UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, September 30, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

First deployment of NATO ARF to focus on readiness support to KFOR (media)
British troops deploy into Kosovo by testing new strategic NATO corridor (media)
Muja: Serbia abused free trade to arm the northern part of Kosovo (Kosovapress)
On Banjska, Serbia is ignoring “the elephant in the room” (RFE)
Gjenero: Narrative on Banjska is international (Nacionale)
Kurti pays homage to US-Albanian brothers killed in Serbia in July 1999 (media)
Kurti, Plenkovic talk deepening cooperation on higher education, defense (media)
Serb opposition in Kosovo aims to form front against Serbian List (Koha)
Osmani attends event, “our shared commitment to upholding CEDAW” (media)
SBASHK submits petition to amend law on pension schemes (RFE)
Kosovo government allocates €100,000 for Global Coalition against ISIS (media)
Police interview person in Pristina, was wearing shirt with inciting content (media)

Serbian Language Media:

KP on beaten and robbed couple in Gracanica: They reported that a masked person attacked them (Kosovo Online, KoSSev, gracanicaonline.info, media)
Dusanka Aleksic: Attacker was kicking us and hitting with a baton (Tanjug)
Office for KiM: Attack on Aleksic family in Gracanica made Serbs in Kosovo worried (Tanjug)
Gogic: Attack in Gracanica testifies security situation in Serbian areas is undermined (Kosovo Online)
While police are yet to determine cause of explosion in Zvecan, mayor Peci condemns “people who caused incident” (KoSSev)
ERO: Possible difficulties in the supply of electricity during the winter; Gerxhaliu reacts (Kosovo Online)
Serbian Parliament to hold session on lithium (N1)

International:

Kosovo feminist festival highlights sisterhood in times of war and peace (BIRN)
Aleksandar Vučić’s diplomacy à la carte (Politico.eu)
Pollution and skulduggery claims stalk projects to mine Bosnia’s resources (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media

First deployment of NATO ARF to focus on readiness support to KFOR (media)

The Allied Joint Force Command Naples said in a statement today that approximately 200 personnel from NATO’s newly established Allied Reaction Force (ARF) will deploy to the Western Balkans from 30 September to 16 October 2024, to conduct training to ensure its readiness and to support the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR).This is the first time any element of the ARF has deployed since the organisation was stood up in July 2024.

A military contingent of the ARF’s Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Team (OLRT) of around 50 personnel will be in Kosovo and a forward command node of around 150 personnel will be established in North Macedonia.

The deployed personnel will perform training activities to maintain their high level of readiness and to test their skill-set and procedures to rapidly deploy a large force. A part of the ARF headquarters will be temporarily integrated into the command and control structures of the KFOR mission, with the task to identify requirements of logistical, infrastructural and operational support to KFOR, in the event of a significant reinforcement of KFOR’s posture.

The ARF is a strategic, high-readiness, multi-domain capable force. It is able to deploy at very short notice, supported by scalable multi-domain force packages to strengthen deterrence in different scenarios. The ARF provides the Supreme Allied Command Europe (SACEUR) with an immediate crisis response capability. This ARF deployment, along with the ongoing deployment of the Strategic Reserve Force (SRF) to Kosovo announced earlier this month, sends a renewed and clear message of NATO’s strong resolve and commitment to maintain peace and stability in the region, as well as NATOs ability and readiness to respond.

Allied Joint Force Command Naples (JFCNP) is closely monitoring the situation in the Western Balkans, a region of strategic importance for the Alliance. Recurrent tensions and uncoordinated actions raise the concern of NATO Allies and partners about lasting security across Kosovo, the stability of the region, and the safety of NATO and partner troops.

JFCNP supports KFOR efforts in implementing its mandate – based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999 – to contribute to a safe and secure environment for all people and communities living in Kosovo and freedom of movement, at all times and impartially. KFOR acts as third security responder, in close coordination with the Kosovo Police and the EU Rule of Law (EULEX) mission, which are the first and second security responders, respectively.

