UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, June 12, 2025

Albanian Language Media:

Statements on 26th anniversary of NATO troops deployment to Kosovo (media)
COMKFOR presides over ceremony marking 26th anniversary of KFOR (media)
Abdixhiku presents 15-point plan of Unity Government (media)
PDK’s Krasniqi on a government formed by former opposition (media)
Police operation at Ministry of Infrastructure: “suspected abuse of duty” (media)
Montenegro will support Kosovo’s membership at Council of Europe (media)
Mufti Ternava hosts UNMIK chief Caroline Ziadeh (Sinjali)
Serbian flags, symbols won't be allowed on St. Vitus Day in Gazimestan (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Court annulled decision of municipality of Gracanica: “Display of Serbian flag on Vidovdan is illegal” (Alternativna, media)
Petkovic: ''Ruling to ban displaying Serbian flag on Vidovdan shows anti-Serbian and fascist face of Albin Kurti's regime'' (media, kim.gov.rs)
Serbian List: Gracanica municipality to appeal court’s decision on banning display of Serbian flags on Saint Vitus Day (Radio KIM)
People harshly oppose street renaming issue in Mitrovica North (Radio KIM, Radio kontakt plus)
Zelenskyy: I thanked Vucic for financial, humanitarian assistance, support for energy sector (N1, BETA)

International:

Kosovo demands release of ex-policeman detained by Serbia (BIRN)
Kosovo approves measure to 'temporarily' host migrants deported from US (RFE)
UK has not asked about asylum return hubs, other Balkan countries say (SkyNews)
Former President of Kosovo Swimming Federation Agron Zeqiri receives four-year suspension (swimswam.com)

Albanian Language Media

Statements on 26th anniversary of NATO troops deployment to Kosovo (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in a post on X that “twenty-six years ago today, hope arrived on the war-ravaged soil of Kosovo. Fifty thousand NATO troops entered our land, standing with a people who had endured centuries of oppression and a genocidal regime. Kosovo today stands, free, independent and democratic, because the heroes and martyrs of our struggle believed in something greater than themselves. They gave everything so that future generations could live in dignity and peace. Happy Liberation Day”.

Caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti in a Facebook post thanked “all those who contributed to our people's struggle for liberation. The most important among them were 19 NATO countries, which 26 years ago united to end the genocide of the Balkan butcher's regime, Milosevic, against Kosovo Albanians”. He also said that “over the decades, marking this day, and remembering martyrs and victims, are becoming more important, because every year more and more efforts by Serbia and Russia to rewrite history are increasing: on the one hand to question the justice and justification of NATO intervention, and on the other hand to misuse it as a precedent for the unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. We must fight and oppose these attempts to distort history at all costs, with the undeniable facts of that time. Unlike Russia's illegal war, NATO's military intervention was both fair and necessary”.

The U.S. Embassy in Pristina said in a Facebook post: “Today marks 26 years since #NATO forces entered Kosovo, bringing hope, security, and a path to peace. June 12, 1999, was a turning point—one that allowed displaced families to return and communities to begin rebuilding. On this anniversary, we honor the resilience of the Kosovan people and our shared commitment to building a future grounded in peace, security, and prosperity”.

The German Embassy said in a Facebook post that “today marks 26 years since the NATO Kosovo Force - KFOR mission began, ensuring stability and security in Kosovo. As Lord Robertson, former UK Defense Secretary and NATO Secretary General put it: ‘The aim was Milosevic’ forces out, NATO in and refugees back’. Mission accomplished. Since declaring independence in 2008, Kosovo has become a success story, growing in resilience, development and international recognition. Germany remains one of Kosovo’s closest partners, supporting its path toward a stable and prosperous future. Looking ahead, together!”

COMKFOR presides over ceremony marking 26th anniversary of KFOR (media)

Commander of the NATO-led KFOR mission, Major General Enrico Barduani, presided today over the commemorative ceremony marking the 26th anniversary of the establishment of the Kosovo Force (KFOR), held at Camp Film City, in Pristina, KFOR said in a statement. The ceremony, attended by personnel from all 33 Troop Contributing Nations, began with the laying of a laurel wreath at the monument to the Fallen. General Barduani paid tribute to the 220 service members who lost their lives since 1999, stating: “Their example must inspire our everyday duties in the fulfilment of our mission”. As the longest-running and currently the largest mission in NATO’s history, KFOR stands as a testament to the Alliance’s enduring and tangible commitment, and its efforts remain fundamental in supporting the necessary political progress towards long-term stability in the region.

