UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, May 3, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

Konjufca: The management team presented the interests of Serbia, not Kosovo (Koha)
Presidency: Management team submitted a draft statute similar to one of Vojvodina (Koha)
Haradinaj believes U.S. and EU have a draft statute for Association in accordance with Constitution (media)
Reactions on the Declaration on the missing accepted by Kurti (Reporteri)
Osmani: We defend the role of free and impartial media (media)
Statement of the AJK Board on the World Press Freedom Day (media)
Haradinaj: The attacks on the media and journalists are disturbing (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Petkovic: Abolishment of Management Team leads to abolishment of ZSO and dialogue (Kosovo Online)
European officials extend condolences over shooting at Belgrade school (N1, media)
Association of Kosmet Victims’ Families welcomes adoption of Declaration on Missing Persons (Radio KIM)
Dacic: Meeting in Brussels confirmed our fears, we must not lose majority in UN (RTS)
Rakic Andric: By raising opening of Ibar River bridge topic Self-determination wants to score political points (Kosovo Online)
Reporters Without Borders: Serbia drops 12 places on Press Freedom Index (N1)
Blakaj: Adoption of the Declaration on the Missing a step forward (KiM radio)
Lawyer Vasic writes to Quint ambassadors over Trajkovic’s health condition (Kosovo Online)
Families of the missing on the adopted Declaration: Political camouflage (KiM radio)
Borrell: Important, symbolic step taken towards forming Community (Tanjug)

International:

Kosovo, Serbia fall short of diffusing tensions, agree to resolve war missing cases (Euractive)
Kosovo and Serbia agree to help find war's missing (BBC)
Southeast, Central Europe – Bar Serbia and Turkey – Rise in RSF Freedom Index (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

World Press Freedom Day: Joint Declaration on Media Freedom and Democracy (article19.com)
2023 World Press Freedom Index – journalism threatened by fake content industry (rsf.org)

Albanian Language Media

Konjufca: The management team presented the interests of Serbia, not Kosovo (Koha)

The Assembly Speaker of Kosovo, Glauk Konjufca, said that what happened on Tuesday in the meeting in Brussels between the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, was expected.

"As for the discussions in Brussels, everything was expected regarding what happened. So, the management team, which was installed by the previous governments of Kosovo, had a really shocking attitude for us. Since there they presented the interests of the Republic of Serbia, not the interests of the Republic of Kosovo. So, you yourself know what management team and what institutions the previous governments have put in place. They have put in place officials who have absolutely nothing to do with the interests of Kosovo, not even one of them. As far as I heard she was an MP in the Parliament of Serbia, and she was an MP of Aleksandar Vucic's party. So, we had nothing else to expect from this management team. This management team presented a draft statute which is a Serbian Republic within Kosovo. This is of course unacceptable for our government, for our institutions. Everything will be in accordance with the Constitution of Kosovo. Any solution that is given beyond the framework of the Constitution is invalid and I liked it very much and I stand in front of this act of the government to dismiss the management team. Because, a group, a team that represents the interests of Aleksandar Vucic and not the interests of our people, has nothing to seek in official positions and has no way to represent the people and the citizens of Kosovo. They represented Serbia yesterday, I called a week ago for this team to be dismissed," Konjufca said.

Konjufca said that he was not surprised that the individuals appointed by "Vucic and Rakic, created a statute to destroy the Republic of Kosovo and its unitary function".

"On the other hand, Prime Minister Albin Kurti, as far as I could see, presented a vision on what those red lines are, what is the horizon of an eventual association in Kosovo, that would be fully in line with our Constitution. But I am convinced that what is in accordance with our Constitution, is not something that is acceptable for Serbia, therefore I consider that the positions are very distant, the positions are incompatible between the parties. Therefore, I do not expect at all that there will be a quick agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, and this cannot happen precisely because of the political direction that Serbia has today. It is entirely within the political coordinates of the fascist nationalism that Serbia has had since the time of Milosevic in the 90s. There is no remorse for the crimes it committed in Kosovo. So, I don't expect any rapprochement of these positions. We will continue in this direction of protecting the interests of Kosovo. Without Serbia changing, it does not seem to me that there can be an agreement in a short period of time," Konjufca said.

