Albanian Language Media:

• Varhelyi: Parties to implement reached agreements, including Association (Koha)
• New mayors of northern municipalities sworn in (Radio Free Europe)
• Kurti calls for full, swift and unconditional implementation of agreement (media)
• Exclusive: These are four steps of implementation of the agreement, needs to end by autumn, otherwise “consequences will be immediate” (Albanian Post)
• Haxhiu: Kosovo needs a professional and brave state chief prosecutor (media)
• Radoica Radomirovic appointed Deputy Minister for Communities and Returns (media)
• AJK: Sami Kurteshi’s language against us is very dangerous and unacceptable (Klan)
• Who is Srdjan Jurisevic, Montenegrin arrested in Gjilan on international warrant (Kallxo)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic receives US senators (Tanjug, media)
• ‘KLA’ graffiti appeared on children’s playground in Ugljare village (Tanjug, RTS, N1)
• Freedom House: No change for Serbia (N1)
• Radoica Radomirovic appointed as Rasic’s deputy (KoSSev)
• UNS: In four months 43 cases of attacks, pressure on journalists in Serbia (Beta, N1)
• Without presence of Serbian councillors, with flags of Kosovo and Albania: Mayor of Zubin Potok took oath (Danas)
• Hetemi took oath as Leposavic mayor in Saljska Bistrica (Kosovo Online) 
• Zvecan Mayor, Ilir Peci, after taking oath, made statements next to grave of Isa Boletini (Kosovo Online) 
• Vucic receives farewell visit from Cypriot ambassador (Tanjug)
• Dacic: Serbia wishes more active presence of OSCE in Kosovo (RTS)

International:

• Kosovo Ruling Party Criticised for Electing Supporter to Media Regulator Board (BIRN)
• Activists Advocate for Lower Taxes on Menstrual Products in Kosovo (Prishtina Insight)

     

Albanian Language Media  

  Varhelyi: Parties to implement reached agreements, including Association (Koha)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said today after meeting EU Commissioner for and Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivier Varhelyi that Kosovo remains committed to the path toward EU integration and that work is being done everyday to reach this objective. “Our commitment to get our country closer to the EU remains unwavering. The membership application reconfirms this. Kosovo is strengthening the rule of law everyday by coordinating with the EU. Kosovo continues to stand alongside its allies to protect our democracies and values. Our engagement to strengthen our police and increase professionalism are priorities for our institutions because this is the best thing for our citizens. As you know after long and unjust delays, starting from January 1 next year, Kosovo will be closer to the EU, with the liberalisation of visas,” Osmani said.

On the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Varhelyi said that the parties need to implement the reached agreements. “The purpose of my visit is not to remind you about this, but all parties need to implement the agreements reached, including those from 2013 and 2015 for the formation of the Association,” he said.

Varhelyi also said that reforms must continue and be implemented. “If there is a clear message that always comes from Pristina and Kosovo is that of commitment toward approximation with the EU. You have proved engagement and support in imposing sanctions against Russia. We also talked about the issue of reforms, and the achievements in the last six years. Reforms must be continuous and implemented. A track record is needed. We welcome the government’s engagement to improve the judiciary, and the fight against corruption. High-level corruption and organised crime must be fought. Kosovo is at an early phase of addressing these issues. Kosovo is a strategic place for attracting businesses, but the necessary conditions must be created. Also the violence and pressure against the media must stop,” he said.

New mayors of northern municipalities sworn in (Radio Free Europe)

The new mayors of the Serb-majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo – Zubin Potok, Zvecan and Leposavic – were sworn in today. All three mayors pledged they would work for the good of the citizens while respecting the law. 

“I wish that from now on we are at the highest level of responsibility, and provide all services to the citizens of the municipality of Zubin Potok without any difference,” the new mayor of Zubin Potok, Izmir Zeqiri said. “We will go to the municipality of Zubin Potok. All buildings that belong to the citizens and the municipality, will be in the possession of all departments led by the office of the municipality”.

The swearing-in ceremony of Zeqiri was held in the Municipal Office for Communities in the village of Caber in Zubin Potok, while the swearing-in ceremony for Ilir Peci in Zvecan was held at the elementary school in the village of Boletin in the municipality. “I will work for all. I will be equal for all citizens of the municipality of Zvecan,” Peci said. He also said he does not know when they will have access to the main building of the municipality, which is also used by Serb parallel structures. 

