Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Nothing serves more peace than Kosovo in EU and NATO (media)

• Ahmetxhekaj resigns post of RTK General Director (media)

• Serwer on Lajcak: I always like surprises, but don’t expect anything new (media)

• Kosovo and Albania to strengthen border cooperation (Telegrafi)

• Pamphlets inciting hatred seen in the north of Kosovo (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Arrested juvenile released, proceeding of “inciting hatred” initiated against five juveniles (KoSSev)
• “Continuation of instilling fear in citizens“: Principals of north Kosovo schools accused of obstructing elections (N1)
• Vucic: I dream of developed Serbia, Kurti dreams of wars (Tanjug, media)
• Djuric: Kurti's futile attempt to demonise Serbia, Pristina is a factor of instability (media, social media)
• Marko Djuric will represent Serbia in Washington at NATO summit (N1, BETA)

• Vucevic thanks Argentina for not recognizing Kosovo (Tanjug, media)

• Serbian List: Beating and mistreatment of Serbs continue, high time for Quint to react (Kosovo Online)
• Djosic: An Albanian neighbour attacked me in presence of my child, there is no protection for us (Kosovo Online)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti: Nothing serves more peace than Kosovo in EU and NATO (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Sunday that nothing serves peace and security in the region and Europe than Kosovo’s membership in the European Union and NATO. In a video address at the Socialist International, Kurti said that “the more that Serb citizens are integrated in Kosovo, the more difficult it will be for Serbia to achieve its vision for territorial expansion”. He also said that “last year alone, Serbia kidnapped three Kosovo police officers inside our borders and on September 24 launched a terrorist attack that resulted in the killing of a police officer, and its final aim was to annex the northern part of our territory … We are strongly committed to the values and ideas embodied by these organizations, and nothing would contribute more to peace, stability, security and democracy in the Western Balkans than Kosovo’s membership in these organizations”. 

Ahmetxhekaj resigns post of RTK General Director (media)

All media reported over the weekend on the resignation of Shkumbin Ahmetxhekaj from the post of General Director of the Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK). In their coverage of Ahmetxhekaj’s letter, several news websites cite “a seven-month long political pressure” and “deep disagreements” with the RTK Board. The latter has appointed Zana Spahiu as acting RTK General Director. 

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo said in a statement on Sunday that it has been following with great concern developments at RTK, which resulted this Sunday with Shkumbin Ahmetxhekaj, leaving his position of Director General, as international press freedoms organizations warned lately, would happen. “Ahmetxhekaj, a seasoned journalist with the Kosovo Public Broadcaster said about ‘a 7 month political pressure with deep disagreements with the Board about fundamental issues concerning the way to move forward with the Public Broadcaster’. RTK’s Board should explain if they are prone to political pressure in their decision-making, and if Ahmetxhekaj’s removal came as a result of that. The current composition of the Board, who approved Ahmetxhekaj's resignation, earlier appointed Mr. Rilind Gervalla as Director of RTK TV, someone who was a former activist and financer of the ruling Vetevendosje political party. Kosovo Government, through its officials, including its MPs, many times has publically exposed their tendency for partisan control of RTK, which to us is an unacceptable practice. AJK also calls on proper dealing with complaints about the way Radio Kosova 1 works and is managed. Instead of political pressure applied through the Board and cutting the budget by half, the Government and the Assembly should make sure RTK is financially stable, and find a solution for its property. AJK pays tribute of the essential role the Public Broadcaster plays in Kosovo’s functioning democracy as a very important pillar of media freedoms in the country. RTK’s journalists, camera operators and other staff should be able to do their job in the public interest, without any political or financial pressure. Kosovo has seen a dramatic decrease, by going down 19 places in the Reporters Without Border Media Freedom Index,” the statement notes.

EU Head of Office in Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog, said in a post on X that he read the news about the resignation of RTK's General Director. “I want to stress the importance of a public broadcaster that enjoys institutional autonomy & editorial independence. I also want to express my gratitude to Shkumbin Ahmetxhekaj for his efforts to improve RTK's financial management. The EU in Kosovo expects the new General Director to be appointed through a merit-based process,” he said.

Serwer on Lajcak: I always like surprises, but don’t expect anything new (media)

U.S. political commentator on the Balkans, Daniel Serwer, said in an interview with Gazeta Blic, that he doesn’t expect any changes this year in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. Commenting on the extension of the mandate of EU representative for the dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, Serwer said that “I’ve always liked surprised, but I don’t expect anything new”.

According to Serwer, Lajcak’s main role in the coming five months will be to make sure that the negotiations don’t reach a vacuum phase, “until his successor and the new leaders of the EU institutions are appointed”.

