UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, November 5, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani: Kosovo blessed with American bipartisan support (RTK)
Osmani hosts Orav, receives EC Report on Kosovo (media)
Kurti: Austria is among top investors in Kosovo (media)
Gervalla: No sign U.S. support for Kosovo will change after elections there (RFE)
Osmani: Kosovo grateful for Luxembourg’s enduring support (media)
Kosovo and Luxembourg sign memorandum of understanding (media)
Kosovo will no longer be presented as part of Serbia in German platforms (media)
Mustafi: Serbia does not offer justice for Albanians in the Valley (KTV)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucic, Djuric met Minister for European Affairs of Denmark (Tanjug, media)
Djuric: Pristina regime boasts of not implementing Brussels Agreement (RTS, Radio Mitrovica sever, Kosovo Online)
Pristina takes credit, Serbian goods still struggling to reach consumers (Kosovo Online)
Odalovic: Hoti's statement unmasks Pristina's intentions to block everything related to dialogue, including issue of missing persons (Kosovo Online)
Facebook and Instagram pages of SOC Draganac Monastery targeted (Kosovo Online)
Divisive restoration of Xhafer Deva’s house: Belgrade protests, Albanians rejoice, and German Embassy reiterates Nazi ties (KoSSev)
Vucic, Dendias discuss military cooperation, situation in region (Tanjug)
Vucic on Novi Sad tragedy, calls for his resignations (N1, TV Happy)
Giaufret: Work on reforms, no elections in sight (N1)
PM Vucevic accepts Vesic resignation (N1)
Opposition parties: Construction minister’s resignation insufficient (N1)

Opinion:

Dismissing independent media: Albin Kurti’s strategy to control the narrative (Sbunker.com)

International:

Kosovo lawyer sentenced for sending death threat to journalist (BIRN)
For some Bosnians, Kosovo visa waiver a chance to restore old ties (Prishtina Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani: Kosovo blessed with American bipartisan support (RTK)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said today that regardless of who will win the presidential elections, the Democrat Kamala Harris or the Republican Donald Trump, the USA will remain the most important strategic ally of Kosovo. “We gained freedom when the democrats were in government, while when we gained independence, the republicans were in government. So, Kosovo has really been a blessed state with American bipartisan support. It is the decision of the American people, we will continue cooperation with whoever is elected. It is important that the USA continues to be the leader of the free world and the most important strategic ally of Kosovo. It will continue to be so even after this date,” Osmani said in a statement to the media, after participating in the launch of the UNICEF report on the climate situation for children in Pristina.

Osmani hosts Orav, receives EC Report on Kosovo (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met in Pristina today with the head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Ambassador Aivo Orav, who delivered to her the European Commission’s Report on Kosovo for 2024. A press release issued by Osmani’s office notes that this year’s report positively assesses Kosovo’s progress in several areas and identifies challenges in other areas. Osmani said Kosovo remains unwavering in its commitment to European integration. She also said that the enlargement of the European Union would contribute not only to sustainability, prosperity and development in Kosovo but also to long-term peace and security in the region and beyond.

“President Osmani also said that Kosovo continues to be at the forefront of reforms and that it is fully harmonised with the EU’s foreign affairs and security policy, an element that was highlighted in the report too. The meeting also discussed the findings of the report which outline the need to address discordances in certain areas. The President said that these findings need to be treated with priority, for the purpose of further advancing democracy and the rule of law. The President highlighted that it is very important that the report reiterated the need for repeating the selection process of the Chief Prosecutor, with respect for the principles of transparency and meritocracy. This year’s report highlights President Vjosa Osmani’s continuous efforts to the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda. It notes the President’s high political visibility to gender equality, women’s rights and the rights of victims of sexual violence, including through the second Women, Peace, and Security Forum, which gathered over 1,000 participants from over 40 world countries,” the statement notes.

Kurti: Austria is among top investors in Kosovo (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a post on X on Monday that he met with Minister of Labor & Economy of Austria, Martin Kocher, on the sidelines of the Vienna Economic Forum. “Austria is among the top investors in our country, reaching nearly half a billion Euros from 2007–2024. We discussed multiple areas of cooperation including the dual education system and investment in the economy, with a focus on energy and tourism,” Kurti wrote.

