UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, March 26, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Gervalla: Russia alone in its effort to distort the truth (media)
Haradinaj on letter to Bakoyannis: Big pledges, concrete obligations (Telegrafi)
Burning of properties in the north of Kosovo remains unpunished (RFE)
COMKFOR meets Montenegrin interior minister, discuss Kosovo (RTK)
Shea: There will be no war in Kosovo (media)
Bajrami to Kurti: You announced departure, better resign (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

Dacic: We are disappointed with silencing of truth about 1999 NATO bombing (Tanjug)
Dacic: Council of Europe session aimed at securing “independence of so-called Kosovo” (Tanjug)
Pantic-Pilja on vote of PACE Political Committee on Kosovo: Serbia's maneuvering space narrowed (Kosovo Online)
Bystron: There is immense pressure for Kosovo to join Council of Europe (Kosovo Online)
Patriarch Porfirije: There is room for everyone in Kosovo, we invite Albanians to dialogue (Radio KIM, media)
Surlic: Without international pressure one can not expect Pristina to change stance (Tanjug)
Court hearing of four special police officers in relation to wounding of Serb at Bistrica bridge held (KoSSev)
Vucic to meet Quint ambassadors tomorrow (Tanjug)

Opinion:

It’s Time Kosovo’s Govt Condemned its Army of Cyber-Bullies (Balkan Insight)

International:

In Wartime Village Massacre, Kosovo’s Ashkali Minority Suffered Too (Balkan Insight)
Serbia ‘Disappointed’ as UN Security Council Rejects NATO Bombing Debate (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

Involvement of Youth in Crime and Extremism in Kosovo: Community Challenges and Solutions (Prishtina Insight)
Shahini: 400 companies closed in three months, Kosovo unattractive for new businesses (Kosovo Online)

Albanian Language Media

Gervalla: Russia alone in its effort to distort the truth (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla, said today that Russia was alone in its effort to distort the truth after its failed call for an extraordinary session of the United Nations Security Council on Kosovo. On Monday, only three member states voted in favor of holding the session on the 25th anniversary of NATO air raids over Serbian targets.

Gervalla said that Kosovo was ready “to present to the members of the Security Council facts about Serbia’s genocidal crimes against the civilian population in Kosovo. We welcomed the unity of our partners, friends, and allies not to allow the holding of this propagandistic session. Russia was alone in its dangerous effort to use the Security Council to distort the truth. With only three votes in favor and 13 abstentions, Russia’s initiative did not pass. Hundreds of massacres that Serbia committed in Kosovo, the killing of 1,432 children, the raping of thousands of women, girls, men, and children, the disappearance of war victims and the destruction of Kosovo’s wealth were and remain a fact,” she said.

Haradinaj on letter to Bakoyannis: Big pledges, concrete obligations (Telegrafi)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, commented on a letter that Kosovo’s leaders, President Vjosa Osmani, Prime Minister Albin Kurti, and Assembly President Glauk Konjufca, sent to Council of Europe’s rapporteur on Kosovo, Dora Bakoyannis.

Haradinaj argued in a Facebook post that it is understandable that the letter can be a standard before the membership application at the Council of Europe, but cannot be considered a formality because the range of pledges in the letter is very wide and contains concrete obligations.

“They pledge to implement all articles of the agreements in Brussels and Ohrid, including the Association [of Serb-majority municipalities]. The question is why they had to delay the implementation of the agreement until now,” he said.

“Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe is a major event and an important step toward integration in the EU and perhaps the letter of pledges sent to Bakoyannis is in this regard, but it is surprising how the institutional leaders of Kosovo, so far have ignored the same requests from high levels of the U.S. and the EU, and this is precisely why we are under sanctions now and with very aggravated relations with the U.S. and EU, and forced to repeat the elections in the north, and to deal with the Dinar, and faced with the worst possible position in the process of dialogue with Serbia!” Haradinaj said.

