Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Skip to main content

UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, June 4, 2024

Albanian Language Media

  • Kurti visits Baykar weapons factory in Turkey (media)
  • Rohde: Germany is committed to bringing Kosovo into the CoE (media)
  • KFOR commander and Kornfeind discuss security situation in Kosovo (media)
  • Belgrade court orders 30 days detention for Tefik Mustafa (media)
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns Mustafa’s detention, requests QUINT’s reaction (Koha)
  • Exclusive: Part of conversation between Mimoza Kusari and Milan Radojcic (Nacionale)
  • CEC starts tendering procedures for cameras in polling stations (media)
  • Pride Week officially starts in Kosovo (Koha)

Serbian Language Media:

  • Djuric: Normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina impossible with Kurti in power (Kosovo Online, Blic TV)
  • Detention up to 30 Days for KLA member suspected of war crimes against Serbs (RTS)
  • An indictment filed against two doctors from the Serbian clinic in Pristina (Kosovo Online, KiM radio, KoSSev)
  • Djuric met with UN's Yamashita (Tanjug)
  • ODIHR: Elections negatively impacted by pressure, misuse of public resources, media (N1, Beta)

International Media:

  • Thousands Apply for War Sexual Violence Victim Status in Kosovo as Govt is Asked to Extend Application Deadline (Prishtina Insight)

 

Albanian Language Media

 

Kurti visits Baykar weapons factory in Turkey (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti visited on Monday the Turkish company that produces Bayraktar TB-2 combat drones.

any, I was welcomed by the brothers, Bayraktar, Haluk and Selcuk. Haluk holds the "Distinguished Service" medal, which is also the highest military recognition in our country, for his willingness, readiness and cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Kosovo", announced Kurti on Facebook. 

He said that there he saw up close the prototype of this company's combat aircraft without a pilot, Kizilelma.Baykar is a pioneering Turkish company in the defense and aviation industry.

Rohde: Germany is committed to bringing Kosovo into the CoE (media)

The German ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, has said that Germany continues to remain committed to Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe. "Germany remains committed to bringing Kosovo to the Council as soon as possible. Moving forward with ASMM will make this happen", the ambassador wrote. 

He further expressed his institutional support for the FOL Institute. "To strengthen the rule of law and prepare Kosovo for the Council of Europe, we will support the joint project of the Kosovo Institute for Justice FOL to improve access to justice in accordance with the standards of the Council of Europe," he wrote in X. 

KFOR commander and Kornfeind discuss security situation in Kosovo (media)

KFOR Commander, Major General Ozkan Ulutas, met on Monday with the General Director for Europe and Economic Affairs at the Austrian Ministry for European and International Affairs, Elisabeth Kornfeind. The meeting took place at the KFOR Headquarters in Pristina. 

"The meeting offered an opportunity to discuss the latest security situation in Kosovo. Major General Ulutas emphasized Austria's long-term contributions to KFOR", the KFOR statement announced.

Belgrade court orders 30 days detention for Tefik Mustafa (media)

The judge of the preliminary procedure at the High Court in Belgrade has assigned the measure of detention of 30 days to the Kosovo citizen, Tefik Mustafa. 

"The defendant M.T. is accused of committing war crimes against the civilian population, as a co-perpetrator", the decision said. According to the decision, the measure of detention was set due to the risk of the defendant's escape. The decision can be appealed after three days of the entry into force of the decision. 

Tefik Mustafa was arrested on June 1 by the Serbian authorities, under suspicion of "war crimes". The Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, said on June 1 that Mustafa "a member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, was mentioned in witness statements as a participant in the kidnapping of police officers, Goran Marinkovic, Zivojin Pavic and Predrag Milosevic, on June 19, 1999 near Llabjani, on the Pristina-Gjilan highway, and then their traces disappeared". 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns Mustafa’s detention, requests QUINT’s reaction (Koha) 

Tefik Mustafa is being held in the Detention Center of the High Court for War Crimes in Belgrade.

