Albanian Language Media:

• NATO Secretary General statement on the situation in Kosovo (media)
• Raid in four locations in the north ends, the fifth ongoing (media)
• Prosecutor: Action was carried out mainly in Radojcic’s properties (Koha)
• Svecla says attack in Banjska will be fully investigated (media)
• Berisha: We got information from intelligence on training of groups in Raska (Nacionale)
• Haxhiu responds to Rama: KFOR does not need to take control of the north (media)
• After attack in Banjska, increased movement of Serbian tanks in Presevo Valley (Klan)

Serbian Language Media:

• NATO approved sending additional forces to Kosovo (Tanjug, Politika)
• Vucic: Milan Radoicic resigned from the position of vice-president of the Serbian List (media)
• Borrell does not rule out the possibility of introducing punitive measures against the authorities in Serbia (N1, KiM radio)
• Office for KiM: Banjska as an excuse for continuation of terror in north of Kosovo (RTS, Radio Mitrovica sever) 
• Serbian List: Invasion into several private facilities in north of Kosovo (RTS, N1, Radio Mitrovica sever)
• Elek on Kosovo special police raid of hospital premises, nothing was found (KoSSev, media)
• Ristuccia: There is no military solution for Kosovo, normalisation of relations necessary (Radio KIM, RTV, Tanjug)
• Vucic meets with Orban, UAE presidential envoy in Belgrade (Tanjug)
• Dacic and Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko on the situation in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)
• KoSSev: A fake priest spreading propaganda on certain Albanian media (N1)
• Brnabic: Kurti's terror against Serbs continues (Tanjug)
• EULEX: Monitoring activities conducted in cooperation with Kosovo police and KFOR (Tanjug, Blic)

Opinion:

• Hehir: The consequences of appeasing Vucic (Kosovo 2.0)
• Mandic: “Murderers at best, terrorists at worst” (Kosovo 2.0/Pescanik)
• “Is it possible to declare the Serbian List as a terrorist organisation?” (Danas)
• Hoxha on Banjska events: It was police operation, KFOR was clear; EU characterised it as ‘terrorist act’ (KoSSev)

International:

• NATO Says It Has Authorized Additional Forces for Kosovo (usnews.com)
• Belgrade to Question Kosovo Serb Kingpin Radoicic over Violence: Vucic (BIRN)
• Concrete and Cash: The Dirty Money Behind a Balkan Building Boom (Balkan Insight)
• Austria sent a non-paper for the accelerated EU integration of the Western Balkans (EWB)

   

Albanian Language Media  

  NATO Secretary General statement on the situation in Kosovo (media)

The North Atlantic Council met today (29 September 2023) to discuss the situation in Kosovo. Allies expressed their deep concern about the increasing tensions in northern Kosovo, NATO said in a statement. Below is the full text of the Secretary General’s statement:

NATO’s KFOR mission maintains a visible and agile presence across Kosovo. We will always take all necessary actions to maintain a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all people living in Kosovo. We do so impartially and in line with our UN mandate.

Since May, we have enhanced KFOR’s presence and posture. Only yesterday the North Atlantic Council authorised additional forces to address the current situation.

We will always continue to make sure that our Commander has the resources and flexibility necessary for KFOR to fulfil its mandate. We stand ready to make further adjustments to KFOR’s posture as required.

KFOR continues to coordinate closely with all relevant stakeholders in Belgrade and Pristina, as well as EU Rule of Law Mission (EULEX), the OSCE, the UN Mission to Kosovo, and the diplomatic community.

We call on all parties to urgently de-escalate. We continue to urge Belgrade and Pristina to engage in the EU-facilitated dialogue, as the only way to resolve outstanding issues and reach solutions that respect the rights of all communities. This is key for lasting security in Kosovo and stability in the region.

Raid in four locations in the north ends, the fifth ongoing (media)

The Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police for the North, Veton Elshani, has confirmed for RTK that the raid has been completed in four locations, while only one location has not yet been raided.

Kosovo Police announced that it is implementing the order of the competent court for checks, in five locations in three municipalities in the north of Kosovo. These operations are being carried out in connection with the recent events in the village of Banjske.

"The police operation is ongoing by the relevant units of the Kosovo Police, with the presence of the Prosecutor (of the PSRK) at the scene. In this case, the Kosovo Police informs the citizens that there is no need for any concern. These control orders are being implemented in coordination with EULEX and KFOR", says the Kosovo Police communique.

