UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, March 29, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

PDK proposes June 9 as date for early parliamentary elections (Kosovapress)
Haxhiu: We can go to elections whenever the opposition wants (media)
Limaj: We shouldn’t go to elections when Kurti wants (media)
PACE to debate Kosovo’s membership on April 18, agenda published (RTK)
Russia fails in initiative for debate at Security Council on NATO intervention (VoA)
Osmani: Kosovo has a long tradition of cooperation with the Holy See (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

Li: China dissatisfied with CoE decision on Kosovo (Tanjug, media)
Dacic on Kosovo and CoE: They can make whatever decisions they want, but we do not accept that (Kosovo Online)
Serbian List: PACE Committee decision reward to Pristina for its terror against Serbian people (media)
Radakovic on Kosovo and CoE: I am worried about EU monitoring, how credible it will be (Kosovo Online)
Gouillon meets with Bundestag member (Tanjug, media)
Vucic: Political situation to become increasingly complex (media)
Attempt to hold UNSC session on NATO bombing of Yugoslavia unsuccessful (KoSSev)
Three states, one labor market: What has the Open Balkan initiative brought to citizens and the region? (Kosovo Online)
US KFOR soldiers helped complete works at Brnjak Monastery complex (media, social media)

Albanian Language Media

PDK proposes June 9 as date for early parliamentary elections (Kosovapress)

Head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group, Abelard Tahiri, said on Thursday that the PDK has proposed June 9 as a date for early general elections. He also added that given Vetevendosje’s lack of honesty and fear, “they lack the courage to go to elections on June 9”.

Haxhiu: We can go to elections whenever the opposition wants (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice and Vetevendosje senior member, Albulena Haxhiu, in an interview with RTK on Thursday, said that the Kurti-led government is ready for new elections “and we can go to elections whenever the opposition wants this”.

“If the opposition really wanted to go to elections they would have voted for the dissolution of the Assembly, but they’re saying no, they want the Prime Minister to resign. A Prime Minister should resign when he doesn’t represent the interests of the citizens, when he is corrupted or involved in scandals, when he doesn’t work on issues that he has promised. But this is completely opposite from what Prime Minister Kurti is doing … Prime Minister Kurti will not resign,” Haxhiu said.

Limaj: We shouldn’t go to elections when Kurti wants (media)

Leader of the Social Democratic Initiative (NISMA), Fatmir Limaj, said in a debate on TV Dukagjini on Thursday, that Kosovo should not go to elections when Prime Minister Albin Kurti wants. According to Limaj, Kurti needs to resign first and then Kosovo can go to early elections. “Not when Albin [Kurti] says, he should resign first and then yes,” he said. “Without the opposition, he cannot dissolve the Assembly. He knows this very well. Politics is a profession not a hobby. He can never send Kosovo to [early] elections without the votes of the Assembly”.

PACE to debate Kosovo’s membership on April 18, agenda published (RTK)

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe published the official agenda for the spring session, confirming that the assembly will discuss Kosovo’s membership on April 18. According to the agenda, the discussion will start at 10:00 and will last two and a half hours. RTK notes that there will be a vote after the debate and if Kosovo successfully passes the phase, the vote which is expected to happen at the Council of Ministers will determine if Kosovo manages to get membership.

Russia fails in initiative for debate at Security Council on NATO intervention (VoA)

The Voice of America in Albanian reported on Thursday evening that Russia failed in its initiative to organize a session of the United Nations Security Council that would discuss the NATO air raids against Serbian forces in 1999, which ended the war in Kosovo.

French Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere said on Thursday that the Security Council “is here to debate the current crisis but is not a forum for historic debates”. Russian representative Dmitry Polyanskiy said that France, the United States and Great Britain, “don’t want to discuss the aggression against the former Yugoslavia” and claimed that “the situation in Kosovo was deteriorating”. He also opposed the recommendation for Kosovo to become a member of the Council of Europe.

The U.S. representative to the United Nations, Robert Wood, accused Russia on Monday of trying to use the anniversary of the NATO intervention to spread its propaganda and incite regional tensions in the Western Balkans. He reiterated the U.S. position that the [NATO] intervention was “a necessary and legitimate step to end the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo”.

Osmani: Kosovo has a long tradition of cooperation with the Holy See (RTK)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met on Thursday in Pristina with the Apostolic Delegate of the Holy See for Kosovo, Nuncio Jean Marie Speich, expressing the gratitude of the people and institutions of Kosovo for the attention of the Holy See and the Holy Father Pope Francis for Kosovo. Osmani said she is happy for the readiness of the Holy See to offer Kosovo a permanent presence in the Vatican, by establishing a Special Mission of Kosovo at the Holy See. “The establishment of the mission is a result of our joint engagement to get our countries closer and to further our shared cooperation for peace,” Osmani said.

Serbian Language Media

Li: China dissatisfied with CoE decision on Kosovo (Tanjug, media)

China continues to express unwavering support and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia, Chinese Ambassador to Belgrade Li Ming said at a meeting with Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic on Thursday and noted that his country was dissatisfied with a decision by the Committee on Political Affairs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to accept a recommendation to admit Kosovo to the CoE.

Brnabic and Li agreed that China-Serbian parliamentary cooperation was extremely good. According to a statement released by her office, Brnabic said she was pleased with a recent meeting with Xiao Jie, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress, during an Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly meeting in Geneva.

