Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Links of arrested individuals indicate presence of foreign actors (media)
• Maqedonci: Attempt of attack was to kneel state and humanitarian disaster (KTV)
• Gervalla: Serbia is copying Russia's strategies (media)
• Kurti to meet with Kaja Kallas in Brussels today (RTK)
• Hacker: Zubin Potok attack resembles Russian attacks in Ukraine (RTK)
• U.S. reaffirms commitment to address global scourge of human trafficking (media)
• Calls for armed rebellion and changing of constitutional order in Serbia (media)

 

Serbian Language Media:

 

• Djuric informs UK's Doughty of Serbian positions on Ibar-Lepenac water canal attack (Tanjug)
• Mijacic: Explosion at Ibar-Lepenac canal certainly not an act of local community, nor official Belgrade (Kosovo Online, social media)
• Members of European Parliament request impartial investigation on water canal attack, evidence for accusations (Tanjug)
• Radojevic: “Serbs in North Mitrovica feel as if under occupation, intimidated by Kosovo police” (Kosovo Online, media)
• Kosovo police deny accusations of violence against Jahirovic family (Radio kontakt plus, media)
• CSOs from north: Serious violation of human rights (Radio kontakt plus, media, social media)
• Radio KIM: Selim Pacoli calls for “Storm”, accuses SOC of being “the main instigator and screenwriter” (media, social media)

Opinion:

• Absurdity of EU: Kosovo, victim of terrorist actions, but under sanctions (Koha)

International:

• Kosovo continues to probe ‘terror attack’ on canal after weekend arrests (BIRN)

 

 

Albanian Language Media 

 

Kurti: Links of arrested individuals indicate presence of foreign actors (media)

 

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a post on X that “following the terrorist attack on Friday evening, among the seized arms and explosives, military insignia pictured were also found. The vast majority of these belonged to Serbian and Russian Armed Forces, such as the Russian Airborne Forces (VDV). The links of the arrested individuals to the Belgrade-sponsored terrorist organization "Civil Protection" indicate the presence of foreign actors. Of course, terrorist events do not happen in a vacuum. In this context, Serbia's paramilitary incursion last year and its constant sponsoring of crime through various methods in the north of Kosova leave little room for speculation. However, the investigation is ongoing, and further details — along with the number of foreign parties involved — will be revealed”.

 

Maqedonci: Attempt of attack was to kneel the state and humanitarian disaster (KTV)

 

Kosovo’s Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, said in an interview with the TV station on Monday that the attack against the Iber Lepenci canal aimed “to kneel the state of Kosovo and cause a humanitarian catastrophe”. He argued that it was the biggest attack and not only in Kosovo. “It was one of the terrorist attacks that had devastating objectives. I believe the tactical goal of the attack was to eliminate essential services, including electricity and water. The strategic goal of the attack was to kneel Kosovo and not only destabilize it, and cause a humanitarian catastrophe,” he said.

 

Maqedonci said that if there had not been a synchronized reaction by all institutions, the situation would have been even more difficult. “The finding of weapons and the arrests of many suspects in recent years was a preventive measure, but terrorist attacks cannot always be prevented. Their success lies in the surprise element and the methods used by terrorist groups,” he said.

 

Maqedonci also said that Kosovo’s authorities would do their best to prove that Serbia was involved in the attack. “The attack correlates with the Russian attacks in Ukraine, the aerial attacks on November 28. Because the nature of the attack is the same, the act is the same, their objective was the same,” he added. 

 

Gervalla: Serbia is copying Russia's strategies (media)

 

Kosovo's Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla, during a debate at the extraordinary session of the European Parliament after the attack on the Iber Lepenci canal, said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic same as Russian President Vladimir Putin, feels that he has the right to seize territories and start escalations towards war very similar to what Milosevic did in the 1990s.

 

"Such a serious attack on the infrastructure of a democratic state has not happened in Europe except by the Russian aggressor in Ukraine. Serbia is not Russia but is copying Russian strategies and adapting them to the regional context,” Gervalla said.

 

She recalled that “in addition to the terrorist attack on the critical infrastructure of the state of Kosovo, Serbia in September 2023 with about 100 paramilitary troops equipped with the heaviest high-level weapons, directly from the Serbian military arsenal and with equipment for about 400 troops, together with the Serbian army ready to enter Kosovo, has undertaken the first attempt at military intervention in a country with a NATO presence”.

