UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, June 20, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti and Vucic to meet on June 26 in Brussels (RFE)
Sources: No agreement in EU on full removal of measures (Koha)
Rohde: Measures should be removed; it is in the hands of member states (EO)
Borrell travels to Austria to advance EU – Western Balkans relations (media)
Albanians and most Serbs support opening of Iber bridge (RTV21)
Konjufca: Banjska, blow against cooperation, stability, security in region (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Djuric: The dialogue in a coma; the new arrests of Serbs threw gloves in the face of the USA and the EU (RTS, media)
Detention ordered for a Serb from Zvecan arrested yesterday on the Bistrica Bridge (RTS, Kosovo Online, media)
Lawyer: I hope L.D. would be released, strange he got arrested after a year and so (Kosovo Online)
Office for KiM: Arrest of Serb at Bistrica bridge is Kurti's attempt to provoke new crisis (media)
Serbian List: If innocent Serbs are arrested, because of what Kurti deserved lifting of punitive measures (Kosovo Online, media)
A decade since the creation of the Peace Park on the Ibar Bridge, new fears for Serbs (Kosovo Online)

International:

Anti-corruption fight in Balkans sees progress, but also regression: report (BIRN)
Growing diaspora vote becomes game-changer in Balkan elections (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti and Vucic to meet on June 26 in Brussels (RFE)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will meet on June 26 in Brussels for a new round of dialogue for the normalisation of relations. The meeting, which has been confirmed by EU spokesperson Peter Stano, will be mediated by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.

Sources: No agreement in EU on full removal of measures (Koha)

Diplomatic sources in the EU told Koha that the measures against Kosovo are expected to be lifted gradually and partly “in the coming days”. The “gradual” lifting of measures, which were introduced a year ago, is said to be a compromise between EU member states because not all of them agreed that Kosovo has fully met the requirements of the EU.

Representatives of EU member states discussed the lifting of measures on Wednesday in a meeting of the EU Political and Security Committee. The basis for discussion was a report by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. The latter had recommended the lifting of measures, saying that a decision by the Council would be a political signal contributing to a balanced context in which the EU-facilitated dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade could advance.

Diplomatic sources said that “the discussions were very difficult and there were major differences in the positions of member states”. “Around one third of the member states wanted the measures to be lifted completely. But one third of countries did not agree with this saying that Kosovo does not fully meet the requirements of the European Union”.

The European External Action Service is now expected to prepare a statement communicating the steps it will take toward the gradual lifting of measures. This is expected to happen by Monday.

Rohde: Measures should be removed; it is in the hands of member states (EO)

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, told the news website that the EU measures against Kosovo must be lifted and that everything from now on depends on the meeting that will be held in Brussels. He said that it is in the hands of the member states what the final decision will be with regards to the measures.

Borrell travels to Austria to advance EU – Western Balkans relations (media)

Several news websites report that EU High Representative Josep Borrell will stay in Austria on Friday, where he will participate in several events, meetings and discussions on EU relations with the Western Balkans. During his stay, Borrell is also scheduled to meet with Austrian authorities, including President Alexander van der Bellen and Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.

“On Friday, High Representative/Vice-President Borrell will move to Wachau for the annual Europa Forum, where he will receive the Dr. Alois Mock Europe Prize. His speech will be made available on EbS. During the Forum, the High Representative will attend working sessions and discussions with the EU Foreign Ministers who are part of the “Friends of the Western Balkans” initiative, as well as Western Balkans Foreign Ministers and representatives of think tanks and civil society organisations. They will exchange views on the cooperation between the European Union and Western Balkans in foreign and security policy, as well as EU enlargement. Throughout the day, HR/VP Borrell will also hold a series of bilateral meetings with representatives from the Western Balkans,” a statement by the EU External Action Service notes.

Albanians and most Serbs support opening of Iber bridge (RTV21)

The opening of the Iber bridge has become a central topic in Kosovo again, while European officials say that it needs to be addressed in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. Albanian citizens in the municipalities of Mitrovica South and Mitrovica North say that the bridge should be opened for traffic. Serb citizens support the opening of the bridge too although a small number continue to oppose it. Political and security commentators in Mitrovica meanwhile argue that the opening of the bridge should be done in coordination with the international community.

Ibish Ibishi, an Albanian from Mitrovica North, crosses the Iber bridge everyday on foot, and says that its opening would facilitate the movement of people. “The opening of the bridge is very necessary. I don’t see why it shouldn’t be opened. It should be opened as soon as possible as it would make the lives of people easier,” he said.

Izet Maxherraj, an Albanian, said his business which is located several metres away from the bridge would benefit from the opening. “The bridge should not have been closed at all. The closing hinders the development of businesses. The sooner it is opened the better. There can be no tensions,” he argued.