Burning of properties in the north of Kosovo remains unpunished (RFE)

The news website reports that it could not get a concrete answer about who is burning personal properties in the Serb-majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo, neither from the Kosovo Police nor from the prosecution of Mitrovica which covers the four municipalities, Mitrovica North, Leposavic, Zubin Potok, and Zvecan.

The motives, officially, are unknown. What is known is that lately the properties of local Serb officials who were employed in municipalities that operate according to the Kosovo system, were burned. The municipalities are currently led by Albanian mayors.

The latest case of property burning happened on March 22, when the house of Nenad Radosavljevic, director of the Department for Sports, Youth and Culture, in the municipality of Leposavic, was burned. Radosavljevic claims that his wooden house was completely burned. While police said the case was “an incident because of bad installation”, Radosavljevic in an interview with Radio Free Europe blamed the Serbian List. The latter, the biggest party of Kosovo Serbs, denied all accusations, and asked Radosavljevic not to point at them “with orders from the regime in Pristina” and without having any evidence. The Serbian List is the only political party in Kosovo that has Belgrade’s support for its activities. With its initiative, members of the Serb community left Kosovo’s institutions in November 2022 in order to prevent the re-registration of vehicles with Serbian plates to Kosovo plates. Then in late May 2023, Albanian mayors took up office in the north, because the Serbs – again following a call by the Serbian List – boycotted the elections. Nevertheless, some individuals that don’t support this party’s policy, are part of the new local governments.

Kosovo Police Deputy Director for the north, Veton Elshani, told Radio Free Europe that since the start of the year, in the northern municipalities there have been seven recorded cases of burning of personal properties of members of the Serb community. The investigations are ongoing but there have been no concrete results yet. “We don’t know who and why they set them on fire. No arrests have been made,” he said.

The prosecution in the north did not respond to a request for comment for the news website about the level of burning of personal properties and if there are any suspects for the crimes.

In early March, unknown persons set fire to premises owned by Natasa Tomanic, deputy mayor of Zvecan municipality, which works according to the Kosovo system. Tomanic said she suspects that the Serbian List is behind the incident, but the political party denied it. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti condemned the burning of the property saying that Belgrade was “applying pressure on Serbs that want to integrate”.

Earlier, in late January, the vehicle of the chairman of the Municipal Assembly of Leposavic, Gorski Buric, was set on fire. At the time, the Kosovo Ministry of Interior Affairs, led by Minister Xhelal Svecla, said that “the attack against Buric shows that Serbia has not changed its approach toward Serbs that are loyal to the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo”.

On the other hand, the Serbian List reacted to the burning of a vehicle owned by Radmila Vukicevic, chairwoman of the municipal administration under the Serbian system and close associate of the chairman of the provisional municipal authority of Leposavic municipality, Zoran Todic. Later, the Serbian List, in media statements, mentioned the owner of the Kosovo Online news website, Dusan Milanovic, whose vehicle was burned on March 17. It also said it suspects that behind the incidents is Kosovo’s Deputy Minister for Communities and Returns, Radoica Radomirovic, and then repeated the same accusations on March 24, after Radosavljevic said that supporters of the Serbian List burned his villa.

Radio Free Europe asked the Serbian List to comment on accusations against it and to explain how Radoica Radomirovic is behind the burning of vehicles owned by Radmila Vukicevic and Dusan Milanovic, but the party did not reply.

In its media statements, the Serbian List mentioned an audio recording in which Radomirovic is heard “explaining how fires are started and how vehicles are burned”. The recording was shared in Serbian channels of Telegram.

Radomirovic confirmed to the news website the authenticity of the recording but said that it was taken out of context “to express a negative meaning”. “The recording was made on November 18 [last year] and I know who recorded it. The police were aware about the recording, and I gave a statement to the police and named the witnesses that were there,” Radomirovic explained, adding that during the conversation there were discussions about the burning of vehicles in the north. Radomirovic also said that “it is known who burns the properties of Serbs in the north” and that he has given all the information to the police.

