UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, April 28, 2023

UN Security Council discusses report on Kosovo (media)
Kurti: Serbia is not constructive; internationals must apply pressure on it (KSP)
Kosovo remembers the forcibly disappeared of the 1990s war (BIRN)
U.S. Embassy message on National Day of Missing Persons (media)
Abbott urges governments to do all they can to resolve fate of missing (media)
Lajcak: Important to start defining status, competencies of Association (media)
Abdixhiku: We can’t be with Kurti in government, he represents the past (T7)
Kosovo’s CoE membership may take up to two years (Albanian Daily News)
Kosovo Supreme Court upholds ex-policeman’s war crimes sentence (BIRN)
Chollet talks with Vucic; “we expect constructive meeting on May 2” (media)

UN Security Council discusses report on Kosovo (media)

One of the leading news in the media on Thursday was the United Nations Security Council session on Kosovo. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Caroline Ziadeh, said in her address to the Security Council, that leaders in Pristina and Belgrade must take responsible steps to rebuild confidence in the normalisation of relations. She said that without a demonstrable commitment from political leaders there could be direct consequences for regional stability.

“A sustained focus of attention on the principles and declarations jointly affirmed on 27 February in Brussels, and further elaborated on 18 March in Ohrid, should be matched by courageous leadership.”

Acknowledging the continuation of provocations and grievances, SRSG Ziadeh said that progress in relations demanded confidence be rebuilt “[by] those who have grown suspicious of the intentions of each side”.

She also encouraged leaders to communicate clearly and continuously with their constituents on issues that affect livelihoods, including on the impartiality of judicial institutions and protection of human rights.

“Reassurance is necessary in order to replace feelings of mistrust and uncertainty felt by ordinary inhabitants on both sides of the Ibar River. Accusatory rhetoric should be avoided, and fears replaced with concrete reasons for confidence and optimism.”

The Head of UNMIK noted the peaceful conduct of extraordinary elections on 23 April. At the same time, she said questions of representation should be addressed and she urged elected leaders and institutions to fulfil the interests of the population.

Looking ahead, SRSG Ziadeh expressed hope that the expected endorsement of a joint Declaration on Missing Persons would enable resumption of full cooperation between Pristina and Belgrade on the Working Group on Missing Persons.

“This would provide families on both sides the chance for answers regarding their loved ones.”

She also called for a “good faith consideration” of the Draft Statute for the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities.

SRSG Ziadeh also spoke of her personal interactions with representatives of civil society and political institutions alike:

“The most common sentiments I encounter are frustration and concern about an uncertain future. However, equally, I see the spirit and the will to work to create a better reality. This is something we cherish as we work alongside all people striving for positive and tangible change.”

Turning to the work of the mission, SRSG Ziadeh underscored this year marks the fifth anniversary of the launch of UNMIK’s trustbuilding agenda, the objectives of which are to promote inter-community dialogue, resilience and confidence.

“Trustbuilding can directly help light the path to political normalisation. Political agreements need such soil in which to grow. Together, these approaches mark a genuine path toward a more sustainable, peaceful, and ultimately prosperous future,” she said.

SRSG Ziadeh concluded by reaffirming UNMIK’s commitment to supporting progress and Kosovo communities.

“We will do so in the expectation that the choices made by political leaders – and the fulfilment of their obligations and their commitments – will lead to greater opportunities for a generation deserving of more.”

See the SRSG’s full statement here: https://bit.ly/3Ld1hAA

In the report covering the period from 16 September 2022 until 18 March 2023, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the Agreement on the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia and the annex for its implementation, on which leaders from both parties have agreed.

Guterres said in his report that the new framework of dialogue has the potential to push forward the process of reaching long-term solutions.

He said constructive engagement for the comprehensive implementation of the Agreement will be needed to maintain stability and to prevent a relapse to tensions and conflicts.

“The parties fully committed to honour all Articles of the Agreement, and implement all their respective obligations expediently and in good faith. This is all the more critical as developments during the reporting period brought tensions to crisis levels, resulting in the most concerning setback since the start of the dialogue process in 2011,” Guterres notes.

He added that “heightened and inflammatory rhetoric on all sides, the erection of roadblocks, multiple security incidents, and protests in northern Kosovo, have increased the risk of violence”. “Incidents of an interethnic nature, shootings and injuries, including among civilians and Kosovo police, as well as the apparent targeting of journalists and international security actors, were particularly alarming. All parties should exercise restraint and work to ensure that all disputes are addressed peacefully through dialogue rather than escalation and brinkmanship,” Guterres notes.

The report, which does not include local elections held in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo last week, also notes that further progress in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina is “key to create conditions for the return of Kosovo Serb representatives to Kosovo institutions in the north”.

