UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, August 2, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

Hovenier calls on Kosovo and Serbia to implement agreement toward normalisation (media)

Vela to Petkovic: You know best where Kosovo’s borders are (media)

President can decree Law on Minimum Wage only after final court’s decision (media)

Procedures underway to remove northern mayors with petition (media)

Hajdari says criminal charges initiated against Business Registration officials (RFE)

Court: Dismissal of RTK Board not in line with Constitution (Koha)

Serbian Language Media:

Elisabeth Gowing resigns her post at Office for Communities (Radio KIM, KoSSev)

Petkovic, Hovenier on borders in Kosovo, Serbian List also reacts (N1, BETA, KoSSev)

Andric-Rakic: There are no laws in Kosovo for referendum and peoples’ initiatives (Kosovo Online, social media)

CEC refused to initiate procedure to dissolve mayors in northern municipalities (Kosovo Online)

Daka: The only and the most fair way for elections in north is that mayors resign (media)

International Media:

Kosovo Ex-Guerrilla Arrested for Revealing Witness Names: Lawyer (Balkan Insight)

Kosovo implements new regulation for financial inclusion (SeeNews)

Albanian Language Media

Hovenier calls on Kosovo and Serbia to implement agreement toward normalisation (media)

United States Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, said on Tuesday that the full implementation of the agreement for the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia would enable the lowering of tensions in the north of Kosovo. After attending an event at Kosovo Police, Hovenier told reporters that Washington is asking for two things to happen in order to lower tensions in the north. “We want to see two things. We think it is important to achieve further de-escalation of the situation in the north in order to avoid tensions. The second thing we want to see is renewed efforts by Kosovo and Serbia to achieve the full implementation of the agreement reached in Ohrid. This helps Kosovo progress toward full integration in European and Euro-Atlantic institutions and the repositioning of relations between the two countries,” he said.

“We expect the Government of Kosovo to undertake steps to de-escalate the situation in the north and to create a new environment in which the two countries can work on the implementation of all obligations within the Ohrid Agreement. For Kosovo this means to move forward with urgency in the process of negotiating and establishing the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. This is part of obligations assumed by the Government of Kosovo. This is not the only obligation and this is not the only article of the Ohrid Agreement, but it is an important one,” he said.

Hovenier said that Serbia too has many obligations that it needs to implement and that “we don’t think that the parties are fully implementing their obligations for the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement”.

Hovenier also said that the Government of Kosovo should meet its obligations and establish a legal framework that would allow for new elections in the four northern municipalities.

Hovenier talked about the requests for the leaders of the Serbian List to take part in the new elections in the north, during their stay in Washington last week. “I am certain that the leaders of the Serbian List have heard this because I had talks with Escobar, the expectations of the United States for the Kosovo Serbs, including the Serbian List, to take part in the new municipal elections when they are announced. This is part of the responsibilities of political parties in democracy. You take part in a democratic rocess. This is our expectation and request,” he said.

Hovenier also said that “we consider Kosovo a sovereign, independent and democratic state. Our work with the Serbian List, a party that is a political party of Kosovo, an opposition party in Kosovo, is similar to the work we do with other opposition parties in Kosovo, but this should not be about the standpoint of the United States. We rule out any suggestion that Kosovo is something that is different from an independent state, and this includes the north of Kosovo. I have said this many times, we know exactly where the border is, it is north of Mitrovica right? And so we want the Serbian List to play its role as a political party in a sovereign, democratic, and independent Kosovo. We don’t see it as a Serbian political party, we consider it a party of ethnic Serbs in Kosovo, and I want to make this point clear”.

Commenting on the Klan Kosova case, Hovenier said he is concerned with the annulment of their business certificate. He said they don’t see the issue only as an issue of business registration but also as an issue of media freedom. “We expect the government to resolve this issue in a transparent and fair fashion, and we hope in a swift way,” he added.

Vela to Petkovic: You know best where Kosovo’s borders are (media)

Chief of Staff to Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, Blerim Vela, took to Twitter on Tuesday to react to a tweet by Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo head, Petar Petkovic. The latter had reacted to a statement from U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, who said that we know where Kosovo’s borders are. Petkovic said in his tweet that Kosovo’s borders are the borders of Serbia, to which Vela said: “Petre still jet lagged from your excursion to China? Of all Serbia’s officials, you know best where the borders of Kosovo are, which you duly note in your requests to visit Kosovo. Srpska List is registered at the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kosovo - according to Kosovo laws”.

