UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, October 14, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

Kusari-Lila: No official confirmation of visas conditions or technical requests (Kallxo)
South-East Europe Liberal Parties adopt statement, visa liberalisation support (media)
Abazi accuses Lajcak for visas: It was wrong that he came to Pristina (Paparaci)
UN report mentions fragile security situation in Kosovo (Koha/N1)
U.S. Ambassador to OSCE: Regrettable that Kosovo is not a member (Kallxo)
World Bank will continue to support Kosovo (RTK)
“If Brezovica case ends successfully, Maloku is Kosovo’s Falcone” (Nacionale)
Police detain Serbian national, weapons, binoculars and hunting dogs seized (Klan)

Serbian Language Media:

Guterres: Situation in Kosovo fragile (media)
Patriarch Porfirije enthroned at Pec Patriarchate, calls for peace and only peace (N1, media)
Brnabic: We stand by our position, sanctions not best solution (Tanjug)
Arlov banned from entering Kosovo for seventh time (Kosovo Online)
Bilcik: The negotiations will not be interrupted (RTS)
Serbian Ministry of Culture: Pristina’s request absurd (Kosovo Online)
Erdogan gave the order for the start of work on the gas hub in Turkey (Insajder)

Opinion:

Why would an Albanian support Giorgia Meloni? (Kosovo 2.0)

International:

EU states dash Prague’s visa-free Kosovo hopes (euractive.com)
German Diplomat: "The Berlin Process for the Western Balkans should not be duplicated" (DW)
EU does not rule out suspending Serbia visa waiver over migration spike (euractive.com)
Kosovo Frustrated by EU’s New ‘Conditions’ for Visa-Free Travel (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Kusari-Lila: No official confirmation of visa conditions or technical requests (Kallxo)

Head of the Vetevendosje Movement parliamentary group, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, said today there is no official confirmation about requests or technical conditions for visa liberalisation for Kosovo and that for this reason she cannot make a definite comment.

“At a time when there is no official confirmation about requests or technical conditions as some are calling them, I will refrain from making a definite comment on this matter. I believe this is a process underway, a date has been set for countries to submit their written comments about the visa liberalisation,” Kusari-Lila told reporters. “Kosovo is inevitably in a one-way journey, which means that for the Republic of Kosovo there is no alternative to integration in the European Union and this is our position in all the functions that we perform. There is no doubt that Kosovo has met all the requirements for visa liberalisation. Now we need to be cooperative and of course focus on the works that await us here in Kosovo”.

South-East Europe Liberal Parties adopt statement, visa liberalisation support (media)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi hosted today in Pristina a meeting of the Liberal South East European Network (LIBSEEN). The PDK became a member of this network last year. The network, which gathers parties that share liberal and democratic values, adopted a Declaration in Support of Visa Liberalisation and the Candidate Status for Kosovo, following the PDK’s proposal.

“As the final decision-making phase is underway, LIBSEEN calls on the EU Council to urgently adopt visa liberalisation for the citizens of Kosovo in line with the proposal of the European Commission, dated July 18, 2018, based on the fulfilment of all 95 criteria. We recall the position of the European Parliament in favour of visa liberalisation, dated March 28, 2019, and the following calls in resolutions related to Kosovo,” the declaration notes.

PDK leader Krasniqi said the declaration is important and helps conclude a prolonged process for the free movement of the citizens of Kosovo. “Today we adopted a joint declaration which addresses the European perspective of Kosovo, including absolute support for visa liberalisation, and also Kosovo’s application to get the candidate status,” he said.

Abazi accuses Lajcak for visas: It was wrong that he came to Pristina (Paparaci)

MP from the Vetevendosje Movement and head of the Kosovo Assembly’s Committee for Foreign Affairs, Haki Abazi, told a press conference in Pristina today that EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak is wrong to use visa liberalisation as a tool in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. According to Abazi, it was wrong for Lajcak to visit Kosovo on the same day that visa liberalisation for Kosovo was being discussed in Brussels.

“I cannot comment on the Prime Minister’s position about Lajcak. I think that Lajcak used all possible instruments, including the visas, to reach the implementation of agreements. I think that the fact that he was here yesterday on the same day when there were discussions about the visas in Brussels, was wrong in the message that it sent and it is wrong to visit Kosovo and to apply pressure not to revoke the licence of Elektrosever after the Serbian side failed to meet all the conditions of the agreement,” Abazi is quoted as saying.