Gervalla: No sign U.S. support for Kosovo will change after elections there (RFE)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla, said on Monday that she hasn’t seen any sign that the United States support for Kosovo can change after the November 5 presidential elections there. “We are lucky to have support from both camps in the U.S., republicans and democrats. Therefore, I don’t see any sign that this has changed along the way,” she told reporters when asked what she expects from relations between Kosovo and the U.S. after the presidential elections. Gervalla also said that Kosovo will strengthen relations with the U.S. “by doing our homework”. “By pushing forward the reform agenda, by enforcing the rule of law in every corner of Kosovo, and by fighting organised crime, this is how partnership with the U.S. is strengthened. It is not strengthened with words and statements, but with concrete work,” she added.

Osmani: Kosovo grateful for Luxembourg’s enduring support (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met on Monday in Pristina with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel. “Kosovo is grateful for Luxembourg's enduring support for our firm path towards the Euro-Atlantic family of nations. Together, we look forward to strengthening our excellent partnership and exploring new ways to bring our peoples even closer!” Osmani wrote in a post on X.

Kosovo and Luxembourg sign memorandum of understanding (media)

Most news websites report that Kosovo Minister of Trade and Industry, Rozeta Hajdari, and Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, signed a memorandum of understanding between Kosovo and Luxembourg on Monday in Pristina. The memorandum consists of two funds for supporting the private sector: LuxAid Challenge and LuxAid Demonstration. The two funds are aimed at promoting innovation and to accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals.

Kosovo will no longer be presented as part of Serbia in German platforms (media)

Most news websites report that Kosovo’s Ambassador to Germany, Faruk Ajeti, said in a Facebook post today that “for two years the Deutsche Bundesbank and Commerzbank have wrongly linked in their platforms the Republic of Kosovo with Serbia or presented it as part of it. Thanks to our reaction and engagement, as well as our cooperation with these banking institutions, the Republic of Kosovo will no longer be linked in any way with Serbia”. He also called on people that “if you have seen any German institution or company, where the Republic of Kosovo is not presented in a right and fair way, please write to the Kosovo Embassy in Kosovo, attaching the respective evidence, so that such mistakes can be corrected”.

Mustafi: Serbia does not offer justice for Albanians in the Valley (KTV)

Albanian politician in Presevo Valley and former leader of the Albanian National Council in Serbia, Ragmi Mustafa, in an interview with the TV station on Monday, argued that Serbia does not offer justice for the Albanian community living there, and said that this issue should be problematic even for the European Union. He argued that the judiciary and courts in Serbia are hostage to politics. “Justice in Serbia is selective, biassed and a hostage of politics. When the Albanian National Council sues a Serbian minister, the judiciary withdraws. This was confirmed in the latest Progress Report for Serbia, which notes that the judiciary and courts are major problems in Serbia because of political influence,” he said. Mustafi had lately sued Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin for using a derogatory term for Albanians and said that the Supreme Court of Serbia ruled in Vulin’s favour. “The [court] decision notes that the intention was not to incite violence and intolerance. The court did not provide a subjective opinion about Vulin’s intention. Serbia does not offer justice and equality for the Albanian community,” he argued.

Commenting on the passivisation of the addresses of Albanians in Presevo Valley, Mustafi said that the most affected is the municipality of Medvedja. “Over 4,000 addresses of Albanians in Medvedja have been passivised. And yet we don’t have accurate information because the institutions of Serbia refuse to give accurate information about the passivation process. Because of my political activity, the address of my first son has been passivised. Now the address of my spouse too. My other son is also in the process of passivisation,” he said. “When a citizen is passivised, he remains without an address and cannot get an ID card. The person can also not get social services or other basic services and is left without a house and land”.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic, Djuric met Minister for European Affairs of Denmark (Tanjug, media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met today with the Minister of European Affairs of the Kingdom of Denmark Marie Bjerre. Serbia's European path, necessary reform processes, EU enlargement policy and bilateral relations between Serbia and Denmark, were discussed.

