confiscate 3 hunting rifles, 3 radios and 2 knives in Leposavic (media)

Kosovo Police said in their 24-hour report that it confiscated three hunting rifles, three radios, and two knives in the village of Dobro Brdo in the municipality of Leposavic. The suspects were released in regular procedure after being interviewed by the prosecutor.

Daughter of Serbian opposition politician pays homage in Prekaz (media)

Klara Sandulovic, the daughter of Serbian opposition politician Nikola Sandulovic, paid homage at the grave of Blerina Jashari at the memorial complex in Prekaz, Kosovo. Jashari was seven when she was killed by Serbian forces during the attack on the Jashari family in 1998. Sandulovic followed the example of her father, who too laid a wreath of flowers at Blerina Jashari’s grave. “Let us respect so that it does not happen again,” the message read. “We need to stop the hatred and forgive one another, and we also need to apologize so that things that happened in the past do not happen again, and that no child is killed in the future,” she said.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic meets Lajcak, says it is necessary to establish ZSO, hold elections in northern Kosovo (RTS)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with the EU Special Envoy for Belgrade-Pristina talks, Miroslav Lajcak in Belgrade today, RTS reports.

In a post on his official Instagram account Vucic reiterated the readiness of Serbia to fulfill its obligations while respecting the Constitution of Serbia and UN Charter. He described the talks as constructive and very correct.

“I pointed out the necessity of establishing the Community of Serbian Municipalities (ZSO), the most urgent holding of local elections in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, and requested the EU’s support in stopping further provocations coming from Pristina. I reiterated the readiness of the Republic of Serbia to fulfill its obligations, in line with internationally-legal agreements, while respecting the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and UN Charter”, Vucic said in a post on Instagram.

Petkovic: During meeting with Lajcak, Vucic emphasized difficult position of Serbs in Kosovo (Kosovo Online, Tanjug)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic told press conference today that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in a meeting with EU Special Envoy for Belgrade-Pristina talks Miroslav Lajcak emphasized difficult position of the Serbian people in Kosovo, and the necessity for Pristina to stop undertaking escalatory acts directed at impairing lives of the Serbs there, Kosovo Online portal reports.

“He (Aleksandar Vucic) underlined the necessity to establish a Community of Serbian Municipalities, which has been awaited for ten years and that Pristina stops undertaking obstructions through agreement on draft statute. Pristina refuses to continue talks in this direction and comes out on a daily basis with unilateral acts which impair the dialogue”, Petkovic said. He added, Vucic highlighted the importance of petitions to recall the mayors in four northern municipalities.

Petkovic also said the meeting lasted longer than an hour and that Vucic clearly and supported with arguments underlined responses as to what real problems in the normalization of relations are. After Belgrade, Lajcak is due to visit Pristina, media reported.

SNV: “Hold on a bit Mr. Kurti, put portraits of Djokovic and Krivokapic back, those of Vucic and Djuric we leave to you” (KoSSev)

“The latest events in the north of Kosovo and Gora, more than unequivocally show that (Albin) Kurti wants to resolve with armed force democratic issues, respect of human and national rights of Serbs, and now of Gorani people as well”, Serbian National Council (SNV) said in reaction to the recent removal of a billboard featuring honorary citizens of Zvecan municipality and police raid and closure of Serbian institutions located in a village of Vraniste in Gora, populated by Gorani community, KoSSev portal reports.

SNV accused Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurit of “suffocating permanently all rights of the Serbs” and that the turn has come now “to the bare survival of Serbs in the north of Kosovo as well”. SNV demanded a dialogue from Pristina authorities, noting there is no solution to the problems in Kosovo without Serbs.

"We are appalled by an act of vandalism by Kosovo Interior Minister, Svecla, whose actions resemble more and more a riotous ruffian, rather than the minister of a democratic government, which Kurti pretends to be", SNV said in a statement.

"Is billboard which, unfortunately, includes individuals who served Kurti's government more than Serbian interests and the interests of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija the main problem to Mr. Kurti and Mr. Svecla?" asked SNV, adding that this act is more directed against the Serbian people, “your neighbors, citizens, with whom, you allegedly wish to build a multi-ethnic society”.

SNV also requested Kurti and Svecla “to immediately put an end to such policy” and return the portraits of honorary citizens of Zvecan municipality – the world best tennis player Novak Djokovic, whose family originates from Zvecan and renowned surgeon and professor from this town, late Zoran Krivokapic. SNV said if this does not happen, they would initiate a procedure to restore the billboard with photos of Djokovic and Krivokapic.

Commenting on Svecla’s statement that “embassy in Pristina will be the only sign of Serbia”, SNV said by taking the billboard down, he only strengthens the Serbian sentiments.