Prosecutor: Action was carried out mainly in Radojcic’s properties (Koha)

Special Prosecutor Naim Abazi has said that the action of the Kosovo Police on Friday was carried out mainly in the properties which have already been identified as the properties of the suspect Milan Radojcic.

"This action was carried out by order of the Court, at the request of this Prosecutor's Office in five different locations in the municipalities of the northern part of Kosovo. Mainly in the properties which have already been identified as the properties of the suspect Milan Radoicic, while regarding the results or the things we have found in these locations, the material evidence and the items that we consider to be seized, we will notify you with time through a statement from the spokespersons of this Prosecutor's Office", Abazi said.

Svecla says attack in Banjska will be fully investigated (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, said today that the attack in the north of Kosovo on Sunday will be fully investigated. He said in a Facebook post that Kosovo police have carried out a raid in the apartment of Milan Radoicic, his villa on Gazivoda/Ujman Lake, in an annex/heating plant of the Mitrovica Hospital and in the house of Vladimir Radojevic also known as “Mami”. Svecla writes that “we have proved even with footage and other evidence that the leader of the group was Milan Radoicic. From the footage that is seen, it is proved that this is no ‘freedom fighter’ but a Pablo Escobar in the region. Under the mask of protecting the people, he and his associates became multimillionaires to the detriment of the law, the state and other citizens. This is why the source of crime through all these years in the north is investigated together with all assets, apparatus and locations of the terrorist group”.

Berisha: We got information from intelligence on training of groups in Raska (Nacionale)

Chair of the Kosovo Assembly Committee for Security and Defence, Beke Beirsha, said that several months ago they had information from the intelligence about the training of certain groups in Raska, Serbia. After today’s meeting of the committee, the AAK MP said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic too visited the training camp. “We had information several months ago from our intelligence that there are groups being trained in Raska and in other locations. These groups later went to Kopaonik and then penetrated [into Kosovo] with all those weapons. We had accurate information which has now been confirmed,” he told reporters.

Berisha called for an international investigation about the attack in Banjska. Haxhiu responds to Rama: KFOR does not need to take control of the north (media)

Responding to the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, who said that KFOR should have control in the north, Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, has stated that it is not necessary for this to happen as, according to her, only joint patrols are needed.

"Kosovo is an independent and sovereign Republic. The international monitoring of independence ended on September 10, 2012. In the north of Kosovo, terrorists and criminals from Serbia killed Kosovo Police sergeant Afrim Bunjaku in an ambush at 3 am last Sunday. During the subsequent fighting, they had no chance with the Kosovo Police. At least three terrorists were killed, while others have either been arrested (six so far) or are being pursued (because they are on the run). There is no need for KFOR to take control of the north of Kosovo", she said.

Thanking Albania for support and solidarity, Haxhiu added that Kosovo and NATO are strategic partners and serve the security of democracies.

After attack in Banjska, increased movement of Serbian tanks in Presevo Valley (Klan)

There is growing fear among the Albanians in Presevo Valley after the attack in Banjska in the north of Kosovo. Nevzad Lutfiu, leader of the Albanian National Council, said in an interview with the TV station today that many Albanians in Presevo Valley believe that Serbia can retaliate against the Albanians in the region. He said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic made two references to Medvedja and Presevo in his latest public statements and that this is a message that can lead to raids or even “actions by some terrorists”.

Lutfiu also said that after the attack in the north of Kosovo, there is increased movement by the Serbian army in the Albanian-majority municipalities in Serbia. He said military troops and tanks can be seen even during the day moving toward the military camp which is located above the village of Somolica in the municipality of Bujanovac.

   

Serbian Language Media

  NATO approved sending additional forces to Kosovo (Tanjug, Politika)

The NATO Council approved sending additional forces to Kosovo due to the current situation, the North Atlantic Alliance announced today, reported Politika, citing Tanjug. 

"Since May, we have increased the presence of KFOR forces. Only yesterday, the NATO Council approved additional forces due to the current situation," the statement said.

Today, the NATO Council held a meeting where the situation in Kosovo and Metohija was discussed, and members of the Alliance expressed deep concern about the growing tensions in the north. As announced by the Secretary General of NATO, the KFOR mission maintains a visible and active presence throughout the territory of Kosovo, according to the Alliance's website.