British troops deploy into Kosovo by testing new strategic NATO corridor (media)

Several news websites report that British soldiers from Catterick have made history by becoming the first Nato troops to be deployed along a new strategically significant road route through the Balkans. Corridor 8 is designed to allow Nato to deploy forces quickly, and connects the Adriatic and Black Seas while running through Albania, North Macedonia and Bulgaria. Soldiers from 1st Battalion The Royal Yorkshire Regiment have "proven the route" as the battalion deployed to Kosovo, where it will remain as part of Nato's KFOR operation until next year.

See more at: https://shorturl.at/4LgIn

Muja: Serbia abused free trade to arm the northern part of Kosovo (Kosovapress)

MP from the Vetevendosje Movement, Armend Muja, argued in an interview with the news agency today that “Serbia abused the free trade to arm the northern part of Kosovo”. “Kosovo was always committed to free trade, the free movement of goods and services, the free movement of the workforce. These were some of the values that Kosovo has always promoted, both in our regional cooperation and in the Berlin Process. We were the first, in the Kosovo Assembly, to adopt all the measures proposed in the dialogue in the RCC [Regional Cooperation Council] … Kosovo was a constructive participant in the process. But what happened was that one year ago, free trade was abused by Serbia to arm the northern part of the country. So now Kosovo needs additional measures to make sure that these noble measures bring benefits for all people and so that they are not abused by authoritarian leaders or by Radoicic’s criminal structures to threaten the physical security or integrity of Kosovo,” Muja is quoted as saying.

On Banjska, Serbia is ignoring “the elephant in the room” (RFE)

When a group of armed Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police in Banjska of Zvecan, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic put the blame on Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, the news website reports. During the attack on September 24, 2023, Kosovo police officer Afrim Bunjaku was killed, and three Serb attackers were killed in the ensuing fire exchange. Vucic said at the time that the armed persons were local Kosovo Serbs, “who could no longer suffer from Kurti’s terror” and denied that Serbia was involved. “Albin Kurti is the only guilty person. Albin Kurti is the only one that wants conflict and war. No one except Albin Kurti wants conflict and war. His life-long goal is to get us into war with NATO, he has no other wish,” Vucic said on the day of the attack. On the other hand, Kurti, who has made the control of Serb-majority areas in Kosovo a key element of his policy, blamed Serbia’s state leadership saying that it supported the organization of the attack. Vucic pledged that Serbia would investigate the suspects and the origin of the weapons that Kosovo Police confiscated after the attack.

One year later, the High Public Prosecution in Belgrade says that investigations are ongoing, but it has not filed any indictment against Kosovo Serb businessman Milan Radoicic, who claimed responsibility for the attack, and who is believed to roam freely in Serbia.

Maja Bjelos, researcher at the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, told Radio Free Europe that regardless of the weight of the attack, the authorities in Serbia “don’t want the truth and responsibility to be revealed”. She argued that the public in Serbia knows that Radoicic is close with the government. He was seen in several meetings that Vucic had with representatives of Kosovo Serbs, while his companies were hired on several infrastructure projects in Serbia. “If Radoicic is not indicted and there is no progress in investigations about Banjska, then we can say that in a way he enjoys protection from the state. Only when Radoicic and his associates appear on trial, when their properties are confiscated, when there is a clear distance between the government and the works of Radoicic, then we can say that there is a real change of politics,” she said.

With minimal media coverage, Bjelos said that in Serbia, Banjska was forgotten in a month, and that that is why there was no reaction by the people about Serbia’s policy. “The independent media, which reported more widely about Banjska, don’t have great influence or coverage among the people. The government’s control over the media has resulted in this incident to be silenced and for people not to talk about it – especially when it comes to those that were involved in the attack, or the possible involvement of the state”.

Her opinion is echoed by Aleksandar Popo from the Centre for Regionalization in Serbia, who says that it is the Serbian President’s tactic to overshadow such incidents with new crises. “Banjska was forgotten within a month. Vucic follows Milosevic’s logic: ‘when you have a problem, you need to create a bigger problem, so that the previous one is forgotten’,” he said.