 

“So it is completely impossible that such a decision was made without coordination with Russia. Russia is deeply rooted in the structures of Serbia, not only in the economy but also in the intelligence structures and the Ministry of Defense. Not even 5,000 NATO troops stopped Serbia and Russia. This has nothing to do with northern Kosovo, it is not simply a dispute between Serbia and Kosovo, what has been happening for years in front of our eyes is an escalating confrontation that tests what the West is ready for”.

 

Gervalla also argued that “contempt is being propagated for an ethnicity, in this case Albanians, in the most deeply racist way, while in Serbian stadiums the crowds chant for minutes ‘Kill, slaughter the Albanians’. They do not want Europe; they simply want Europe’s euros. So, their wallet is in Brussels, but their heart is in Moscow”.

 

Kurti to meet with Kaja Kallas in Brussels today (RTK)

 

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti will meet with the new head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, today in Brussels, a spokesperson for Kallas confirmed on Monday. Kallas is also scheduled to meet Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

 

This will be Kallas' first meeting with the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia since taking up the post of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, that Kallas assumed on December 1. These meetings will take place on the sidelines of a working dinner that the new President of the European Council Antonio Costa will hold with leaders from the Western Balkans, which will also be organized on December 3.

 

RTK notes that although previously scheduled, these meetings will take place just days after the attack in Zubin Potok, which damaged Kosovo’s critical infrastructure. 

 

Hacker: Zubin Potok attack resembles Russian attacks in Ukraine (RTK)

 

Thomas Hacker, MP of the FDP (Free Democratic Party) said in a post on X on Monday that the terrorist attack on Kosovo’s critical infrastructure resembles Russian actions in Ukraine. “The terrorist attack on Kosovo’s critical infrastructure resembles Russian actions in Ukraine. This insidious attack requires a full and impartial investigation. The fact that the suspected organizer of the Banjska attack is still enjoying his freedom in Serbia is a shame, but unfortunately, it is not a big surprise,” Hacker said.

 

U.S. reaffirms commitment to address global scourge of human trafficking (media)

 

The United States Embassy in Kosovo said in a Facebook post on Monday that “human trafficking disproportionately impacts marginalized and underserved populations, including women and girls. On the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, the U.S. reaffirms its commitment and efforts to address the global scourge of trafficking in persons through the pillars of prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnership. #16DaysOfActivism #EndHumanTrafficking”.

 

Calls for armed rebellion and changing of constitutional order in Serbia (media)

 

The High Prosecution in Belgrade said on Monday that it submitted a request to Serbian Police to start collecting necessary information about the distribution of leaflets calling for an armed rebellion and the changing of the constitutional order of Serbia. The leaflets were sent to the post boxes of citizens on one of the streets of Belgrade. Serbian Police has also been ordered to urgently discover the identity of those that prepared and distributed the leaflets. 

 

Serbian Language Media 

 

Djuric informs UK's Doughty of Serbian positions on Ibar-Lepenac water canal attack (Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric spoke with the UK's Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories Stephen Doughty on Monday to inform him of the situation in Kosovo and Serbian positions on the recent sabotage on the Ibar-Lepenac canal in the Zubin Potok municipality, Tanjug news agency reported. In a phone call with Doughty, Djuric noted that Serbia insisted on an investigation being carried out under strict international supervision to identify the perpetrators and those who had ordered the attack on a vital infrastructure facility in Kosovo, as well as to establish the political motivation behind the incident, Tanjug news agency reported. 

Djuric explained that Serbia would provide all the necessary assistance to efforts to shed light on the circumstances of the attack and to an investigation that would lead to those responsible, and noted that international partners could count on full cooperation from Serbia, the Serbian MFA said in a statement.

Djuric again warned of attempts by Pristina to implicate Belgrade in the incident without any grounds or evidence whatsoever, and noted that this was another attempt by “the Albin Kurti regime to discredit Serbia and divert attention from the fact that Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija were targeted by physical violence and violence of law on a daily basis and that disenfranchisement of Serbs and oppression against them had become institutionalized”.

Until the investigation produces certain results, it is very important that the international community backs Belgrade's efforts to preserve peace and stability in the region and stop irresponsible attempts by Albin Kurti to use this situation to continue to destabilize the region and cater to his own pre-election needs, the statement said.

Mijacic: Explosion at Ibar-Lepenac canal certainly not an act of local community, nor official Belgrade (Kosovo Online, social media)

Coordinator of the National Convent for the EU Chapter 35 Working Group Dragisa Mijacic, who originates from Zubin Potok, in a series of posts on X social platform said the timing of explosion at Ibar-Lepenac water canal raises serious questions and asked who would benefit the most from this incident? He added it is certainly not the act of the local community, nor official Belgrade, Kosovo Online portal reported.