He suspects that the supporters of the Serbian List, following orders by Milan Radoicic, burned the vehicles of Radmila Vukicevic and Dusan Milanovic, with the aim of raising tensions.

Radoicic is a former member of the Serbian List, who admitted having organized the attack in Banjska, in the north of Kosovo, where a Kosovo police officer was killed. He is wanted by courts in Kosovo about the killing and intimidation of a witness, while the U.S. have sanctioned him for involvement in international crime and corruption.

Srdjan Simonovic from the non-governmental organization “Human Centre” in Mitrovica North, which deals with security issues, said that “the latest political burnings” of private properties are a result of “political disputes”.’

According to him, the Serbian List and individuals that have joined the work of local authorities, do not enjoy great support among the people, and that in this respect these incidents, he said, would not increase tensions on the ground.

Simonovic also said he doesn’t believe that all incidents in the north are linked but did not rule out that some of them can have political motives. “There is a kind of competition, political games, which we cannot see, but we know they are present,” he told the news website.

He added that the burning of vehicles of political opponents is “a trademark of the north” and that he hopes this does not turn into the burning of houses.

COMKFOR meets Montenegrin interior minister, discuss Kosovo (RTK)

The commander of the KFOR mission, Ozkan Ulutas, met on Monday the Minister of Defense of Montenegro, Dragan Krapovic. “Today, Major General Ozkan Ulutas, the Commander of the NATO-led KFOR mission, met with the Minister of Defense, Dragan Krapovic, and the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Montenegro, Zoran Lazarevic, in Montenegro. They exchanged views on several topics of mutual interest, including KFOR's activities under its UN mandate and support to the EU-led dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, as well as KFOR's pivotal role to safeguard regional stability. Major General Ulutas also hailed Montenegro's valuable contributions to the mission. KFOR continues to implement its mandate - based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999 - to provide a safe and secure environment for all communities living in Kosovo and freedom of movement, at all times and impartially. KFOR is the third security responder, after the Kosovo Police and the EU Rule of Law (EULEX) mission, respectively, with whom we work in close coordination,” reads the KFOR announcement.

Shea: There will be no war in Kosovo (media)

Most news websites cover an interview that former NATO spokesperson Jamie Shea gave to Tirana-based A2CNN highlighting his quote that there will be no war in Kosovo. “I don’t see any prospect of a war between Serbia and Kosovo. But there are certainly tensions, and this is one of the reasons why NATO sent additional forces to KFOR last year, both before the incident in Banjska, and after the incident in Banjska, to make sure that there are enough NATO troops in Kosovo, including in the north, to prevent any kind of aggression and attack. NATO is very vigilant,” he said.

Shea said the situation is tense, but that NATO is fully mobilized. “The European Union is too, to manage crises, to prevent incidents, to reduce tensions and above all to get the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina back on track,” he said. To achieve this, he added, it is important for Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to prove he is a reliable partner of the U.S. and EU. “What has been successful in the past is that the Kosovo Government worked very closely with its biggest friends in the EU and NATO, with the United States and Great Britain. We have been good partners and we need to maintain this partnership,” he said.

Bajrami to Kurti: You announced departure, better resign (RTK)

Hykmete Bajrami, MP of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), has said that the government has invested zero euros in the stadiums of Peja and Gjilan. She responded to Prime Minister Albin Kurti, after he published some data on his governance for these three years on Facebook, where he emphasized that during this time there is more rule of law.

"Propaganda does not pass! He is talking as if he took office yesterday. You entered the fourth year of government. The citizens of Gjilan and Peja know exactly how much you have invested in their stadiums for three years - ZERO EUROS.

Just as you are cheating with the construction of 160 nurseries, you are also trying to make imaginary numbers with the public.

You have announced departure with new elections. Better resign! Surrender is no different", Bajrami wrote.

Serbian Language Media

Dacic: We are disappointed with silencing of truth about 1999 NATO bombing (Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister in technical mandate Ivica Dacic said in New York on Monday “Serbia was disappointed that the truth about the 1999 NATO aggression on the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) had been silenced in the UN Security Council”, Tanjug news agency reported.