Both analysts say that the west is on the other side of the medal. Concerned about the influence of Russia and China in Serbia, the west tolerates many of Vucic’s actions and is more interested in strategic stability than strict accountability.

In backing their arguments, they mention “the non-reaction” of western diplomats about the attack by a group of masked persons against students of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad – on September 23. People from Vucic’s party are believed to have been part of the group.

“Instead of sanctioning Serbia, the west seems to be appeasing it and it has forgotten that Serbia has not imposed sanctions on Russia. The west doesn’t care about the rule of law in Serbia, and about the state’s relation with the media, and many other issues,” Popov said.

One year after the attack in Banjska, the United States and the European Union repeated their calls that all those involved in the incident must be held accountable. The EU said it expects Serbia to take all necessary steps and make sure that the suspects are held accountable.

Less than one year before the first anniversary of the attack, the U.S. and Serbia signed agreements for cooperation on energy. Previously, Serbia signed an agreement with the EU on lithium and with France to purchase fighter jets.

Popov argues that Vucic understands the power that prevails in the west. His rhetoric can serve to trigger internal support, but it is his relations with western powers that dictate the stability of his administration. Bjelos agrees and adds that Vucic currently has a careful approach on Kosovo, because he understands the balance that is needed to maintain his political positioning. “I don’t think he is interested in any unilateral action that could lead to an escalation in the north of Kosovo, because this would threaten not only his political position, but also the support he has from western leaders, and the agreements with the west for lithium, the weapons shipments to Ukraine and Israel, as well as some upcoming infrastructure projects. Therefore, I don’t expect that in the near future, Vucic has any interest to provoke or incite any security incident,” she said.

What is evident is that the attack has further deteriorated the aggravated relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

James Ker-Lindsay, professor at the London School of Economics, said the situation is filled with confusion because the available information is limited and based mainly on accusations and counter accusations. “It is safe to say that the whole situation has further radicalized the relations between Belgrade and Pristina. They have continuously deteriorated in the last couple of years, but now they have reached an even lower point and tensions are running higher than before. In this regard, I think that the Banjska attack had a serious and potentially long-term impact on efforts for the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina,” he said.

The Special Prosecution in Kosovo has now filed an indictment against 45 persons for the attack in Banjska. The indictment includes Radoicic who is described as “the head of the terrorist group that tried to annex the north of Kosovo and unite it with Serbia”, but it does not mention Serbia’s involvement. Consequently, Kosovo’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, said the indictment is not complete. In an interview with Radio Free Europe last week, he said he has evidence about the involvement of at least several senior commanders of the Serbian Army. “We have undisputed evidence that this terrorist group held military drills at Pasuljanske Livade, an official polygon of the Serbian Army, where Vucic goes almost every month and supervises different training of various units of the army and police. And surprisingly the indictment does not mention the commander or deputy commander of the polygon, or the commander of the Serbian Army, and even Vucic, if he is directly linked to the attack,” Svecla said.

Gjenero: Narrative on Banjska is international (Nacionale)

Davor Gjenero, Croatian commentator on regional issues and columnist for Al Jazeera Balkans, said in an interview with the news website that there is an international narrative about the attack in Banjska in the north of Kosovo last year. “I think that you in Kosovo have no reason to worry about the rhetoric coming from Belgrade about not recognizing the narrative about Banjska … This is not a Kosovar narrative, but an international narrative, and there is international consensus that the act in Banjska was organized by the Serbian state, and it was an act of terrorist against another sovereign state,” he was quoted as saying.

According to Gjenero, after Banjska, the situation for Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has changed dramatically, and that he was forced to acknowledge many decisions taken by Kosovo authorities, primarily “by acknowledging the situation in the north”. “All the information that Kosovo has about the training [of the armed group] in Pasuljanske Livade and other means of organization, financing, and the training of paramilitary forces in Serbia which operated in Kosovo, are facts known to all European and western security communities. Kosovo has no problem in this regard,” he argued.

