UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, September 5, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani meets Rama: Kosovo and Albania can pave way for brighter future (media)

Osmani on reaction to Macron: It was not a threat, I was just being honest (media)

Thaci: Peace with Serbia must be achieved through mutual recognition (media)

Germany requests additional steps in the north prior to lifting sanctions (Koha)

“Not much willingness in the north to participate in dismissal of mayors” (Koha)

Daka: CEC does not have mandate to organize referendum in the north (Klan)

Kryeziu on Assembly session: conclusion was drawn before start of debate (RTK)

Opposition warns of criminal charges against Minister Nagavci (media)

Bislimi: Kosovo committed to protection of rights in the Valley (RTK)

Selmanaj: Kurti government has an anti-national approach with our allies (Klan)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucevic: I do not expect any de-escalation in Kosovo (KiM radio)

Chief of Staff in Ground Safety Zone (N1)

Petkovic to Osmani: Instead of sabotaging normalization, ask yourself what good the constant warming of the war atmosphere brings to the Albanian people in Kosovo (KoSSev)

Tax Administration of Kosovo: Business owners in Mitrovica given a deadline to register, ‘our aim is not to punish them’ (KoSSev)

Office for KiM: ''New incursion into Serbian buildings, continuation of terror in Pristina'' (Beta, Danas)

Radomirovic: We are not in favor of forced entry into apartments, Todic sharing false solutions and moving in "his own people" (Kosovo Online)

International Media:

Kosovo's President accuses Serbia of following 'Putin's plan' by destabilizing Balkans (RFE)

Kosovo Albanian Witness Testifies About Relative’s Abduction by Guerrillas (BIRN)

Serbia Signs Cooperation Treaty with Southeast Asian Association (Balkan Insight)

Balkans Grapples with Escalating Cyberviolence Against Women (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani meets Rama: Kosovo and Albania can pave way for brighter future (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, during her 2-day visit to Albania, met the Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama."I had a substantive conversation with Prime Minister Edi Rama about the common European aspiration of Kosovo and Albania," Osmani wrote on Facebook.

She added that "Working together, Kosovo and Albania can pave the way for a brighter and more integrated future".

The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, has published photos from the meeting writing "With President Vjosa Osmani, for the present and the future of the inalienable relationship between Kosovo and Albania".

Earlier during her first day of the visit to Albania, Osmani met with President Bajram Begaj, and the Speaker of the Assembly of Albania, Lindita Nikolla. "Joint commitment to advancing the interests of Kosovo and Albania in strengthening the pillars of democracy".

"I thank the Speaker of the Assembly Lindita Nikolla and the representatives of the political parties in the Assembly of Albania for the substantive discussions," Osmani wrote.

Osmani on reaction to Macron: It was not a threat, I was just being honest (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani in an interview with "Top Channel" was asked about her statement that "the suspension of visas means the death of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue".

Her statement came after the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, had mentioned the possibility of reviewing the decision to liberalize visas for Kosovo and other economic measures for Kosovo and Serbia in case "the parties do not behave responsibly". Osmani's statement was assessed as impolitic and reckless.

"First of all, I never consider it a threat either in content or in tone. President Macron has neither any benefit nor any harm from from Kosovo’s participation in the dialogue or not. In order to be considered a threat to him, the critics would have to explain where his benefit as the president of France is, or the harm in relation to him, if Kosovo does not participate in the dialogue. I have had the opportunity to meet President Macron several times. I think I know him extremely well. The first time he promised to vote in favor of visa liberalization was when I met him in June 2021. Then the Government of France itself, after finalizing the decision on liberalization, publicly declared that President Macron kept his promise given in June 2021, in the meeting he had with me in Brussels", Osmani told "Top Channel".

She said that what international partners have always valued in Kosovo was complete sincerity.

"In all the meetings I have had with him, I appreciate that what Macron and all the allies expect from us is complete honesty about what we think can help the dialogue and what we think can harm the dialogue, as a process from which there is interest of the whole region. The sooner it ends successfully while preserving our country's constitutionality, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, the better it will be for all of us, because we will finally have long-term peace and stability. And I have learned, none of us are perfect, nor are we born with all the lessons, especially those of foreign policy, but I have learned these 22 years, in particular I have learned the most from the USA, that honesty with our partners is what is appreciated", Osmani said.

Osmani said that her statement was not a threat in any way but repeated that the issue of visas was a "historical injustice done to the people of Kosovo".