Abdixhiku presents 15-point plan of Unity Government (media)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lumir Abdixhiku presented today the 15-point plan of a national unity government this party has proposed as a way out of the political deadlock in the Assembly. The plan foresees: functionalizing constitutional institutions, the de-partization of institutions, the full reformatting of boards of public enterprises; full agreement on wages increase and law enforcement; emergency package to manage energy crisis and remove VAT on every energy bill; national project for gasification of Kosovo, whereby the project would begin now and commence after new elections in spring 2026; rebuilding relations with EU and US, a united platform for dialogue with Serbia; use the majority in parliament to adopt international agreements; address constitutional reforms in the service of stability; draft national strategy for thorough reforms in education; preparations for the upcoming Mediterranean Games; strategic reforms in security and defense; reviewing the formula for municipal budgets; preparations for elections within 10 months; transparency mechanism for the transitional period and a monitoring mechanism that would oversee the implementation of the formula.

PDK’s Krasniqi on a government formed by former opposition (media)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi said today that a unity government proposed by the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) cannot be implemented as it has already been automatically opposed by the Vetevendosje Movement. Asked to comment on the 15-point plan for a unity government proposed by LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku, Krasniqi said: “to be honest I haven’t seen the plan. As far as the proposal is concerned, I have commented on this several times, in order to be seriously treated all parties have to be willing, and the Vetevendosje Movement has automatically refused it and I regret that this becomes impossible, because the idea of such governments means that all parties need to come to the table and discuss it. The moment that Vetevendosje is not there it means that we need to resort to the proposal made by us, the PDK, namely a government formed by the former opposition. I am always open to discuss a government that would be formed by the PDK, LDK, AAK and NISMA. We are not only willing but also committed to implementing this if the LDK is willing”.

Krasniqi also said that if the LDK were to accept their proposal, he would personally secure the 10 votes of minority parties without including the Serbian List.

Police operation at Ministry of Infrastructure: “suspected abuse of duty” (media)

Most news websites report that Kosovo Police have carried out an operation at the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure today. “Kosovo Police and its relevant units, following an authorization by the competent prosecution, are carrying out investigations today against several persons suspected of abuse of official duty. Once the police operation is over, in cooperation and coordination with the judicial bodies, we will announce additional information,” a police spokesperson said.

Montenegro will support Kosovo’s membership at Council of Europe (media)

Montenegro Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ervin Ibrahimovic, said that Montenegro would support Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe. He argued that Montenegro’s support would not threaten the ruling coalition in Montenegro because the foreign policy objectives are clearly set. “Montenegro is known by its international partners as a country that fosters good neighborly relations. Therefore, we will support our friendly country, Kosovo, because it is a foreign policy advantage,” he said.

Mufti Ternava hosts UNMIK chief Caroline Ziadeh (Sinjali)

Leader of the Islamic Community in Kosovo, Mufti Naim Ternava, hosted today the head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, Caroline Ziadeh, the news website reports citing a Facebook post by the Islamic Community. Ziadeh congratulated Ternava on the occasion of Eid al-Adha and expressed her appreciation for the role of the Islamic Community in promoting peace, tolerance and interreligious harmony in Kosovo. Ternava thanked Ziadeh for the congratulations and the continuous cooperation of UNMIK with religious institutions in Kosovo.

Serbian flags, symbols won't be allowed for St. Vitus Day in Gazimestan (media)

Most news websites report that the use of Serbian flags and symbols won’t be allowed at the celebration of St. Vitus Day in Gazimestan near Pristina on June 28. Telegrafi notes that although it is not an official holiday in Kosovo, the Serb community celebrates St. Vitus Day in Gazimestan every year and that Serbian flags and symbols are used during the celebration. Starting from this year however this practice will no longer be allowed. The Basic Court in Pristina has decided to ban the use of flags and symbols. The decision comes after a complaint filed by the Ministry for Local Government against a decision by the municipality of Gracanica which had earlier adopted a decision to allow the use of Serbian symbols in St. Vitus ceremonies. The Basic Court in Pristina completely approved the complaint filed by the ministry and annulled the decision by the Gracanica municipality.

Serbian Language Media

Court annulled decision of municipality of Gracanica: “Display of Serbian flag on Vidovdan is illegal” (Alternativna, media)

The Basic Court in Pristina - Department for Administrative Disputes annulled the decision of the Municipality of Gracanica, which allowed the display of the Serbian flag on the occasion of Vidovdan in 2024. The court assessed that the municipality exceeded its powers and acted contrary to the laws of Kosovo, reported portal Alernativna.

Last year, the municipality of Gracanica passed a decision allowing the display of the Serbian flag on June 28, on Vidovdan, which, as stated in the court's decision, was not designated as an official holiday in Kosovo.

On June 10 of last year, the Ministry of Local Self-Government Administration (MAPL) received an act for evaluation of legality from the Municipal Assembly of Gracanica.

