Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Request for transfer of arrested Kosovars, in spirit of Basic Agreement (media)
• Lajcak: We will work to unblock implementation of Agreement (media)
• NGOs from region condemn banning of “Miredita, Dobar Dan” festival in Belgrade (RFE) 
• Osmani: Kosovo should get candidate status for EU, measures to be lifted (EO)
• Osmani meets Hovenier, discuss latest developments, including dialogue (media)
• Ulutash meets with Buhler, discuss about supporting dialogue (Klan)

Serbian Language Media:

• Petkovic: Those powerful would wish Serbia to recognize “violent secession of its territory” (Radio KIM)
• New apprehension at Jarinje, Serb from Mitrovica North brought to police station, then released (KoSSev)
• Police Inspectorate launched investigation into complaint over (in)action of police officers to assault near Gazimestan (KoSSev, media)
• Lawyer: Witness did not identify Milenkovic as perpetrator of criminal act (Radio KIM)
• Ninety NGOs call on Serbian authorities to reconsider ban on “Miredita, Dobar Dan” festival (N1, BETA)

 Albanian Language Media

 

Kurti: Request for transfer of arrested Kosovars, in spirit of Basic Agreement (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti supported on Monday a request by Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, to her Serbian counterpart for the transfer of four Kosovo nationals – Nezir Mehmetaj, Hasan Dakaj, Sadik Duraku and Tefik Mustafa – to Kosovo’s authorities. The four persons are held in Serbian jails awaiting trial for crimes allegedly committed during the war in Kosovo. Kurti argued in a Facebook post that Kosovo has internationally recognized jurisdiction to treat acts committed within its territory. “As a democratic country and protects and ensures human rights beyond European standards, our republic will secure a fair and impartial trial for any allegation raised against its citizens,” he said.

Lajcak: We will work to unblock implementation of Agreement (media)

The EU's representative for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, said the discussions were more challenging than ever, referring to the separate meetings they had with Kurti and Vucic last week in Brussels. He regrets that there was no progress in the implementation of the agreement towards normalization.

“Last week, HRVP Borrell and I hosted President Vucic and Prime Minister Kurti in Brussels for another meeting of the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue.

 

Unfortunately, we did not see any progress in implementing the Agreement on the Path to Normalisation. The discussions were as challenging as ever. Nevertheless, our work continues tomorrow when I will convene the Chief Negotiator to work out concrete steps to unblock the implementation of the Agreement.

 

My week concluded in Dubrovnik at the annual Dubrovnik Forum that brings together policy and decision-makers from the Western Balkans and beyond. This event is always a good indicator of where we stand ahead of the political summer break. This year, the focus was on global challenges, elections, and future developments, but we also discussed the Western Balkans’s future as part of the EU,” Lajcak wrote on Facebook social network.

 

NGOs from region condemn banning of “Miredita, Dobar Dan” festival in Belgrade (RFE) 

90 civil society organisations and activists called on Serbian authorities to review their decision to ban the “Miredita, Dobar Dan” festival in Belgrade and to protect its organisers. “We condemn the decision of Serbia’s authorities to condemn the festival only because they came under attack from a criminal structure and right-wing groups that threaten security and the organisers and its participants,” a joint statement noted. The civil society organisations and activists expressed “great support for colleagues from the Youth Initiative for Human Rights and the Civic Initiative from Serbia, as well as Integra from Kosovo, whose festival which promotes friendship and cooperation between the Serbian and Kosovar people, was banned in Serbia”. They expressed their “serious concern over the negative approach” by Serbia’s highest officials. “We call on Serbian authorities to review their banning decision, to protect our colleagues and to sanction all those that threaten their security,” the statement said.

Osmani: Kosovo should get candidate status for EU, measures to be lifted (EO)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said on Monday that the EU measures against Kosovo must be lifted, and that Kosovo should be given the candidate status for membership. She made these remarks at a reception of the Hungarian Embassy in Pristina marking the start of the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council. “Kosovo stands ready to work with Hungary in addressing shared challenges, and to work for a better future for all. Our determination to join the EU remains unwavering and the time has come to make concrete steps forward,” Osmani argued.

Osmani meets Hovenier, discuss latest developments, including dialogue (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met on Monday with U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, and discussed latest developments including the dialogue with Serbia. Osmani highlighted the importance of lifting the EU penalty measures against Kosovo in order to create an equal situation on the table of dialogue. On the even of July 4, U.S. Independence Day, Osmani conveyed her best wishes to the American people and reconfirmed Kosovo’s commitment to further strengthen its alliance with the United States. 