Presidency: Management team submitted a draft statute similar to one of Vojvodina (Koha)

The chief of staff of the president of Kosovo Blerim Vela has said that the Management Team submitted a draft statute for the Association of the Serb-majority municipalities, which is very similar to the statute of Vojvodina.

Vela has posted pages from the draft statute proposed by the Management Team and pages of the Vojvodina statute on Twitter, making the comparison.

“The ASMM Management Team submitted Serbia's version of the statute, which is very similar to Vojvodina's statute. Their aim seems to be to re-constitute Serbia's autonomous authority in Kosovo, same like Vojvodina, with the aim to nullify the Kosovo institutions. This ASMM won't fly!” Vela tweeted.

Haradinaj believes U.S. and EU have a draft statute for Association in accordance with Constitution (media)

The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) has said that the draft statute of the Association, proposed on Tuesday in Brussels by the management team, and refused by the government of Kosovo, is unacceptable.

According to him, the Association is an inherited evil, but it must necessarily be in accordance with the Constitution and the laws of Kosovo. Therefore, he believes that the United States of America and the European Union possess a draft statute for the Association, which is in accordance with the Constitution of Kosovo. He also said that the version proposed by the management team was expected.

"The way out for this is still with the mediators, since the Americans and the EU are aware that the Association's statute cannot be unconstitutional and illegal. So, it would be good for them to intervene at this time," Haradinaj said.

In a statement before the journalists in the Parliament, Haradinaj stated that the decision on how to proceed for the establishment of the Association belongs to the mediators of the dialogue.

“The logical flow is this, I don't have information, but the logical flow is this. I believe that the Americans and the Europeans have written a draft statute that is in accordance with the Constitution, but the first proposal of the commission, which is unconstitutional, had to be consumed," he said.

Reactions on the Declaration on the missing accepted by Kurti (Reporteri)

Kosovo and Serbia have agreed on the declaration on the missing during the last war in Kosovo, for which there were remarks due to the term "forcibly disappeared", which was used instead of the term "disappeared by force".

The former chief negotiator of the dialogue, Edita Tahiri said that equating the aggressor with the victim in this declaration is unacceptable, despite the fact that it was accepted by Prime Minister Kurti.

The former president of the Constitutional Court, Enver Hasani, also reacted yesterday, who said that he "was horrified" when he saw the Declaration on Missing Persons agreed in Brussels between Kosovo and Serbia.

Hasani says there are two problems with the signed document. The first is that Kosovo is equated with Serbia, while the second is that Kosovo did not exist as a state before 2008 and cannot take responsibility for what happened.

‘That statement has two extremely serious defects, and I am surprised by those who can eventually advise Kurti, I'm talking about locals, not internationals," he said.

"What is called forced disappearance, I see that the equalisation with the Albanian language has started immediately. With this, any responsibility of the Serbian state for this category of persons has been removed. The second, that is to say, is the issue of the parties having their own evidence. This is nonsense. Kosovo was built as a state, as a British researcher says, on the night of February 17, 2008. Until then, the UNMIK administration existed in Kosovo. How can Kosovo give responsibility for a period when it did not exist," Hasani added.

Meanwhile, the deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lutfi Haziri, said that hope has been cut off for all the family members of those who disappeared violently during the war.

"Today, hope has been cut off for the families of the missing. It is cut off because this relationship will be conditional. In today's meeting, there was no more waiting, despite all the developments, the declaration of the forcibly disappeared was accepted by the parties. Unfortunately, a year was wasted on the request to include the terminology under the International Convention for Enforced Disappearances to be part of the agreement, but it was not achieved. As such, we can say that it is a waste of time, and a bad day has been chosen for this agreement to be on the same day as the draft statute of the Association. Kosovo once again failed to establish the required terminology that was promised in Pristina by the Prime Minister, Albin Kurti. On the other hand, the draft statute as such has been presented, of course the document as such has not been accepted," Haziri said.