President can decree Law on Minimum Wage only after final court’s decision (media)

The Constitutional Court has informed President Vjosa Osmani that the Law on the Minimum Wage can be decreed only after this court makes a final decision on the matter, media advisor to the President, Bekim Kupina, said on Tuesday.

Procedures underway to remove northern mayors with petition (media)

Kosovo’s Ministry for Local Government has initiated the procedure to draft an administrative directive for the civic initiative to remove the mayors of the four northern municipalities and make way for early elections there. A decision signed by Local Government Minister Elbert Krasniqi, dated July 31, foresees the formation of a working group that will handle the process. According to the decision, the working group has one month to draft the administrative directive. “The Working Group is responsible for drafting an Administrative Directive to appoint procedures and timelines for the civic initiative to remove the mayors of municipalities. The Working Group needs to finalise the draft administrative directive and submit it to the Office of the General Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government by September 1, 2023,” the decision notes.

Hajdari says criminal charges initiated against Business Registration officials (RFE)

Kosovo’s Minister of Industry, Trade, and Entrepreneurship, Rozeta Hajdari, said on Tuesday that criminal charges were initiated against some officials at the Kosovo Business Registration Agency and representatives of some companies over violations during the registration process. The Ministry informed this through a press release in which it published Hajdari’s full remarks during a press conference. The conference was boycotted by the majority of the media in sign of revolt against the decision to suspend the business certificate of Klan Kosova. Hajdari said that disciplinary procedures have also been initiated against several officials of the agency.

Hajdari said that the committee for the verification of files, from July 10-19, verified 660 files of businesses and found that 48 files had anti-constitutional denominations. She said that on July 31, five business certificates were annulled. “The ARBK will continue to issue decisions on other businesses that have conducted the same violation of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo,” she said.

Commenting on the case of Klan Kosova, Hajdari said the suspension of the business certificate “was not aimed at limiting the freedom of speech and the work of media in our country, but only to implement the legitimate requests of the Constitution and the laws”. “Therefore, the sole purpose of the administrative process of the ARBK in the case of Klan Kosova and other businesses it identified, was the enforcement of the law, nothing more and nothing less,” she argued.

Court: Dismissal of RTK Board not in line with Constitution (Koha)

The Constitutional Court of Kosovo ruled on Tuesday that the decision of the Kosovo Assembly in July 2021 to dismiss the Board of the Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) was not in line with the Constitution, but that the decision does not have a retroactive effect and that it does not affect the acquired rights of third parties. The dismissal of the board was followed by harsh criticism from opposition parties which claimed that the government was trying to politically seize the public broadcaster.

Serbian Language Media

Elisabeth Gowing resigns her post at Office for Communities (Radio KIM, KoSSev)

Elisabeth Gowing had resigned her post at the Office for Communities which functions within the Kosovo Prime Minister Office. As KIM Radio learnt her decision came as a reaction to the allocation of half a million euros at the last public call of the Office for Communities.

The Office for Communities on May 31 launched a public call for awarding financial support in total amount of 500.000 euros to NGOs and media from non-majority communities, respectively “to offer financial support to the projects and programs of NGO for raising the level of employment among non-majority communities, media that contribute to protection and advancement of the rights and interests of non-majority communities, as well as NGOs that contribute to the promotion of the culture, traditions, language, cultural heritage and identity of the communities’ members by cultural activities, including celebrations of special days of communities living in Kosovo”.

Upon publishing the preliminary list of those receiving the grants on the site of the Prime Minister’s Office out of 42 NGOs that were supported, only 3 were such, according to the names on the list and NGOs public registry. More than 90 percent of the media and NGOs that received the grants come from the majority Albanian community, and some of those receiving the grants can not be found in the NGOs public registry, the Radio KIM added.

According to Radio KIM, Gowing was disappointed by the fact that a small number of NGOs and media chosen for financial support in fact represent organizations founded in non-majority communities. Despite her remarks, the Commission chose not to annul the call.

Petkovic, Hovenier on borders in Kosovo, Serbian List also reacts (N1, BETA, KoSSev)

US Ambassador in Pristina, Jeffrey Hovenier said yesterday that his country wants to see Serbian List playing its political role in a “sovereign and independent Kosovo”, which promoted reaction of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic saying that “the borders in Kosovo and Metohija are borders of Serbia”, N1 reports.