"It is absolutely not a threat, it is simply information in relation to our partners, that if they are not satisfied with the actions of the government of the Republic of Kosovo or the president of the Republic of Kosovo or the institutions in general, the punishment should not be against the people of Kosovo. The issue of visas has been a historical injustice in relation to our people. To consider the people of Kosovo as a people who deserve the ghetto means to consider them as a second or third-rate people, and not appreciate the fact that they are the most pro-European people on our continent, a people and a state that is one hundred percent in full line with every decision of the foreign and security policy of the European continent and in particular of the EU", Osmani said.

She added that she has also said publicly that she is interested in ending the dialogue process as soon as possible. Osmani also said that Kosovo owes freedom, independence, democracy to international allies.

"I am convinced that President Macron actually appreciates this, so my goal is for all our allies to understand what can actually harm the dialogue process and as president I am not interested in harming that process. I have said it every time publicly, it is in our interest to finish it as soon as possible. Let us not be held hostage by the dialogue process, of course through different tactics of Serbia, where it creates crisis after crisis, postpones the dialogue endlessly and consequently the successes of Kosovo. I think that with President Macron and with all our international partners, we should be honest and speak openly. But, at no time in my political history, have I used threatening tones against anyone. The Republic of Kosovo is a state that owes its freedom, independence, democracy and powerful pillars of the state to the help of allies, of course, first of all to the sacrifice of our people, but without allies in Europe and above all the USA, no success of ours would be possible", Osmani said.

During the interview, Osmani was also asked about her relations with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti.

"There are nuances, we have long debates, sometimes we disagree for weeks in these debates, but then we reach an agreement... we communicate, we don't stop communication at any moment even when we have big disagreements", she said.

Thaci: Peace with Serbia must be achieved through mutual recognition (media)

The former president of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, in an extensive interview given in written from The Hague to Nacionale news website, said that permanent peace should be achieved with Serbia, with mutual and legally binding recognition.

"Permanent peace must be achieved with Serbia, with mutual recognition, legally binding. The more this agreement is delayed, the more delayed Kosovo will be in NATO and the EU, and the weaker the support of the USA will be. My experience tells me that Brussels supports Kosovo, as much as it is encouraged and kept in focus by Washington. The alliance with the USA must be cultivated for the strategic future, and not just remembered for appreciation," Thaci said.

Further, he said that the success of Kosovo is the greatest recognition that the West can accept and appreciate from Kosovo.

“I continue to believe that only by staying united as a people, we can overcome the challenges. United, we succeeded in the process of freedom and independence, and we must continue in the same way in the phase of Euro-Atlantic integration. This civic and institutional unity should be embodied in Western values, in the sense of moving forward, not joining in wrong causes. Not to spend time together reflecting on past confrontations, but to look to the future. Our past is not challenging, it is earned, it is very proud and with integrity, we cannot and should not try to change it. Challenges and solutions are ahead of us. People want development, jobs, welfare, quality education, health service, cleaner environment, etc. Care must be taken that, by dealing too much with the past, the future is not delayed, endangered or even lost.

Intra-Albanian unity and investment for inter-ethnic reconciliation are the keys to success for Kosovo. The world is moving and changing faster than our local intuitions or agendas. Every crisis delays Kosovo a lot, but also undermines the efforts of international friends to consolidate the state of Kosovo on the domestic level, but also in its international affirmation. International support should not be taken for granted. It should always be deserved. Kosovo must continue to produce arguments that facilitate the support of international friends, every day.

Germany requests additional steps in the north prior to lifting sanctions (Koha)

Germany is looking for additional actions to ensure progress in the de-escalation of the situation in the north of Kosovo. Through a response, the Embassy of this country in Pristina has said that it continues to support the sanctioning measures imposed on Kosovo by the European Union on June 14.

"The German Embassy welcomes the first measures initiated by the Government of Kosovo as part of the de-escalation process and asks the authorities to preserve this positive moment. However, additional actions as described in the statement of June 3 are needed to ensure the smooth progress of the process", reads the German Embassy's response.

According to the statement, referred to by Germany, Kosovo is expected to act in a non-escalating manner and immediately suspend police operations in the vicinity of municipal buildings in the north of Kosovo.

"Municipal mayors must temporarily perform their duties in facilities other than municipal buildings. Early elections should be announced as soon as possible in the four municipalities and organized in a fully inclusive manner. We expect the Kosovo Serbs to participate in these elections," reads the statement.

The German Embassy has implied that there is no lifting of the sanctioning measures as long as there is no implementation of the declaration.