MAPL by letter dated 12.06.2024. forwarded the act to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) for assessment of legality.

"The Ministry of the Interior, by decision protocol number 950 of June 14, 2021, concluded that June 28 (Vidovdan) was not established as an official holiday or Memorial Day in the Republic of Kosovo, calling into question the legality of this municipal decision", the court's decision states.

MIA, after evaluating the act on 24.06.2024, sent a response to the municipality and MAPL, and the Gracanica Municipal Assembly did not reconsider the decision and did not act according to the request of the MIA - it is added.

The court's decision also specifies that the Law on Official Holidays stipulates that only the government, with the consent of the president, can establish memorial or official days in cooperation with the Serbian community, and that municipalities do not have this authority.

"Therefore, the Municipality exceeded its authority, because it authorized the display of the flag of another state without the approval of the central authorities, which is against the constitutional unity of the state. The court states that such a decision could lead to tensions and threaten public order and inter-ethnic cohesion," the court's decision states.

It was also stated that such behavior can be symbolically destabilizing and threaten the sense of equality between communities, as well as the authority of state institutions.

"Allowing the use of another country's flag in public spaces without legal approval, even for a single day, can have a symbolically destabilizing effect, negatively affecting the sense of inter-ethnic equality and the authority of the state of Kosovo."

The court concluded that no temporary act of the administrative body, no matter if it was a day or lasted less, cannot be justified if it is contrary to the constitutional and legislative framework, and contrary to the decisions of central authorities, such as the MIA of Kosovo.

"With the act, the court wants not only to establish legality in this case, but also to set a standard for the future actions of other municipalities, stressing that municipalities must not independently legalize the display of flags of other countries without the consent of central institutions."

The decision of the court in the Albanian language is available here: https://tinyurl.com/3k9758hh

Petkovic: ''Ruling to ban displaying Serbian flag on Vidovdan shows anti-Serbian and fascist face of Albin Kurti's regime'' (media, kim.gov.rs)

''The ruling of the so-called Basic Court in Pristina to ban the display of the Serbian flag and Serbian symbols in Gracanica on the occasion of the celebration of the greatest holiday of Serbs - Vidovdan, is directly directed against the Serbian people and shows the anti-Serbian and fascist face of the Albin Kurti regime,'' said Petar Petkovic, Director of the Office for KiM, read the statement of this Office.

''While Albanian extremists daily write graffiti of the terrorist UCK on Serbian houses, children's playgrounds and schools and wave the flags of this criminal organization, and Albin Kurti displays the flag of the so-called “Greater Albania” at his rallies, the authorities in Pristina are bothered by the Serbian flag and the peaceful celebration of Vidovdan''.

''Every year, Kurti's phalanxes intensify their repression of Serbs, especially on the eve of Vidovdan, and conduct an open hunt for everything Serbian, through staged arrests and lynchings of pilgrims, and now they are also targeting Serbian national symbols with the aim of erasing Serbian traces in Kosovo and Metohija, but also of covering up their own failures in the political field and further raising tensions.''

''As the Serbian people say - on Vidovdan, everything is visible - so the criminal and anti-Serbian face of the Albin Kurti regime is most clearly visible, and the Office for Kosovo and Metohija will inform all international representatives about this latest escalating move and demand their decisive reaction, because nowhere in the world is the display of national flags and symbols prohibited, especially on holidays, except in Albin Kurti's provisional government. With such moves, Kurti only wants to raise tensions, create unrest and intimidate the Serbian people.''

''This is a dangerous and systemic institutional disenfranchisement of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, but no matter what repression Kurti conducts, he cannot force the Serbian tricolor out of the heart of every honest Serb in Kosovo and Metohija,'' said Petkovic, concludes the statement.

Serbian List: Gracanica municipality to appeal court’s decision on banning display of Serbian flags on Saint Vitus Day (Radio KIM, media)

The Basic Court in Pristina passed the verdict on June 9 by which it annulled the decision of Gracanica municipality to display Serbian flags on the occasion of Saint Vitus Day celebration (June 28). Serbian List, in reaction to the court’s decision, said the local municipal authorities in Gracanica will file an appeal against it, Radio KIM reported.

Serbian List in its reaction also said they demand the court react in the same manner when it comes to display of the Albanian flag in a plenary hall of the Kosovo Assembly by outgoing Prime Minister Albin Kurti, in a situation when no official of Albania was present nor was there guest from there at the Assembly session.

They also recalled that Serbian List MPs on numerous occasions attempted to legally define Saint Vitus Day as holiday of the Serbian people in Kosovo, adding that such an act was systematically thwarted in Kosovo Parliament.

“We demand from the Basic Court to act in line with the same standards and apply its own elaboration in all the cases related to the flag of Albania”, Serbian List said.