Gjenero also said that Serbia might not extradite Radoicic or any of the other members to another country, and especially not to Kosovo, “but this does not mean that Kosovo cannot continue with sanctioning procedures about what they have done, and I think that in this regard Kosovo is in a very good and stable position”.

Kurti pays homage to US-Albanian brothers killed in Serbia in July 1999 (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a post on X that during his stay in New York, he paid his respects to three Albanian-American brothers who were killed in Serbia in July 1999. “I paid my respects in Yonkers, New York, to three Albanian-American heroes: Agron, Mehmet, and Yll Bytyqi. These brave brothers from Prizren (originally from Semetisht, Theranda), were murdered in cold blood by Serbian forces in July 1999 — after the end of the war and Kosova's liberation. Their bodies were found two years later in a mass grave in Serbia, near the police training facility in Petrovo Sello. Despite the urgent pleas of the family and the continuous demands of the U.S. Congress, the State Department and the Justice Department, Serbia still refuses to conduct a full investigation and to hold the perpetrators accountable. Agron, Mehmet, and Yll Bytyqi's lives were cut tragically short. But more than a quarter-century later, the fight for justice continues unabated, and our respect for their ultimate sacrifice shall never die,” Kurti wrote.

Kurti, Plenkovic talk deepening cooperation on higher education, defense (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a post on X that he met with his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenkovic and discussed a range of issues of mutual interest. “We discussed the current security situation in the region and explored ways of further deepening our cooperation on higher education and defense. Kosova and Croatia have long enjoyed excellent cooperation, and we remain committed to continuing in this positive direction,” Kurti said.

Serb opposition in Kosovo aims to form front against Serbian List (Koha)

Some political representatives of Kosovo Serbs and opposition parties in Serbia met in Belgrade and discussed creating a joint Serb opposition front. Zoran Lutovac, leader of the Democratic Party, accused Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s policy vis-à-vis the Serbs in Kosovo and highlighted the need for a political alternative to the Serbian List. At the meeting, Kosovo Serbs were represented by the Serb National Council of Kosovo and the Serb National Forum from Gracanica, and by the Popular Movement of Serbs from Kosovo, from Mitrovica. The Serbian opposition was represented by Dragan Djilas, leader of the Party for Freedom and Justice, Zoran Lutovac, leader of the Democratic Party, Milos Jovanovic, leader of the New Democratic Party of Serbia, Zdravko Ponos, leader of the Serbian Center, and Aleksandar Jovanovic, representative of the Ecological Uprising.

Lutovac said: “the chain of corruption in the Belgrade – Serbian List must be broken. Funds that were allocated for years for the people in Kosovo ended up in the wrong pockets. They did not reach their intended destination”.

Leader of the Serb National Forum from Gracanica, Momcilo Trajkovic, talked about a Serbian authentic policy in Kosovo. “Our objective is to create a Serbian authentic policy in Kosovo which should be a pillar of Serbia. We would like to take part in the creation of that policy in Serbia for Kosovo,” he said.

Djilas pledged that his party would never agree to the independence of Kosovo or for it to become a member of the United Nations. “The survival of Serbs in Kosovo is crucial. If they are not there, war would lose its meaning,” he said, adding a number of measures to strengthen the Serb community in Kosovo.

Participants mentioned a possible joint session at the Serbian Parliament on Kosovo, where the New Democratic Party of Serbia is expected to propose a law on Kosovo.

Aleksandar Jovanovic suggested to the delegation of Serbs from Kosovo to “try and assemble all political individuals and actors that don’t gravitate towards the Prime Minister of Kosovo or the current policy of Belgrade”.