“The bridge must be opened because it unites people. I don’t understand who benefits [from the closing] and there is no reason for KFOR troops to be here. The interethnic situation is not bad. I don’t believe there will be any tensions,” another citizen said.

Serb citizens from Mitrovica North say that the bridge should be opened too. “The bridge should definitely be opened for all citizens, Albanians and Serbs. Enough with protests and tensions, that is over,” a Serb citizen told the TV station.

Another Serb said “I think that the bridge must be opened, because this too is part of Europe. We are Europeans too, we have good souls and minds, just like other people in the world. I don’t think there will be any tension. There is good communication between Serbs and Albanians, it has never been better. Serbs move freely on the other side. I see them going to the other side with their families. There are very good restaurants, and we have a good time there. I have always been an optimist that all people should live together”.

But there are also Serb citizens who still think that the bridge should not be opened.

Konjufca: Banjska, blow against cooperation, stability, security in region (media)

Kosovo Assembly Speaker Glauk Konjufca said in a Facebook post that in his address at the 11th session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the South-East European Cooperation Process in Skopje, he said that the attack against Kosovo Police in Banjska in September last year was a serious blow not only to cooperation, but also to security and stability in the region. “Therefore, this act needs to be condemned by all and without exception, while the perpetrators who are sheltered and protected by Serbia must be brought to justice. Without these positions and actions, it will be difficult to achieve the objectives of the SEECP,” he argued.

Konjufca also said that he called for “joint work by reaffirming the commitment to principles of equality, inclusiveness, and regional cooperation, to make sure that no member of our community is marginalised and that the Strategy for South-East Europe 2030 meets its commitment not to leave anyone behind and to encourage a region where every country can thrive”.

Serbian Language Media

Djuric: The dialogue in a coma; the new arrests of Serbs threw gloves in the face of the USA and the EU (RTS, media)

Minister of Foreign Affairs Marko Djuric told RTS this morning that many countries that would have to use their influence to prevent Kurti's ethno-nationalist "rampage" do not use their authority or are not interested, and in some cases, they replace the proclaimed priorities with geopolitical goals. Djuric announced that in the coming months, Serbia will conduct an intensive diplomatic campaign in European capitals to win over as many people as possible to its side, reported RTS.

A day after the visit of EU representative Miroslav Lajcak, Djuric said that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina is in a coma.

"It has nothing to do with Miroslav Lajcak, but with the fact that many countries that would have to use their authority and influence to prevent Kurti's ethno-nationalist rampage, do not use their authority or are not interested. And in some cases, something much worse is happening, which is that the previously proclaimed priority of creating a democratic and multi-ethnic society in Kosovo and Metohija is being replaced by some other geopolitical goals," Djuric told RTS.

According to the minister, one must be aware of the seriousness of the situation.

"For us, it is a key priority to support the survival of our people in Kosovo and Metohija. Our people should be patient, wise, to know that it is now up to their persistence to stay and survive, and the state of Serbia will do its best to provide both money and everything else enough, but the preservation of our state and national interests depends to a large extent on their persistence to stay on their land, and they are true heroes," said Djuric.

"New arrests throw gloves in the face of the US and the EU"

Another Serb was arrested yesterday in Kosovo, despite, Djuric recalled, the written guarantees of the EU and the USA.

He expects and hopes for a public and clear reaction from the EU and the US, because the additional arrests represent a "glove thrown in their face" and certainly do not contribute to stability on the ground.

"We will implement an intensive diplomatic campaign in European capitals"

He announced that in the coming months, Serbia will conduct an intensive diplomatic campaign in European capitals to win over as many people as possible to its side, since the new European Parliament has been constituted, so things are slowly changing in the political sense in Europe.

"Tomorrow in Austria we will have a meeting with a number of ministers of foreign affairs and I will participate in a forum in a small town that will bring together several ministers from the region. I will also have a meeting with Mr. Borrell, and already on Monday I will speak at the meeting of the Council of Ministers of the European Union, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and that is a phenomenal opportunity for us, as Serbia, which is not a member, to sit at that table and to express our anxieties, concerns, problems but also our vision for the future of the region," stated Djuric.

"Abolition of punitive measures would be an invitation for new unilateral moves"

Regarding the proposal of EU High Representative Josep Borrell to member states to lift punitive measures against Pristina, he estimates that this would literally be an invitation for new unilateral moves by Kurti.

"By voting for the lifting of measures against Pristina, those countries would be working directly against their own interests and against stability in Europe, and in favor of precisely those geopolitical actors against whom, as they present themselves to the public, they are ardently fighting," adds Djuric.