Kurti calls for full, swift and unconditional implementation of agreement (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a Twitter post today that he had “a very good call last night with the German Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Manuel Sarrazin on implementation of the mobility agreement signed under the Berlin Process, and of the Basic Agreement and Annex in the Brussels dialogue”. “Emphasised the importance of full, swift and unconditional implementation,” he tweeted.

Exclusive: These are four steps of implementation of the agreement, needs to end by autumn, otherwise “consequences will be immediate” (Albanian Post)

Kosovo needs to present the Statute of the Association, to present the model of the mechanism that will incorporate the management of Serb schools and medical system, at the same time regulate the status of the Serb Orthodox Church by signing special agreements with religious communities in Kosovo, while Serbia needs to implement Article 1 of the Agreement on the Path toward the Normalisation of Relations, to make a concrete pledge to implement Article 4 and together with Kosovo to engage in the implementation of Article 6 of the Agreement.

Everything is foreseen to be implemented in a four-step process. “The first three steps need to be implemented by autumn 2023,” said sources that presented to the news website the operation map.

Sources, which are well-informed about the dynamics of the process of normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, told Albanian Post that different officials from powerful western countries have already assigned tasks and are simultaneously “putting exceptional pressure on both parties”.

The pressure on Pristina is focused on the need for Kosovo to become part of substantial talks on the Association [of Serb-majority municipalities] but not only by giving remarks and expressing its disagreements, but also by presenting its concrete proposal on what the Association should be.

“Internationals do not suffice with idea letters or the memorandums such as a vision on the issue, but they want a Statute document that could stand before the Statute document prepared by Belgrade,” the source said.

The pressure on Belgrade meanwhile is focused on what can be qualified as disciplining of the authorities there, “a powerful reminder that Belgrade needs to act in accordance with the spirit of the agreement”.

The international request for Belgrade “has a specific nature: the return of northern Serbs to Kosovo’s institutions and agreement for the symbolic start of the implementation of the basic agreement”.

The same sources said that the basic agreement has some critical points that need to be addressed with urgency in order not to allow the blocking of the process. “For Serbia: Article 1, the mutual recognition of all documents, Article 4. Not obstructing Kosovo on its international path, and Article 8, the functionalization of liaison offices or permanent missions”, while “for Kosovo: Article 7, which in itself includes Article 9, the formation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities and regulating the legal position of the Serb Orthodox Church”.

Haxhiu: Kosovo needs a professional and brave state chief prosecutor (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said in an interview with KTV on Wednesday that Kosovo needs a state chief prosecutor that has professional integrity and is brave. Asked about the candidate for the post, Blerim Isufaj, Haxhiu said that as chief prosecutor of the Special Prosecution he doesn’t have the readiness to fight “the big fish”.

“Kosovo needs a chief prosecutor with professional integrity and bravery … Mr. Isufaj is chief prosecutor of the Special Prosecution, and this prosecution has the biggest competencies in terms of working on war crimes, organised crime and corruption, and money laundering. Where do we stand with such cases? There is no readiness to fight the big fish. I commend them on their recent, being that we have made it possible to have trials in absentia for war criminals. There is positive movement in this respect, but why didn’t they act earlier and why files of corruption and organised crime are still in the drawers of the Special Prosecution? Why were public enterprises that were on the brink of bankruptcy and harmful contracts never seriously addressed? Why? Who stopped them? Kosovo has prosecutors that are brave. This is what we need. There are very good prosecutors and judges in Kosovo, but they were never allowed to get to a high level,” she argued.

Meanwhile, deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Vlora Citaku, took to Facebook today to say that “continuous attacks by the government against specific names of prosecutors, journalists, unionists, are hard evidence of their totalitarian mindset. They don’t want to govern. They want to rule. Either submission or stigmatisation. There is no other way in their mindset. Yesterday’s statement by the Minister of Justice is in this spirit”. Radoica Radomirovic appointed Deputy Minister for Communities and Returns (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti appointed today Radoica Radomirovic as Deputy Minister for Communities and Returns. Kurti congratulated Radomirovic on his post and wished him success in carrying out his duties. 

AJK: Sami Kurteshi’s language against us is very dangerous and unacceptable (Klan)

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) said in a statement today that Vetevendosje’s representative in the Central Election Commission, Sami Kurteshi, was involved on Wednesday in “another attack against the media and reporters”.

The AJK said that while commenting on reactions to Luljeta Aliu’s election as a member of the Independent Media Commission, Kurteshi accused the media and reporters of being part of “the organised political-economic crime under the firm PLANS”.