"We will always take all necessary actions to maintain a safe environment and freedom of movement for all people living in Kosovo. We do it impartially and in accordance with our UN mandate," the statement added, reports Tanjug.

All measures will always be taken so that the KFOR commander has all the necessary resources and flexibility necessary for the mission to fulfill its mandate, it was added.

"We are ready to make additional changes in the composition of KFOR, in accordance with the needs," the announcement states, adding that KFOR continues to coordinate in close cooperation with all relevant actors in Belgrade and Pristina, as well as with the EULEX mission, the OSCE, UNMIK and the diplomatic community.

"We call on all parties to immediately de-escalate. We invite Belgrade and Pristina to engage in dialogue mediated by the EU, as the only way to resolve important issues and reach solutions that respect the rights of all communities. This is the key to permanent security in Kosovo and stability in the region," concluded the NATO announcement.

Vucic: Milan Radoicic resigned from the position of vice-president of the Serbian List (media)

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, told Spanish national television “Television Espanola” that Milan Radoicic resigned from his post of the vice-president of Serbian List, reported Serbian media. 

"Radoicic does not want to further harm the Serbian List," said Vucic, reported Euronews.

He noted that he sees the Serbian List as freedom fighters and that “all Serbs living in Kosovo and Metohija think the same”.

In an interview for Spanish national television, the President of Serbia referred to Kosovo as a matter of concern.

"I don't know if what happened was a turning point. I am very worried because I know how aggressive Albin Kurti and Vjosa Osmani are. Especially when they believe that they have a lot of support from part of the international community, and that worries and scares me," said Vucic. 

The authorities in Pristina linked Milan Radoicic to the shooting in Banjska. Today, the Kosovo police searched the building where he lives.

Borrell does not rule out the possibility of introducing punitive measures against the authorities in Serbia (N1, KiM radio)

Brussels is closely monitoring whether Serbia fulfils the EU's requirements regarding the calming of tensions in the north of Kosovo, and if it assesses that Belgrade does not comply with them, it is ready to consider the introduction of punitive measures against the authorities in Serbia, said the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, reported N1.

"Measures have been taken in connection with Kosovo. These are political and financial measures, among which are the suspension of high-level visits and events, except for the Dialogue led by the EU. Those measures also have an impact on financial support for Kosovo. The suspension is temporary and reversible and will be lifted as soon as there is de-escalation on the field. At the same time, we are closely monitoring whether Serbia fulfils the EU's requirements and in case of non-compliance, the EU is ready to consider measures," Borrell said.

In reference to the events of May 29, the letter reminds that on June 3, Borrell called on Kosovo and Serbia on behalf of the EU to take immediate and unconditional measures to calm the situation in the north of Kosovo, to create conditions for early elections in all four municipalities in the north of Kosovo with the unconditional participation of Kosovo Serbs, to act responsibly and immediately implement the Agreement on the Road to Normalisation of Relations and its Annex, which includes, without any further delay or preconditions, the start of work on the establishment of the Association/Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority.

As it was added, the EU also called on Serbia to reduce the readiness status of the armed forces.

Office for KiM: Banjska as an excuse for continuation of terror in north of Kosovo (RTS, Radio Mitrovica sever) 

''This morning, in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, the brutal and excessive demonstration of force by Kurti and his special forces, armed to the teeth, violently stormed the Clinical and Hospital Center of Kosovska Mitrovica (KBC), but also several other private facilities in the north,'' announced the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, reported Radio Mitrovica sever. 

"In a fit of terror, they broke down the door at the entrance to the KBC, searched certain rooms and marched through this central Serbian health facility in Kosovo, armed to the teeth, even though the leadership told them that there was no need for a demonstration of force and that they could look at what they were interested in,'' it was stated in the announcement of the Office for KiM.

''About 15 ROSU armoured vehicles took part in this action, and the entire action was observed from the sidelines without reaction by EULEX members''.

''This action caused additional shock and fear for both patients and employees, and Kurti's police officers deliberately chose for their demonstration of force and patrolling armoured vehicles the time when employees go to work, and children go to schools and kindergartens to further create unrest in the Serbian community.''