The news website further notes that according to commentators of developments in the north of Kosovo, such meetings are a political theater because when it comes to Kosovo the opposition in Serbia is not much different from Vucic. “The meeting that happened in Belgrade between the opposition in Serbia and several opposition leaders from Kosovo is a kind of a show, which means that there were politicians from Kosovo there that had power in certain times but did nothing. I don’t think there was a force there that engaged in fostering a multiethnic life in the state of Kosovo. Another thing that is serious is that both the opposition and the government in Belgrade have the same boss. The opposition too agreed to a kind of silence about the situation in Kosovo or about Vucic’s political moves. For a fistful of votes they came up with some so-called nationalistic patriots from Kosovo,” Branislav Krstic said.

As part of the measures he proposed recently, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic included the call for new elections in the four northern municipalities which are currently led by Albanian mayors. Krstic meanwhile does not rule out the possibility that other parties could challenge the Serbian List. “Whoever decides to boycott the elections will end up on the losing side. The last boycott by the Serbian List was against the interests of the Serb community in the north, and it was not in the interest of any citizen of Kosovo. I am confident that every political party in the north will engage in the next parliamentary and local elections … Serbs are linked through a budget to the state of Serbia, which means that 80 percent of Serb citizens in the north are part of the budget of the state of Serbia, Belgrade. I’m not sure we will see a free will by the voters in the next elections. There will be several opposition parties that will take part in the next elections, but we won’t know until the end if they too will be under the control of financial or political centers from Belgrade. Nothing is clear now, because we are at the start of the so-called pluralism in elections,” he argued.

SBASHK submits petition to amend law on pension schemes (RFE)

The Union of Education, Science and Culture (SBASHK) submitted today to the presidency of the Kosovo Assembly a petition calling for amendments to the law on government-funded pension schemes. The petition, which was signed by 20,606 citizens, aims at addressing some of the challenges faced by employers of education and other public sectors that benefit from pension schemes. SBASHK leader Rrahman Jasharaj said he is certain that whenever it is sent to the Assembly, the amendments will be adopted, because he said they have received the support of both ruling and opposition parliamentary groups.

“Part of our proposed amendments is for the government and the assembly to recognize the years 2000, 2001 and until July 2002 as contributors, namely up until the time when the Pension Trust started functioning,” he told reporters today.

Jasharaj said the objective is for the persons targeted by the amendments to receive work pensions and not old age pensions, adding that in the education sector alone there are thousands of pensioners that would benefit from the amendments.

Osmani attends event, “our shared commitment to upholding CEDAW” (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in a post on X that “at the invitation of our allies—Germany, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and many others—I had the privilege of joining a powerful event during #UNGA79 to reaffirm our shared commitment to upholding #CEDAW. We cannot stand by as Afghan girls are denied their basic human rights rights. In April, during #WPSRKS2024 we honored the courage of Afghan women with the Presidential Medal of Merits. Today, we remain steadfast in our belief that every woman and girl deserves to live free from oppression and with the opportunity to learn and thrive, no matter where they are”.

Kosovo government allocates €100,000 for Global Coalition against ISIS (media)

All news websites report that the Kosovo government, in one of the decisions made today, decided to allocate €100,000 in support of the Global Coalition to defeat ISIS.

Police interview person in Pristina, was wearing shirt with inciting content (media)

Kosovo Police stopped a person in Pristina who was wearing a shirt with a map and slogans with inciting content. Police confiscated the shirt and interviewed the person. The prosecutor initiated a case which will go to regular procedure.

Serbian Language Media

KP on beaten and robbed couple in Gracanica: They reported that a masked person attacked them (Kosovo Online, KoSSev, RTS, gracanicaonline.info, media)

Kosovo police told Kosovo Online that last night around 21:00 a woman and a man in Gracanica reported that a masked person entered their house and attacked them demanding money. The investigation is ongoing. The case was characterized as an "attempted robbery".

“Kosovo man and woman reported that a masked person entered their house and allegedly attacked them demanding money. The same person, after committing the criminal act, left the scene in an unknown direction", the Kosovo police states.

The married couple was referred to the University Clinical Center in Pristina for treatment. According to the statement, police units are conducting investigations.