See the Secretary-General’s full report here: https://bit.ly/41JTelO

During the session which was held in New York and chaired by Russia, Kosovo and Serbia were represented by their foreign ministers, Donika Gervalla-Schwarz and Ivica Dacic.

Kosovo Foreign Minister, Donika Gervalla, said Serbia was trying to block the integration of the Balkans in the European Union and that it is important to undertake measures against such actions. “It is clear that Serbia doesn’t want an agreement in dialogue. They will obstruct every agreement because the Serbia of 2023 does no longer want to join the European Union,” she said.

She argued that the presented reports has errors and that some important events are not mentioned, adding that “these flaws are not new”. “UNMIK has become a destabilising factor and does not serve stability and peace in the region. With this report it has proved how unnecessary it has become,” Gervalla said.

She said Kosovo has made tangible results in the rule of law and the fight against crime and corruption, “tangibly improving the path toward European integration”.

Gervalla also said that the president of the Security Council for April, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, denied her the right to speak in Albanian.

Serbian Foreign Minister, Ivica Dacic, called for the implementation of agreements signed in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. “It is necessary to form the Association of Serb-majority municipalities as soon as possible because this is the only possible mechanism to protect the rights and security of the Serb community in Kosovo,” he said.

“Pristina is intentionally avoiding the fulfilment of this obligation”.

He also called for the full implementation of UNSC Resolution 1244. “You must either annul it or respect it. If you don’t respect [Resolution 1244] then the question of the existence of the UN arises,” Dacic said.

Resolution 1244, adopted in 1999, provided a framework for the resolution of the conflict in Kosovo, authorising the deployment of an international civilian and military presence. It called for the formation of a transitional international administration and monitored the withdrawal of Serbian military forces from Kosovo.

Telegrafi news website reported in its coverage that the U.S. and UK representatives called for the closure of UNMIK. U.S. representative Jeffrey DeLaurentis said the mission of UNMIK has concluded. “This is a positive momentum and the time for the UN to look into a different role in terms of oversight and the mandate it has had so far is no longer necessary. Therefore, thanking UNMIK for its engagement so far, we need to acknowledge that the mission is over,” he said.

DeLaurentis also said that the U.S. will remain engaged for stability in the Western Balkans. “We thanked the efforts of Borrell and Lajcak. We commend Kosovo and Serbia for taking steps forward toward a legally binding agreement. We hope to see more of this new spirit at the meeting on May 2, and an important part will be future steps for the formation of the Association in line with the Constitution of Kosovo,” he said.

The UK representative said: “I commend the Government’s efforts in the fight against corruption … Time shows that a revision of the status of UNMIK and adjustments on the ground are needed.”

The French representative at the UN, Nathalie Broadhurst, said that the formation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities and the return of Serbs to Kosovo institutions must be a priority. Broadhurst also said that Kosovo and Serbia must refrain from harsh rhetoric and work on the license plate issue and the energy agreement.

Kurti: Serbia is not constructive; internationals must apply pressure on it (KSP)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Thursday that European facilitators must apply pressure on Serbia because there are signs of constructiveness are coming from Belgrade.

Kurti said he wants the text agreed between Kosovo and Serbia must turn into an agreement. “As far as Kosovo and I are concerned, everything is clear and guaranteed, but the European facilitators need to apply pressure on the other party. The signs are not good for constructiveness, when we know that exactly in Batajnica, where there is no plaque no sign that there a mass grave there once, a military parade is organised, Serb criminals from the north of Kosovo and the leader of Bosnian Serbs Dodik are invited. These are not good signs, but we cannot deal with the other party, because we have no jurisdiction over Belgrade, the European Union needs to do this,” he argued.

Kurti said that the Minister of Local Government, Elbert Krasniqi, invited to a meeting the Management Team that works on the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, but that they did not respond.

Kurti also said that “based on the text of the Brussels agreement, which also got the implementation annex in Ohrid, on May 2 the urgent topic is the issue of missing persons and those forcibly disappeared”.

Kosovo remembers the forcibly disappeared of the 1990s war (BIRN)

Events were held to mark Kosovo’s Day of Forcibly Disappeared Persons, while hundreds of people also attended a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of a wartime massacre in the village of Meja.

Kosovo on Thursday commemorated its annual Day of Forcibly Disappeared Persons with events intended to remember those who went missing during the 1998-99 war and to reiterate demands for justice.

The Youth Initiative for Human Rights Kosovo inaugurated a plaque in front of a missing persons memorial outside parliament in the capital Pristina in order to give the public more information about the two-metre-high white marble monument, which is called To Those We Miss.