Furthermore, Haziri assessed that Kosovo will have a serious problem providing eventual evidence for those cases that Serbia is holding them hostage. Serbia has all kinds of services for the cases that happened in Kosovo," Haziri added further.

According to Vlora Citaku, deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has made an ahistorical mistake.

"Today was the anniversary of the massacre in Studime, where 116 defenceless civilians, men and women, elderly and children, were brutally killed by the Serbian state apparatus. But today, Prime Minister Kurti made an ahistorical mistake," she wrote on Facebook.

"This Declaration ultimately frees Serbia from international responsibility for the violent disappearance of individuals during the war in Kosovo (1998-1999), while it casts Kosovo in the role of the party that committed crimes institutionally, the same as Serbia. Scandalous," she concluded.

Osmani: We defend the role of free and impartial media (media)

The president of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani was pleased that Kosovo has been ranked five places higher by the "Reporters Without Borders" organisation.

“Media freedom is not just a sign of a healthy society; it is a pillar of a thriving democracy. Today, on World Press Freedom Day, we celebrate Kosovo’s continued successes in international indices, but we also renew our commitment to defend the invaluable role of free and unbiased media,” Osmani tweeted.

Statement of the AJK Board on the World Press Freedom Day (media)

The Board of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, today in honour of the World Press Freedom Day, has issued a statement for the media in front of the Palace of Justice, calling on prosecutors and judges to prioritise cases of violence against journalists. The statement reads:

“Through this letter, allow us to express our concerns regarding the handling of cases of violence against journalists, asking you, as the main part of the justice system, to treat with greater seriousness the protection of journalists from violence that comes as the result of exercising their activity as reporters of issues that constitute public interest.

In the last five years, AJK has registered 120 cases of threats against journalists and other media workers. In total, 17 cases were registered in 2018, 21 cases in 2019, 24 cases in 2020, 29 cases in 2021 and 33 cases during 2022. Only this year, until the moment we are talking, 11 cases of attacks have been recorded, with the most serious one, the physical attack against the journalist Valon Syla. Thus, the number of cases of threats, attacks and harassment against journalists has increased year after year.

Attacks on journalists, apart from representing criminal offences against life and limb, also violate one of the basic freedoms in a democratic society, which is freedom of expression. Without minimising the risk of any criminal offence, cases of attacks against journalists represent a special danger, which not only affects the injured party, but also endangers the freedom of expression of journalists and the freedom of information of citizens.

The increase in attacks on journalists requires an urgent and adequate response from the justice system.

AJK highly appreciates the adoption of the Strategic Plan for Improving Access to Justice, which foresees that the cases of journalists will be handled within a short period of time, as well as the appointment of coordinators for cases of violence against journalists by prosecutors.

Despite these positive developments, our main concerns remain the misclassification of criminal offences by prosecutors against journalist attackers, mainly by selecting lighter criminal offences and the dragging of cases in the courts, and the extremely low sentences against journalist attackers imposed by the judges. We ask the prosecutors to undertake professional and independent investigations in cases of attacks on journalists and to compile charges against the attackers of journalists taking into account not only mitigating circumstances but also aggravating ones with the aim of discouraging attacks on journalists. We ask the judges for the cases of attacks on journalists to be treated with high priority and for the attackers to receive sentences that reflect the danger posed to journalists and not impose light sentences.

Based on the mission of AJK in protecting the freedoms and rights of journalists, promoting, encouraging and improving quality and open journalism in Kosovo, as well as the position of journalists in Kosovo, allow us to express our full readiness to AGK, for any form of cooperation aimed at the safety of journalists and the creation of a free media environment.

Thank you for your time.”

Haradinaj: The attacks on the media and journalists are disturbing (media)

On the occasion of World Media Freedom Day, Ramush Haradinaj, leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) said that media freedom and free speech are non-negotiable values of democracy.

"Today, on World Media Freedom Day, but also like every other day, we reflect on the importance of freedom of speech, freedom of thought and media," Haradinaj wrote.

According to him, the attacks on the media and journalists and the government's tendency to control them remain worrying.