“The timing of the Ibar-Lepenac Canal bomb blast raises serious questions. If local Serbs are to be blamed, why now - when they’ve had the last 25 years to act? Consider everything they’ve endured since 1999, yet the Canal remained untouched and secure all this time. Who benefits most from this moment? A bomb blast unfolds just after the U.S. presidential elections and a few weeks before Trump’s return, on the brink of Kosovo’s elections, and on the eve of Serbia’s potential opening of Cluster 3 in its EU accession process. 

I'm not pointing fingers at anyone, simply trying to understand the logic behind this event at this particular moment. While it's possible that an individual/group acted out of frustration or anger, this certainly isn't an act of the local community, nor of the official Belgrade”, Mijacic wrote in posts. 

Members of European Parliament request impartial investigation on water canal attack, evidence for accusations (Tanjug)

Members of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee requested yesterday an impartial international investigation of the explosion in which section of Ibar-Lepenac water canal in Zubin Potok municipality was damaged, and from Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Donika Gervalla evidence for the accusations she made during discussion claiming Belgrade was behind the attack, Tanjug news agency reported. 

In a discussion about the situation in Kosovo after the damage to the Ibar-Lepenac canal, MP Michael Gahler from the European People's Party asked what evidence is now available to support Gervalla's accusations. "I firmly believe that our executive hand, which is the Foreign Affairs Service, the Commission and the member states, must take this very seriously and react to it if it turns out that what you are saying is proven. We have to look at that evidence first", he pointed out. 

Radojevic: “Serbs in North Mitrovica feel as if under occupation, intimidated by Kosovo police” (Kosovo Online, media)

Serbs in North Mitrovica, due to the increased presence of Kosovo police officers “feel as if they are under occupation and withdraw to their homes out of fear as soon as night falls”, former Mitrovica North mayor and Serbian List official Milan Radojevic told Newsmax Adria. He added that Serbs perceive the primary goal of the heavily armed police units to be demonstrating force. He noted that the Serbian List has repeatedly called on KFOR to take control in the north, stating that Serbs trust the NATO Mission and that KFOR has an executive mandate under UN SC Resolution 1244.

"Citizens themselves say they feel terrible, as if we are under occupation. They don’t let their children out of their homes. It’s a very bad feeling. We have police who neither speak nor understand the Serbian language. We feel their primary goal is to harass people here, to display and demonstrate force. Sometimes I get the impression they’re more interested in taking as many selfies as possible to show they’ve been in the north than in helping citizens”, Radojevic said.

He emphasized that the residents are intimidated and frightened, explaining that no one can be seen on the streets after dark. "There’s absolutely no one outside. Parents use the daylight hours to take their children out for a walk, but as soon as it gets dark, there are no people on the streets because the police instill fear in them", he added.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/W96R0

Kosovo police deny accusations of violence against Jahirovic family (Radio kontakt plus, media)

Kosovo police denied accusations of the Jahirovic family about police brutality during the raid in Mitrovica North, while civil society organizations from the north claim that serious violation of human rights occurred, Radio kontakt plus reported.

Kosovo police, while denying the accusations, said that “in not a single case did police use violence against any person”. As the statement to the Radio kontakt plus said the police units “were present to prevent crime, care about citizens and protect public and private properties”. The police also said that they continue carrying out their constitutional and legal assignments, following the attack on the Ibar-Lepenac water canal in Zubin Potok municipality.

Gzim Jahirovic, member of Roma community and vise president of Roma Initiative Party accused on Monday Kosovo police saying that he was subjected to “physical mistreatment, insults and threats during the police action”, while his wife said that she was subjected to “verbal sexual violence from Kosovo police”. The Jahirovic couple said their underage children were also witnesses of those abuses. They announced filing a complaint to the Kosovo Police Inspectorate. 

CSOs from north: Serious violation of human rights (Radio kontakt plus, media, social media)

Five civil society organizations from northern Kosovo, NSI, Aktiv, InTer, CASA and ACDC issued a statement in relation to the case of Gzim Jahirovic’s family, who accused Kosovo police of mistreating him and his wife during the raid, saying that a serious violation of human rights occurred, Radio kontakt plus reported. “On November 30, 2024, during a raid by the Kosovo police in North Mitrovica, there were serious violations of human rights, including physical violence, excessive use of force, and verbal and psychological abuse of Gzim Jahirović, Vice President of the Roma Initiative Party, his wife Sultana, and his extended family”, CSOs said in a statement. 