Brnabic and Ming agreed that a MoU between the Serbian parliament and the National People's Congress of China, as well as a protocol on setting up a joint commission, reflected the extremely good relationship and cooperation between the two legislatures. They also said an announced visit to Serbia by Chinese President Xi Jinping would contribute to the comprehensive strategic partnership and sincere friendship.

Dacic about Kosovo and CoE: They can make whatever decisions they want, but we do not accept that (Kosovo Online)

Serbian Foreign Minister in technical mandate Ivica Dacic said yesterday the PACE Committee decision to recommend Kosovo membership to the Council of Europe (CoE) raises questions as to why someone is urgently admitted to the Council of Europe when everyone knows and acknowledges it has been impossible for Kosovo to fulfill its international obligation for 11 years and establish Community of Serbian Municipalities.

"It raises the question of why now, at this moment when they are banning the dinar and causing a humanitarian catastrophe. Is this a reward when they deserve punishment?", Dacic told reporters in Belgrade.

"In essence, they can make whatever decisions they want. They can do as they please, but we do not accept it. What they decide has no significance for us. Our National Assembly declared the Kosovo act of declaring independence null and void", he added.

Serbian List: PACE Committee decision reward to Pristina for its terror against Serbian people (media)

Serbian List said in relation to the PACE Committee decision to recommend admission of Kosovo to Council of Europe (CoE) that it represents a reward to Pristina for everyday terror it carries against the Serbian people and for “the brutal physical and institutional mistreatment and disfranchisement of the Serbian population in Kosovo and Metohija”, Kosovo Online portal reported.

The Serbian List termed the “cynical” explanation of the international community that the rights of Serbian people in Kosovo would be better protected if Kosovo becomes a member of the CoE. “In other words this means that Albin Kurti and his chauvinistic regime are rewarded because of oppression against the Serbian people, so that they, allegedly, in the future would oppress them less and in a more moderate manner”.

In a statement, the Serbian List listed the number of human rights violations and abuses affecting the Serbian community in Kosovo, including arrests based on secret and false indictments, abolishment of dinar, illegal expropriation affecting properties in the Serbian areas, failure to establish Community of Serbian Municipalities, and accused international community of bias and lack of principles.

Radakovic on Kosovo and CoE: I am worried about EU monitoring, how credible it will be (Kosovo Online)

Dusan Radakovic, Executive Director of the NGO Advocacy Centre of Democratic Culture (ACDC) from Mitrovica North believes that the admission of Kosovo to the Council of Europe would be a big plus for the Self-Determination Movement, but that it would not be wise for Serbia to leave this institution, Kosovo Online portal reported.

Radakovic also expressed concern about the monitoring process of the human rights situation in Kosovo, adding there are institutions that do not do their job, such as organizations and institutions dealing with human rights.

"That process will be monitored, but I am afraid of the fact that we had a situation in 2007 and 2006, the standards before the status, and suddenly those standards were lost. We had the status in 2008, something similar to this, I remember, a meeting with Dora Bakoyannis where it was said that we had three important things - expropriation, property of the Visoki Decani Monastery, and the Community of Serbian Municipalities. We only have the property of Visoki Decani (returned), the other topics are not discussed. I am afraid that we don't have pre-status standards, and that we don't have a specific entity to oversee all of this. I am afraid of EU oversight, how credible and effective it will be, and that we don't have a copy of EULEX that oversees the process but is questionable in its implementation", Radakovic added.

Gouillon meets with Bundestag member (Tanjug, media)

The head of the Serbian Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region Arnaud Gouillon met with Bundestag member Zaklin Nastic in Belgrade on Thursday to discuss the situation in Kosovo and Metohija and present the latest developments in Kosovo and Belgrade's views on the issue.

"We established that there is not much objectivity in the political and media discourse in Germany regarding Serbia and the situation in Kosovo and Metohija. That is why I took the opportunity to present the latest developments in Kosovo and Metohija and the region as well as Serbia's position on those issues", Gouillon said after the meeting with Nastic.

Vucic: Political situation to become increasingly complex (media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Thursday he would make a public address within 48 hours to answer all political questions and noted that, politically, these were not simple times for Serbia and that they would become increasingly complex.

He said his recent discussion with representatives of Quint states and the head of the EU Delegation to Serbia had addressed the difficult times that were ahead of Serbia. Vucic also said the situation in the country was stable and secure but very difficult and that he would talk about it on another occasion.

Attempt to hold UNSC session on NATO bombing of Yugoslavia unsuccessful (KoSSev)

The second attempt to hold the session on NATO bombing of the-then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at the UN Security Council as per request of Russia was not successful, KoSSev portal reported.

The session on Thursday lasted for about 20 minutes, where representatives of Russia and China spoke. The session has been canceled because of lack of support, as the portal said; six states voted for discussion and nine were against it.

Three states, one labor market: What has the Open Balkan initiative brought to citizens and the region? (Kosovo Online)

One month after the unified labor market between the three signatories of the Open Balkan initiative began to function, experts in economic and business affairs from Serbia, Albania, and North Macedonia report an increasing number of citizens interested in seeking future employment opportunities in neighboring countries. As they emphasized, the benefits of removing barriers in the labor market are numerous and will bring positive effects for workers, as well as create a better business environment for domestic and foreign companies.