"Regarding the necessary steps to reduce tensions in the north of Kosovo, the statement of June 3 of the 27 EU countries remains valid. In this regard, Germany supports the reversible and temporary measures announced by the EU on June 14. The German Federal Government has repeatedly asked Kosovo and Serbia to take the necessary steps to de-escalate the situation and to quickly re-commit to work on the implementation of the Agreement on the road to normalization between Kosovo and Serbia, reached on February 27 and March 18, 2023 ".

The government of Kosovo, repeated that they have already fulfilled the requirements of the EU, requesting the removal of sanctioning measures.

Klisman Kadiu, adviser to the deputy prime minister for European dialogue and integration, Besnik Bislimi, has said that Kosovo has been and remains committed as a constructive party in the dialogue process, and during the last months in the de-escalation of the situation in the north.

"From the beginning, we have emphasized that the measures were and are unfair and as such should be removed as soon as possible", Kadiu said.

“Not much willingness in the north to participate in dismissal of mayors” (Koha)

Deputy Minister of Local Government Administration Arber Vokrri said that there is not much enthusiasm among voters in northern municipalities to participate in initiatives for dismissal of the mayors of northern municipalities in Kosovo.

"They are interested in having a guarantee that the situation will not return to how it was before the elections. I do not expect citizens to respond to the call to provide 20 percent of signatures for starting the procedures for the removal of the mayors," he said.

Vokrri added that a draft-administrative instruction that specifies the steps that need to be followed when a group of citizens organizes removal of a municipal mayor has been prepared. According to him, this draft will be finalized within the week.

"So far, there has been no practice in the Republic of Kosovo for a mayor to be removed through a citizen's initiative, and this administrative instruction specifies the steps that should be followed when a group of citizens organizes and initiates the removal of a municipal mayor. The document for the establishment of the Working Group for drafting this administrative instruction stipulates that the draft should be submitted by September 1. I would say it will be finalized within this week. As far as I know, the timeframe for collection of all the necessary signatures to reach 20 percent has not been determined, but it is specified that when the signatures are submitted and it is concluded that 20 percent has not been collected, an additional 10 days will be given to fulfill this quota," he said.

Daka: CEC does not have mandate to organize referendum in the north (Klan)

The former chairperson of the Central Electoral Commission, Valdete Daka, said that the CEC has no mandate to organize a referendum in the four northern municipalities. She also spoke about the administrative instruction, which she said only regulated the procedures for collecting signatures and not how the elections would be organized.

"With the law on general and local elections, the CEC is the only institution that organizes elections, but those elections must be decreed by the state president. In this case, even if 20 percent of the signatures are collected, then some kind of referendum should be organized, which the CEC does not currently have the mandate to organize", Daka said.

"Because there is no law for a referendum, and it is not possible with an instruction to give a competence to the CEC which it does not have at the moment".

"In fact, the CEC has the power to organize a referendum, but there is no law on the referendum on the basis of which they would be organized," Daka said.

Kryeziu on Assembly session: conclusion was drawn before start of debate (RTK)

The spokesperson of the government of Kosovo, Perparim Kryeziu, said that the extraordinary session of the Assembly of Kosovo on Monday concluded the parliamentary debate before it began.

"Today's session, in the way it was invited, concluded the parliamentary debate, before the debate itself began. A bit like, first the judgment on the case, and then the investigation on the case", Kryeziu wrote.

He further explained that the agenda of the session was "Parliamentary debate regarding the failure of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo to provide textbooks for students of primary and lower secondary education for the year 2023/25 ", alluding that the opposition MPs have concluded that the procedure has failed.

The parliamentary debate on the issue of the supply of textbooks for primary school students failed to take place, as the members of the Vetevendosje Movement did not participate. The extraordinary session was called by the opposition parties.

Opposition warns of criminal charges against Minister Nagavci (media)

After the failure of the extraordinary session which the opposition had called to discuss the process of supplying school textbooks, the representatives of the opposition parties warned at media conferences that they would file criminal charges against the Minister of Education, Arberie Nagavci.

The head of the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Abelard Tahiri, has said that Nagavci is responsible for depriving 210,000 students of textbooks and not realizing their legal powers. After the session failed due to the absence of government MPS, Tahiri emphasized that the Vetëvendosje Movement should be present at the session and discuss the issue of books.

