UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, June 19, 2025

Albanian Language Media:

Another failed attempt to constitute the new Assembly of Kosovo (media)
Kurti: Opposition MPs are nomads, they don’t want a home (media)
Haxhiu: Court is late with decision on secret vote committee (Klan)
Citaku: Kosovo hostage to Kurti’s stubbornness and Haxhiu’s ambitions (EO)
Limaj meets Abdixhiku: On many issues we have same viewpoint (media)
Haziri: Agreement in Ohrid is the biggest damage by this government (Koha)

Serbian Language Media:

Djuric: Pristina tried to denigrate Serbia at Summit in Taormina, we responded with dignity (Kosovo Online)
Serbian Justice Ministry condemns Pristina’s decision to deport Serbs from Kosovo, calls for reaction from international community (Kosovo Online, media)
Serbian Ombudsman: Encouraging support of international ombudspersons for protection of Serbs’ rights in Kosovo (RTV, Tanjug)
Apartments for displaced in Leposavic: Construction, allocation, and eviction disputes (KoSSev)
Rapajic: North and South Mitrovica joint committee should not deal with major political issues (Kosovo Online)
Minister says Serbia expecting new gas arrangement with Russia (N1)
Journalist associations to rally in Belgrade: “Stop the persecution of journalists“ (KoSSev)

Opinion:

Serwer: Careful what you wish for (media)
Jeffrey Sachs: "The goal of the NATO bombing in 1999 was to divide Serbia" (Danas, Politika, Kosovo Online)

International:

Reporting House marks Kosovo mine’s centenary (BIRN)
UK journalist who reported on Kosovo war declared ‘Honorary Citizen’ in Skenderaj (PI)
‘Serbia on the streets’: BIRN publishes free e-book of protest reporting (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

Another failed attempt to constitute the new Assembly of Kosovo (media)

All media outlets report on another failed attempt to constitute the new Assembly of Kosovo. The deadlock is over the formation of a committee that would oversee a secret vote for the new Assembly Speaker.

Kurti: Opposition MPs are nomads, they don’t want a home (media)

Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti today blamed MPs from parties that were in opposition in the previous mandate for blocking the constitution of the new Assembly. He called them “nomads” and argued that they don’t want to have “a home”.

“Our goal is to have an Assembly. Unfortunately, opposition MPs are obstructing the vote of the committee in brutal fashion. This is a violation … We are going there [to the Assembly] to vote, and for those that are not voting, you should ask them why they are going there. I was never absent as caretaker Prime Minister or as an MP. You should ask them when they come, why they are coming. I don’t know why they are coming … Kosovo has a caretaker government and a caretaker Prime Minister. What Kosovo is lacking is the Assembly. And the Assembly is the home of MPs. Allow me to call nomad MPs the opposition MPs that don’t want Kosovo to have an Assembly, namely for them to have a home. Because nomads are those that want to have a home,” he argued. “You might want to have a home but not have one and be a refugee for example. But those that don’t want to have a home are nomads. Therefore, they are nomadic MPs who don’t want to have their home because the home – the Parliament of the Republic – is the home of MPs, especially those from the opposition,” Kurti said”.

Haxhiu: Court is late with decision on secret vote committee (Klan)

Vetevendosje’s candidate for Assembly Speaker, Albulena Haxhiu, said today that “we have seen no willingness from the opposition to contribute to the constitution of the Kosovo Assembly”. She argued that by not voting, MPs from other parties are violating the Constitution. “This is irresponsible behavior and a violation of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo,” she said after another failed attempt today to form the new legislative.

Haxhiu also said that the Constitutional Court is running late with a decision on the committee that would oversee a secret vote for the new Assembly Speaker. “We are waiting for the court’s decision, but it is not OK that it is taking so long because it has been five weeks since it [the request] was sent to the Constitutional Court and a decision has not been made yet,” she said.