In an answer to the news website, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora said that the diplomats of the Liaison Office of Kosovo were not able to visit Mustafa, but a visit is expected to take place on Tuesday, or later on Wednesday. He was sentenced to 30 days in detention on Monday. 

The ministry announced that the Office has sent a note to the informants of the diplomatic missions of QUINT and the EU.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora strongly condemns the detention, arrest and mistreatment of the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo and at the same time called on the International Community to take concrete steps for the immediate release of the citizen Mr. Tefik Mustafa and at the same time demand responsibility from the Serbian state for these arbitrary and destructive actions that contradict the international conventions on human rights", reads the response of the Ministry. 

Exclusive: Part of conversation between Mimoza Kusari and Milan Radojcic (Nacionale) 

Nacionale news website claimed on Monday to possess a wiretapping of a conversation between the head of the Vetevendosje Movement parliamentary group Mimoza Kusari Lila with former deputy leader of the Serbian List Milan Radocic, responsible for the attack in Banjska, and blacklisted by the U.S. The news website published a minute of the conversation, which caused harsh reactions of the opposition political parties and several TV debates. They demanded Kusari-Lila’s resignation.  

CEC starts tendering procedures for cameras in polling stations (media) 

The Central Election Commission announced that it has published the contract notice for the selection of the economic operator for the supply of cameras and monitoring equipment for the recording of all activity during the voting and counting process on election day in polling stations in Kosovo.

According to the announcement, the deadline for submission of offers is July 11, 2024. All the details for this tendering procedure have been published on the official E-Procurement platform. 

CEC also clarified to the citizens that: 

The installation of surveillance cameras in the spaces inside the polling station is done in order to guarantee the security of election materials and preserve the integrity of the voting and counting process in the polling station; 

The placement of the cameras in the polling stations will be done fully ensuring the secrecy of the vote, as they will be placed at the other end of the place where the voting booth will be and under no circumstances will it be able to record the marking of the voter's preference; 

The storage of the camera recordings will be temporary until the destruction of the electoral material, with the exception of those from polling stations where irregularities are evident in order to provide law enforcement institutions; 

On the day of the elections, the CEC will not monitor these cameras, so the recording from their side will be done passively and access to the video recordings can only be provided by decision or request of the law enforcement institutions.

Pride Week officially starts in Kosovo (Koha)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said on Monday that the advancement of the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community in Kosovo is still challenging, and has pledged that the government of Kosovo will address all the responsibilities it has in this direction.

She made these statements at the opening of Pride Week, in a ceremony held in the open balcony of the government.

Haxhiu said that this week is mostly for the people who were not present at the ceremony, because of, as she said, stigma and prejudice. "The non-voting of the Civil Code in the country, which would pave the way for a special law for civil unions, but also for marriages, has shown us that we need work, commitment and social emancipation in the field of human rights", Haxhiu said. 

Kosovo does not allow same-sex marriages. This was planned to be regulated by the Civil Code Project, which has not received support in the Assembly of Kosovo.  

 

Serbian Language Media

 

Djuric: Normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina impossible with Kurti in power (Kosovo Online, Blic TV)

Serbia's Foreign Minister, Marko Djuric, stated in an interview with Blic TV that as long as Albin Kurti is in power, normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina cannot be achieved. Djuric points out that the international community must demonstrate the credibility of its claims about wanting to preserve the multi-ethnic and democratic character of society in Kosovo, reported Kosovo Online.

"It seems we are galloping backwards since October 2021. Since Kurti's regime took responsibility for the situation in the province, we have witnessed a dizzying plummet in all institutions. And it seems that the problem is not only with Kurti, to be honest," said Djuric.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yeypy6bk

Detention up to 30 Days for KLA member suspected of war crimes against Serbs (RTS)

The Higher Court in Belgrade ordered detention for up to 30 days for Tefik Mustafa, who was arrested two days ago at the Merdare crossing on suspicion of committing war crimes against the civilian population in Kosovo as a member of the KLA, reported RTS.

