Albanian Language Media:

• Stoltenberg calls for de-escalation in the north (Reporteri)
• Osmani: It is the turn of Kosovo, Ukraine and Bosnia-Herzegovina in NATO (Koha)
• LDK calls for new elections in north, mobilisation to draft statute of Association (Koha)
• Hovenier: Management of north is sensitive, we want coordination (Koha)
• Kurti: Still no justice and peace for Srebrenica (Radio Free Europe)
• Haradinaj: Kurti has built a paper castle (Gazeta Express)
• Zulfaj: Serbia rejected everything, but the EU is punishing Kosovo (Albanian Post)
• “Risk of Klan Kosova being closed is serious and real; process is political” (Klan)

Serbian Language Media: 

• Serbs keep protesting in Zvecan for 44 days (Kosovo Online)
• Sentic: Kurti should say why there are no Serbs in many institutions (Radio KIM, Media Centre)
• OSCE condemns arson attack on Serb returnee house, calls on police to investigate case (Kosovo Online, social media)
• Milatovic: Montenegro is worried due to the situation in northern Kosovo (Tanjug) 
• Petkovic: Day does not go by without having Kurti make fun of law and justice and twisting very essence and concept of democracy  (Radio Mitrovica sever)
• Milatovic concludes visit to Serbia with meeting with Patriarch Porfirije (Tanjug) 

     

Albanian Language Media  

 

Stoltenberg calls for de-escalation in the north (Reporteri) 

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, said today before the start of the two-day summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, that concrete actions are needed to improve the situation in the north of Kosovo.

"We are monitoring the situation in the north of Kosovo. We call on both sides to de-escalate and not to take actions that would lead to a worsening of the situation," Stoltenberg said.

He reiterated that NATO is in Kosovo to guarantee security and stability in the region. "NATO is there to guarantee security and stability for the people of Kosovo. We carry out our mandate impartially. We increased our presence because of the instability, violence, and tensions we have seen for several weeks," he said.

Asked if he will agree to meet with the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, who said a few days ago that he will request a meeting with Stoltenberg to discuss the situation in Kosovo, the head of NATO said that he is ready to meet him.

"I am in constant contact with the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and of course I am ready to meet him", he said to the media.

Osmani: It is the turn of Kosovo, Ukraine and Bosnia-Herzegovina in NATO (Koha)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani has welcomed the support given by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for Sweden's admission to NATO. Through a post on Twitter, Osmani said that now it's Kosovo, Ukraine and Bosnia-Herzegovina's turn.

“Excellent news! Next up: Kosovo, Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina in NATO, for a stronger Alliance and a safer and more secure Europe!” Osmani tweeted.

LDK calls for new elections in north, mobilisation to draft statute of Association (Koha)

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) calls for new elections in the four northern municipalities and forming a team that will prepare a draft statute for the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku told reporters today after meeting with civil society and non-governmental organisations.

Abdixhiku said the LDK had presented seven points “for the way forward”. “For the LDK, the current situation requires de-escalation, new elections as soon as possible with the aim of restoring legitimacy to the local institutions in the four northern municipalities, which was damaged by a low turnout of voters. They need to be organised through a political agreement between the participants in the elections, Vetevendosje, PDK, and the four current mayors for their resignations and going to elections within 45 days,” he said, adding that the 45-day period should be used to convince the Serbs on full participation in the elections.

Abdixhiku also said that Kosovo needs to form teams of professionals and experienced diplomats to send to world capitals and call for the removal of sanctions and to describe Kosovo’s next steps. He argued that Kosovo is being damaged by “Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s wrong, conflicting and unprecedented policies and by the outstanding inability of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”.

As another point, he said there should be a team of professionals from all areas that will prepare the draft statute of the Association. “Kosovo needs to assume ownership for the draft, and this has been a continuous request of international institutions. For a year now, all international institutions, in particular the United States, have called on Kosovo and its institutions to assume ownership and for this ownership not to be given to other parties,” he said.

Abdixhiku reiterated that the LDK does not see a way for cooperation in the future with the Kurti-led government. “Therefore, our road does not involve cooperation with these institutions that have brought tensions in the country and clashes, and are not capable of overcoming this. I am talking about a third road, a road in which the Prime Minister of Kosovo has no place,” he said.