"The protection of journalists and free media is among the non-negotiable principles, and it is an institutional and social obligation to preserve and advance this segment of our freedom!

The attacks on media journalists and the tendency of some exponents of power to control them remain worrying," Haradinaj said.

He added that the protection of free speech is a non-negotiable value of democracy.

"We are by their side, in defence and respect for free speech, as a non-negotiable value of democracy," he concluded.

Serbian Language Media

Petkovic: Abolishment of Management Team leads to abolishment of ZSO and dialogue (Kosovo Online)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic said Pristina’s decision to relieve Management Team that prepared the draft statute for Community of Serb Municipalities and presented it yesterday in Pristina from duty was unilateral and illegal, adding the abolishment of the team leads towards abolishing ZSO, Kosovo Online portal reports.

Petkovic also said in a statement that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and ministers in his government had absolutely no right to do so.

“The mandate of the Management Team does not end with presentation of the draft Statute for the Community of Serb Municipalities, rather the Management Team has an important role in the process of establishing ZSO all the way to its establishment”, Petkovic said.

He added it was obvious that Kurti with a scandalous decision interrupted the process of ZSO establishment only ten hours after it was formally initiated in a dialogue ten years after the initial agreement was signed.

“It is now perhaps clear to everybody that Kurti does not want to establish ZSO and that he wants to avoid in any way this most important obligation”, Petkovic said. He called on EU “to urgently stop Kurti’s lawlessness”.

European officials extend condolences over shooting at Belgrade school (N1, media)

European officials extended condolences to the families of the victims of the shooting that took place Wednesday morning in the Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school in central Belgrade, N1 reports.

“My heartfelt condolences to families and friends of the victims and I wish a fast recovery for the injured”, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi wrote on Twitter.

European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia Vladimir Bilcik called for a full investigation.

“I am deeply shocked by the news of the deadly shooting at Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school in Belgrade. My sincere condolences to the families of all victims. I call for a full investigation of this horrible and murderous case of gun violence”, Bilcik said.

European Union Ambassador to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret said he was shocked and saddened by the news.

“I am shocked and saddened to learn about the tragic shooting at Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school in Belgrade this morning. My heart goes to the families and friends of the victims, I wish speedy recovery to those wounded”, Giaufret wrote in a post on Twitter.

Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE) Marija Pejcinovic Buric wrote on Twitter that she was “shocked and saddened by the shooting in a Belgrade school this morning. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.”

European Parliament Rapporteur for Kosovo Viola von Cramon said she was deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic news of deadly shooting in the school.

“My sincere condolences and thoughts are with the families of the victims, their friends, teachers and all the people of Serbia at this very difficult moment”, Von Cramon wrote on Twitter.

Serbian media reported earlier today that a teenager opened fire Wednesday morning in the Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school in central Belgrade killing nine people. The Serbian Interior Ministry confirmed that eight students and a school security guard have been killed, and that six students and a teacher have been wounded.

The Serbian Government declared a three-day mourning period.

Association of Kosmet Victims’ Families welcomes adoption of Declaration on Missing Persons (Radio KIM)

Association of Kosmet Victims’ Families welcomed adoption of a Declaration on Missing Persons, signed last night in Brussels by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, adding they expect that the EU would finally “force” Belgrade and Pristina to renew the process of finding the missing persons, Radio KIM reports.

1.621 persons are still listed as missing and they vanished in the period from beginning of 1998 to the end of 2000.

“The families of missing persons for almost a quarter of century are waiting to find out the truth about their loved ones, and that following exhumation and identification take over their remains and bury them worthily. Hundreds of mothers and fathers, because of the lack of political will by those in power to truly and responsibly start dealing with this humanitarian issue, have not lived long enough to find out the truth about their children, who went missing in the madness of the late nineties without a trace”, Association said in a statement.

It added they wish to believe that the Declaration will not remain “a dead letter on paper” and that Pristina and Belgrade delegations will finally meet after two years and “unblock an impermissibly long stalemate in shedding the light on the destiny of all missing persons in Kosovo”.