The portal recalls that the elderly couple Aleksic from Gracanica was beaten and robbed on Sunday evening in their house. Aleksic's couple was seriously injured.

That an elderly couple was beaten last night, reported portal Gracanicaonline late last night.

According to media reports, they were transported to the hospital with head injuries.

"The beaten spouses were found by a neighbor who drove them to the hospital in Gracanica, and after that they were urgently transferred to Pristina for further treatment. The attackers broke into the house of the family, which is located near the monastery, and demanded money, causing them injuries in the area of the head."

Dusanka Aleksic: Attacker was kicking us and hitting with a baton (Tanjug, RTV Gracanica, Kosovo Online)

Dusanka Aleksic, a woman from Gracanica who was attacked last night by an unknown assailant, inflicting bodily injuries on her, said that the attacker was kicking and hitting her and her husband with a baton, demanding the money from them.

Dusanka, who sustained nose injuries was discharged from the hospital last night, while her husband Dragan, who sustained head injuries and broken knee is still staying in the hospital in Pristina, Radio Television of Gracanica reported. Dusanka also said that three months ago she underwent breast carcinoma surgery.

“I was sleeping, when my husband noticed someone was making noise, and I woke up after hearing him saying that ‘he does not have money’. I did not know what it was about, but when I wanted to stand up, someone hit me, I felt strong pain and saw the pool of blood”, Dusanka said.

According to her, she and her husband saw one man, who was masked and did not talk, but only indicated with hand gestures that he wanted money from them.

Gracanica mayor, Ljiljana Subaric visited Dusanka today and strongly condemned this incident. She called upon responsible institutions to find the perpetrators urgently and adequately sanction them.

Office for KiM: Attack on Aleksic family in Gracanica made Serbs in Kosovo worried (Tanjug)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija said today “that brutal attack on Dusanka and Dragan Aleksic in Gracanica has put at an unease and made deeply worried all Serbs living in this place, but also in entire Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, in particularly because the Serbian people in this part of the Province had often been the target of Albanian extremists and hooligans”, Tanjug news agency reported.

The attack on the elderly couple took place in their family home, near Gracanica Monastery and details are still being determined. They also sustained numerous injuries as confirmed by doctors.

“This attack comes soon after Dejan Radic from Staro Gracko was first tied up, beaten up and then robbed, which points to the series of attacks against our people, in particular in central Kosovo”, Office for KIM recalled, adding that this sequence of events once again indicates that security must be priority in the Serbian areas.

Gogic: Attack in Gracanica testifies security situation in Serbian areas is undermined (Kosovo Online)

Attack on a married couple Aleksic in Gracanica testifies that the security situation in the Serbian areas is being undermined, political analyst Ognjen Gogic told Kosovo Online portal. He also said security should be improved in order to efficiently prevent and punish perpetrators of such attacks.

“This attack testifies that security situation in the Serbian areas in being undermined, as regardless who the perpetrator is, what community he comes from, he obviously feels confident enough to carry out such attack, to carry out violence against those persons, and that he will somehow get away with that, because the attack took place not far from the point where Kosovo police were present”, Gogic said.

He added this also tells that security arrangements and presence of the police, as well as further acts by prosecution, are not sufficiently efficient to discourage perpetrators from committing such attacks.

While police are yet to determine cause of explosion in Zvecan, mayor Peci condemns “people who caused incident” (KoSSev)

Zvecan mayor Ilir Peci visited the gas station in this town damaged by an explosion which happened two nights ago. It is an object of a former Serbian Oil Industry (NIS) company, closed this summer and leased to an Albanian Lab-oil company. It has been guarded by Kosovo special police forces ever since the closure.

In addition to the gas station, several private vehicles parked nearby were also damaged in the explosion. Kosovo police opened the case of “causing general danger” and confirmed yesterday it is still unknown what caused the explosion.

Meanwhile, Peci visited the gas station and in a post on Facebook he said that the municipality condemns “the people who caused the incident”.