"We came here at the invitation of the UNSC. We believe this topic is extremely important for the international legal order and that, just like the bombing of Serbia was carried out as a precedent, a precedent occurred in the procedural vote today", Dacic told a press conference at the UNSC headquarters.

He thanked Russia, China and Algeria for voting for a motion to debate the bombing of the FRY in the UNSC. Twelve UNSC members - France, the UK, the US, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Switzerland - abstained and there were no votes against.

Dacic also thanked the countries that did not vote in favor of the motion and added that many of them had abstained because they had not wanted to discuss a topic "where, obviously, there are double standards". As a result of the vote, a Russia-proposed debate on the 25th anniversary of the 1999 NATO bombing of the FRY was not put on the agenda of the UNSC.

Commenting on purported humanitarian grounds used as a pretext for the bombing, Dacic said: "What humanitarian grounds?" and added that an "almost complete ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija" had been carried out at the time.

"Is a humanitarian intervention against Pristina needed now when crimes are being committed against the Serbs, after 14 percent of Serbs had been expelled in the past several months and when Pristina does not want to form a Community of Serb Municipalities, but is instead rewarded with membership in various international organizations?" Dacic also said.

Dacic: Council of Europe session aimed at securing “independence of so-called Kosovo” (Tanjug)

First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in technical mandate Ivica Dacic said the upcoming session of the Council of Europe at which Pristina membership bid should be considered was called “to secure independence to the so-called Kosovo and represents continuation of what has started with NATO aggression against Federal Republic of Yugoslavia”.

"That is just a follow-up to what began 25 years ago yesterday. They simply cannot believe a small country like Serbia is fighting against a full independence of Kosovo materializing in the international arena. They are wondering how it is possible that countries are derecognising (Kosovo). Today, 109 countries do not recognise Kosovo and 84 recognise it", Dacic told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York.

He noted that the international community had demanded that Pristina form a Community of Serbian Municipalities, but then given up on the demand, launching a procedure of Pristina's admission to CoE.

"If it no longer matters whether a state is internationally recognised or not, if it no longer matters whether a part of a territory can secede and become a CoE member, where is the end to all that? Or does someone believe that can apply to Serbia only? We are seriously considering how we should act in a situation where international principles are being grossly violated", Dacic said, noting that, on the other hand, Serbia must look after its international position.

"What is certain is that Kosovo will not be able to join the UN as long as we and our leadership, headed by President (Aleksandar) Vucic, maintain our firm position that we will never recognise Kosovo as independent", Dacic said.

Pantic-Pilja on vote of PACE Political Committee on Kosovo: Serbia's maneuvering space narrowed (Kosovo Online)

The head of Serbian Parliament Permanent Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Biljana Pantic-Pilja, told Kosovo Online portal that Serbia's maneuvering space is very limited ahead of tomorrow's meeting of the PACE Political Committee that is supposed to vote on Dora Bakoyannis's report recommending Kosovo accession to this organization.

She recalled that only two weeks ago, Bakoyannis repeatedly stated that she would give a positive opinion only when Kosovo fulfilled three conditions regarding the return of land to the Visoki Decani Monastery as per the Constitutional Court's ruling from 2016, the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities as per the Brussels Agreement, and the expropriation of land. However, the only thing Pristina has done in the meantime is to finally implement the Constitutional Court's decision.

"That was enough for Bakoyannis to change her position now. We always emphasize that Articles 3 and 4 of the Council of Europe Statute state that only a state that respects rights and human and minority freedoms can be a member. We constantly emphasize that Kosovo is not a state, but they are trying to suppress that fact, while we refer to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 that Kosovo is a southern Serbian province and that no entity can become a member of the Council of Europe. There is no respect but constant violation of human rights, especially the rights of Serbs, but they don't want to hear that. So, her statement, 'Now you can say that to the European Court of Human Rights,' even though the report doesn't mention all these violations of human rights, is very hypocritical", Pantic-Pilja added.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/xPQR2

Bystron: There is immense pressure for Kosovo to join Council of Europe (Kosovo Online)

Petr Bystron, the head of the Foreign Policy Committee of the parliamentary group Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the Bundestag, told Kosovo Online portal that he observes with great concern the processes regarding Kosovo request to become a member of the Council of Europe, adding there is immense pressure on all countries to support these tendencies.