Dacic: Meeting in Brussels confirmed our fears, we must not lose majority in UN (RTS)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic told Serbian public broadcaster RTS last night the meeting in Brussels has confirmed the fears that Albin Kurti does not want to establish Community of Serb Municipalities, adding that Serbia must not lose majority in UN and support from the countries holding the veto power and are ready to use it.

Dacic added Serbia should also try to preserve its European path as much as it is possible. He pointed out that foreign policy is not a love-hate relation but rather a matter of reciprocity.

Commenting on the topics on the agenda in Brussels, Declaration on Missing Persons and Community of Serb Municipalities, Dacic said it goes in the interest of Serbia to have Declaration on Missing Persons adopted, adding more than 1.500 persons are still listed as missing and it is in Serbian interest that Pristina is cooperative as it currently does not allow searches on certain location.

“I think this declaration would be a first step towards unconditional meeting of such demands, to find out the whole truth”, he said. Dacic also expressed hope it would be a logical sequence of events that Serbian Missing Persons Commission has free access to the territory of Kosovo and Metohija.

Rakic Andric: By raising opening of Ibar River bridge topic Self-determination wants to score political points (Kosovo Online)

Opening of a bridge over the Ibar River is not a priority topic for neither of the communities, Milica Rakic Andric from non-governmental organisation New Social Initiative said, adding that by launching this topic the Self-determination Movement wanted to score political points among the residents of Mitrovica South, Kosovo Online portal reports.

She told the portal that re-opening of a bridge on Ibar River was ideal for manipulating the feelings of those being “nostalgic” and remembering “a single Mitrovica” that was gone forever with the new Law on administrative boundaries of the municipalities. She added that such Mitrovica no longer exists not only because of changed demographic and economic circumstances following the end of the conflict, but it is also a reality cemented with the new law. Based on that law new municipalities of Mitrovica North, Gracanica and other municipalities were formed.

According to her, changes to that law are impossible without a consent of two-third majority of MPs from non-majority communities, which includes the votes of at least four Serbian MPs.

Reporters Without Borders: Serbia drops 12 places on Press Freedom Index (N1)

On this year’s Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index Serbia is ranked 91st, falling from last year’s 79th place, N1 reports.

The report published Wednesday on World Press Freedom Day reads that Serbia has a solid legal framework, but that journalists are threatened by political pressures.

The report on Serbia further notes that award-winning, quality journalism, which investigates crime and corruption, is caught between rampant fake news and propaganda. While the legal framework is solid, journalists are threatened by political pressures and impunity of crimes committed against them.

With over 2,500 media outlets registered in the country, the media market is highly fragmented, it says, pointing out that the most influential media outlets include the public broadcaster RTS and the independent television network N1, as well as several tabloids.

Blakaj: Adoption of the Declaration on the Missing a step forward (KiM radio)

The Director of the Fund for Humanitarian Law in Pristina, Bekim Blakaj, assessed for Radio Kim the adoption of the Joint Declaration on Missing Persons in Brussels as a step forward in solving their fate.

"The adoption of the declaration opens up opportunities to strengthen the process of searching for missing persons. Several points of the Declaration provide for new measures, and the most important is that the parties undertook to provide available documentation, video and audio recordings, notes and other material that could contribute to clarifying the fate of the missing persons, that is positive, but it remains to be seen how much it will be achieved in practice," Blakaj told Radio Kim.

During the harmonisation of the text of the Declaration on Missing Persons, there was a debate about the terms "forcibly" and "enforced" disappearances, and in the end the term "enforced disappeared" was adopted.

"In English, the declaration says (forcibly disappeared), which in translation means ``forcefully disappeared,'' while the International Convention for the Protection of Persons from Enforced Disappearances uses another term that reads (enforced disappearances) in English. I do not feel competent to explain this, because it is very difficult to find some examples, but I see that the International Committee of the Red Cross often uses this terminology in various reports, which is in the declaration (forcibly disappeared), but the Convention does not use that term. According to my understanding, they are synonyms, but I am not competent to say more about it," the director of the Fund for Humanitarian Law distanced himself, wrote KiM radio.