''In a particularly severe state of shock are 100 of the most serious patients from the internal department of the KBC who witnessed this brutal and unannounced action, as well as the children of the high school of medicine who at this time are coming to practise at the hospital.''

''It is clear that Kurti and his police are using the events of Sunday in Banjska as an excuse for the continuation of terror in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, and this action was carried out with the clear aim that there is no peace in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, nor that the Serbian community can live normally, be treated without fear of the intrusion of armed phalanxes, take children to kindergartens and schools, announced the Office for KiM with a photo of the damage, reported radio Mitrovica sever.

Serbian List: Invasion into several private facilities in north of Kosovo (RTS, N1, Radio Mitrovica sever)

The Serbian List announced that ''Pristina's special units brutally stormed the Clinical Hospital Center in Kosovska Mitrovica and on that occasion demolished some of the rooms with excessive force and brutality, prevented the work of health workers and intimidated patients undergoing inpatient treatment at that facility'', reported RTS.

"Parallel to that raid, a brutal raid was also carried out in several private facilities in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, and we are still collecting data on those raids," the announcement states.

The announcement noted that the road leading to the preschool "Danica Jaramaz" and the "Sveti Sava" elementary school, was also blocked.

"Teachers and educators could not get to their workplaces, the children were terrified, and the worried parents were not allowed to take their children to kindergarten or to classes," the Serbian List said in a statement.

Serbian list states that ''it is obvious that Kurti's regime is now using the tragic events from Banjska to justify anti-Serbian actions in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as to continue the further mistreatment of our citizens", reported RTS. 

It was added that ''EULEX members watched all these brutal incursions from a distance of dozens of metres, absolutely uninterested in preventing the mistreatment of the Serbian people or in actively getting involved and preventing the illegal actions of Kurti's special forces''. 

Members of KFOR, as claimed in the announcement, were not in sight during this uncivilised behaviour.

"It remains for us to call on the citizens to keep their composure in these insane times and be with their children, in the hope that peace will once again reign in these areas, and that Serbs will be able to live a normal life, to be treated without being terrorised until armed special forces, or that they are not harassed on the way to kindergarten and school. On this occasion, we pay tribute to health workers, educators and teachers who bravely stood up to protect the rights of their patients and children," the statement of the Serbian List concluded.

Elek on Kosovo special police raid of hospital premises, nothing was found (KoSSev, media)

Kosovo special police units carried out searches in the laundry and central boiler rooms and found nothing there. They took away a video surveillance device, director of the Clinical Hospital Centre, Zlatan Elek, told a media conference after police left the premises, KoSSev portal reports.

Police operation linked with the recent events in Banjska started this morning at around 6.0, at five locations in the three northern municipalities, Zvecan, Mitrovica North and Zubin Potok, the portal recalls.

Elek said that upon arriving at work at the Clinical Hospital Center in Mitrovica North he saw Kosovo police and EULEX, and first asked for information from EULEX, who told him to ask Kosovo special police for details.

“After my question about what is going on, a number of police officers spoke in English, and the other part spoke in Albanian. There were civilians with rifles and police vests. We waited for the replay from their commander for about 15 minutes”, Elek said.

The commander told him they have a court warrant to search certain premises within this health institution, but did not tell him what they were concretly looking for. Elek said police asked to see the room where video surveillance of the entry gate is located, and they took that device with them.

The entry doors of the laundry room were broken down by force, which was not the case with the central boiler room. In a report in Albanian language, that the worker of the central boiler room signed, it was written that police found nothing there, Elek said, presenting the paper. The action concluded at around 7.15 after which special police units left the hospital centre.

“Without explanation why this all had been done and without any need”, Elek said. He added there was no need for such violent incursion, as they offered to open any premise in the centre to the police.

Elek also said the action was carried out at the time when employees arrive to work and when secondary school medical students come for practical exercises to the hospital.

“In addition, patients from their rooms were watching from windows what was going on. There are patients who suffered heart attacks, and a coronary unit is there. Entire teams of the hospital centre are now busy to calm them down and work with them”, Elek added.

Milovic: Attempts to link health centre with dishonourable acts, same as with SOC

"They are trying to get the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) involved in dishonourable actions, and now they have started to attack healthcare as well. Clinical Hospital Centre (CBC) is the only multi-ethnic hospital in the city area where other patients are also treated - non-Albanians, Roma, everyone. We are open to everyone", Dragisa Milovic, Elek's deputy, told the conference.