Citaku: Kosovo hostage to Kurti’s stubbornness and Haxhiu’s ambitions (EO)

MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Vlora Citaku accused today caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the Vetevendosje Movement of blocking the formation of new institutions. “Kosovo is being held hostage by the stubbornness and irresponsibility of Albin Kurti and the Vetevendosje Movement. There is no logic that as a result of Kurti’s stubbornness and Haxhiu’s ambitions not to constitute the institutions of Kosovo so that we can be able to address the numerous problems and challenges of the people. Kosovo is way bigger and more important than any of us,” she argued.

Limaj meets Abdixhiku: On many issues we have same viewpoint (media)

NISMA leader Fatmir Limaj said that he met today with Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) leader Lumir Abdixhiku. “Yes, we met. It was a very good meeting, and we discussed all topics. On many issues we have the same viewpoint, and it is important that meetings are being held. We cannot solve problems by ourselves, but we express our readiness,” Limaj said.

Haziri: Agreement in Ohrid is the biggest damage by this government (Koha)

MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lutfi Haziri repeated today the call for a transitional government that would help break the deadlock through an agreement between the parties. He told reporters that the crisis can be solved only through a political agreement.

Haziri also said that the biggest damage inflicted by the Kurti-led government was the agreement reached with Serbia in Ohrid.

Serbian Language Media

Djuric: Pristina tried to denigrate Serbia at Summit in Taormina, we responded with dignity (Kosovo Online)

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Marko Djuric, said after the Ministerial meeting in Taormina, Sicily, that the Summit represented a direct discussion of the challenges facing Europe, while special focus was on the Balkans and the accession of the Balkan countries to the EU.

"I conveyed the position that for us the membership of the Balkan states in the EU, both for the Balkan states and for the EU itself, actually represents a kind of Shakespearean dilemma, almost "to be or not to be", both when it comes to security and when it comes to economic development, considering the huge potential for the growth of our region. I sent an unequivocal message that Serbia is ready to go upstream when it comes to building bridges of cooperation between countries and peoples in the region," said Djuric.

He added Serbia is facing attempts to be defamed by the representatives of Pristina.

"Of course, not everything was so flowery and beautiful, but we were faced with attempts, especially by the representative of Pristina, to denigrate Serbia in some way, by mentioning a negative historical context. We responded to that very dignified, sent a clear message that we will not convince anyone to expand the EU to the Balkans if we attack, insult, belittle each other. That we can certainly do it much more effectively, but we choose another path, we choose to, in another way, to show what values we are committed to. At the same time, it is completely clear that Serbia, as a central country on the Balkan Peninsula, as a country that makes up 52 percent of the economy of our part of Europe, represents a link that is not only necessary but must play an important role in our part of Europe,'' said the head of Serbian diplomacy.

Djuric said that he held a series of high-quality and good bilateral meetings at the Summit.

He also highlighted the meeting with the Maltese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Borg, because Malta is presiding over the Council of Europe this year.

"I had a very important conversation with him, considering the fact that Malta is presiding over the Council of Europe this autumn and that it is very important for us that the issue of the position of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija and everything that happens to our people, their suffering, is taken into account when deciding on further steps when it comes to the Council of Europe. Serbia can be satisfied with the participation in this meeting, and we will continue to fight everywhere and, in every place, to strengthen our international position," concluded Djuric.

Serbian Justice Ministry condemns Pristina’s decision to deport Serbs from Kosovo, calls for reaction from international community (Kosovo Online, media)

Serbian Ministry of Justice said in a statement that shameful and legally unsustainable decision of “Pristina’s provisional institutions to ban Serbs, who have permanent residence and houses in Kosovo, from returning to their homes and families, exclusively because of their ethnic background and for working in the Serbian state bodies, represents drastic violation of the human rights and direct attack against the legal order”, Kosovo Online portal reported.

The Ministry of Justice will, through all available domestic and international legal mechanisms, initiate procedures for the protection of basic human rights and raise not only the issue of political, but also criminal responsibility of all those who violate basic human rights, the statement said.

It added that “ban on entering one's own home and living with one's family is not only an act of political repression, but an evident ethnic cleansing”.

The Serbian Ministry of Justice also demanded an immediate reaction from UNMIK and EULEX, as well as, as it said, all donors who support the work of institutions in Pristina, in order to stop this practice and punish those responsible.