“In a very dangerous and absolutely unacceptable language, Kurteshi wrote that ‘the AJK is an inseparable part of the organised crime machinery!’ … The AJK again calls on Prime Minister and Vetevendosje leader, Albin Kurti, to engage in stopping the constant attacks by members of the government and his party, because they directly affect the security of reporters in Kosovo,” the statement notes.

Who is Srdjan Jurisevic, Montenegrin arrested in Gjilan on international warrant (Kallxo)

Police in the region of Gjilan arrested on Wednesday Srdjan Jurisevic, based on an international arrest warrant from Montenegro. At the time of his arrest, Jurisevic presented a Kosovo ID card with the name Dragan Pejic. Jurisevic was the bodyguard of the leader of the Kavaci criminal group in Montenegro, Slobodan Kascelan. Citing unnamed sources, the news website reports that Jurisevic had changed his identity in North Mitrovica and that he also had an apartment in Leposavic.

   

Serbian Language Media 

  Vucic receives US senators (Tanjug, media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received US Senators Chris Murphy and Gary Peters on Thursday, and noted that Serbia was committed to developing closer cooperation with the US in all areas of mutual interest.

The senators extended condolences over the recent tragic events in Serbia and, in light of Murphy's gun control initiative that followed a mass school shooting in Connecticut, US, the parties exchanged views on measures the Serbian authorities were taking.

A part of the discussion was dedicated to the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, and Vucic noted that the establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities was now a priority, the presidential press office said in a statement.

Vucic especially noted that Belgrade had been demonstrating seriousness and responsibility since the beginning of the dialogue despite constant provocations and numerous unilateral moves by Pristina that obstructed the process of seeking a compromise and sustainable solution.

Speaking about the present global geopolitical and security situation, Vucic reiterated that Serbia remained committed to a consistent policy of protecting national and state interests as well as to respect the principle of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states.

Serbia's key interest is the maintaining of stability in the region, a positive agenda and a strengthening of regional cooperation in all areas, especially in the economy, Vucic said.

In that way, through initiatives such as Open Balkan, Serbia is promoting a policy oriented to the future in a consistent and persevering manner, putting the emphasis on mutually beneficial cooperation, he said.

‘KLA’ graffiti appeared on children’s playground in Ugljare village (Tanjug, RTS, N1)

‘KLA’ graffiti were inscribed on the children’s playground in the village of Ugljare, in the vicinity of Kosovo Polje, renovated last year by the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Tanjug news agency reports.

The Office said inscriptions of those graffiti are “the most horrible and shameless form of threatening, that must not be tolerated in any civilised society”.

The Office also said that “chauvinist policy of Albin Kurti started spilling over onto children’s playgrounds as well and only those playing naïve could negate direct correlation between his policy of terror and threats against the Serbian children”.  

It added that representatives of the international community also bear responsibility for the fragile situation on the ground.

The Office also recalled that a few days ago there was a shooting incident near a school yard in the same village, where children were present, noting that threats against Serbs in this place are not invented or blown out of proportion, but require an immediate reaction. 

Freedom House: No change for Serbia (N1)

Freedom House said in its latest Nations in Transit report that Serbia’s ranking had not changed in the year since its previous report.

It said that there were no score changes for Serbia in 2023, keeping it classified as a “Transitional or Hybrid Regime”.

The report said that in 2022, Serbia made an important step towards a return to political pluralism with the participation of the opposition in elections at all levels following the electoral boycott of 2020 but that this was not the result of improved electoral conditions or changes in the behaviour of the parliamentary majority but a consequence of the opposition’s change in strategy. “Apart from certain minor improvements, the 2022 elections were marred by the same problems as in previous ones”, the report said.

Read more at: https://rb.gy/5gfy2 Radoica Radomirovic appointed as Rasic’s deputy (KoSSev, Danas)

KoSSev portal reported today, citing the announcement, that the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, appointed Radoica Radomirovic today as Deputy Minister for Communities and Return.

Radomirovic took the place of Gazmend Salijevic, who was dismissed from this position today.

Kurti congratulated the new deputy minister.

"He congratulated Mr. Radomirovic on his assignment and wished him success in fulfilling his new obligations", read the statement. 

Danas daily reported that Radomirovic was a candidate for councillor of the Party of Kosovo Serbs in Leposavic in the 2022 local elections. 