He also said KFOR members visited this hospital a few days ago.

"They were in the internal and surgical department, we also showed them the supplies of medicines and infusion solution, all of that was irrelevant to them. All what we said that we are facing a humanitarian disaster and that we are not getting medicine, they are not interested in all that”, Milovic said, adding it's more of an emphasis that the successful work of this health centre gets stained and to say that health workers, as is being tried with the SOC, are something that should be accused and said that they are not good.

Ristuccia: There is no military solution for Kosovo, normalisation of relations necessary (Radio KIM, RTV, Tanjug)

KFOR Commander Major General Angelo Ristuccia said today there is no military solution for the situation in Kosovo, and that normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina must be achieved, Radio KIM reports citing Belgrade-based media.

“There is no military solution, there is only a political solution. We, the army, can create security conditions in order to keep the dialogue alive”, Ristuccia told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

He is quoted as saying that what happened over the weekend is not a turning point, but the evolution of relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

“I want to be an optimist and think that what has happened may force sides to think more wisely. If that does not happen, KFOR will have to engage more”, Ristuccia is quoted as saying.

He also said the situation in the north of Kosovo is calmer at the moment, but still “profoundly unstable”.

Asked if it is possible for KFOR to replace Kosovo police in areas where tensions are highest, Ristuccia responded it is a political decision that is made in coordination with NATO.

Speaking about the conflict between Serbs and Kosovo police in May this year, he said Pristina authorities ignored KFOR’s advice and KFOR members paid the price because of it. He added that Pristina authorities made an assessment that was not in line with Mission’s expectations.

“We felt the consequences on May 29. We were attacked by Kosovo Serbs, but a priori there were choices which have not enabled stability”, he said.

General Ristuccia’s interview in Italian is available at: t.ly/m02R0 Vucic meets with Orban, UAE presidential envoy in Belgrade (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with Hungarian PM Viktor Orban and the UAE presidential envoy, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade on Friday.

The trilateral meeting was also attended by Hungarian and UAE delegations. It took place as part of an initiative to establish regional strategic security in the field of energy, water supply, the food industry and human resources.

In a post on his Instagram account, Vucic noted he had had an excellent and substantial meeting with Orban and Al Nahyan and that he had informed them in detail of the latest developments in Kosovo.

"We discussed numerous topics as part of an initiative to establish strategic security in the region in the fields of energy, water supply, the food industry and human resources. We also discussed the major investment potentials that have opened up as part of the upcoming EXPO 2027, as well as expansion of cooperation in the field of new projects, innovation, research, healthy and green energy and technologies of the future", Vucic wrote in the post.

Dacic and Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko on the situation in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, today received the Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko, with whom he discussed the current situation in Kosovo, reported Kosovo Online. 

As stated in the press release of the MFA, Dacic and Botsan-Kharchenko also discussed bilateral relations and the further development of cooperation between the two countries.

During the meeting, opinions were also exchanged on current foreign policy issues. KoSSev: A fake priest spreading propaganda on certain Albanian media (N1)

In recent days, certain Albanian-language media outlets in Kosovo have been asking Nikola Xhufka, who presents himself as an Orthodox priest, for his opinion. As KoSSev announced, his appearances were used to spread propaganda. The Elbasan Metropolis confirmed in a statement that it was a fake priest.

Xhufka's last guest appearance in the "Kojshija show", in which he is a frequent guest, in front of the church of St. George in Prizren, accused the clergy of ''being murderers and that Serbian churches should be closed down'', reported N1, citing KoSSev. 

On September 24, the day when a group of armed persons invaded the Banjska monastery, from which the Church distanced itself, Klan Kosova published an alleged statement presenting Xhufka as the head of the Albanian National Church. In that statement, Xhufka curses the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Some Kosovo media in the Albanian language promote Xhufka's statements as the statements of an Orthodox priest, without mentioning the fact that no Orthodox church recognizes him as such, reported N1, citing KoSSev. 

One of Xhufka's personal provocations took place in February of this year, when the brotherhood of the Visoki Decani monastery announced on its Facebook profile that a fake monk from Albania, Nikola Xhufka, appeared in the monastery and tried to record a "chauvinistic program".