"Today you are seeing that from now on there really isn't even a single reason for this legislature to continue its work. They are degrading Kosovo in every possible way. The last blow is the blow they gave to education. And today they were not ashamed of us for not coming to this session, they were ashamed of the parents, of the students, of the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, because what were they going to say? It was terrible what we heard at the conference in their reasoning," he said.

He added that they will file a criminal complaint against the Minister of Education, Arberie Nagavci. According to him, the latter has committed a criminal offense, for which, as he said, she will be prosecuted. "As the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party, we will commit to the maximum to lead our country towards the elections. Let's put an end to this legislature,” he said among other things.

The head of the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Arben Gashi, has also warned of criminal charges against Nagavaci. Gashi has called the decision to subsidize parents for the purchase of school books illegal, while adding that the government is incapable of managing the situation of school books. In a media conference, Gashi said that this "mismanagement" has caused economic and emotional damage to the parents.

"They behaved in a non-institutional manner, making it impossible for the Assembly to see where the problems are in relation to the books and what are the actions and inactions that the government has done to them. The government is in violation of the textbook law and in violation of the pre-university law. This is a very serious violation that the Ministry is committing and for this the Minister of Education will in all likelihood face criminal prosecution. I think that the inability of the government to manage this process has caused great economic damage and emotional damage to parents and students, which is an irreparable damage," he said.

The head of the Parliamentary Group of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Besnik Tahiri, has said that the boycott of the ruling party proves that the decision not to provide textbooks, but compensate them, is harmful and illegal. He told the journalists that the majority MPs, with their boycott of the extraordinary session, tried to cover up the "fiasco" that the executive made with this decision.

Bislimi: Kosovo committed to protection of rights in the Valley (RTK)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and Dialogue, Besnik Bislimi said that the Government of Kosovo remains committed to the protection of the rights of Albanians in the Presheva Valley, taking steps to address the violations of the rights of the Albanian minority in Serbia.

Bislimi made this statement during a meeting with the only Albanian MP in the Serbian Parliament, Shaip Kamberi, with whom they discussed the difficult and discriminatory position that Albanians experience in the Presheva Valley.

"Instead of creating the necessary institutional space to guarantee the collective rights of Albanians, Serbia is generating obstacles and difficulties for them, limiting them in this way because of their ethnic affiliation", it is stated in this meeting.

Selmanaj: The Kurti government has an anti-national approach with our allies (Klan)

Driton Selmanaj, MP of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), has said that the approach of the Kurti government in relation to the friends of Kosovo is anti-national. According to Selmanaj, the unscrupulous game of the government has caused damage to Kosovo in the sense that if the Washington Agreement was implemented, the country would have many benefits in the economic, political and geopolitical context.

"Kosovo is still an unfinished project in terms of its functionality, especially in the northern part of Kosovo, and this approach of this government towards our friends, I can freely say, is an anti-national approach ".

"We are talking about an agreement that was signed in the White House, in the temple of world democracy, and unfortunately now we are not talking about the implementation of an agreement signed in this precious house for Albanians, but we already have sanctioning measures from these friends. And yes, Kosovo is isolated from this Euro-Atlantic alliance, Kosovo faces punitive measures", Selmanaj said.

Further, he said that sanctions from international allies for Kosovo, in an earlier period, were unimaginable, let alone facing them. "We are not talking about North Korea, Russia, Vietnam, but about Kosovo, about a project that is common in the free world. Unfortunately, as a result of this undemocratic government, they were forced to impose sanctions on us," he said.

Serbian Language Media

Vucevic: I do not expect any de-escalation in Kosovo (KiM radio)

Commenting on the relations between Belgrade and Pristina, President of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and Minister of Defense Milos Vucevic pointed out that he does not expect any de-escalation in Kosovo, but that he fears that there will be an escalation on the ground, reported KiM radio last night.

He added that he does not see "a shred of will" in Kosovo PM Albin Kurti and his associates to deviate from their policy, as well as that KFOR must respond to the calls of Kosovo politicians for the presence of Kosovo security forces in the north without KFOR.

He also stated that it is good that some of the detained Serbs were released on bail, but that is like "someone beat you up, and now they are giving you bandages and medicine to make it hurt less", but that the cause has still not been removed which led to it.

Vucevic stated that the Serbian Progressive Party did not start the pre-election campaign, but that they did not stop party work, because, as he stated, they have been dealing with elections for four years, "and 45 days is just icing."

Chief of Staff in Ground Safety Zone (N1)

Serbian Chief of Staff General Milan Mojsilovic toured units deployed in the Ground Safety Zone along the administrative line with Kosovo, the Defense Ministry said, reported N1.