Serbian List concluded that this decision of the Basic Court in Pristina is nothing else but an indicator of “Pristina’s regime attitude towards Serbian people, and the time this verdict was passed is directly linked with announced local elections and represents an attempt of scoring cheap political points”.

People harshly oppose street renaming issue in Mitrovica North (Radio KIM, Radio kontakt plus)

In a municipal assembly session held on May 30 in Mitrovica North the topic of establishing a commission for streets’ naming was presented, Radio kontakt plus reported. This commission is supposed to include four to five members, representing different communities. However, no municipal councilor wanted to be a member of it, same as the only Serbian councillor Dusan Milunovic who refused the membership. It remains unclear whether names of the members were proposed and commission established or not. Municipal Assembly chair Nedzad Ugljanin said back then the membership in a commission does not mean this commission will deal with naming the streets, as this, according to him, will be done based on petitions from citizens under consultations, with, as he said, professionals.

In a survey conducted by Radio kontakt plus respondents opined it was about "unusual" act of Kosovo authorities, that they resolutely oppose changing the name of the streets where they have lived for years, perceiving this as yet another pressure against Serbian population in the north of Kosovo to force them out of these areas.

One of the female respondents said she is against renaming streets, as she is against any change in the northern part of the city. “(…) I am also against removing the shops and small business premises as well as against opening new business perises (owned by Albanians). They could leave us to live in peace. I feel sorry for young people, we elderly shall endure, but I do feel sorry for the young”, she added.

“I think this is the most disgusting thing. I can understand anything, but cannot understand how some want to erase something which has existed for years (…)”, another respondent said, adding she hopes the time will come where everything will come where it belongs.

A male respondent opined such a decision should not be made without consultations with Mitrovica North residents. “For me it is unacceptable. I will never agree to it (…)”, he said.

Another female interlocutor said she will not comment as it is about “chaos being made in our lives”, while the other one noted she is informed about it and harshly opposes introduction of Albanian names for the streets in Mitrovica North.

Another respondent said there should be reciprocity, and in case names of the streets are changed in Mitrovica North, then streets in Mitrovica South should be named after Serbian dignitaries and important personalities.

As she added, the name of the street in Banjska where she lives has already changed and everybody is silent about that. According to her, the optimal solution is that everybody keeps the names of their streets.

Another female resident said the names of the streets in this city should not be changed. My street is named after John Kenedy, what is wrong with that name?, she asked. The last respondent in a survey also expressed negative sentiment on the initiative of Mitrovica Norht Municipal Assembly to deal with streets’ renaming in this city.

Zelenskyy: I thanked Vucic for financial, humanitarian assistance, support for energy sector (N1, BETA)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a one-on-one meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at which he thanked Vucic for Serbia’s financial and humanitarian assistance, including support for the energy sector, and for its initiative to assume patronage over the reconstruction of several Ukrainian settlements.

During the meeting held on the sidelines of the Ukraine – Southeast Europe Summit in Odessa, Vucic reaffirmed Serbia’s firm support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, says a press release posted on the Ukrainian President’s official website. It adds that the leaders discussed the paths of Ukraine and Serbia toward EU integration, and bilateral cooperation.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Serbia to join the reconstruction of the country and to take part in the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which will be held on July 10–11 in Rome, reads the press release.

Vucic earlier wrote on Instagram that he had an “important and open talk with Zelenskyy about key issues of contemporary geopolitical challenges facing Europe and the entire world”.

International

Kosovo demands release of ex-policeman detained by Serbia (BIRN)

Kosovo authorities have demanded the release of Arbnor Spahiu, a former member of the Kosovo Police Special Unit, currently detained in Serbia.

Serbia said it suspects him of aggravated murder in relation to the September 2023 attack by a group of Serbian gunmen in the village of Banjska in the north of Kosovo.

Xhelal Svecla, Kosovo’s acting Interior Minister and an MP for the ruling Vetevendosje party, told media on Wednesday that the ministry “is committed to ensuring that [he] is released as soon as possible and that such cases do not occur again”. He denied that Spahiu was a member of the Kosovo Police in 2023.

Spahiu was arrested on June 7 by the Serbian authorities at Horgos, the Hungary-Serbia border crossing, while returning by bus from Austria with his family.

Kosovo’s Foreign Ministry announced on June 11 on Facebook that “the Liaison Office of the Republic of Kosovo in Serbia is following developments surrounding the arrest with increased attention”.

“According to statements by family members and the defence attorney, the charges brought against Spahiu are related to the Banjska case. They consider these charges completely unfounded and fabricated, emphasising that Spahiu completed his service in the Kosovo Police in 2022 and has been living in Germany with his family since then,” it said.