“Does not the minister see Serbia all around himself? By his extremist behavior he will force Serbs to demonstrate to him on a daily basis where Serbia is present in Kosovo and Metohija. We Serbs living here are Serbia, our history, our past and our future, this is all Serbia Mr. Svecla”, SNV said.

They requested both Pristina officials Kurti and Svecla to “stop conflict with barehanded people” and resort to dialogue instead. SNV said the statement of Pristina-based journalist Besnik Veliu who said that “the north can not be settled by symbolics which irritates the local Serbs, but with honest communication with them”, was encouraging, noting it comes as a surprise that other Albanian intellectuals and human rights activists such as Veton Suroi, Shkelzen Maliqi and Blerim Shala do not react.

Commenting on the recent statements of Albin Kurti that he “secretly meets” with Serbs in Kosovo as “they fear the Belgrade reaction”, SNV said this is the tenth time as SNV requests public conversation with him and they do not fear Belgrade.

“Get out of that “dark tunnel” and “face your citizens” if you have the courage and honor. We do not have long-barreled weapons, but we have good words and willingness to help Kosovo become a democratic (which it is not today) and multiethnic (which it is becoming less and less)”, adding that there is no solution to the problems in Kosovo without Serbs, no matter how some would wish to ignore that fact.

Vorgucic about Kurti: If someone speaks Serbian and beats you at the same time, it doesn't mean much to us (N1)

Although he promised otherwise in the campaign, Albin Kurti does not speak publicly with Kosovo Serbs, and all previous meetings have gone ingloriously, according to Isak Vorgucic, director of Radio-Television KiM, reported N1.

Albin Kurti announced the abolition of the dinar on Wednesday, at the invitation of the Quint countries to postpone that decision - he did not react.

"This issue has been resolved by the fact that, at one point, the payment transaction that existed until now in dinars will be terminated. I think that what hurts Pristina the most is that in Serbian areas you can still buy things for dinars. Fiscal bills are issued in euros, but people can pay in dinars, since a large number of Kosovo Serbs work in the Serbian system and receive their salary from the budget in dinars," he explained to TV N1.

What, he says, he does not see the purpose of stopping is banking payment transactions, which, he notes, in Kosovo are not only in euros, but also in dollars.

The decision on dinars, in his opinion, is not important from an economic perspective, but rather a political issue.

"This refers to the Serbian minority and other minorities working in the system of the Republic of Serbia. Recently, the Government of Kosovo has been making a series of measures that have been rushed, and a large part of them have little to do with the normal functioning of institutions. First, I see it in an attempt to usurp the Serbian Orthodox Church land, a large number of arrests and indictments after 20 years against people who were always accessible to justice... Finally, there is a large number of police in the North and the establishment of bases...", stated Vorgucic.

Those decisions primarily serve to put strong pressure on the Kosovo Serbs and, he says, to see how long they will be able to last in Kosovo, reported N1.

What happened to the tent in Leposavic? (KoSSev)

The tent erected in front of the municipal building in Leposavic after the events of May last year in the north of Kosovo has been removed. Last week, the mayor of this municipality called on residents to take down the tent. So far, however, it has yet to be confirmed as to who removed it. The Kosovo police claim that they were not the ones behind this and that they do not know who did it, Serbian List did not react, and the former mayor of Leposavic, Zoran Todic, did not answer our calls last night. On the other hand, an official of the Kosovo government from Leposavic, Radoica Radomirovic, claims that the tent was removed “by those who put it up – members of Serbian List”, reported KoSSev.

Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/542dcv8a

Endangered cultural and historical monuments in Kosovo: Barbed wire does not protect against political games (KoSSev, Insajder, KiM radio)

Cultural-historical monuments in Kosovo, which mostly belong to the Serbian Orthodox Church, are often the target of attacks. Recently, for now unknown persons plowed the land in the village of Vrelo in the Municipality of Istok, where there are remains of the monastery of the Virgin of Hvostan from the 13th century. Some monasteries, such as Visoki Decani and Pec Patriarchate, are still guarded by KFOR soldiers.

The Eparchy of Raska-Prizren, which recalls the takeover of the land on which the remains of the monastery of the Virgin of Hvostan, but also the recent attempt to take over the Serbian Orthodox Church near Podujevo and the declaration of the Orthodox Church near North Mitrovica as Roman Catholic, asks what the reaction would be if history were to be rewritten and sacral facilities in the West, as is happening in Kosovo.

"The attack on religious objects that represent the foundation of the existence and survival of our Church in Kosovo and Metohija, regardless of the political situation, is nothing more than an open act of repression, violation of religious and human rights and causes direct ethnic and religious intolerance," states the Diocese.