Mojsilovic was on reconnaissance of the Zone to review the situation and meet with the commanders of military units. “The Chief of Staff concluded that all key conditions have been created for the constant performance of duties in securing the administrative line with Kosovo and Metohija and control of the Ground Safety Zone and gave instructions on further promoting the capabilities of the forces engaged,” the press release said.

It quoted the general as saying that the military forces engaged in the Zone are highly professional and committed to their job “contributing to making the Army of Serbia fully in the function of maintaining peace and security for the citizens of Serbia”.

Petkovic to Osmani: Instead of sabotaging normalization, ask yourself what good the constant warming of the war atmosphere brings to the Albanian people in Kosovo (KoSSev)

''Vjosa Osmani's attempts to portray Serbia as a destabilizing factor in the Western Balkans by making inappropriate and artificial parallels between our region and the situation in Ukraine are futile and transparent, because the responsible and peace-making policy of Belgrade is precisely the strongest obstacle to the realization of the pyromaniac ambitions of Albin Kurti,'' was the reaction of the director of the Office for KiM, Petar Petkovic, on yesterday's statements of the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani.

Osmani started a two-day visit to Albania yesterday, and after the meeting with the president there, they both addressed the media.

Apart from the relations between Pristina and Tirana, which they both assessed as "very good", the official from Pristina at this conference presented a series of criticisms against Belgrade, as a party that "worsens the situation in the Western Balkans", reported KoSSev.

"The lack of peace partly affects the lack of stability in the entire Western Balkans. It is not the situation in the North that worsened the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. Serbia is the one that always aggravates the situation in our region with consecutive attacks in the Kosovo region," she said.

She claims that the Serbian president is implementing the Russian plan, and she even said that the official Belgrade in the Army is training "illegal structures" in order to "create a problem in the North".

"How it looks in the North, Serbia is constantly illegally importing weapons to Kosovo, Serbia is constantly training parts of illegal structures in the Serbian Army, so they are causing problems with the weapons they illegally brought to the North. It constantly terrorizes, intimidates, and attacks Serbs living in the North. This is a challenge for our entire region, we must not allow Vucic to implement Putin's plan in the Western Balkans," Osmani said yesterday, reported KoSSev.

Petar Petkovic answered Osmani, stating that it is actually Serbia that "with every act, both domestically and internationally, frantically tries to prevent and neutralize the potentially disastrous consequences of Kurti's policy of inciting hatred and conflict in the Western Balkans by peaceful means."

And on the other hand - Pristina, claims Petkovic, with daily demonstrations of force, violation of human rights of Serbs, usurpation of land and buildings in the north of Kosovo, and now blitzkrieg against fishermen in Gazivode - wants to drag Serbia into conflicts with NATO, but:

"Today, no one, except for Kurti and Vjosa Osmani, would like to wage a war, and therefore every hysterical attempt to denigrate Serbia will inevitably return as a political boomerang to the warmongers from Pristina."

He also told the "political extremists from Pristina", as he called them, that, instead of constantly sabotaging the process of normalization of relations, including "incoherent slanderous attacks on Belgrade", they should ask themselves what good the Albanian people in Kosovo have from constantly heating up the atmosphere of war, and what social and economic consequences will be felt by ordinary people who just want to build personal and collective prosperity in peace.

"It is clear that Kurti wants to become a Balkan war leader, so that he can finally wear an olive uniform, instead of which he wore a prison uniform during the armed conflicts in Kosovo, but no one wants to participate in his plans to destabilize the region, nor does he want to help make his boyhood warrior and Great Albanian dreams come true," said Petkovic.

Tax Administration of Kosovo: Business owners in Mitrovica given a deadline to register, ‘our aim is not to punish them’ (KoSSev)

Inspectors working for the Tax Administration of Kosovo, who visited local businesses in North Mitrovica today, called on owners who have not registered their businesses in the Kosovo system to do so within the next seven days, adding that the deadline may be extended, the regional director of this body, Besim Halili, confirmed for KoSSev. He stated that inspections will continue over the coming days, including in other northern municipalities. Halili claims that their goal is not to punish the owners, but for them to register their businesses and start paying taxes. Finally, he announced that there would be consequences otherwise, reported KoSSev yesterday.

Inspectors of the Tax Administration of Kosovo (PAK) started visiting businesses in North Mitrovica last week.