“In his statement to the media, Gzim Jahirović emphasized that he was subjected to brutal beatings and humiliation during the raid, while his wife suffered sexual harassment by police officers. Their children witnessed these horrific events, which represents an additional violation of the right to family safety.

Similar, though less dramatic, testimonies have also come from citizens in Zvečan and Zubin Potok. They reported cases of excessive and unlawful searches to the media as part of the investigation into sabotage of critical civil infrastructure of the Ibar-Lepenac hydro-system. Non-governmental organizations have already appealed to law enforcement authorities to demonstrate professionalism and ensure that the investigation is not misused to intimidate citizens and violate fundamental human rights. Unfortunately, numerous testimonies suggest that the authorities have ignored these appeals.

We strongly condemn any unauthorized searches of private property, excessive use of force, ethnic discrimination, and abuse of authority. We call on the Kosovo Police Inspectorate (PIK) to urgently initiate ex officio investigations based on numerous statements from citizens of non-majority communities reported in the media. At the same time, we express solidarity with all victims of police brutality in recent years”, the statement added. 

Radio KIM: Selim Pacoli calls for “Storm”, accuses SOC of being “the main instigator and screenwriter” (media, social media)

In his posts on Facebook, Selim Pacolli, former deputy mayor of Pristina and brother of Kosovo politician and businessman Behgjet Pacolli, among other said that “here only the concept of Storm (Croatian military operation that resulted in expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Serbs from areas where they lived) works. A classic yard sweeping! Otherwise, this evil will haunt us forever”, Radio KIM reports.

“There is no surprise here. Historically, looking at this Orthodox holiday precisely {Christmas} we were killed, cut off and burned by those Chetniks’ formations and gangs, because the main instigator and screenwriter is precisely the Serbian Orthodox Church! I say and repeat that without classical cleanup of land from those gangs, this country shall never have peace or tranquility”, Selim Pacolli wrote on his Facebook account, Radio KIM said.

As the Radio further added, although he was calling for lynch, persecution and incited religious and ethnic hatred, he received strong support in comments on Facebook for expressed stances. Some comments expect that the political party, Alliance for New Kosovo, whose member he is, proposes such a step. Pacolli responded in a post on Facebook that he presents only personal, and not the stances of the political party, adding that “as long as Serbian paramilitary gangs are in Kosovo, there is no consolation”.

“The Storm Concept” Pacolli was calling for, according to him “has nothing to do with Serbian citizens who know and accept Kosovo nobility but has to do with paramilitary gangs of the Serbian state”.

In one of the comments it was also said that “Orthodox church believes in destruction of other ethnic groups, expansion of the land and dominance without compromise. They never tire, never get rest, sacrifice everything for those beautiful and somewhat heavenly ideals. May Allah destroy them”. 

 

Opinion

 

Absurdity of EU: Kosovo, victim of terrorist actions, but under sanctions (Koha)

 

Opinion piece by Augustin Palokaj

 

The damaging of the Iber Lepenci water canal in a terrorist attack that was condemned by many actors happened exactly on the day of the handover of duties between the old and the new structures of the European Union. Saturday, November 30, was the last formal day of the mandate of the old European Commission, of the President of the EU Council and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Sunday, December 1, was the first day of work for their successors. This could have been the reason why the EU waited until late in the afternoon on Saturday to make a statement about the attack. Or the EU waited to consult over the reaction with its representatives on the ground, with member states and with other international missions, in order not to make hasty statements. And when the statement came out it was very clear. It was said on behalf of the EU by Josep Borrell on the last day of his mandate as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. He called it a terrorist attack, because regardless of who had carried it out and for what purposes, one cannot give another name to the destruction of the water infrastructure. Moreover, such attacks, which are aimed at stopping drinking water for the citizens, can also be considered a crime against humanity. In war crimes trials, such attacks were oftentimes included as serious crimes against humanity. 

 

For Borrell maybe it was an unlucky symbolic, but also proof of reality, the fact that on his last day he had to talk about a terrorist attack in Kosovo. This was also proof of a big failure from his part and all his staff, mainly the special envoy Miroslav Lajcak, in the process of dialogue which is said to aim the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. After five-year efforts by Borrell and Lajcak, relations between Kosovo and Serbia are less normal. In fact, they are hostile. And it is no exaggeration to say that tensions in the relations have the potential of a war breaking out. Lajcak, who is fluent in Serbian, can understand how abnormal the relations are if he listens to the press conference of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. To hear what kind of terms he used about Kosovo, from “so-called Kosovo” to “occupiers”. These are intentional words aimed at inciting Serbs against Kosovo and to legitimize the attacks against Kosovo’s authorities. Meanwhile he called Serbs that work in Kosovo’s institutions “traitors” and he also insulted Western officials. That was it about the success of the dialogue and the agreement on the path to normalization of relations. 