Hovenier: Management of north is sensitive, we want coordination (Koha)

U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, said today that the U.S. calls for coordination in the management of the north of Kosovo because it is a sensitive matter. During the opening of a business centre in Peja, Hovenier told reporters that the U.S. wants to see Kosovo achieving its objectives and that it supports a democratic and sovereign Kosovo.

“I would like to say that the U.S. remains committed as it has always been to see Kosovo achieving its objectives. What I want to say is that we stand for a sovereign, independent, multiethnic, and democratic Kosovo that has its place in European and Euro-Atlantic structures. We are doing a lot in this regard. The north is complicated and difficult and the way that the Kosovo government is managing the situation is very sensitive and we want it to be very coordinated with the international allies in order to avoid moments of crisis which obstruct our long path to achieve this shared objective,” Hovenier is quoted as saying.

Hovenier said it is difficult for him to say if the situation in the north is near de-escalation. He reiterated the position of the U.S. that it expects the full implementation of agreements and avoiding problems and obstacles as soon as possible. He did not want to talk about timelines for the de-escalation but said that he sees the matter as urgent.

Hovenier also said that the U.S. will not say more than what KFOR said about the case of the three Kosovo police officers taken by Serbian forces.

On possible sanctions against Serbia, Hovenier said that the U.S. Ambassador to Serbia or the U.S. Envoy for the Western Balkans can talk about the issue, but he said that it should be noted that “Kosovo alone is not responsible for the tensions”. He also said that there were concerns about some of the Kosovo government’s actions in late May.

He said that the fear of the citizens in the north shows that the government needs to work on de-escalation as soon as possible.

Hovenier refused to comment on the wiretaps of Vetevendosje parliamentary group chief, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, and Slavko Simic. He said that Milan Radoicic, who is mentioned in the conversation, is on the U.S. blacklist.

Kurti: Still no justice and peace for Srebrenica (Radio Free Europe)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, said on Monday during a commemorative ceremony in Pristina on the 28th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, that there is still no justice and peace for Srebrenica and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and criticised politicians in the region who deny the genocide that happened in Bosnia. Kurti said that “Serbia was held responsible for not stopping the execution of crimes, but it was never held responsible for mercilessly carrying out the genocide”. 

Kurti argued that the life sentence for former president of Republika Srpska, Radovan Karadzic, and former military leader in Bosnia, Ratko Mladic, for the Srebrenica genocide, are indicators that the events in Bosnia were carried out from outside. “This shows that the genocide in Bosnia did not take place from inside, but from abroad, and that those responsible are not only several Bosnian Serbs, but Serbia as a state. Therefore, there is still no justice and peace for Srebrenica and Bosnia,” he said.

Kurti also said that Kosovo wants “peace, cooperation and equality between states and peoples in the Balkans. But the establishment of peace means punishment for the criminals. It is unimaginable that in the 21st century in our region there are still politicians who say that those that call for the punishment of those responsible for genocide are against dialogue and good neighborly relations. On the contrary, good neighbourly relations can be established only by punishing crimes and establishing justice. And the only genuine dialogue is when the parties are not afraid to distance themselves from crimes”.

Haradinaj: Kurti has built a paper castle (Gazeta Express)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, said in a Facebook post on Monday that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has built a paper castle and claimed that his ministers and associates are involved in scandals. “The consequent scandals of Albin Kurti’s ministers and closest associates, his course of an alleged ‘tough politician’ and his backing down from everything he has said or promised in his life, make him the most ridiculous and damaging politician in Kosovo’s young history,” Haradinaj said. “Everything that Albin Kurti has done in his political life is to build a paper castle, which will crumble the same way it was built”.

Zulfaj: Serbia rejected everything, but the EU is punishing Kosovo (Albanian Post)

Jeton Zulfaj, political advisor to the Prime Minister of Kosovo, through a post on social network Twitter, said that Serbia is rejecting all agreements, while criticising the European Union for the sanctions it imposed on Kosovo. According to him, Kosovo has been the most constructive party in reaching the Brussels/Ohrid Agreement, deriving from the French-German proposal.

“Try to make sense of this. Prime Minister Albin Kurti accepted the EU Proposal and asked to sign. Serbia refused. Offered to draft a statute to implement article 7 of the Basic Law. EU refused.