President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, adopted the Declaration on Missing Persons, at a meeting within the framework of a new round of dialogue under the auspices of the EU, recalled KiM radio.

Lawyer Vasic writes to Quint ambassadors over Trajkovic’s health condition (Kosovo Online)

Lawyer Dejan A. Vasic sent a letter to the Quint ambassadors in Kosovo requesting them to use diplomatic means so the Kosovo Special Prosecution would allow Sladjan Trajkovic to be sent from detention to house arrest because of “his extremely bad health condition caused by inadequate medical treatment”, Kosovo Online portal reports.

Vasic, who represents Trajkovic, told the portal he only demands fair conditions that have been enabled to those involved in other cases and in line with applicable laws.

“Today we addressed the representatives of Quint embassies and requested that, as much as diplomatic possibilities allow it, influence Kosovo Special Prosecution to allow us to take part in investigation, to have an insight into case files, be present at hearings of the witnesses and their acts of identification, as well as possibility that Trajkovic is sent to house arrest he would serve at his home in Mitrovica North under medical supervision by doctors who were taking care of his medical condition before”, Vasic said.

He added Trajkovic is being inadequately medically treated while in detention and his health condition seriously deteriorated, noting that Trajkovic was taken several times to the hospital in Pristina, analysis were done there, different doctors treated him, and that he found him yesterday during the visit covered in wounds given that he suffers from diabetes.

He also called for caution and accountability of those responsible for Trajkovic’s health condition.

Speaking about proceedings against Trajkovic, Vasic said the investigation is practically “carried out without the presence of the defence”, while prosecution does not provide information to Trajkovic’s defence.

“We tried to address absolutely all institutions in Kosovo, including the prime minister, but received no response which direction the investigation headed to. The prosecutor interviewed more than 30 witnesses and invited neither me as a defence lawyer nor Sladjan to take part in that investigation (…)”, Vasic said.

Sladjan Trajkovic is a former Kosovo police member who left the service in November last year, along with all Serb police officers in northern municipalities. He was arrested on December 16, last year under the charges of allegedly committing war crimes in Kosovo. He remains in detention ever since.

Families of the missing on the adopted Declaration: Political camouflage (KiM radio)

Director of the Resource Center for Missing Persons, Bajram Qerkinaj assessed the adopted Declaration on Missing Persons in Brussels as a "great political camouflage". His colleague Negovan Mavric hopes that they will soon start digging potential graves and opening archives, reported KiM radio.

Qerkinaj told KiM radio that he does not believe in the adopted Declaration until the working groups for missing persons meet again.

"They didn't say anything new; they should have set the day when the working groups will start working. They mentioned that as the last thing, and that the Red Cross will be involved, but they did not specify that the working groups must be independent from politics, as they have done so far," he stated.

Qerkinaj does not believe that the adopted document will help the families of kidnapped and missing persons in finding their loved ones.

"With the adopted Declaration, they want to close the ears and eyes of the families of the kidnapped and missing," Qerkinaj concluded.

Negovan Mavric from the Resource Center for Missing Persons states that the adoption of the Declaration on Missing Persons was expected.

"We had a promise from Mr. Miroslav Lajcak that many things will be changed with that Declaration, and we hope for that. For us, the most important thing is to start digging in the locations where the graves are located. Of course, I saw that they agreed that both sides would be present at the excavation, as well during taking over bodies and burials," he said.

Mavric mentioned as another important item the opening of the archives.

"The archives that exist cannot be private because there was a war at that time, and I don't think there are private archives during the war. If someone kept a diary or record, the archives must be open and public to the authorities which are dealing with it," he added.

However, he is of the opinion that the Declaration on missing persons does not cover all the problems of their families.

"It doesn't necessarily mean, if a lot of time has passed, that there are no living people. We must also search for the living if there are any. The negotiators did not cover everything, reparation for the families of kidnapped and missing persons, there is no law on missing persons in Serbia and people do not have rights to many things," concluded Mavric.