 

Not only has there been no progress in relations between Kosovo and Serbia, but these relations have worsened en masse. They can blame the parties in the dialogue, and they can even be right, but in doing so they will not undo their failure in the process of dialogue. Lajcak and Borrell have not been impartial in the dialogue, and they were way more critical against Kosovo than Serbia. They were also not in favor of measures against Serbia even when they had evidence that the perpetrators of acts of violence were identified, and when it was confirmed that they were in Serbia. If one has to wait for evidence about who carried out the attack against Iber-Lepenc, there is no doubt about who carried out the terrorist attack in Banjska, it is known who they are and where they are. It is also known who were the people that attacked KFOR soldiers and the media in the violent events in May 2023.

 

The EU called terrorist attacks both the attack in Banjska in autumn 2023 and the attack against the Iber-Lepenc canal. This is what the EU High Representative said about both events, and he spoke in the name of the EU. But except for calls to bring the perpetrators to justice, the EU has not done anything, and even the calls themselves were not serious. One can imagine how Serbia would behave if Kosovo did not have that much evidence about the attack in Banjska. The EU and NATO need to distinguish security affairs from political calculations because by agreeing to political games with the north of Kosovo and in the north of Kosovo, they are putting at risk the lives of people, the infrastructure, and also the personnel that works for these two organizations on the ground. On Banjska, the EU and US have done everything in their power to spare Serbia from political consequences, and the impunity for the perpetrators of these attacks constitutes a threat for the security of Kosovo and the whole region. This approach needs to change. 

 

The European Union has always warned about the situation in the north of Kosovo calling for calmness to be maintained and not make any unilateral steps. But in most cases, it considered Kosovo guilty for this, and meanwhile did everything so that Serbia does not face any consequences. This was the case also after the attacks against KFOR soldiers and reporters. moreover, Milan Radoicic claimed responsibility for the attack, he is free in Serbia, and the EU only repeated calls for “the perpetrators to be held accountable” but never took any measures against Serbia, although it concluded that Serbia did not make the necessary steps to bring the perpetrators of the attack in Banjska to justice. The latest progress reports also conclude that Serbia has not made the necessary steps to bring the perpetrators of the Banjska attack to justice. 

 

Moreover, the EU still keeps in force the penalty measures against Kosovo and does not intend to remove them. This is the absurdity of the EU, which admits that Kosovo is a victim of terrorist attacks, offers its assistance, but keeps the sanctions in force. While in Serbia’s case, a great majority of the European Union pressures some other member states to allow it to advance in the process of membership negotiations, after three years, these negotiations are practically almost frozen. 

 

International Media 

 

Kosovo continues to probe ‘terror attack’ on canal after weekend arrests (BIRN)

 

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti briefed Western diplomats on Monday as the investigation continued into the explosion that damaged critical canal infrastructure, following eight arrests at the weekend. Kosovo officials have blamed Serbia for the attack.

 

The US ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, said on Monday after the briefing that it was not yet clear who was behind Friday’s explosion on the Iber-Lepenc/Ibar-Lepenac canal in northern Kosovo.

 

“At this point, the United States is not in a position to say who is behind the attack. This is early on and these things require careful investigation. We have offered our support to the authorities of Kosovo. We are not in a position to exclude any state or group or anything else,” Hovenier said.

 

The EU ambassador to Kosovo, Aivo Orav, reiterated a weekend statement by the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, describing the blast as “a despicable act of sabotage on Kosovo’s critical civilian infrastructure, which provides drinking water for considerable part of Kosovo’s population and is a vital component of Kosovo’s energy system”.

 

Serbia has denied involvement. “Belgrade and Serbia had no knowledge [of the explosion], nor would it ever occur to us to do that,” President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday.

 

Eight arrests were made at the weekend and weapons were found during raids on ten locations. Kosovo Police Director Gazmend Hoxha said that over 200 military uniforms, six rocket-propelled grenade launchers, three hand grenades, two AK-47s, a revolver and other ammunition were found.

 

One suspect’s name has been made public so far – an ethnic Serb called Dragisa Vicentijevic who Pristina Basic court remanded in custody on Sunday for 30 days on suspicion of carrying out a terrorist attack.

 

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/qjGAI