Hovenier spoke about the meeting Serbian List had with US Special Envoy for Western Balkans and US State Department official Gabriel Escobar in Washington, adding that US want and expect that Serbian List take part in mayoral elections at four northern municipalities.

In his further reaction to Hovenier’s remarks that “the border of Kosovo is north form Mitrovica”, Petkovic said that “we know well, the US Ambassador, where the borders in Kosovo and Metohija are, those are borders of Serbia in line with UN Charter and UN SC Resolution 1244. The Serbian List is a choice and voice of Serbian people which defends national interests of its people in Kosovo and Metohija and not that of foreign ambassadors”.

The Serbian List in a statement issued last night said that bodies of the party are the ones deciding about policy of this party, and their decisions have always been in the interests of the Serbian people in Kosovo. Commenting on the remarks of Ambassador Hovenier that his country wishes that Serbian List plays its opposition political role “in a sovereign and independent Kosovo”, Serbian List termed it as “a need to flatter the public in Pristina” after its delegation visited Washington last week.

Andric-Rakic: There are no laws in Kosovo for referendum and peoples’ initiative (Kosovo Online, social media)

Milica Andric-Rakic from New Social Initiative reacting to the appointment of working group members by the Ministry for Local Government and Administration tasked to prepare an administrative instruction for procedures on civil initiative to dissolve mayors in northern Kosovo, said that Kosovo has no Law on referendum and peoples’ initiative, adding those can’t be organized, neither in the north nor in any other part of Kosovo, Kosovo Online portal reports.

“Kosovo has no Law on referendum and peoples’ initiative, therefore those can’t be organized, neither in the north nor anywhere else. But we would continue listening endlessly about “the most democratic country in the Balkans”, she said in a post on Twitter.

She pointed out to the paradox that because there is no census in Kosovo a mayor can be elected with 100 votes and one percent turnout, however, for their replacement it is necessary that more than 50 percent of registered voters take part in a referendum for which there are no legal provisions in place.

CEC refused to initiate procedure to dissolve mayors in northern municipalities (Kosovo Online)

Kosovo Central Election Commission (CEC) has refused to initiate procedure and prepare a draft administrative instruction for dissolving four mayors in Serb-majority northern municipalities, under explanation that there are no legal grounds for something like that, Kosovo Online portal reports citing Albanian Post. However, the Ministry for Local Self-Government and Administration has decided to initiate preparation of local elections there.

CEC told the government that a special law was needed for a referendum in order to enable monitoring of this procedure.

Kosovo Online portal further writes that despite lacking legal grounds, the Kosovo Government through the Ministry for Local Self-Government and Administration made a decision on establishing a working group tasked to prepare an administrative instruction for determining procedures that would enable replacement of the mayors in northern municipalities.

Daka: The only and the most fair way for elections in north is that mayors resign (media)

Former head of Kosovo Central Election Commission (CEC) Valdete Daka said the only and the most fair way to hold elections in the four northern municipalities would be that current mayors resign voluntarily. She added submitting resignations under pressure would also mean violation of the law.

Daka also opined that prior to deciding on new elections, "a political agreement must be found" because, according to her, the non-participation of Serbs in the elections will lead to the same situation created after the April 23 elections there.

International Media

Kosovo Ex-Guerrilla Arrested for Revealing Witness Names: Lawyer (Balkan Insight)

A lawyer for former Kosovo Liberation Army fighter Dritan Goxhaj, who was arrested in Albania, told BIRN he has been charged with revealing names of potential protected witnesses in a war crimes case in The Hague.

An Albanian lawyer representing Kosovo ex-guerrilla Dritan Goxhaj, who was arrested on Monday in Tirana, told BIRN that he has been charged over an article he wrote for a media outlet exposing the names of some of the potential protected witnesses in a war crimes trial of another guerrilla in The Hague.

Lawyer Bashkim Nikolla said Goxhaj is accused of having “intimidated and obstructed the criminal process” in the case against Salih Mustafa, a Kosovo Liberation Army officer who was sentenced to 26 years in prison by the Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers in December last year.

Albanian media reported that in the article that Goxhaj wrote, which was published by a Kosovo outlet, he mentioned five names of “protected and hidden witnesses” that he said he had “decided to expose”.