The inspections started from the multi-ethnic settlement Bosniak Mahala, where they verified whether business entities there were registered in the Kosovo system with the assistance of the Kosovo police.

The regional director of the Tax Administration of Kosovo, Besim Halili, confirmed for KoSSev that PAK carries out activities to record registered businesses and invite those who are not registered to do so.

“There were almost 50 (businesses) registered in Bosniak Mahala, some were registered this week, but we are waiting for all of them to be registered,” Halili said.

The inspectors also visited cafes and bars located on the Mitrovica promenade today.

PAK officials informed the owners that they are obliged to register within the next seven days, noting that there is a possibility of extending the deadline.

Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/bdfe5hch

Office for KiM: ''New incursion into Serbian buildings, continuation of terror in Pristina'' (Beta, Danas)

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija condemned yesterday the intrusion of a group of persons led by the deputy minister in the government of Albin Kurti, Radoica Radomirovic into buildings where Serbs live, reported Danas daily.

The office assessed it as "a continuation of the terror of Pristina directed by Kurti, who wants to seize Serbian facilities in the north and expel Serbs from their centuries-old homes."

As stated in the announcement, these are buildings that were built with the funds of the Government of Serbia, through the Office for Kosovo and Metohija and local self-government, and they have nothing to do with Pristina, nor does Pristina have the right to dispose of them.

"The residents of those buildings who have housing solutions are upset by this behavior of Kurti's emissaries, and there is no doubt that any attempt to evict them would lead to new tensions and crises in the north of Kosovo and Metohija and an escalation of the situation, which Belgrade and the Serbs do not want at all, but in Pristina every day they are dreaming", it was stated in the announcement.

The office added that ''this same group broke into an uninhabited building in Leposavic two nights before, also built with the funds of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, where they changed the locks and stole property''.

"We immediately informed the international representatives and the mediator in the dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, about these unauthorized intrusions into the property," the statement added.

Radomirovic: We are not in favor of forced entry into apartments, Todic sharing false solutions and moving in "his own people" (Kosovo Online)

The Deputy Minister for Communities and Return, Radoica Radomirovic, does not deny that he was at the building in Leposavic which was forcibly entered by unknown persons, but he says that he did it in order to point out to the citizens that the mayor of Leposavic, Lulzim Hetemi, is not in favor of that option, but that it is necessary to wait for the apartments to be registered with the municipality, and then to distribute according to the social map, reported Kosovo Online.

"We do not support the decision to forcibly move citizens into apartments, they should have waited for the buildings to be completed, the apartments to be registered and to be divided according to the social map," Radomirovic told Kosovo Online.

The portal reported that two nights ago, in Leposavic, unknown persons forcibly entered and broke the entrance door of one of the two buildings in which 12 apartments are being built with the funds of the Office for KiM, while the investor is the Municipality of Leposavic.

After that, the president of the Provisional Authority of the Municipality of Leposavic, Zoran Todic, said that he was concerned that eyewitnesses said that at one-point Radomirovic also appeared, and accused him of ''probably coming to provide support for that serious crime''.

Radomirovic rejected those accusations and said:

"That is a notorious lie by Todic and the terrorist organization Serbian List. Today they shared false papers and ransacked three buildings, one in Lesak. I visited all those buildings and conveyed the message to the mayor that forced immigration into apartments is not the solution," he said.

When asked how he sees Todic accusing him, Radomirovic says that his assumption is that Todic wants to move in "his people".

He adds that there are many citizens in Lesak who complain that people who are wealthy, who have houses and apartments, were given apartments there.

"Today he forcibly moved people in, they ransacked buildings and apartments, about sixty apartments, I was not anywhere, I only warned the citizens, I did not give them papers, but Todic gave them false papers,'' stated Radomirovic.

International Media

Kosovo's President Accuses Serbia Of Following 'Putin's Plan' By Destabilizing Balkans (RFE)

Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani has accused Serbia of trying to destabilize the Western Balkans in a similar fashion to how she said Russia acted against Ukraine in 2014.

Speaking during a visit to the Albanian capital, Tirana, on September 4, Osmani cited the conflict in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, where Russian-backed separatists fought Ukrainian government forces, and the subsequent annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula as reference points for actions now being taken by Serbia in flashpoints across the region.

"By precisely implementing the plan that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin implemented in 2014 against Ukraine, [Serbian President Aleksandar] Vucic and Serbia are aiming to destabilize the entire Western Balkans, and through the destabilization of our region attack the values and the system of values on which the EU and NATO stand," Osmani said.