According to the party, whose president is Aleksandar Jablanovic, Radomirovic was never a member. According to the PKS, their paths diverged after the election, and they distanced themselves from Radmanovic’s actions, wrote Danas. 

The Kosovo Serb Party initially applied for the elections on April 23 with a list of councillors and a candidate for mayor, only to withdraw a few days before the elections. 

The daily recalled that the Serbian List considered Minister Rasic illegitimate, and therefore also his advisors and deputies.

UNS: In four months 43 cases of attacks, pressure on journalists in Serbia (Beta, N1)

In the first four months of this year 43 cases of attacks and pressure on journalists in Serbia were recorded, which is four times more than in the same period last year, said the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS).

The Association said this trend is “particularly worrying” in the light of the fact that almost twice the number of threats, pressure, and attacks on journalists in Serbia were recorded in 2022 than in 2021.

In addition to the attacks and pressure, in the first four months of 2023 there were nine cases in which journalists were prevented from doing their job, they were also physically assaulted and intimidated.

Most of the threats against journalists were sent by unknown persons via social networks, while phone threats were also made.

The Association recalled that on February 15, following his speech at the rally outside the Serbian Presidency in Belgrade, Srbin.info portal editor Dejan Petar Zlatanovic was arrested for allegedly calling for a violent change in the constitutional order.

“Journalists were largely prevented from doing their work, and this was often the case in Kosovo and Metohija. Many press conferences and meetings of officials were held without translation into Serbian and invitations to journalists of Serbian-language newsrooms,” said UNS.

The Association called on journalists to report any form of pressure, threats, attacks and work obstruction so that these cases are promptly reported to the relevant institutions, and they are provided with the necessary legal and other assistance.

Without presence of Serbian councillors, with flags of Kosovo and Albania: Mayor of Zubin Potok took oath (Danas, Kosovo Online)

The newly elected president of the municipality of Zubin Potok, Izmir Zeqiri, from DPK, took the oath in the village of Čabra at 10 am, and the inauguration was held in the Office for Communities and Return, but without the presence of Serbian councillors, reported Danas. 

The inauguration was held without the presence of Serbian councillors, who come from the Citizens' Initiative "For Zubin Potok".

As Danas daily was told from this initiative - they did not even receive the invitations.

They pointed out that it was an obligation to send an invitation to councillors seven days before the session, but that, in extraordinary circumstances, the deadline can be shorter, but they were not invited even in that shorter period. With the request that the appointment not be recognized as legitimate, they turned to the competent ministry of Kosovo.

Danas reported that flags of Albania and Kosovo were displayed on the building, while the police and KFOR members were present at the entrance to this village, as well as in its centre and at the place where Zeqiri took the oath.

The swearing-in ceremony was held in the Albanian language. Translation was not provided for Serbian media teams due to, as stated, lack of technical conditions, as reported by Kosovo Online. 

Zeqiri, after taking the oath, made an address in Albanian, although Serbian media journalists insisted that he makes address in Serbian as well. Zeqiri explained that he didn't do it because "he did not want to make a mistake when pronouncing the words and not be misinterpreted", reported Kosovo Online. 

Hetemi took oath as Leposavic mayor in Saljska Bistrica (Kosovo Online) 

Portal Kosovo Online reported that in front of the Elementary School "Kadri Bistrica" in the village of Saljska Bistrica, where the swearing-in of the new mayor of Leposavic, Lulzim Hetemi, was scheduled for 1:00 p.m., members of the Kosovo Police were present, as well as press teams. 

The portal reported that the flags of Kosovo and Albania were displayed in front of the school in Saljska Bistrica.

Hetemi won 100 votes in the elections held on April 23, in which only slightly more than three percent of registered voters turned out and which were boycotted by the Serbs, reported Kosovo Online.

Zvecan Mayor, Ilir Peci, after taking oath, made statements next to grave of Isa Boletini (Kosovo Online) 

The mayor of Zvecan, Ilir Peci, after taking the oath, pointed out that he will perform the duties of the municipal president from the building of the Office for Communities located in the village of Lipe, reported Kosovo Online, citing Koha. 

Peci told reporters that it was not up to him to decide when he would start performing his duties in the municipal building.

"I will perform the task from the Office for Communities in the village of Lipe. It is not up to me to determine the return to the municipal facility. As soon as the Government decides, we will do it," Peci said.

Peci was initially forbidden to speak to the media near the grave of Isa Boletini, but he was later allowed to, reported the portal.