"I emphasised that our country is committed to achieving its strategic goal, membership in the EU, and that it is working responsibly and seriously to fulfil its reform agenda, especially in the area of the rule of law," Vucic wrote on Instagram, adding that he and the interlocutor exchanged opinions on the most effective ways for Serbia to take advantage of the new momentum in the enlargement policy, as well as on the priorities of the upcoming Danish presidency of the EU in the second half of 2025.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Marko Djuric, also met Minister Bjerre and said that full membership in the EU remains a strategic commitment and priority of Serbia's foreign policy. He thanked Denmark for the support it provided to Serbia along the way and welcomed the adoption of the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, assessing that this initiative will accelerate the development of the region's economies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

The head of Serbian diplomacy pointed out that the issue of Kosovo is of the highest national and state interest for Serbia and informed Bjerre about the very difficult situation in which the Serbian people in Kosovo find themselves.

Djuric: Pristina regime boasts of not implementing Brussels Agreement (RTS, Radio Mitrovica sever, Kosovo Online)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric told RTS that that the question is ''whether Serbs can participate in the elections in Kosovo on February 9 if the Kosovo authorities violate their own Constitution and there are no minimum guarantees that the party that wins the most votes from Serbs will be able to represent Serbs in Kosovo's institutions''.

Djuric also told RTS that during a recent trip to the USA, he warned his interlocutors about all the problems that the Serbian community is facing.

"It is tragic that the situation in Kosovo and Metohija is like that, and it is personally my favourite part of the job to point out the real situation on the ground in KiM. All the principles of the international community such as human rights, the rule of law, freedom of the media, economic freedom, all of that has been trampled upon when it comes to the Serbian community in KiM. There is a strong need to point this out in the UN, and it must be clear that such an entity as Kosovo must not be validated in the international community. Especially as a system that so massively violates human rights. I marked Kurti as the main culprit," said Djuric.

He added that it is currently unclear how Serbs will participate in the elections in Kosovo on February 9.

"There are elections in Kosovo on February 9, and I am now asking how Serbs can participate in those elections if there are no minimum basic guarantees that the Constitution of Kosovo will at least be respected in the part where it is said that 'the party that wins the most votes of the Serbs should represent Serbs in institutions. This is not respected, but Kurti chooses who will represent the Serbs. The second question is this. The Constitution says that there must be proportional ethnic representation in the police. But that doesn't exist, go through Zubin Potok, Zvecan and other areas," emphasises the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He also points out that the Kosovo regime boasts that it will not respect the Brussels Agreement, form the A/CSM and fulfil other obligations.

"Then there are no reactions from the international community. But there are reactions when Serbia says that it will implement the most comprehensive package of support for Serbs in Kosovo through the law on special social protection of our people in Kosovo and that it will prosecute those who threaten Serbs in Kosovo. My plea to them, a public plea: Don't give priority to the so-called status, that is, your view of the status of KiM in relation to human rights, democratic freedoms, and the basic principles of freedom of which you are the guarantor. Many in the international community use such things as a precedent for other conflicts around the world," Djuric emphasised.

He also said that he does not believe in public polls when referring to the election held today in the USA.

"I take research with great reserve. The elections are very uncertain, the difference is several thousand votes. It is important that the Serbian community, especially in Milwaukee, became important for the elections in the USA because they organised themselves. They have become a significant factor, and we see them in election headquarters. Everyone is looking at Trump and Harris, but something else is happening here that is of no less significance, and that is the fight for the Senate and Congress. Those two bodies have an equally important role when it comes to the direction of foreign policy in America, it is highly likely that the Republicans could prevail. When it comes to the total number of votes, it seems that for now Vice President Harris may have more votes, but that does not necessarily mean that she will win the election. It is important for us to improve our relations with the USA, and soon we want to open a strategic dialogue with America."

Pristina takes the credit, Serbian goods still struggling to reach consumers (Kosovo Online)

Only a few products from Serbia have made it to the shelves in Serbian areas in Kosovo, even though on November 7, it will be a full month since the Kosovo Government announced it was lifting the ban on the import of Serbian goods, which would now be allowed to enter Kosovo with enhanced control but only at the Merdare crossing point, Kosovo Online portal writes. Since then, it has been reported that trucks with goods have been waiting at this crossing for up to two days to enter Kosovo, which explains the disappointment of people, especially in areas where Serbian products have not arrived at all. On October 7, Pristina received praise from its Western allies, but the question remains—for what?