UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, May 5, 2023

Govt: Dismissal of Management Team doesn’t violate agreement (RFE)
French ambassador encourages govt to work constructively on Association (Koha)
UK calls on parties to engage constructively, including on Association ASAP (media)
Abbott calls for quick implementation of Declaration of Missing Persons (media)
Kosovo indicts Serb for wartime massacre (BIRN)
Vela reacts to appointment of illegal interim municipal body head in Peja (media)
Candles lit in Pristina honoring victims of Belgrade school shooting (media)
Prosecution: Company contracted by Ministry didn’t declare 25,000 passports (Prishtina Insight)
“Miredita, dobar dan” festival begins in Pristina (Radio Free Europe)
Indictment filed against former CEO of Kosovo Telekom (media)
Ben-Meir: Greece’s support for Kosovo’s CoE membership, important step toward eventual recognition (Albanian Post)

Govt: Dismissal of Management Team doesn’t violate agreement (RFE)

Political advisor to Kosovo’s First Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi, Klisman Kadiu, reacted to a statement by EU spokesperson Peter Stano who said that Kosovo acted against the agreement on normalisation of relations when it relieved from duty the Management Team that drafted the statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. Kadiu said in a Facebook post that the government’s decision does not violate the agreement. “The statement by the EU spokesperson shows that he has the minimum of knowledge about what is happening in the dialogue process, but a maximum readiness to make statements against Kosovo,” he wrote.

Kadiu argued that Stano must have “the same readiness when there are actual violations of the agreement” referring to Serbia’s vote against Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe.

“The Management Team had only one mission or task, and that was to prepare and present the draft statute. After the presentation, it has no role because the discussion is now political,” he added.

French ambassador encourages govt to work constructively on Association (Koha)

French Ambassador to Kosovo, Olivier Guerot, encouraged the Kosovo government on Thursday to work constructively on the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. He did not comment on the government’s decision to relieve from duty the management team that drafted the statute of the Association.

“It is positive that discussions have started on the Association during the May 2 meeting, and this was highlighted by High Representative Borrell. France and Germany support the process therefore we now need to focus on what is positive and fruitful, the discussion on the Association, and we encourage the Kosovo government to work constructively on the Association, so that it can be formed as soon as possible,” Guerot said during a visit to Prizren.

UK calls on parties to engage constructively, including on Association ASAP (media)

Acting UK Ambassador at the OSCE, Deirdre Brown, said on Thursday that the UK welcomes “the considerable progress that has been made in recent months in the Normalisation Dialogue under EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak – including the 27 February Brussels Agreement, and its Implementation Annex negotiated on 18 March in Ohrid. The 2 May declaration on missing persons is a positive first step, but work on the remaining parts of the Agreement must continue without delay. It is important that both parties engage in the Dialogue in good faith, honour their commitments, and avoid actions or rhetoric that could reduce prospects for a comprehensive and sustainable normalisation agreement. In line with the Brussels and Ohrid agreements, we urge both parties to engage constructively, including on the establishment of an Association of Serb Majority Municipalities as soon as possible”. Brown made these remarks during a report by the OSCE Head of Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Michael Davenport, to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna.

Read Brown’s full statement at: https://bit.ly/3LuhDVs

Abbott calls for quick implementation of Declaration of Missing Persons (media)

UK Ambassador to Kosovo, Nicholas Abbott, said on Thursday that the UK welcomes the commitment of Serbian President Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to endorse the Declaration of Missing Persons. Abbott tweeted: “Years are passing and the grief of the family members of the missing does not go away. We must discuss together, at a human level, to find out about our loved ones. These were the messages that I took from my meeting with youth at the Missing Persons Resource Centre. The UK welcomes the commitment of Pres Vucic & PM Kurti to endorse the Declaration of Missing Persons. Families, & wider society in Kosovo and Serbia will only trust this commitment if gov implement it. So I call for the quick implementation of the declaration with the needs of families at its heart.”

Kosovo indicts Serb for wartime massacre (BIRN)

Kosovo’s Special Prosecution announced on Thursday that it has filed an indictment charging a member of Serbian armed forces with the murder and displacement of ethnic Albanian civilians during the war in 1999.