The biggest attacks on cultural and historical monuments were in the March violence of 2004, when 35 monasteries and churches were completely destroyed or damaged. Over the years, Orthodox cemeteries have also been desecrated, and SPC facilities have been the target of attacks on several occasions.

The Visoki Decani monastery is a special case, which has been waiting for years for the Municipality of Decani to respect the decision of the Kosovo Constitutional Court that 24 hectares of land is the property of the monastery, Goran Avramovic, the editor of chief of RTV KiM from Caglavica, told Insajder.

"On the one hand, when we talk about the Community of Serbian municipalities, the opinion of the Constitutional Court stands out as something that is certainly binding for the Kosovo authorities. In this case, when it comes to Decani, that opinion is absolutely irrelevant, there is a political attitude that prevails. Some monasteries are still surrounded by barbed wire, thefts, break-ins, and various problems on the properties of churches and monasteries still happen very often, which supports what I said at the beginning," says Avramovic.

The interlocutor in Insajder's show Marker believes that ''cultural-historical and sacral monuments represent the cultural heritage of Kosovo and Metohija, because they are physically there, but that it must always be emphasized that it is primarily the heritage of Kosovo Serbs, especially the Serbian Orthodox Church''.

"In addition to the fact that, when it comes to churches and monasteries, there are frescoes on their walls, which are the most valuable thing that European painting of the Middle Ages had. So, we still have that spiritual segment that is related to spiritual life, and which is very important, and which cannot and must not be neglected, and should not be the subject of political games between Belgrade and Pristina," the interlocutor points out in Marker.

In addition, two months ago, on the eve of the anniversary of the armistice in the First World War, at the initiative of the ambassadors of France and Germany in Pristina, the memorial to the Serbian soldiers who died in the Balkans and the First World War was moved. After fierce reactions from the public, the memorial was returned to its place, where it has been for decades.

Spahiu on banned official visits (Kosovo Online)

University professor and political analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu speaking of Pristina’s frequent bans to Serbian officials to visit Kosovo told Kosovo Online portal there is nothing normal in fact that there is no normal movement of official persons, although the agreement between Belgrade and Pristina on this matter exists. The portal recalled that Tanjug journalist, his colleague from RTS on several occasions, Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic, Serbian government ministers and others were banned from entering Kosovo.

Spahiu added he can’t say why the visit was not allowed in individual cases, but that in general it is not a good thing, noting that sometimes visits are misused.

“In general it is not a good thing, in particular for the visit of President (Aleksandar) Vucic in Kosovo. If there is continuation of agreement and to resolve issues burdening relations of Kosovo and Serbia which there are plenty, then entry ban to President Vucic is unacceptable (...)”, Spahiu is quoted as saying.

Commenting on recent Belgrade’s ban to Kosovo Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla to visit Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac municipalities in southern Serbia, Spahiu said “he cannot understand what Kosovo interior minister was looking for in ‘Presevo valley’ unless he has some family connections there. If it were the minister of culture or foreign minister, then it would be understandable. But why interior minister in this case? There are many cases when a ban is truly unacceptable. Why it is done, you should ask the leaders in Belgrade and Pristina (…)”, Spahiu said.

International

Time is the Enemy for Kosovo’s New War Crimes Institute (BIRN)

Atdhe Hetemi is aware that the passing of time is the greatest threat to the recently-established Institute for Crimes Committed During the War in Kosovo. Eyewitnesses get older, their memories fade and some pass away; perpetrators also die before they are ever prosecuted.

But Hetemi also thinks time offers a great advantage too, because the lengthy period that has elapsed since the 1998-99 war in Kosovo has created an emotional distance that allows people to accept the truth about what happened.

Speaking in his office in Pristina, Hetemi, a lecturer of political science at Kosovo’s main public university who worked for ten years for the United Nations Development Programme, said that he is determined that the institution he heads will shed light on the truth about crimes committed by the Serbian state during the war.

“We have an obligation to the victims and the generations whose lives were sacrificed,” he told BIRN.

Almost two months after he took up his job at the Institute, Hetemi said that there are many persuasive reasons why it will not fail or be shut down like its predecessor.

Back in 2011, the government set up a previous war crimes research institute as part of the Justice Ministry, to gather, process, classify and archive information about crimes committed during the Kosovo war.

However, the institute was accused of failing to fulfil its mandate, although it claimed that it was making progress despite serious underfunding. It was abolished in 2018 on the order of then Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj.

“The current Institute is established by the law. It is an independent body, and it has clear objectives and a mission. It also has a special budget line. This makes me believe that it won’t share the fate of the previous body,” Hetemi said.