Kosovo and Albania to strengthen border cooperation (Telegrafi)

Kosovo’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, and his Albanian counterpart, Taulant Balla, will sign today the Protocol for the Implementation of Joint Border Control. The signing ceremony will take place at 13:00 at the Qafe Morine border crossing. The protocol is aimed at strengthening cooperation at the crossings of Qafe Morine, Qafe Prush, Shishtavec/Krusheve, Borje/Gllobocice and Orgjost/Orcush. A statement issued by the respective ministries notes that the signing of the protocol shows the commitment of both governments to increase security and fight organized crime and smuggling. 

Pamphlets inciting hatred seen in the north of Kosovo (media)

Kosovo Police arrested a minor in the north of Kosovo after posting pamphlets inciting hatred. Police deputy director for the north, Veton Elshani, told RTK that police stopped and interviewed another three persons over the incident. He also said that except for the first person who has been arrested, the other three have been released in regular procedure. 

Serbian Language Media 

Arrested juvenile released, proceeding of “inciting hatred” initiated against five juveniles (KoSSev)

Kosovo police have released a juvenile arrested on Saturday after midnight because of stapling the stickers which according to Kosovo police “incited hatred, discord and intolerance”, KoSSev portal reported. Five persons in total have been questioned by police in relation to this case and a regular case proceeding has been initiated against them.

A juvenile was arrested on Saturday evening, one hour after midnight at Ivo Lola Ribar Street in Mitrovica North because he was stapling the stickers on traffic signs. Kosovo police deputy commander for the region North Veton Elshani told KoSSev that this person was questioned and then supposed to be held for 24 hours. This person has been released meanwhile the portal reported on Sunday evening. Police carried out the searches in the meantime, three in Mitrovica North and one in Zubin Potok and questioned three more underage persons, the portal added. They have been released following the questioning.

Elshani also said that “more than 1.500 pamphlets” were found in the houses of those questioned, respectively for the police “evidence supporting criminal acts of inciting hatred”. Another, fifth also underage person, was questioned, under the same accusations and then released.

What is on stickers?

Based on photographs Kosovo police delivered to the media, it is about stickers with elements and colours of Red Star football club, with football supporters’ messages such as “What no one can, you can” and “Delije North”. Some stickers also with red-white motives (colours of the above-mentioned football club) have inscriptions “Kosmet” and “Kosovo”. One of the stickers in addition to Zubin Potok inscriptions has a map of Kosovo in the colours of the Serbian flag. A photo of one of the Serbs killed in clashes with Kosovo police in Banjska on September 24, 2023 was on one of the stickers, the portal added. 

“Continuation of instilling fear in citizens“: Principals of north Kosovo schools accused of obstructing elections (N1)

Kosovo Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into school principals in four northern municipalities for allegedly obstructing the electoral process. The Central Election Commission (CEC) initiated this after school directors, operating under the Serbian system, refused to provide classrooms for voting during the recall of Albanian mayors in April. There are concerns that this could impact the future functioning of these schools.

The Basic Prosecutor’s Office in Mitrovica is reportedly handling the case. Marko Milenkovic from the New Social Initiative criticised the decision, calling it politically motivated, citing the unstable political and security environment during the election. 

Stefan Veljkovic from Serbian Democracy labelled the investigation as intimidation, saying we view this as a means of instilling fear among citizens. Unofficial reports indicate some school directors have already been summoned for questioning. Veljkovic argues that schools should have autonomy over their premises, especially for political activities like elections.

Milenkovic highlighted that Serbian institutions in Kosovo, including health and education, are already strained by Kosovo government decisions, such as banning Serbian goods and the use of the dinar. He warned that further undermining these institutions could render them dysfunctional, potentially disrupting the school year and causing panic among parents and locals. 

Vucic: I dream of developed Serbia, Kurti dreams of wars (Tanjug, media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday he dreamed of a successful and economically advanced Serbia that would be by far the most developed country in its part of Europe, but noted that he was very proud of the national defence industry and that the Serbian Armed Forces would keep receiving arms in order to be a deterrent, Tanjug news agency reported.

Commenting on a New York Times article by Albin Kurti in which the Kosovo Prime Minister said Serbia was arming itself and closely cooperating with Russia, Vucic said the Serbian Armed Forces were arming themselves a little more than Kurti would like but much less than he would like them to. "Just like they (Pristina) are arming themselves, or are being armed by the Turks, Germans and Americans, much more than I would like them to and much less than he would like them to. And all that nonsense of his about who wants war - he is the only one who wants war since, all his life, he has been longing to put on a uniform and pretend to be the Balkans' little Zelenskyy", Vucic told a press conference.