Nikola Xhufka became the centre of public attention due to his statements and actions in the Albanian and Kosovo media in the Albanian language, which concern the Orthodox faith, but the church authorities in Albania disputed them and clearly distanced themselves from Xhufka. 

The Metropolitanate of Elbasan dissociated itself from Xhufka with a statement in November last year, stating among other things that he is not recognized by any Orthodox church.

The Elbasan Metropolitanate, which exists within the Ohrid Archdiocese, claims in a statement that Nikola Xhufka makes "patriotic" statements, while at the same time belittling and ridiculing Orthodox priests in Albania, as well as leaders of other religious communities. This behaviour has been criticised for causing discontent and rivalry among religious communities.

It was also pointed out that the lack of religious education makes it difficult for Xhufka to make accurate statements in the media regarding the Orthodox faith, which is considered disinformation.

Brnabic: Kurti's terror against Serbs continues (Tanjug)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said Friday Pristina PM Albin Kurti's terror against Serbs continued in Kosovo, as she and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had warned in the past, Tanjug news agency reported.

When asked by reporters about the latest developments in the north, Brnabic said Kosovo police had searched the Serb municipalities in the north and raided the Clinical Hospital Centre in Mitrovica North this morning.

"Albin Kurti's terror against Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija continues, quite expectedly and as we have been saying, as Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has been saying for months - terror and harassment of Serbs there", she said after the opening of Belgrade's first industrial biological wastewater treatment plant.

She said Kurti's only goal and desire was to expel all Serbs from Kosovo.

"We are watching the situation, we are also talking to KFOR and the international community and President Vucic has been holding meetings on this matter since this morning. I have also spoken with the Director of the Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic - the terror continues", she added.

EULEX: Monitoring activities conducted in cooperation with Kosovo police and KFOR (Tanjug, Blic)

European Union rule of law mission, EULEX told Tanjug news agency that based on request of the Kosovo police and in line with its monitoring mandate, it observed activities of the police during actions in the north.

This was in response to Tanjug’s question if this morning’s action of the Kosovo special police units in the north was coordinated with EULEX and KFOR, and in which capacity they were present.

“EULEX monitoring activities were conducted in close collaboration with Kosovo police and KFOR”, reads the replay. 

   

Opinion 

  Hehir: “The consequences of appeasing Vucic” (Kosovo 2.0)

Opinion piece by Aidan Hehir, a Reader in International Relations at the University of Westminster. His research interests include transitional justice, humanitarian intervention, and statebuilding in the Balkans.

The EU and U.S. need to reverse course to prevent further violence.

While everyone who cares about Kosovo hopes the murder of police officer Afrim Bunjaku will be the last of the violence, the situation has degenerated so sharply and so quickly over the past twelve months that it now appears increasingly likely that large scale violence could erupt.

In the aftermath of Sunday’s attack, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic began to set the stage with a series of claims that range from false to delusional. He blamed Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti for the violence, alleged that KFOR, the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo, had given the Kosovo police a “blank check” to kill as many Serbs as they wished, and claimed that Kosovo Serbs were rebelling against “Kurti’s terror” which was enabled through “help from the international community.” The next day he met the Russian Ambassador to Serbia, telling him that Kosovo was committing “brutal ethnic cleansing” against Kosovo Serbs. The government of Serbia declared a day of mourning for the Serb paramilitary members killed during the attack and in Kosovo, Srpska Lista declared three days of mourning.

Vucic’s intent seems clear: softening up public opinion in Serbia to create space for a potential armed intervention in Kosovo, should he decide he wants to go down that path. His actions and rhetoric are eerily similar to Milosevic’s tactics in Bosnia and Croatia (and Putin’s in Ukraine): encourage local militia, stoke unrest, deny any involvement and wait for a pretext to intervene.

How did the situation reach this ominous juncture? Much of the blame must be attributed to the West’s appeasement of Vucic.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/lnuY3 Mandic: “Murderers at best, terrorists at worst” (Kosovo 2.0/Pescanik)

Opinion piece by Sofija Mandic, Serbian lawyer and human rights defender who currently works at the Judicial Research Center (CEPRIS). The op-ed was originally published in Pescanik and translated and republished by Kosovo 2.0 with the author’s permission.