ERO: Possible difficulties in the supply of electricity during the winter; Gerxhaliu reacts (Kosovo Online)

The Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) announced that Kosovo could face challenges in the supply of electricity during the winter months, although, as they say, the necessary preparations have been made to compensate for the possible shortage, reported Kosovo Online, citing Gazeta Blic.

The main reason, they say, is the arrival of colder days, and thus the increase in electricity consumption.

"Kosovo, like many other countries, could face challenges in the supply of electricity during the winter due to increased demand and different supply conditions. Energy companies have made the necessary preparations and plan to respond in time to any lack of local production," ERO pointed out.

Electricity consumption in Kosovo increased by seven percent this year.

Gerxhaliu: During the energy crisis, the government subsidizes electric heating equipment

"Instead of solving the problem, they worsen the situation by increasing energy consumption and dependence on expensive imports. During the past winters, Kosovo experienced a reduction in electricity that seriously affected citizens and the economy, especially the private sector," Gerxhaliu wrote in a FB post.

As he added, with the forecast of low temperatures, increased electricity consumption will require more expensive purchases from abroad.

"This policy seems deliberate, it favors some local and regional actors and deepens the country's energy dependence on expensive imports," he said.

According to Gerxhaliu, instead of investing in sustainable alternatives such as pellet production, the government is destroying the local industry by favoring imported electric heating equipment.

This not only harms the pellet production industry in Kosovo, says Gerxhaliu, but also increases Kosovo's trade deficit. According to him, the production of pellets in Kosovo has a great potential to reduce dependence on imports and create an internal economic cycle.

"However, the government does not seem to have a plan to reduce the trade deficit, deepening it even more. At a time when other countries are trying to reduce energy dependence and support local industry, Kosovo is moving in the opposite direction. If this policy is not changed, citizens and Kosovo's economy will face great challenges this winter and in the following years," said Gerxhaliu.

Serbian Parliament to hold session on lithium (N1)

The Serbian Parliament is set to convene on Monday at 2 pm to discuss lithium exploration, N1 learned. This marks the third extraordinary session, called by 86 opposition MPs.

The opposition has submitted a proposal to ban lithium and boron mining, supported by the Alliance of Environmental Organizations and the “Ne damo Jadar“ group, both known for organizing protests against lithium extraction. The “Kreni-promeni“ Movement, though without parliamentary representation, has also backed the initiative.

Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic previously criticized the opposition’s call for this session, labeling it “amateurish.“ However, opposition MPs insist the session will take place despite government resistance, with some accusing ruling parties of fearing open debate on the matter.

International

Kosovo feminist festival highlights sisterhood in times of war and peace (BIRN)

The 12th edition of the FemArt Festival, which aims to empower women through their art and activism, highlights Sisterhood as a form of women’s unity in times of war and peace.

The Barcelona Flamenco Ballet’s performance of “Carmen,” which conveys a “message of freedom and courage in the face of an unequal world where women still fight for their rights,” opened the 12th edition of the FemArt Festival in Kosovo on Wednesday. The festival elaborates on the notion of ‘Sisterhood’ as a unifying force for women in times of war and peace and will be open until September 30.

“Sisterhood in times of war makes us victorious, while in times of peace it ensures progress,” Zana Hoxha, the festival’s organiser told BIRN, explaining that “sisterhood transcends the ordinary— it is an artistic movement that binds us through our shared humanity, urging us to stand together in both turbulent and calm times. In times of conflict, art becomes a call for resilience and revolution, while in times of peace, it lays the foundations for collective growth and enlightenment.”

“In Kosovo and the entire Balkans, where women face threats and systematic violence, the call for change is deep and urgent,” she added.

The Barcelona Flamenco Ballet’s performance, Carmen, is based on the 1845 novella by French writer Prosper Mérimée about the love affair of ethnic Romani Carmen with the matador (bullfighter) Escamillo. Carmen represents the women who do not survive male violence, as she is murdered by her jealous husband in the novella.