The Ministry underlined that for every such act leaving Serbs without the right to a home, the right to private and family life, the international community bears full responsibility, adding there is too much selective justice and restraint where a concrete reaction of all those who are obliged to react according to UNSC Resolution 1244 has long been required.

Serbian Ombudsman: Encouraging support of international ombudspersons for protection of Serbs’ rights in Kosovo (RTV, Tanjug)

Serbian Ombudsman Zoran Pasalic said today significant number of ombudspersons contacted his office relating to the call for immediate response due to systemic discrimination of persons of Serbian ethnicity, which has been taking on ever-increasing proportions, Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV) reported.

A press release published by the Ombudsperson Office said an official appeal was sent to 106 addresses of international organizations and national institutions for the protection of human rights due to last week’s series of arrests of members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who live in Kosovo, by Pristina’s authorities.

As the statement added, serious violations of constitutional and legal norms as well as actions contrary to European Convention on Human Rights provisions were pointed out in the case of the arrest of a retired police officer, along with the earlier ban on displaying the Serbian flag on the occasion of Saint Vitus Day in Gracanica.

Pasalic said that in the coming period concrete steps can be expected on the international level, in order to stop the systemic threat to the rights of Serbs in Kosovo.

He added that with reaction of the Italian Ombudsman Marino Fardelli, to the previous official invitation, an initiative has already been launched to raise the issue of the most gross violation and protection of rights for 70 persons of Serbian ethnicity in Lesak settlement, near Leposavic, who are required to leave their homes by the end of June, after which their demolition should follow, before the International Ombudsman Institute, which gathers members from more than 200 countries.

In the past few days, the Kosovo police arrested five members of the Serbian MIA who live in Kosovo at the administrative crossings with central Serbia, and they were then expelled from Kosovo, the media recalled.

Apartments for displaced in Leposavic: Construction, allocation, and eviction disputes (KoSSev)

Officials from the municipality of Leposavic knocked on the doors of several apartments in a building intended for displaced families earlier this week, reportedly attempting to change locks based on claims that current occupants were not legally entitled to live there due to alleged ownership of other properties. Some residents, however, firmly deny these accusations, saying that they possess no other property. The building in question has become the center of a growing controversy involving displaced persons, property rights, and competing narratives over who funded its construction, KoSSev portal reported.

A question of legitimacy

According to the municipality, led by Albanian mayor Lulzim Hetemi, the apartments were allocated to 36 displaced and socially vulnerable families following the closure of six collective centers in the area. The mayor ceremonially handed over keys to new residents in May, with the municipality claiming the process was transparent and in partnership with the Danish Refugee Council and UNHCR.

Yet some families say they were granted access to these apartments months earlier, through the Serbian system.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/2NG7F

Opinion

Serwer: Careful what you wish for (media)

Opinion piece by Daniel Serwer originally published in peacefare.net and republished by Kosovo Albanian media outlets.

The Balkans are aflutter because President Trump mentioned the region. He apparently said on his social media platform:

During my first term, Serbia and Kosovo were in a fierce dispute, as they have been for decades, and this long-standing conflict was ready to escalate into war. I stopped it. Biden damaged the long-term chances with some very stupid decisions, but I will fix it again.

This is thin gruel, even by Trump’s MAGAte standards. While I agree that Biden made stupid decisions, Trump did not prevent war in his first term. And any effort he makes now could cause even more damage.

What Trump will try

I say this because of Trump’s inclination towards the partition of Kosovo. His Balkan whisperer, Ric Grenell, thinks that is a great idea. He’ll offer it up as an exchange of territory. Serb-majority northern Kosovo would go to Serbia and the Albanian-majority municipalities of southern Serbia would go to Kosovo. Sounds neat, especially if you are an ethnic nationalist. Trump and Grenell are committed ethnic nationalists of the white supremacist variety.