"There is a desire to integrate Kosovo into all possible international organizations. We are strongly against it, Kosovo is not a state, it is a construction that cannot survive. It is a NATO and EU protectorate. We see great potential for further escalation if we continue on this path", Bystron, who is a deputy member of the Permanent Delegation of the Bundestag to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe said.

Tomorrow, the Political Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will vote on rapporteur Dora Bakoyannis's recommendation for Kosovo to be admitted to this organization, the portal recalled.

Patriarch Porfirije: There is room for everyone in Kosovo, we invite Albanians to dialogue (Radio KIM, media)

Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije at today’s scientific gathering, Kosovo and Metohija – History and Cultural Heritage, invited Kosovo Albanians to dialogue, adding that there is enough room for everyone in Kosovo, Radio KIM reports.

"We are witnessing different types of historical revisionism. But this is not even about revisionism, when places of victims and criminals are changed. There are completely fictitious, imaginary constructions on the issue of Serbian holy shrines in place. Again and again, guided by Christ's love, we invite Kosovo and Metohija Albanians to dialogue, because just as there is room for everyone in Kosovo and Metohija, there is always and still room for dialogue about the lives of people in Kosovo and Metohija", the Patriarch Porfirije said.

As he said, respect, protection of human and especially religious rights represent a universal civilizational value, because these rights belong to everyone, and must be guaranteed also to the Serbian Orthodox Church and its faithful people, that is, universal human and religious rights and freedoms cannot be part of status negotiations and political agreements.

Bishop Teodosije of Raska-Prizren Diocese said that today it is rare to see an area where Serbs live more difficult, while at the same time there is so much Christian hope and willingness to remain at their own places, as it is in Kosovo and Metohija. Bishop Teodosije also said that Serbs living in isolated enclaves are truly heroes of our times.

The gathering was organized by the Serbian Orthodox Church and Serbian Matica, and took place at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the University in Belgrade, Radio KIM recalled.

Surlic: Without international pressure one can not expect Pristina to change stance (Tanjug)

Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, Stefan Surlic commenting on yesterday’s talks held in Brussels which ended without agreement, said that without crucial international pressure one can not expect any change in the stance of Pristina, noting the rigid stance of the later that dinar no longer can be means on payment in Kosovo.

He told Tanjug news agency that based on the statements made after the meeting in Brussels it is clear that Belgrade delegation came with concrete proposals and clearly developed plan, while Pristina has only bought the time by offering to implement what it described as its red lines, regulation of the Kosovo Central Bank decision and legal framework which prevent use of dinar in Kosovo territory.

Court hearing of four special police officers in relation to wounding of Serb at Bistrica bridge held (KoSSev)

A hearing of four Kosovo special police officers was held yesterday at the Basic Court in Mitrovica, in relation to the wounding of a Serb man, at Bistrica bridge, in April last year, KoSSev portal reported. On April 10, 2023, in the evening hours, at the location where Kosovo special police checkpoint was manned, a man M.J. from Zerovnica sustained gunshot shoulder injuries while he was passing by the checkpoint with his vehicle.

As M.J. said tomorrow, at the moment he heard the shooting, there was no one on the street apart from him and police officers at the checkpoint. He also said he could not confirm who shot.

At first, the police denied involvement of their members in the wounding, but soon changed the statement. All four special police officers who were on duty that evening were suspended and arrested, one for the criminal act of “attempted murder”, which he also tried to conceal, and the three others because they did not report this criminal act. In July last year, an indictment against police officers K.P., F.M., S.U., and M.M., was raised.