UN report mentions fragile security situation in Kosovo (Koha/N1)

United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, says that tensions and heated rhetoric in the north underline a fragile environment in Kosovo and that calmness prevailed after extensive diplomatic engagements, mainly by the United States and the European Union, in de-escalating the security situation following the events on July 31, the news website reports citing an article by N1.

In the regular report that will be submitted to the United Nations Security Council, Guterres talked about the serious escalation at the end of July this year which brought the overall situation in Kosovo to the brink of a confrontation with potentially grave consequences.

“Tensions and heated rhetoric throughout the reporting period underlined the fragile environment on the ground. The events of 31 July in northern Kosovo in response to Kosovo government decisions on the freedom of movement marked a serious escalation, bringing the situation to the brink of confrontation with potentially grave security consequences,” Guterres says in his report.

U.S. Ambassador to OSCE: Regrettable that Kosovo is not a member (Kallxo)

Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Michael Davenport, presented on Thursday the six-month report to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna. The United States Ambassador at the OSCE, Michael Carpenter, welcomed the report and the work of the mission led by Davenport and also offered his cooperation to support Kosovo’s development as a member of the community of European nations and as an inclusive democracy based on a transparent government. Carpenter said it is regrettable that Kosovo is not a member of the OSCE and that it cannot speak on its own behalf. “We look forward to the day when Kosovo will become a member of the OSCE,” he said. He also said that the United States continues to call on the governments of Kosovo and Serbia to fully implement engagements from the past and to refrain from actions and rhetoric that may incite tensions and to engage urgently and constructively in the EU-facilitated dialogue.

World Bank will continue to support Kosovo (RTK)

Vice President of the World Bank for Europe and Central Asia, Anna Bjerde, met with Kosovo’s Minister of Finance, Hekuran Murati, and Kosovo Central Bank Governor, Fehmi Mehmeti. “Had a productive meeting with Kosovo’s Minister of Finance Hekuran Murati and Central Bank Governor Fehmi Mehmeti to discuss the impact of the war in Ukraine on food and energy prices as well as World Bank’s continued support for creating jobs and raising living standards,” Bjerde tweeted after the meeting.

“If Brezovica case ends successfully, Maloku is Kosovo’s Falcone” (Nacionale)

Director of the Prishtina-based Kosovo Law Institute, Ehat Miftaraj, argued in a Facebook post that if the Brezovica case ends successfully, the prosecutor working on the case, Rasim Maloku, can be called Kosovo’s Falcone. Maloku, who often criticises the work of prosecutions and prosecutors, wrote: “If the Brezovica case ends successfully, prosecutor Rasim Maloku can be considered Kosovo’s Giovanni Falcone. The case is in a very early phase of the criminal procedure, and there is no indictment yet, therefore one cannot preempt the guilt of any of the persons under investigation. Nonetheless, the prosecutor’s actions so far related to the number of people that were arrested, the seizure of properties worth millions of euros, make this one of the most complex cases with special interest for the rule of law in Kosovo”.

Police detain Serbian national, weapons, binoculars and hunting dog seized (Klan)

Kosovo Police arrested a Serbian national who was believed to have entered the territory of Kosovo avoiding regular border crossing points while driving a truck with foreign licence plates. Police said in a statement that six hunting bullets, two pairs of binoculars, two radios and three hunting dogs were found in the truck. Following an order from the prosecution, the suspect was sent in detention.

Serbian Language Media

Guterres: Situation in Kosovo fragile (media)

Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) Antonio Guterres cautioned that tensions and heated rhetoric underline the fragile environment in Kosovo, adding that calm prevailed following extensive diplomatic engagements, primarily of the US and the European Union (EU), in de-escalating the security situation, reported N1, citing Radio Television of Serbia (RTS).

In a regular semi-annual report that will be submitted to the Security Council next month, Guterres warned of the serious escalation which, at the end of July this year, brought the overall situation in Kosovo to the brink of confrontation with potentially grave consequences, the Serbia state TV (RTS) reported.

He said, “calm has prevailed following extensive diplomatic engagements,” stressing that “the importance of restraint and commitment to dialogue to resolve disagreements cannot be understated.”