KiM radio recalled that in the Declaration, Belgrade and Pristina committed themselves to provide full access to reliable and accurate information that helps to locate and identify the remaining missing persons in the period from January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2000. Of the 6,065 cases of missing persons another 1,621 cases remained unsolved.

Borrell: Important, symbolic step taken towards forming Community (Tanjug)

EU foreign policy and security chief Josep Borrell said Tuesday's round of the Brussels dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina had produced an "important and symbolic step" towards the establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities, Tanjug news agency reports.

Speaking to reporters after a high-level meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Pristina's PM Albin Kurti, Borrell voiced concern over a potential escalation in the north of Kosovo.

He added that, despite disagreements, the parties had agreed to start negotiations on the statute of the Community "in the near future".

"...Today, the Management Team composed of Kosovo Serbs finally presented to the Parties the first draft. It is not the final draft, it is a starting point, but here it is, the first draft of the Statute of this Association/Community of the Kosovo Serb-majority municipalities.

This is in line with the Article 7 of the new Agreement, and the presentation of this draft makes an important part of the Agreement", he said.

"And as expected, the views of the Parties are far apart on the nature of this Association/Community. I didn’t expect anything else. I was sure that the parties were having different views on the nature of the Association/Community of (Serb-majority) municipalities. But, even if they disagreed, they agreed to start negotiations on the statute of this Association/Community in the near future, taking this first draft as a starting point for the discussions. And I want to urge both Parties to engage in this process constructively and in good faith and be ready to reach compromises”, he added.

International

Kosovo, Serbia fall short of diffusing tensions, agree to resolve war missing cases (Euractive)

Kosovo and Serbia’s leaders met in Brussels on Tuesday (2 May) for talks on the EU-backed plan to normalise relations, agreeing to cooperate on resolving cases of missing persons but stumbling on lowering tensions in Serb-majority North Kosovo.

In February, Pristina and Belgrade agreed to implement a Western-backed deal, followed by an agreement on an implementation annex in March in Ohrid, but little progress has been made since.

In the interim, tensions flared once again in the country’s north as Pristina held local elections to replace ethnic Serbs that resigned from their mandates in protest over new licence plate rules in December.

The vote, which saw the lowest turnout in the country’s history at 3.47% following calls for a boycott from Belgrade, led to accusations of a takeover from Serbian leaders.

The EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell said he had expressed “grave concern about the situation in north Kosovo” following elections “with a very low turnout.”

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3p18wEi Kosovo and Serbia agree to help find war's missing (BBC)

The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo have agreed to co-operate to locate and identify hundreds of people still missing from the 1998-99 war.

More than 13,000 people were killed during the conflict which pitted the overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian majority of Kosovo against Serbia.

According to the European Union, 1,621 people remain unaccounted for.

The EU has led efforts to normalise ties between Serbia and Kosovo, which declared its independence in 2008.

Most Western countries have recognised Kosovo, but Serbia has not.

The agreement on the missing persons was reached during talks in Brussels on Tuesday.

Read more at: https://bbc.in/42ecpEF Southeast, Central Europe – Bar Serbia and Turkey – Rise in RSF Freedom Index (Balkan Insight)

Press freedom improved in most countries in Southeast and Central Europe according to RSF’s latest World Press Freedom Index – though Turkey and Serbia bucked the trend.

Reporters Without Borders’ 2023 World Press Freedom Index shows that countries in Southeast and Central Europe, except for Turkey and Serbia, improved their global rankings.

Humanitarian/Development

World Press Freedom Day: Joint Declaration on Media Freedom and Democracy (article19.com)

On 2 May 2023, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression launched their 2023 Joint Declaration on Media Freedom and Democracy.

Today, on 3 May, ARTICLE 19 is pleased to host the discussion about the 2023 Joint Declaration with special rapporteurs and stakeholders during celebrations of World Press Freedom Day in New York.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3np3m4s 2023 World Press Freedom Index – journalism threatened by fake content industry (rsf.org)

The 21st edition of the World Press Freedom Index, compiled annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), sheds light on major and often radical changes linked to political, social and technological upheavals.