Offered trilateral on 22 of June meeting in Brussels. Serbia refused,” Zulfaj tweeted. “Risk of Klan Kosova being closed is serious and real; process is political” (Klan)

Media lawyer, Flutura Kusari, said today that if the appeals committee of the Ministry of Trade rejects Klan Kosova’s appeal, then there is a big risk that the media will be shut down. “The Appeals Committee for Registration of Business at the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade has another three days to decide on the appeal by Klan Kosova against their political decision to suspend the business certificate of Klan Kosova. If the committee rejects the appeal, then within a very short period of time (if the judicial proceeding fails) the editorial office of Klan Kosova will be locked down,” Kusari said. “The risk is serious and real. This is not an administrative or a legal process, but rather a political process”.

Kusari also called on all media in Kosovo to focus on this issue in the coming days. “I understand that the media and reporters are very busy with covering the developments, but I appeal to them to focus on this development too. This process does not pertain only to Klan Kosova, it has to do with a precedent that can be created and later implemented for all other media,” she argued.

   

Serbian Language Media 

  Serbs keep protesting in Zvecan for 44 days (Kosovo Online)

Peaceful protest of Serbs in northern Kosovo entered its 44th day, with a hundred people gathering in front of Zvecan municipal facility today as well, Kosovo Online portal reports.

They demanded return to their working places, usurped by Kosovo police forces. Other demands also remain the same – withdrawal of Kosovo special police forces, Albanian mayors deemed illegitimate by Serbs not to come to the municipal facilities, and Serbs arrested in northern Kosovo recently, often with excessive and unnecessary use of force, be released.

Protestors also expressed hope that international mediators will finally put an end to daily persecution of the Serbs in northern Kosovo, as they said, by Pristina’s regime, the portal added. 

Sentic: Kurti should say why there are no Serbs in many institutions (Radio KIM, Media Centre)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti over the last month kept informing the public on different events that in Kosovo among other functions also multiethnicity, multiculturalism and political parties’ pluralism despite boycott of the Serbian List and as he said despite “order and threats from Belgrade”, Radio KIM reports.

“One can get the impression that the intention of the Kosovo Prime Minister was to portray the seemingness of multi-ethnic institutions and inclusive society by few Serbs holding positions in Kosovo, being them whether politically appointed or voted”, newly elected Deputy Ombudsman Srdjan Sentic told Media Center.

Radio KIM reports that in addition to the names of 30 Serbs, Kurti publicly read out at Kosovo Assembly session on June 2, this year, accusing them of being “the organisers of unrest in northern Kosovo”, he is also mentioning very often the names of Serbs who are part of Kosovo institutions.

“Deputy mayor in Leposavic is Dragana Miletic, a Serb woman. Deputy mayor in Zvecan is Sladjana Pantovic (relieved from duty by incumbent Albanian mayor from the ranks of PDK on July 7). Deputy mayor of Mitrovica North is a Serb woman, Katarina Adjancic. Minister for Communities and Returns in Nenad Rasic. His deputy is Radoica Radomirovic, a Serb from Leposavic. In the Assembly you voted recently for Srdjan Sentic, as a Deputy Ombudsperson”, Kurti told the assembly session on June 15.  

In the same context Kurti mentioned the names of those Serbs at the Prespa forum in North Macedonia on June 16, and also during his meeting with the Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Michael Davenport on July 7.

Sentic told Media Center it is not that clear to him why Kosovo prime minister mentions his name, given that Kosovo government has no institutional authorities over the process of selection and appointment of Deputy Ombudsperson, as it is an exclusive authority of the Ombudsperson Institution that does selection and proposes the best candidates for further voting to the Assembly.

He noted he has built “his individual reputation and legitimacy by two-decades long work, among others, on reconciliation between Serbs and Albanians, advocating for multi-ethnic society and dialogue between communities not only within the Serbian community, but among all communities in Kosovo”.

“Therefore it is completely incomprehensible and unacceptable” that his “name and function are being misused and used in the context of political appointments”, he added, as he is not politically active,  nor belonged to any party which is also a requirement of the position of the Deputy Ombudserson.