Today, Peci took the oath of office for the president of the municipality of Zvecan at the elementary school "Isa Boletini" in the village of Boljetin and Selvete Kelmendi was elected as the president of the municipal assembly of Zvecan. 

As a candidate of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Ilir Peci won 114 votes for mayor in the elections on April 23, which were boycotted by the Serbs and in which the turnout was slightly above three percent.

In the Zvecan Municipal Assembly, DPK won 11 councillor mandates in the elections, while the Self-Determination Movement got eight seats.

Vucic receives farewell visit from Cypriot ambassador (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday received a farewell visit from Cypriot Ambassador Demetrios Theophylactou, thanking him for his successful tenure in Belgrade, which made a major contribution to the strengthening of the ties between the two countries.

The parties discussed bilateral relations, which are based on firm friendship, mutual trust and a historical closeness and solidarity between the people of Serbia and Cyprus, as also confirmed by mutual support for the territorial integrity of the two countries.

Vucic especially thanked Cyprus for its firm position on that issue in international organisations, the presidential press office said in a statement.

Theophylactou thanked Vucic for the exceptional cooperation during his work in Serbia and said he was leaving the country with the most beautiful memories.

Dacic: Serbia wishes more active presence of OSCE in Kosovo (RTS)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said Serbia advocates for a more active presence of the Organization for European Security and Co-operation (OSCE) in Kosovo and Metohija, RTS reports today.

Following the meeting with OSCE Chairman-in-Office and North Macedonia Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, Dacic said it is important that the mission of this organisation continues to function, having in mind the role it should have in implementation of the Resolution 1244 and other international agreements.

“We consider that all international missions in Kosovo and Metohija should continue working and have as much space as possible for their activities in order to enable stability and peace in this area. When the Brussels agreement was signed, the role of the OSCE in the organisation of elections in Kosovo and Metohija was clearly defined. However, I will remind you that the last elections were held without participation of the OSCE - for the first time”, Dacic noted.

Dacic also said that since 1999 only 1.9 percent of displaced persons returned to Kosovo, and that there are arrests, licence registration problems and the issue of, as he said, so-called elections held in Serbian municipalities, boycotted by the Serb population there.

“In this regard we expect a status-neutral position of the OSCE when it comes to Kosovo and Metohija. Serbia supports activities of the OSCE. We will offer the maximum support in overcoming problems, as much as it is within our power”, Dacic said.

   

International 

  Kosovo Ruling Party Criticised for Electing Supporter to Media Regulator Board (BIRN)

Local and international media organisations expressed concern on Wednesday after Kosovo’s parliament voted Luljeta Aliu-Krasniqi as a member of the board of the Independent Media Commission, IMC.

“We regret to see this development, as it runs counter to the process of IMC’s depolitisation that [the ruling Vetevendosje party] VV had started. This election is a major step towards political recapture, in the very same way it was done in the past,” the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, ECPMF, said in a statement.

Aliu-Krasniqi, in many public appearances on TV debates in recent years, has been seen as supportive of Kosovo’s ruling party, and the ECPMF said that “in no way can she be considered independent”.

“In light of Kosovo’s membership bid, we will immediately initiate exchange with the Council of Europe and PACE to inform them about this unsettling development that will have a major impact on the independence of IMC,” ECPMF said.

Aliu-Krasniqi took the IMC seat with the support of 48 votes in parliament.

Read more at: https://rb.gy/1jx0d Activists Advocate for Lower Taxes on Menstrual Products in Kosovo (Prishtina Insight)

The campaign to lower or eliminate taxes on menstrual products in Kosovo gains momentum as activists seek to combat period poverty and promote gender equality.

“I vividly remember the time when we wouldn’t have menstruation pads, it was not so long time ago”, says Lule, who bravely shares her story, and vividly recalls a time not too long ago when menstrual pads were scarce and they had to make pads from old clothes.

In 2022 alone, women and menstruating individuals in Kosovo paid over 540,000 euros in VAT for period pads.

“It was a difficult time because our skin would get irritated, and we would often experience infections,” says Lule, who prefers to be identified by her first name to openly discuss the subject. “Even now, distant cousins who still live in the village probably continue to use makeshift pads due to limited financial means,” she adds.

Importing period pads on a large scale only became common in Kosovo after the war. Prior to that, many women resorted to using old clothes to create makeshift pads, a practice that persists today. However, even those who can afford to buy pads must contend with an additional 18 percent value-added tax (VAT) since these products are deemed non-essential by the tax authority.

Read more at: https://rb.gy/7g1fj