The Serbian government decided to declare a day of mourning on Wednesday, September 27. In its announcement, the government briefly states that the decision was made due to “the tragic events in Kosovo and Metohija.” They don’t mention which tragic events. Does the government consider it tragic that a Kosovar police officer was murdered or rather that ethnic Serb assailants were killed in the subsequent police action? Or is it both? We don’t know for sure because the government hasn’t explicitly specified. The government urged media outlets and organizers of public events to adjust their activities on Wednesday to the mourning protocol so as to “pay their respects to those who died in Kosovo and Metohija.” Coupled with the ethnocentric nature of the local administration, this plural implies that grief is expected to be reserved for the Serbian victims.

How is it that a day of mourning declared by the Serbian government to mourn killed Serbs wrong, and potentially even dangerous?

First of all, according to everything we have heard in the past three days, both the Serbian and Albanian sides agree that what recently happened in Kosovo were not at all “tragic events,” but rather crimes, which the Kosovo police responded to by launching a search for the perpetrators. We see conflicting information and discrepancies in terms of whether the crimes of the group of Kosovo Serbs amounts “only” to murder and illegal possession of weapons or if we’re talking about more serious crimes, including terrorism. One disputed issue is the level of awareness and potential involvement of Serbia in the recent events. However, it is beyond any doubt that this group of Serbs did something that is illegal under both Serbian or Kosovar law, and the laws of any other country.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/bfEO8 “Is it possible to declare the Serbian List as a terrorist organization?” (Danas)

Danas daily reports today that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani announced institutional decisions against the Serbian List, a party whose vice-president Milan Radoicic Pristina links to the armed conflict in the village of Banjska, in the north of Kosovo.

Osmani assessed that "after the terrorist act in Banjska, where sergeant Afrim Bunjaku died heroically, it is undoubtedly clear that it was directed and organised by Belgrade, with the intention of destabilising Kosovo and the entire region." In this regard, she announced, since the Kosovo authorities announced that the vice-president of the Serbian List, Milan Radoicic, was the leader of a "terrorist group", that institutional decisions against the Serbian List will soon be made, recalled Danas. 

Considering Osmani's statement, the question arises itself whether these "institutional measures" will mean the declaration of this parliamentary party a 'terrorist one', which is in power in the majority of Serbian communities.

If the Kosovo institutions really determine that the Serbian List is involved in terrorism, it will be declared unconstitutional, and individuals could be called to account before the judicial authorities, the director of the NGO "Institute for the Affirmation of Inter-Ethnic Relations" Fatmir Sheholli, from Pristina, told Danas.

However, he notes that first it is necessary to implement a certain procedure.

"Namely, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo should gather evidence about the terrorist actions of the Serbian List and submit that evidence to the Basic Court in Pristina. The basic court then assesses how credible and accurate the evidence is, and then calls an official of the Serbian List to confront them with arguments. After that, the court decides based on all the evidence and facts," he says.

Speaking about the political part of Vjosa Osmani's statement, Sheholli states that such things can be heard every day, that is, that Osmani did not say anything new.

Milija Bisevac, the leader of the Civic Initiative "For Zubin Potok", also states that this is not the first time that Pristina wants to ban the Serbian List on the grounds that it does not represent the Serbs and disturbs the constitution of Kosovo.

"Our citizens' initiative also believes that SL is not a legitimate representative of the Serbs, that they have contributed to the greater emigration of Serbs, actions such as conducting bad social policies. In many ways, they also collapsed Serbia's negotiating position. But, if such a decision, to declare the Serbian List as a terrorist, was really made, I think it would be illegal. Although I am an opponent of the Serbian List, I believe that pluralism must not be violated and that all citizens should be allowed free will and participation in elections," he says.

If the Kosovo Government really wanted to challenge the work of the Serbian List, it could have done so much earlier, Bisevac says, but they were "informal coalition partners".

"They could investigate how SL spent money from the budget, whether it reaches citizens or remains in the pockets of businessmen from the Serbian List. An audit from Pristina never came, they were silent then because they were informal coalition partners, as shown by the intercepted conversations of Mimoza Kusari Llilla from VV and Slavko Simic from SL," says Bisevac.

The Serbian List, although it resigned from the ruling coalition on November 5 last year, as well as from the local authorities in the north of Kosovo, has nine deputies in the Kosovo Assembly.