At the same time, the UN Secretary-General commended the diplomatic engagement of the US and EU as being key to calming the situation, as well as the activities of KFOR and the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, which helped to preserve calm and stability.

“The developments on 31 July also highlighted the risks posed by both misinformation and disinformation in contributing to the escalatory rhetoric and tensions. All parties should ensure that communication via all channels is responsible in order to minimise the risk of renewed escalation,” says the report.

In the period from March to end of August, there were nine notable incidents affecting Serbian Orthodox Church religious sites and cemeteries, including an incident of grievous theft at a Serbian Orthodox church in the village of Zivinjane, and the burning of a Serbian flag removed from an Orthodox church in Vitina, reads the document.

The report on the situation in Kosovo will be presented to the ambassadors of Security Council member countries by UNMIK head Caroline Ziadeh, the RTS reported.

Patriarch Porfirije enthroned at Pec Patriarchate, calls for peace and only peace (N1, media)

Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije was enthroned at Pec Patriarchate today, on the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary holiday, N1 reports. He took the throne of the archbishops of Pec and Serbian patriarchs in the Patriarchate of Pec, the ancient seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) heads, N1 adds. Bishop Joanikije of Montenegro and the Littoral handed over to Patriarch Porfirije panagia, and before that, Bishop Fotije of Zvornik-Tuzla, a member of the Serbian Orthodox Church Synod read the letter on the enthronement of the Patriarch Porfirije.

Previously, several bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, as well as other Orthodox churches, served the liturgy with the Patriarch.

Following the official part of the ceremony, Patriarch Porfirije said that his program is "peace and only peace, and above all with the first neighbours, peace as the only possibility for the survival of both our and their children".

He also called on the faithful to pray for peace.

"I invite all believers from this place to pray for all people, for all brothers and sisters, all compatriots and those whom we live with, and above all for our Albanian brothers, to build peace together, as Serbian and Albanian families had built it, who in good and evil times guarded the Patriarchate of Pec and Visoki Decani Monastery", Patriarch Porfirije said.

He added that he made such an invitation at the beginning of the address precisely so that someone would not upload a different program of the Patriarch and an entire Serbian Church, except for the one written in the Gospels.

N1 reporter said a large number of people were present, noting unofficial reports that around 20 buses and 300 private vehicles arrived. Other media say that several hundred people were present. Also, Serbian List representatives, Prince Filip Karadjordjevic, lawyer Milan Antonijevic and representatives of various Orthodox churches attended.

Presence of KFOR and Kosovo police was also noticeable.

Pristina earlier banned the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic from attending the ceremony. His assistant Ivan Vujic was also banned from entering Kosovo for the same reason. Yesterday Pristina banned Head of the Missing Persons Commission Veljko Odalovic and Minister of Technology and Innovations Nenad Popovic from attending. Also, a humanitarian from Banja Luka (Republika Srpska, B&H) Milorad Arlov was not allowed to enter Kosovo for the same occasion.

Patriarch Porfirije is a 46th Serbian Patriarch, and 57th head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, as previously until XIV century, heads of the church were archbishops, starting from the first Archbishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church Saint Sava.

Brnabic: We stand by our position, sanctions not best solution (Tanjug)

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said Thursday Serbia believed Russia's attack on Ukraine was an aggression and a violation of international law, but noted it stands by its position that sanctions were not the best response and the solution for that, Tanjug news agency reports.

She said the pressure on Serbia over the issue would remain and that her new government would have to address the topic. "I am certain we will have many more discussions, and that is an inevitable topic at all meetings we have with EU member states, the EU itself and the EU Delegation to Serbia", she told journalists.

"I stand by our position that sanctions on Russia are not in the best national interest of Serbia. They are also not something our people support, because they have been under sanctions in the past and we know the extent to which people suffer", Brnabic said.

"Some of the countries that want us to impose sanctions on Russia do not respect the territorial integrity of Serbia”, she added.

"We were targeted by a brutal aggression in 1999, when 19 countries agreed, without a UN Security Council decision, to attack an internationally recognised state that had attacked no one. It was a brutal aggression that opened a Pandora's box, making it possible for all who wished to do so to repeat that precedent", Brnabic said.