But Serbia won’t agree to partition. It prefers to hold onto all of southern Serbia, where a main road to Thessaloniki and the Mediterranean runs. That’s why Belgrade is doing it’s best to move the Albanians out. So this is a classic bait and switch: offer exchange, get partition. Prime Minister Kurti, or his successor, would do best not to allow any discussion of exchange on the agenda.

What Serbia and Kosovo should try to do

Neither Serbia nor Kosovo really needs help from the likes of Ric Grenell or Donald Trump. The dialogue in recent years has sought to normalize relations between them without mutual recognition. That has failed. The entire political dialogue since 2013 has produced little to nothing.

The technical dialogue that preceded that effort, and has continued sotto voce, has produced a great deal more. While everyone pooh-poohed it at the time, a country dialing code for Kosovo, mutual recognition of documents, sorting out electrical supplies and payments, integrated border controls–these are things that make a real difference to real people. At this point, Belgrade and Pristina know each other well enough to proceed on technical issues even in the absence of EU mediation. If the political will exists, they should do it.

EU issues

At the same time, Belgrade and Kosovo both have their own issues with the EU.

Belgrade is stalled in the accession process. It needs to figure out with Brussels how to get restarted. That should include as a priority implementing the agreement and its implementation annex supposedly reached in 2023. President Vucic refused to sign, but the EU is writing the commitments into the accession process. He’d do well to quietly implement.

Kosovo is still suffering under unjustified EU sanctions for actions no one really remembers. But they helped to stabilize the situation in the north and demonstrated the professionalism of Pristina’s security forces in the face of Belgrade’s concerted destabilization efforts. Brussels has begun the process of easing the sanctions. It should finish as soon as possible.

How about the US?

Even a fully qualified US President would have many things to think about right now before getting to the Balkans. An addled President Trump can do little more than claim credit for things he hasn’t done and promise more. But he is failing everywhere: Gaza, Iran, Ukraine, and trade are all a mess. His incoherence is not healthy. Careful what you wish for. My advice to those who think they need American help is this: don’t ask. Handle it yourselves.

Jeffrey Sachs: "The goal of the NATO bombing in 1999 was to divide Serbia" (Danas, Politika, Kosovo Online)

The United Nations has been deeply wounded, perhaps fatally, by the events now unfolding. The US and the European Union are destroying, if not killing, the UN by shamelessly abandoning the UN Charter, said Jeffrey Sachs, a professor at Columbia University, reported Danas.

In an interview for the print edition of the Belgrade daily Politika on June 19, Jeffrey Sachs assessed that "Washington and Brussels are violating the UN Charter in relation to Iran every hour", and cited the provision in question, Article 2, paragraph 4 - on refraining from the threat or use of force "against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state".

Asked what the real goal of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 was, Sachs replied:

"The goal was actually to divide Serbia and show Russia who is the "real boss". The bombing of Serbia may have been, at least in part, a consequence of the rivalry between Madeleine Albright and Richard Holbrooke, who were competing to become Secretary of State in the Al Gore administration, as they assumed he would defeat George W. Bush in the 2000 US election. Rumor has it that Albright wanted war to thwart Holbrooke's diplomacy. I'm not sure that's true, but it certainly sounds likely", reported Kosovo Online.

International

Reporting House marks Kosovo mine’s centenary (BIRN)

Marking the first anniversary of BIRN’s Reporting House exhibition, which explores media coverage of the war in Kosovo, a new installation celebrates the story of a mine whose rise and fall echoed that of Yugoslavia itself.

BIRN’s Reporting House exhibition in Prishtina marked its first anniversary on Wednesday with a new installation focusing on 100 years of mining at the giant Trepca complex.

Curated by Reporting House’s Gazmend Ejupi, it showcases minerals from Stanterg/Stari Trg, the oldest mine within the complex, which lies 55 km north of Kosovo’s capital.

Trepca donated the minerals on show, which were extracted 750 metres underground.

Miners work at the complex in tough conditions, often in high temperatures and without top-level protection. They have often gone on strike for better pay and working conditions.

Trepca’s rise and fall echoes that of the former Yugoslavia itself. While the country boomed, the complex enjoyed its glory days. When it started to break apart, the complex slid sharply downhill.