If really declared a 'terrorist' organisation, the Serbian List would be on the list with the aforementioned - "Civil Protection" and "Northern Brigade", reported Danas.

Hoxha on Banjska events: It was police operation, KFOR was clear; EU characterised it as ‘terrorist act’  (KoSSev)

KFOR officially concluded that the events in Banjska fell exclusively under the domain of the police. As a result, it has now been clarified within KFOR that NATO soldiers are not engaged in police operations, unlike the May events in front of the municipal buildings in Zvecan, Leposavic, and Zubin Potok, Leart Hoxha said in a statement for KoSSev.

“This represents quality news, that is, something that shows how things could happen in the future.”

According to Hoxha, another important thing is that the EU defined the events in Banjska as a “terrorist act”. If this is the official stance, it is crucial, and indicates a change in the attitude of all international actors towards what is happening in the north, and there will be greater pressure to reach a solution, he added.

In his words, the manipulation of both the Serbian and Kosovo public when it comes to the contradictory view of the tragic events in Banjska poses a special problem. Hoxha also underscored the more controversial position of Belgrade.

In a statement for KoSSev, the editor of Pristina-based ATV television, Leart Hoxha points out the importance of the reactions of the international community, that is, representatives of the West in Kosovo.

Read more at: https://t.ly/GWRnp    

International 

  NATO Says It Has Authorized Additional Forces for Kosovo (usnews.com)

NATO said in a statement on Friday that it had "authorized additional forces to address the current situation" in Kosovo.

NATO did not immediately specify how many additional forces or from which countries.

See at: https://tinyurl.com/m47vsvbz Belgrade to Question Kosovo Serb Kingpin Radoicic over Violence: Vucic (BIRN)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday evening that Milan Radoicic, deputy leader of the Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista political party in Kosovo, is in Serbia and will face questions about his alleged role in violence in the north of Kosovo on Sunday.

Vucic said that Radoicic faces questions after one Kosovo policemen was killed and two wounded in a clash between police and an armed group of Serbs near Banjska monastery. Three of the Serbs were also killed.

“Milan Radoicic has never hid. He will respond to the summons of the authorities of the Republic of Serbia. He is a man who considers himself a freedom fighter. But there are things and questions that he will have to answer,” Vucic told Serbian public broadcaster RTS.

Asked about a video allegedly showing Radoicic near Banjska monastery with an armed group, Vucic said that “whether Radoicic is on it or not it will be determined by the relevant authorities”.

On Monday, Kosovo’s Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla, who released the video, said that Radoicic’s presence among the gunmen was “yet more evidence of his terrorist activity”.

Radoicic, a powerful businessman with strong links to the Belgrade authorities, is considered to be the real powerbroker in the Serb-majority north of Kosovo.

He is wanted in Kosovo in connection with a corruption case involving illegal construction in the Brezovica mountain resort area. An indictment in the case of the murdered Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic also mentions Radoicic as one of the prime suspects leading the organised crime group that murdered Ivanovic, although he has not been indicted.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/gsH23 Concrete and Cash: The Dirty Money Behind a Balkan Building Boom (Balkan Insight)

In big cities in the Balkans, housing supply outstrips demand, yet prices have skyrocketed. Experts smell a rat.

In 2010, an offshore company called Mellimate made a foray into the Skopje real estate market, snapping up a number of properties within a building in the very centre of the North Macedonia capital.

At the time, urban planning in the capital’s downtown district, Skopje Centre, was largely in the hands of a man called Vladimir Zdravev, then the chair of the municipal council and a key figure in adjusting the district’s urban plan to make way for a controversial government development project under the name ‘Skopje 2014’.

Read more at: https://t.ly/N0VdK Austria sent a non-paper for the accelerated EU integration of the Western Balkans (EWB)

VIENNA – The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria, Alexander Schallenberg, and the Minister of European Affairs, Karoline Edtstadler, sent a “non-paper” to the EU, in which they state that EU integration of the Western Balkans should be accelerated.

According to FoNet, the “non-paper” with specific proposals was addressed to the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and the Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, reports Kosovo Online. The “non-paper” concretizes the proposals presented in May last year.

Schallenberg and Edtstadler, believe that the enlargement process, which is stagnating, must be accelerated and demand from the EU “a clear agenda for faster integration until 2024.”

Read more at: https://t.ly/alytw