"We will keep fighting to protect our interests and, as regards everything else, we are one of the few countries that respect the principles of international law and the UN Charter in a non-selective manner. To us, the territorial integrity of internationally recognised states is inviolable”, she emphasised.

Arlov banned from entering Kosovo for seventh time (Kosovo Online)

Humanitarian and head of Banja Luka-based (Republika Srpska, B&H) Committee for Helping Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, Milorad Arlov said Kosovo police banned him from entering Kosovo at Jarinje crossing point yesterday, Kosovo Online portal reports.

He added this was the seventh entry ban imposed upon him by Pristina authorities since 26 June 2020. Arlov was supposed to attend the enthronement ceremony of Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije in Pec Patriarchate today.

Arlov also said he had no hope that Prstina would understand the religious and humanitarian nature of his visit in Kosovo and Metohija. Despite the ban, he noted, the mission from Republika Srpska to help Serb people in Kosovo will continue nevertheless.

He once again sent an appeal to international organisations, including KFOR, EULEX, UNMIK, UNICEF and Brussels to tackle the issue of freedom of movement in Kosovo.

Arlov and his humanitarian organisation from Banja Luka are also known for providing an extensive financial support for reconstruction of the Support Me centre in Mitrovica North dedicated to children and youth with disabilities and impairments in northern Kosovo.

Bilcik: The negotiations will not be interrupted (RTS)

The rapporteur for Serbia of the European Parliament, Vladimir Bilcik, told RTS that it was not about pressure, but Serbia was expected to confirm its choice for EU membership.

Bilcik pointed out that the negotiations with Serbia would not be frozen and that there was a lot of work within the already open chapters on which progress can be made, including work on Cluster 4 on energy and the environment, where the EU could help improve Serbia's air quality, and the energy transition.

"However, in order to open new chapters and clusters, very clear decisions by Serbia will be needed. In order for negotiations on Serbia's membership to really progress, we need a clear signal that Serbia is serious when it talks about its European path, and that it works with us. That's why alignment with foreign policy is a critical issue," Vladimir Bilcik told RTS.

He assessed that Europe can help the citizens of Serbia to achieve a more prosperous future for all citizens, not Russia or China.

"We want Serbia to make the right choice. This is the period when the history of Europe is being written. Russia is losing this war, Europe will win, and we want Serbia to be on the side of the winner," said Bilcik.

The report supported by the Foreign Policy Committee of the European Parliament stated that "the EU should prioritize the alignment of candidate countries with foreign policy and continue negotiations with Serbia only if it aligns with EU sanctions against Russia and achieves significant progress in reforms related to the path to the EU".

The report on the "New Enlargement Strategy" called for a change in decision-making methods and a wider use of majority instead of unanimous decision-making in order to avoid unjustified process blockages.

It was proposed that the candidate countries that progress faster should be "rewarded" with earlier admission to the common European market, with the use of advantages and funds that are available only to member countries.

The enlargement report should be finally adopted in the form of a resolution of the European Parliament at the plenary session in November.

The resolution has no binding force but will be sent to the European Commission and member states as a recommendation.

Serbian Ministry of Culture: Pristina’s request absurd (Kosovo Online)

Serbian Ministry of Culture in strongest terms condemned what it said was misuse of social media and spread of disinformation by Pristina, attempting to divert attention from incidents affecting Serbian religious and cultural heritage and Kosovo and Metohija, Kosovo Online portal reports.

The Ministry said “it was absurd and hypocritical that the so-called Ministry of Culture in Pristina demands some “return of artefacts” and thus expresses alleged concern about cultural heritage”.

“Cultural heritage is not created by fabrication and forceful appropriations of someone else’s heritage. Repetition shall not normalise appropriation”, the Ministry said in a statement.

It added instead of hearing the concrete response when Pristina institutions will finally implement decision of their own Constitutional Court on returning the land to Visoki Decani Monastery, which unequivocally demonstrates the absence of the rule of law, one can hear again “groundless and meaningless requests from them” to return the artefacts they say “were stolen by Serbia”.

Erdogan gave the order for the start of work on the gas hub in Turkey (Insajder)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the government in Ankara to start work on the construction of a "gas hub" in Turkey, reported Insajder, citing Turkish media reports.

The construction should start at the suggestion of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, and for the export of Russian gas to Europe, cited Insajder.