"UEFA was highly politicised when it accepted Pristina"

On the occasion of the events at the European football championship in Germany, where the FSS (Football Association of Serbia) president announced that he would submit a request to UEFA to punish the Croatian and Albanian federations after chanting by their fans, Djuric said that for him UEFA was highly politicised when it accepted Pristina into its ranks.

"I hope that the pressures coming from that side will awaken spite and an additional desire to fight in our guys, and we are very proud of them. Among other things, the messages 'kill the Serb' and the like tell you about the bad climate created by certain extreme politicians, first of all Kurti's ethno-nationalist regime, but also some others in the region who are trying in every way to use the broader geopolitical context for their goals, which are not commendable," Djuric assessed.

Detention ordered for a Serb from Zvecan arrested yesterday on the Bistrica Bridge (RTS, Kosovo Online, media)

The Serb from Zvecan, arrested last night on the Bistrica bridge, ordered 48 hours detention, reported RTS today.

RTS reported that the person arrested last night at the Bistrica bridge, was ordered 48 hours police custody, his lawyer Ljubomir Pantovic told the media.

He stated that the decision of the special prosecutor in Pristina is awaited as to whether he will be released to defend himself in the regular proceedings, or whether the prosecutor will ask the court to order custody or some other measure. The arrested Serb is accused of participating in last year's May protests in Zvecan.

Kosovo Online reported last night that the KP arrested a Serb, L.D., on the main road Raska-North Mitrovica. Veton Elshani, the deputy director of the Kosovo police for the North region, confirmed to Kosovo Online.

"He was arrested by members of the Kosovo police due to last year's events in front of the Zvecan Municipality building and the clashes with KFOR members," said Elshani. L.D. was at the police station in South Mitrovica.

Lawyer: I hope L.D. would be released, strange he got arrested after a year and so (Kosovo Online)

Lawyer Ljubomir Pantovic told Kosovo Online portal that arrested Serb from Zvecan, L.D. is accused of four criminal acts, adding he expects him to be released pending trial. He also said it is rather strange that he was “arrested suddenly”, after he moved freely in Kosovo for longer than a year and so.

Pantovic explained L.D. is currently accused of four criminal acts, same as the charges in other cases involving participants in a protest that took place in front of Zvecan municipal facility on May 29 last year, however, those charges were dismissed and narrowed to one – participation in a group carrying out criminal acts and hooliganism. He added this would most probably be the case for his client arrested at Kosovo special police checkpoint at Bistrica bridge yesterday in the evening.

Pantovic expressed hope L.D. would be released pending trial, as according to what he has seen in the case files, those acts were not serious, adding there are chances for him to be released.

The fact that L.D. over the previous period travelled freely to work twice a day as he works at customs point at Jarinje crossing and had an indictment surfacing suddenly Pantovic termed as “rather strange and unusual”. He also said L.D. knows the persons working at Jarinje crossing point quite well.

“It is very strange that after a year and so since he was moving around Kosovo on a daily basis and nothing was raised against him, he was suddenly arrested and sent to the court. In fact, I hope that something like that may not even happen {for his client to end up in court}”, Pantovic concluded.

Office for KiM: Arrest of Serb at Bistrica bridge is Kurti's attempt to provoke new crisis (media)

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija said in a statement that last night’s arrest of Lazar D. at Kosovo special police checkpoint on Bistrica bridge, due to last year’s events in front of Zvecan municipality, was motivated solely by political reasons and represents a new attempt by PM Albin Kurti to exacerbate the situation in the north of Kosovo and cause a new crisis, Kosovo Online portal reported.

The Office for KiM added this is supported by the fact that Lazar D., as a customs employee at the Jarinje crossing point, passed that road every day for more than a year and moved normally in the north of Kosovo, and he was taken into custody now that Pristina is ready for a new increase of tensions.

“It is clear that Kurti, by continuing the terror, which he usually applies during discussions about the possibility of the continuation of the dialogue, wants to provoke the Serbs in Kosovo and further escalate the situation on the ground and escape from his obligations in the dialogue”, Office for KiM warned.

The Office asks how come that no one was held accountable for the wounding of Dragisa Galjak outside the municipality of Zvecan on May 29, last year, who was shot in the back by police officers with two bullets, and to this day he is recovering from those injuries, and a Serb from Zvecan is arrested because “together with his fellow residents he was in front of his municipality protesting the occupation”?

“It is clear that the guarantees given by the USA and the EU in December 2022 that the Serbs will not be arrested for political reasons and for protest gatherings have merely been dead letter for a long time and that Kurti has a free reign to carry out terror against the Serbian people and because of the protest, the Serbs are being charged with the most serious crimes, such as the “assault on the so-called constitutional order”, the Office for KiM said.