“Instead of mentioning my name, but also the names of other individuals from Serbian community, in Kosovo and at international forums, during bilateral meetings with ambassadors and other officials aimed at seeming inclusion and representation of the Kosovo Serbs in institutions, the Prime Minister should invest efforts towards implementation of the Kosovo Constitution and Law on Public Servants and equal representation of non-majority communities in institutions at central and local levels, but also horizontal and vertical representation at those institutions”, Sentic said.

Sentic also said Kurti should inform the public why at some ministries, agencies, management and oversight committees, and other institutions and public enterprises there are no Serbs at all, and even if a small number of them is present, they do not hold managerial but rather low-ranking positions. 

OSCE condemns arson attack on Serb returnee house, calls on police to investigate case (Kosovo Online, social media)

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo condemned the arson attack on a newly built house of a Serb returnee family in Istok municipality and called upon Kosovo police to investigate the case, Kosovo Online portal reports.

“We condemn the arson attack on a newly built house of a #Kosovo Serb returnee in Veriq/Verić, Istog/Istok municipality. We call on the police to investigate the case and bring the perpetrators to justice”, the Mission said in a post on Twitter.

“Together w/ Kosovo institutions and intl partners, we strongly support return of displaced persons, in line with our mandate for human rights & reconciliation. To that end, we welcome the readiness of the Ministry for Communities and Return to continue support to the affected family”, the Mission added. 

Milatovic: Montenegro is worried due to the situation in northern Kosovo (Tanjug) 

The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatovic, said today that Montenegro is concerned about the situation in the north of Kosovo, reported Tanjug. 

At the start of the NATO summit, he told Tanjug that Montenegro also supports the EU’s plan for de-escalation and dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina in accordance with the platform presented by the EU.

“I said that to the president (of Serbia, Aleksandar) Vucic. I hope that the situation will soon be defused. Montenegro plays a constructive role in the Western Balkans,” Milatovic said. 

Petkovic: Day does not go by without having Kurti make fun of law and justice and twisting very essence and concept of democracy  (Radio Mitrovica sever)

“Albin Kurti is a disgrace to the very concept of democracy, because his “democracy” is reflected in the beating of innocent Serbian children, shooting in the back Dragisa Galjak, Miljan Delevic, Milan Jovanović, brothers Stefan and Milos Stojanovic while they are carrying the Christmas tree”, Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic said in a press statement.

“Fear in the north of Kosovo and Metohija is sown exclusively by Kurti’s terrorist phalanges, which hide behind the uniforms of the so-called Kosovo police!”, Petkovic said adding no one in Pristina was held accountable for “the brutal treatment of innocent Serbs who were arrested, which EULEX representatives have ultimately acknowledged”.

As Petkovic said not a single day goes by that Kurti does not make fun of the law and justice and twists the very concept and essence of democracy, and numerous international representatives warn him about this every day.

“It is a disgrace that Kurti calls Serbs fascists, when his very ideology of the League of Prizren and “Greater Albania” is real fascism, which means Kosovo and Metohija that is ethnically cleansed of Serbs”, Petkovic pointed out.

“That’s why what is shameless are Kurti’s attacks on the Serbian people in the north of Kosovo and Metohija for whom he uses derogatory names, when the only source of the problem, lies in his violent and unilateral actions by which he wants to expel the Serbs from the north of Kosovo and Metohija and try to change the ethnic structure in the four Serbian municipalities”, he added.

Petkovic made those remarks reacting to the interview Albin Kurti gave for BBC. In an interview among others, Kurti said he “can not hand over democratic country to fascist militia in the north” and that Belgrade through the Community of Serb Municipalities wanted to carry out “its policy of ethno-nationalism as it already acts hegemonistic in the region”.

Milatovic concludes visit to Serbia with meeting with Patriarch Porfirije (Tanjug)

Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic concluded a two-day official visit to Serbia with a meeting with Patriarch Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church at the Church of St Sava in Belgrade, Tanjug  news agency reports.

"I concluded the visit to Belgrade with a meeting with His Holiness Serb Patriarch Porfirije", Milatovic wrote in a post on his Instagram profile.

In a statement, the Serbian Orthodox Church said the Patriarch had spoken with Milatovic at the Church of St Sava on Monday.

After a tour of the church, Patriarch Porfirije and Milatovic also visited the crypt of Holy Great Martyr Prince Lazar and then spent some time in a cordial conversation, the statement said.