The prosecution did not provide many details about the charges, but public broadcaster RTK published the indictment which identifies the suspect only by the initials C.A.

It says that in collaboration with a group of unidentified persons wearing police, paramilitary and military uniforms, C.A. “committed war crimes against civilian population” in the period from January to May 1999.

The indictment alleges that on January 15, 1999, the day Serbian forces killed 44 ethnic Albanian villagers in Recak/Racak near the central Kosovo town of Shtime/Stimlje, C.A. participated in the murder of eight civilians in collaboration with other unidentified persons.

Serbian forces surrounded Recak/Racak and started attacking it on the morning of January 15, 1999.

They then entered the village and raided the houses one by one. Some locals tried to hide, but were discovered, beaten, taken away and shot. A total of 44 villagers were killed.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/419sdqJ

“Miredita, dobar dan” festival begins in Pristina (Radio Free Europe)

The tenth edition of the “Miredita, dobar dan” festival began in Pristina, during which the Kosovo audience will have the chance to get more familiar with the Serbian arts and social scene. The goal of the festival is through meetings between social and cultural communities, Serbian and Kosovar, to initiate changes and to create a tradition of cooperation that would contribute to the permanent normalisation of relations between Pristina and Belgrade.

“What makes this edition special is the fact that we continue to exist as a festival, because it is known that ‘Miredita, dobar dan’ is not very welcomed by the masses and nationalistic groups. Nevertheless, we are continuing our journey with the enthusiasm, seriousness, and commitment we had from the very start,” the organiser of the festival, Kushtrim Koliqi, told Radio Free Europe.

The festival is held at times in Pristina and in Belgrade, and since its establishment in 2014 it was followed by protests of right-wing organisations and parties in Kosovo.

“In Kosovo we did not have the level of protests we had in Belgrade. There were accusations and insults from nationalists or groups that don’t welcome such events, but there were no public opposing activities,” Koliqi said.

“We are very happy that we have managed to curate a program that will present to the citizens of Kosovo artistic products, publications, and at the same time have debates and discussions on topics which we don’t feel very comfortable discussing, neither in Kosovo nor in Serbia.”

The festival has two programs: the debates program and the cultural program.

This edition, important topics for Kosovo and Serbia will be discussed through the promotion of the book “Another Serbia: Srdja Popovic” by Shkelzen Gashi, and through the debate “Another legacy”, the debate “Freedom of movement in the region: now is the time” and through the promotion of the book “The moment I realised the war started”.

“We need to understand that in Serbia even in the time of [former Serbian leader] Slobodan Milosevic, but even in present times, there are intellectuals, academics, and artists who strongly defend the values and principles of human rights, they strongly talk about the crimes that happened in Kosovo. For this reason, it is good to know this other side of Serbia too,” Koliqi said.

The festival opened with the film “How I learned to fly” by Radivoje Andric, which won many prizes. The main artistic event is the concert by a group of Roma girls “Pretty Loud”, who in Roma, Serbian and English, sign about stereotypes, social justice, and race.

Indictment filed against former CEO of Kosovo Telekom (media)

The Basic Prosecution in Pristina filed an indictment on Thursday against former chief executive officer of Kosovo Telekom, Agron Mustafa. A statement by the prosecutor’s office notes that Mustafa is accused of the criminal offence “signing of harmful contract” in relation to a contract with the company PayKos. The prosecution said that instead of protecting the interests of the company, Mustafa changed the terms of the contract to its disadvantage and caused damage in the amount of over €6 million.

Ben-Meir: Greece’s support for Kosovo’s CoE membership, important step toward eventual recognition (Albanian Post)

U.S. political commentator of the Western Balkans, Alon Ben-Meir, said in a Twitter post on Thursday that “Greece’s support of Kosovo’s membership to the Council of Europe is certainly an important step forward toward its eventual recognition of Kosovo’s independence. However, when that might happen remains to be seen.”

In another tweet, Ben-Meir argued that “the EU should reevaluate where Vucic really stands and make it clear to him that unless he fully adheres to the Ohrid agreement, the EU will advance Kosovo’s integration, including visa liberalization and membership in international organizations.”