The pre-trial judge of the War Crimes Department of the Higher Court in Belgrade issued a decision today stipulating that Mustafi can be detained for a maximum of 30 days, according to a statement from the court.

The statement indicates that Mustafi's detention was ordered for legal reasons specified by the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, namely due to circumstances indicating a risk of flight, as well as the existence of special circumstances indicating that he would obstruct the proceedings by influencing witnesses.

"The accused M.T. is charged with the commission of the criminal act of war crimes against the civilian population in co-perpetration," the statement reads. An appeal against this decision is allowed to the criminal trial chamber of the Higher Court in Belgrade - War Crimes Department, within three days of receiving the decision.

An indictment filed against two doctors from the Serbian clinic in Pristina (Kosovo Online, KiM radio, KoSSev)

The Special Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo filed an indictment against two people who worked in the only Serbian clinic in Pristina, which was raided by the Kosovo police in January and banned from working. They were charged on suspicion of engaging in "illegal medical activities", reported Kosovo Online. 

In the announcement of the prosecution, it is stated that the indictment was brought against N.P. and E.I, due to the criminal offenses "illegal performance of medical or pharmaceutical activity" and "production and distribution of harmful medical products".

The Prosecutor's Office accuses them of having, from an unspecified date until January 31, in a facility near the police station in the center of Pristina, as stated - "obtained illegal profits and, presenting themselves as members of an NGO and as doctors, provided medical services and treatments without a license from the relevant institutions of Kosovo and for these services received regular monthly payments from the state authorities of Serbia in the amount of up to 1,700 euros".

It is added that during the police raid, "herbs and medical products without Kosovo markings and without origin" were found in their possession, for which the necessary checks were not carried out by an authorized person or institution, which is why, it is stated, "lives and health of citizens of Kosovo were endangered".

Read more at:  https://tinyurl.com/5zn8e3yx

Djuric met with UN's Yamashita (Tanjug)

Serbian FM Marko Djuric met with the head of the UN Office in Serbia Mari Yamashita on Monday, noting that Serbia was highly appreciative of the UN Office's work in the context of Belgrade-Pristina relations, especially as it was the main communication channel with the UN Mission in Kosovo, reported Tanjug, citing the MFA statement.

Djuric noted that unilateral moves by Pristina's PM Albin Kurti were aimed at getting all Serbs to move out of Kosovo.

Not only that a return of internally displaced persons to their ancestral homes did not happen but, due to an escalation of pressure by Pristina, a worrying number of Serbs left Kosovo last year, he said.

He underscored that UN Security Council debates on the Kosovo issue, in line with the UNSCR 1244, were very important for Serbia to regularly inform both the UNSC and the international community of the situation on the ground and the political and security situation, the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

ODIHR: Elections negatively impacted by pressure, misuse of public resources, media (N1, Beta)

The 2 June local elections, held in 90 cities and municipalities in Serbia, were well-administered, offering voters a wide range of political alternatives, but concerns about widespread pressure on public sector employees, misuse of public resources and media bias in favor of the ruling coalition negatively impacted the process, head of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) election observation mission Lamberto Zannier said Monday in Belgrade.

Read more at:  https://tinyurl.com/49mcprnc 

 

International Media

 

Thousands Apply for War Sexual Violence Victim Status in Kosovo as Govt is Asked to Extend Application Deadline (Prishtina Insight) 

Thus far, 2,083 people have applied to obtain the status of a victim of sexual violence during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war.

A total of  2,083 applications for the status of a victim of sexual violence during the Kosovo war have been submitted since the establishment in 2017 of the governmental Commission to Recognise and Verify Survivors of Sexual Violence during  1998-99 war. 

 Based on data reported, on Monday, by the Commission  to the Commission for Human Rights, Gender Equality, Missing Persons, Victims of War Sexual Violence, and Petitions, 1,650 applications have been accepted and 316 have been rejected.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/4xp5cftw