Ulutash meets with Buhler, discuss about supporting dialogue (Klan)

The commander of the NATO-led KFOR mission, Major General Ozkan Ulutash, met on Monday with the former commander of the NATO-led KFOR mission, Lieutenant General Erhard Buhler, at the KFOR headquarters, at Camp Film City, in Pristina.

The media release states that they discussed the latest security situation and politics. "They exchanged views on the latest security trends and on KFOR's activities under its UN mandate and support for the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina," the announcement states.

Serbian Language Media 

Petkovic: Those powerful would wish Serbia to recognize “violent secession of its territory” (Radio KIM)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director, Petar Petkovic said EU spokesperson Peter Stano was absolutely right that the aim of the normalisation process is not recognition of Kosovo, but that “those powerful wish Serbia to recognize violent secession of its territory”, Radio KIM reported.

In a post on X social platform Petkovic also said "it is worrisome that from a good premise one comes to a completely wrong conclusion that has nothing to do with logic, but with the desire of the powerful for Serbia to recognize the violent secession of its territory".

"They won't watch that movie", Petkovic added in a post on X. 

New apprehension at Jarinje, Serb from Mitrovica North brought to police station, then released (KoSSev)

KoSSev portal reported that yesterday around 17.00 while entering Kosovo from the direction of Raska, 31-year old S.DJ. from Mitrovica North had been stopped at Jarinje crossing point. He was stopped by Kosovo police, and then “verified”, as deputy commander for the region North, Veton Elshani told the portal, respectively questioned at a police station in Mitrovica South, and then released.

Asked by KoSSev what was the reason for this apprehension, Elshani said it was about “unauthorised photographing”. Asked what unauthorised photographing means and what was photographed, Elshani responded that he “can’t say that, because the investigation was ongoing”. He also said it was related to “an earlier case”, without providing additional details. 

Police Inspectorate launched investigation into complaint over (in)action of police officers to assault near Gazimestan (KoSSev, media)

On Friday, near the Gazimestan complex leader of Serbian Democracy Aleksandar Arsenijevic was attacked. Following his report, Kosovo police opened the case qualifying it as an “attack”. They interviewed Arsenijevic and the person who attacked him. The incident took place in presence of Kosovo police officers, who did not react to it, because of which Arsenijevic filed a complaint to the Kosovo Police Inspectorate (PIK), KoSSev portal reported.

PIK confirmed to the portal that they opened the investigation into this complaint, adding the case is in a preliminary phase of investigation. 

Lawyer: Witness did not identify Milenkovic as perpetrator of criminal act (Radio KIM)

One of the witnesses interviewed yesterday in a hearing at Basic Court in Pristina in the case against Dragisa Milenkovic from Kisnica village, near Gracanica, has confirmed the claims of the defence, lawyer Jovana Filipovic told the media following the hearing, Radio KIM reported.

Milenkovic is accused of allegedly committing war crimes against civilian population in the prison in Lipljan in 1999. “The witnesses presented their testimonies, and what is characteristic is that they, in particular the second witness, made honest statements. He (the witness) said he did not see Dragisa being present in a prison in Lipljan. This is fully in line with our defence. We claim that he was not present there (in a prison in Lipljan) and could not take part in a crime he is accused of”, Filipovic said.

She added that during the hearing, the witness turned towards the defendant, looked at him and said that he had no information, nor did he see him there or could identify him as a perpetrator of any criminal act. The same witness gave the same statement to the Kosovo police earlier. Filipovic added that the defence hopes “other witnesses would be equally brave and make statements which are in line with the law and the truth”. She also said this witness has a status of affected party. Filipovic noted that there is a legal deadline during which the victim is obliged to report mistreatment, but what has become common for the war crimes is that victims remember 20 years after or so to report the alleged perpetrators, although many of them had information that these alleged perpetrators continued living in Kosovo. 

Ninety NGOs call on Serbian authorities to reconsider ban on “Miredita, Dobar Dan” festival (N1, BETA)

Belgrade-based N1 reported that ninety civil society organisations and activists from the region on Monday called on the Serbian authorities to reconsider the decision to ban the holding of “Miredita, Dobar Dan” festival in Belgrade and to protect its organisers.

“As a member state of the United Nations and the Council of Europe, and a candidate for membership in the European Union, Serbia is expected to uphold its obligations to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly of the festival’s organisers, and to protect them from those who use hate speech and make the most severe threats of violence against the festival’s organisers and participants”, said a joint statement of associations and activists from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Montenegro, Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia, N1 added.