First part of the indictment accuses K.P., that he as police officer in April last year at Bistrica bridge attempted to deprive of life one person which ignored his order to pull over, adding that he shot from an official weapon twice, hit the vehicle in the back side, and wounded the driver in the right arm, who sustained perforating wound on the right side above collarbone, lacerations on the back right part of the head, qualifying them as lighter bodily injury with provisional health consequences.

K.P., is accused of “attempted murder” and concealing the evidence because he hid the two bullet cases. Other three police officers are accused of not reporting the criminal act, although they knew about it and were present.

A chief of the Surgery Department of the Clinical Hospital Center in Mitrovica North spoke at the hearing yesterday. He described how he was informed about the wounding of M.J. during the night and that he took part in the treatment of M.J. the following day. He also said he prepared the report, including history of treatments, reports from surgery and finally discharge list, which contains all details from the moment of admission to the moment of discharge of M.J.

Vucic to meet Quint ambassadors tomorrow (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will meet Quint ambassadors tomorrow, Tanjug news agency reported. The head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, will also be present, reads the statement from Serbian Presidency.

The meeting will take place at the General Secretariat Building, starting at 10.00.

Opinion

It’s Time Kosovo’s Govt Condemned its Army of Cyber-Bullies (Balkan Insight)

By Abit Hoxha, Assistant Professor at the University of Agder in Norway

The growing use by Balkan governments, including Kosovo’s, of ‘digital vigilantes’ to smear and harass critics and opponents online is contaminating the digital space and eroding press freedom.

Kosovo scores reasonably well in terms of press freedom in comparison to other countries in the Western Balkans and has a pluralist media system that plays a key role in gatekeeping and watching over governmental actions.

However, Kosovo is failing to address issues of “digital vigilantism” against both local and international actors who criticize Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s government.

When his Vetëvendosje party was in opposition, its creative campaigning and messages made it interesting and politically influential with the public. A key role in such widespread communication was played by young, skilled digital activists who have gained more prominence over the last three years of Kurti´s government.

International

In Wartime Village Massacre, Kosovo’s Ashkali Minority Suffered Too (Balkan Insight)

When Jeton was 13, Serbian forces killed his father, grandfather and brothers, members of Kosovo’s Ashkali ethnic minority, alongside Kosovo Albanians in the Krusha e Madhe/Velika Krusa village massacre. Twenty-five years on, he recalls the day he escaped death.

Jeton Mahmuti still sometimes feels the explosions that shook the evening dusk in the village of Krusha e Madhe/Velika Krusa 25 years ago. He sometimes still hears the screams of children in the nearby forest and sees the houses on fire. He remembers March 26, 1999, when he saw his father, grandfather and two brothers for the last time.

A day earlier, in the early morning, Mahmuti, then 13 years old, woke up to the sound of heavy artillery and his mother’s voice urging him to get dressed quickly and get moving.

Several hours earlier, NATO had started its air campaign against Yugoslavia, aimed at forcing Slobodan Milosevic to end Serbia’s campaign of repression against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Mahmuti’s parents, like many people in the village, hadn’t slept at all that night, thinking about what to do when NATO started bombing.

Humanitarian/Development

Involvement of Youth in Crime and Extremism in Kosovo: Community Challenges and Solutions (Prishtina Insight)

Involvement of youth in Kosovo in various criminal offenses such as theft, physical violence, acts with religious motives, and incitement of hatred has highlighted the need at the municipal level to work more with Local Safety Councils for Community Awareness but also awareness regarding the new strategy against extremism.

Three minors were arrested by the Kosovo police on March 15 on suspicion of having set fire to two court offices in the Municipality of Kacanik. The motive is unknown. The Mayor of the Kacanik Municipality, Besim Ilazi, told “Kallxo Përnime” TV program on March 22 that, while the police are handling the case, the phenomenon of minors being involved in violent acts has not yet been a topic of discussion within the community safety mechanism.

“This is the first case of this kind,” Ilazi declared, explaining that “in the Community Safety Council we deal with different themes and different forms of extremism, radicalism, but we have not had such cases in Kacanik until now”.