"Together with Mr. Putin, we gave our Ministry of Energy and the competent institution in Russia an order to carry out joint work," Erdogan told reporters on his way back from Kazakhstan, where he met with the Russian president, reported the media.

During a meeting with Erdogan in Astana, Putin proposed the creation of a gas center in Turkey for the delivery of Russian gas to Europe.

He said that the route through Turkey proved to be the most reliable way to deliver gas to the European Union at a time when Russian deliveries to the EU were affected by sanctions and leaks on the Nord Stream One and Two gas pipelines.

Opinion

Why would an Albanian support Giorgia Meloni? (Kosovo 2.0) Opinion piece by Gezim Qadraku.

Muslims celebrating an Islamophobe, immigrants celebrating a xenophobe.

On September 25, 2022, Italians went to the polls and, with 26.3% of the vote, Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party won. It is a landmark result. Not only will she likely be Italy’s first female prime minister, it is also the first time since World War II that an Italian party with roots in the fascist movement won a plurality and will have the mandate to form a government.

When the results of the polls came in, I started to see some posts from Albanian diaspora in Italy and some prominent Muslim personalities in Kosovo celebrating her win on social media. As a Kosovar Albanian who has lived most of my life in Italy, I was confused.

Why would a Muslim in Kosovo, presumably sensitive to European chauvinism towards Islam, celebrate a politician who flirts so openly with Islamophobia?

Why would an Albanian in Italy, so many of whom experienced extreme racism and xenophobia when they arrived in the 1990s and after, celebrate a politician who rails against immigrants and wants to block future migration into the country?

Read full piece at: https://bit.ly/3Vwu5YT

International

EU states dash Prague’s visa-free Kosovo hopes (euractive.com)

Four years after the EU executive recommended visa-free access to citizens of Kosovo scrapping the bureaucratic and financial hurdle seems out of reach, despite the Commission’s continued insistence the bloc hopeful has met its end of the bargain.

Despite Prague’s push to get an agreement across the finish line before the end of their six-month stint at the EU steering wheel in December, prospects of success are dimming for Pristina as new demands continue to emerge.

Several EU member states, including France, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain, have slowed down the Czech presidency’s push to end the EU visa requirement for Kosovo citizens as they are reportedly demanding additional security guarantees.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3EEC40b German Diplomat: "The Berlin Process for the Western Balkans should not be duplicated" (DW)

Ahead of the Western Balkans Summit in Berlin on November 3, DW has spoken to Susanne Schütz, Director for South-East Europe and Turkey at the German Federal Foreign Office.

DW: Ambassador Schütz, how do you assess the current situation in the Western Balkans region on the eve of the summit in the framework of the ongoing Berlin Process, which will be held next month, on November 3rd in Berlin?

Susanne Schütz: We are all aware in Germany and in Europe, but also in the Western Balkans, that the world is not the same after the 24th of February. The fact that Russia is waging a war of aggression against Ukraine has increased the feeling of insecurity also in the Western Balkans. We are also aware that all over Europe, but also in particular in this region, we will be faced with additional economic challenges. So we are very happy that against the background of this war, the EU and also its partners in the Western Balkans have shown great unity in the condemnation of the war; and I must say we welcome very much that Albania, as well as Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia have been very clear in their positions and are complying 100 percent with the EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus. We are very happy that on July 19th Albania and North Macedonia started the EU accession talks. This is really a milestone on their way to become members of the EU. It was an important signal also to the rest of the region that the EU enlargement process is still alive and the promise that was given to all Western Balkans Six states to become members of the EU is a reality.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3CyDXsx EU does not rule out suspending Serbia visa waiver over migration spike (euractive.com)

If Serbia fails to put a stop to irregular migration from its territory to the bloc, the European Commission will not rule out suspending Serbia’s visa-waiver access to the EU, the EU executive said on Friday (14 October).

“This is nothing that I will exclude, but I do think, and I do hope, that we will have good cooperation,” Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said before a meeting of EU interior ministers in Luxembourg.

Serbia, a candidate state to join the EU, has a visa-free arrangement for its citizens travelling into the bloc.

So far this year, more than 106,000 irregular entries into the EU have been recorded through the so-called Western Balkans route that includes Serbia, a spike of 170% over the same period last year.