Serbian List: If innocent Serbs are arrested, because of what Kurti deserved lifting of punitive measures (Kosovo Online, media)

Serbian List requested in a statement today that Serb arrested yesterday at Bistrica bridge, same as all other, as they stressed, innocent arrested Serbs are released pending trial to respond to false accusations, and not spending time in Pristina's casemates across Kosovo. Serbian List also asked because of what, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, deserved lifting of punitive measures imposed on Pristina, Kosovo Online portal reported.

Serbian List said that arrested Lazar D. is known as a man ready to help everyone regardless of ethnicity, and not as someone who should be arrested and mistreated.

"This arrest Kurti's regime links to the civic protest over violent incursion of illegal and illegitimate mayors into the Zvecan municipal building, but at the same time, none of those who shot to kill Dragisa Galjak that day without warning or legal basis were detained, as no one was convicted for the attempted murders of Serbs on the Bistrica Bridge or Serbian children from Gotovusa on Christmas Day", reads the statement.

As it was added, the question arises if innocent Serbs are arrested, entire Serbian families are expelled, payment transactions abolished, delivery of food and medicine prohibited, Serbian banks and institutions closed, because of what, Kurti deserves lifting of punitive measures.

A decade since the creation of the Peace Park on the Ibar Bridge, new fears for Serbs (Kosovo Online)

Ten years ago, the Peace Park was built on the main bridge over the Ibar between North and South Mitrovica. The bridge was made accessible for pedestrians but not for vehicular traffic, which is a goal the authorities in Pristina aim to achieve this summer.

The Peace Park was constructed the day after the removal of concrete barricades on the northern side of the bridge, which had been set up in 2011 by Serbs opposing the presence of Pristina's institutions in northern Kosovo, following the Kosovo Police taking control of the Jarinje and Brnjak crossings. The decision to build the park was made by the then-mayor of North Mitrovica, Goran Rakic, in coordination with the Serbian state leadership. Although Rakic stated that this act extended a hand of friendship to Albanian neighbours, the construction of the Peace Park was not welcomed by Albanians from the southern part of the city.

Four days after the planters with greenery were placed, a protest titled "Either You, or Us" was held in front of the bridge in South Mitrovica by Albanians. The protest turned into riots, in which about 20 people were injured. A group of demonstrators attempted to cross the bridge to the northern part of the city, and Kosovo police and KFOR were pelted with stones, to which they responded with tear gas and shock bombs.

The park lasted for two years before being removed due to the bridge's revitalization, as agreed in the Brussels dialogue.

Regarding the bridge's function, Serbs and Albanians still hold different views today. Serbs' fears remain the same.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/5n85hmcf

International

Anti-corruption fight in Balkans sees progress, but also regression: report (BIRN)

Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia have made institutional efforts to combat corruption, but Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia are showing stagnation or decline in that area, the watchdog organisation Transparency International said in a new report.

The report, ‘Between Anti-Corruption Reform and Decline’ examines key actors, strengths and weaknesses in the Western Balkans and Turkey’s national integrity systems. Research was carried out between September 2022 and December 2023.

The report states that despite a variety of political and public sector integrity reforms, partly intended to make progress toward EU integration, people still see corruption as one of the biggest problems in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

“Separation of powers between the executive and legislative, the justice sector, political integrity, public sector integrity, oversight institutions, and civil society and the media, in their role as anticorruption watchdogs, are identified as six critical areas warranting further anti-corruption efforts,” the report said.

In Turkey, according to TI, anti-corruption efforts have retreated amid the consolidation of the country’s autocratic regime. Meanwhile, In Serbia, anti-corruption efforts are overshadowed by the ongoing weakening of democratic institutions and strengthening of President Aleksandar Vucic’s influence.

Both countries are marked as having problematic electoral processes. “Flawed electoral processes are eroding public trust in the democratic system, with Serbia and Turkey showing signs of democratic decline and alleged manipulation of the voting process through vote buying and fraud,” the report cautioned.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has shown some progress but this remains impaired by the complexities of its system of government and internal disputes. These “block reforms and lead to misaligned rules between the state and the entity level – Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska”, the report added.

Montenegro, TI said, has been grappling with political instability, with three governments in three years, after breaking with three decades of rule by the Democratic Party of Socialists in 2020.

“While the former ruling party may have lost institutional power, its networks still exert considerable informal influence across much of the public sector. This is instrumental in maintaining elements of state capture and accompanying impunity that has destabilized subsequent governments,” the report said.

Kosovo and North Macedonia, TI noted, emerged as promising examples in the fight against corruption, achieving an upward trajectory in their scores on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, CPI, since 2016.

But Albania’s CPI scores show stagnation, despite significant reforms. The rigorous vetting process within the judiciary and prosecution indicates that reforms still need time to show impact, and additional efforts are needed.