But that wish of his will not materialise “as the so-called Kosovo is in no way a sovereign or independent territory, while Ukraine is an internationally recognised territory, after all”, Vucic added. "So he can keep longing for wars. Our dreams are different - his dreams are about fighting wars and my dreams are a successful, economically advanced Serbia, a Serbia that will be by far the most developed in this part of Europe, and our dreams are so different that we cannot understand each other", Vucic said.

Djuric: Kurti's futile attempt to demonise Serbia, Pristina is a factor of instability (media, social media)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, said an op-ed in the New York Times is a futile attempt by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to demonise Serbia and portray it as a factor of instability in the Western Balkans, Serbian media reported.

"Aggressive rhetoric and falsehoods, with which Kurti tried to deceive the international public in a regressive and anachronistic manner, speak of his confrontational nature and intention to destabilise the Western Balkans at any cost. His op-ed in the New York Times is a futile attempt to demonise Serbia and depict it as a factor of instability in the Western Balkans by playing the card of old prejudices", Djuric wrote in a post on X social network.

"Their campaign to disenfranchise the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, their refusal to fulfil obligations undertaken in the course of dialogue with Belgrade, and their reluctance to even meet with our negotiators indicate that Pristina's real intentions are to rekindle conflict in the region so that local separatists can use such a situation to consolidate their state-building project", Djuric emphasised.

Read the full Djuric’s post at: https://tinyurl.com/yhfex86s

Marko Djuric will represent Serbia in Washington at NATO summit (N1, BETA)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric announced on Sunday that he will represent Serbia in Washington, at the upcoming NATO summit, indicating that Serbia is committed to cooperation with the alliance and that it remains committed to its policy of military neutrality and safeguarding national interests, N1 reported.

“I am honoured to represent Serbia in Washington at a series of events during the NATO summit week. We are committed to dialogue and cooperation while at the same time remaining firmly committed to our policy of military neutrality and national interests“, Djuric wrote in a post on X media platform.

He said that he would present Serbia’s policy and talk to representatives of countries with which Serbia shares and with those “with whom it does not share the position on regional and international issues“. The annual NATO summit is held in Washington from July 9 to 11.

Vucevic thanks Argentina for not recognizing Kosovo (Tanjug, media)

Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic spoke with Argentine Ambassador to Belgrade Osvaldo Narciso Marsico on Friday, thanking him for his country's support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia and the firm position of not recognising the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, Tanjug news agency reported.

Vucevic said he was concerned over the situation in Kosovo, adding Pristina needed to be put under international pressure to continue the dialogue with Belgrade and stop the terror against the Serbs, the Serbian Government said in a statement.

He also thanked Argentina for abstaining in a UN General Assembly vote on a Srebrenica resolution and said the resolution would not help stabilise the situation in the region or improve the relations between the Serbs and Bosniaks.

Serbian List: Beating and mistreatment of Serbs continue, high time for Quint to react (Kosovo Online)

Following the attack on Serb Mladen Djosic by an Albanian in Donja Brnjica on Friday, Serbian List warned that the beatings and harassment of Serbs continued with the tacit but open support of the Kosovo police and Albin Kurti's regime in Kosovo, and called for Quint to react, Kosovo Online portal reported.

"The latest victim of the general plan to persecute Serbs is Mladen Djosic from Donja Brnjica, who was attacked by an Albanian last night. To make matters worse, instead of the attacker, Mladen's father was detained for trying to protect his son", Serbian List stated in a statement. They demand an urgent reaction from KFOR, UNMIK, and especially EULEX, as well as active monitoring of this case by international representatives.

They also pointed out that Serbs in the north were detained and harshly punished for minor offences, so they expect that now, when the victim is a Serb from Donja Brnjica who suffered severe bodily injuries, the institutions will react in the same way.

Djosic: An Albanian neighbour attacked me in presence of my child, there is no protection for us (Kosovo Online)

In the village of Donja Brnjica near Pristina, 38-year-old Mladen Djosic was beaten on Friday evening by an Albanian from the same village in a market, in the presence of his son, sustaining a fractured nose as a consequence of the attack. Instead of apprehending the attacker, the Kosovo police initially detained Djosic and his father. Djosic told Kosovo Online that his father recently had issues with the attacker regarding the sale of vegetables.

Hoping for protection, Djosic called the Kosovo police after the attack. However, the police first detained him and his father, only apprehending the attackers several hours later.

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