Marigona Shabiu from the Youth Initiative for Human Rights Kosovo said on Thursday that “this memorial installed some years ago here in Ibrahim Rugova Square never properly identified what the memorial shows and who it is dedicated to”.

The plaque gives the memorial’s name in five languages used in Kosovo, including the official languages, Albanian and Serbian, as well as Turkish, Romani and English.

“The action is a critique of public institutions that do not do enough for the civilian victims of the war in Kosovo, including those who have not been found, starting from the maintenance of memorials and their installation in important, visible spaces,” Shabiu said.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, parliamentary speaker Glauk Konjufca and former President Atifete Jahjaga also paid tribute at the missing persons monument in Pristina.

There are 1,621 missing persons from the Kosovo war whose remains have not yet been found. They are mainly ethnic Albanians but some are Serbs and Roma.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3n7Mb7c

U.S. Embassy message on National Day of Missing Persons (media)

The United States Embassy in Pristina said on Thursday that “On Kosovo's National Day of Missing Persons, we stand with family members who still – decades later – don’t know what happened to their missing loved ones”. “Finding answers that provide closure for the families of the missing must be a priority,” it said in a Twitter post.

Abbott urges governments to do all they can to resolve fate of missing (media)

UK Ambassador in Kosovo, Nicholas Abbott, said in a Twitter post on Thursday that he was honoured to join Prime Minister Kurti and families of the missing to pay our respect to the 1617 people still missing from the conflict in Kosovo. “I can only imagine the pain and grief felt by those who still do not know the fate of their loved ones. In Kosovo and Serbia we continue to urge governments to do all they can, including by releasing information, to resolve the fate of the missing and to support families,” Abbott tweeted.

Lajcak: Important to start defining status, competencies of Association (media)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, said in an interview with Dennikn, that it is important to define as soon as possible the status and competencies of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, and that they will stick to existing European models during its formation.

Lajcak said he views the Association as an opportunity to clarify relations between the Kosovo government and the Kosovo Serbs. “And at the same time define the role of Serbia in support of the Kosovo Serbs. It is a sensitive topic, there is a lot of talk about it, but for me it is important to finally determine what this means, what will be its status and competencies. We will stick to existing European models,” he said.

Lajcak also said the draft statute of the Association will be presented at the meeting on May 2 between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. “For me it is important to have a planned meeting between President Vucic and Prime Minister Kurti in Brussels on May 2, where the start of the process of creating this community will be on the agenda. The draft status will be presented, and this is the first binding and important step,” he said.

Abdixhiku: We can’t be with Kurti in government, he represents the past (T7)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lumir Abdixhiku, said in an interview with T7 on Thursday that the LDK cannot be in the same government with Vetevendosje leader and Prime Minister Albin Kurti, “because he represents the past”. “We cannot be in government with Mr. Kurti because we are two different alternatives. He represents the past, while we represent the future. He is burdened with the past, and we are focused on the future. We cannot work together in the same place, and we shouldn’t work together because we wouldn’t be doing any good to Kosovo,” Abdixhiku argued.

Kosovo’s CoE membership may take up to two years (Albanian Daily News)

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) submitted for opinion Kosovo’s application for membership in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council, but Deputy Secretary General of the CoE, Bjorn Berge, said that after Monday's decision “there must be an opinion of the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE” in a process that “could take up to two years”. Asked about the will of the CoE to add a new member, Berge emphasized that the organization is in principle, open to all European Countries. “Of course, today we are missing two countries, Russia and Belarus, which for known reasons, are not members,” he said. It is now up to the Parliamentary Assembly to issue its opinion at an unspecified date, with the next meeting of the Assembly scheduled for Friday.

Kosovo Supreme Court upholds ex-policeman’s war crimes sentence (BIRN)

Kosovo’s Supreme Court on Thursday made public its ruling confirming the sentencing of Goran Stanisic to 15 years’ imprisonment for war crimes against ethnic Albanian civilians in the town of Lipjan/Lipljan during the Kosovo war in 1999.

The Supreme Court ruling upheld the previous Court of Appeals verdict convicting Serb wartime reservist policeman Stanisic.

The court found that the previous verdict had “rightfully proved that the convict was one of the co-perpetrators of the murder” of one ethnic Albanian civilian on April 16, 1999 and of causing injury to another.

It explained that eyewitnesses told the court that they could identify Stanisic.

It also said that due to the laws in force in the time of the crime, Stanisic could not be sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.

Stanisic, who was a reservist policeman with the Serbian Interior Ministry, was found guilty of involvement in the murders of 13 civilians.

He was initially sentenced to 20 years in prison in October 2021 at Pristina Basic Court.