Albanian Language Media:

• Lumezi demands maximum commitment in defending local election process (Kallxo)
• Svecla: We had excellent coordination for the operation in the north (media)
• Police Director: There were plans to destroy border crossings (Express)
• President Osmani decorates KFOR Commander (media)
• Pacolli claims three countries have provided guarantees for the accused in The Hague (media)
• COVID-19: No deaths, 35 new cases (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Covid-19: 20 new cases registered in Serbian areas (KoSSev)
• Summit of Non-Aligned Movement continues in Belgrade (B92)
• Analyst: Arms trade, Kosovo issue on Belgrade Non-Aligned Summit’s agenda (N1)
• Dacic, Cavusoglu: Serbia-Turkey relations at exceptional level (N1)
• Vucic: Pristina thinks it solves problems with fierce statements (KoSSev)
• Osmani attacks the Non-Aligned Summit due to loss of support at the international level, says Petkovic (NMagazin, Beta)
• FM Selakovic: UN SC Resolution 1244 guarantee of peace, stability (Tanjug)
• Rakic: Victory of Serbian List a matter of survival, let's show unanimity and decisiveness (Vecernje Novosti, Kosovo Online)

International:

• GRETA publishes its second report on Kosovo*

   

Albanian Language Media  

  Lumezi demands maximum commitment in defending the local election process (Kallxo)

Kosovo’s Chief State Prosecutor Aleksander Lumezi has requested from all the chief prosecutors and prosecutors maximum commitment in the progress and protection of the integrity of the electoral process for the local elections of October 17.

"As the Chief State Prosecutor, I expect that through fast and complete investigations, with maximum seriousness and in time, evaluation of any information, criminal report or any other indication on the committing of criminal offenses that violate the electoral process, ensuring that all citizens have the opportunity to express their free will through a democratic process, fair and according to Western standards and values," Lumezi said. 

Svecla: We had excellent coordination for the operation in the north (media)

The Minister of Internal Affairs Xhelal Svecla has reported to the Committee on Security and Defense Affairs regarding the situation in the north of Kosovo, after the imposition of the reciprocity measure.

Svecla added that there was internal coordination regarding the operation in the north.

"Our internal coordination was excellent. I thank the police for their professionalism and tireless work. The events took place in such a way that our decision of September 20 brought the Brussels agreement, where Serbia had already agreed on reciprocity," Svecla said.

He announced that the agreement reached in Brussels is being implemented.

"To date, over 17 thousand stickers have been issued, at border crossings about 13 thousand, and in vehicle registration centers over four thousand stickers which cover all state symbols of Serbian license plates," he said.

According to him, by October 21, when a meeting is expected to be held in Brussels, they will be ready to prepare a permanent solution for free movement.

Police Director: There were plans to destroy border crossings (Express)

The General Director of the Kosovo Police Samedin Mehmeti said that the Serbs gathered around the border points between Kosovo and Serbia in Jarinje and Brnjak, intended to destroy these two border points with the excavators that had placed them on the road as a blockade.

Mehmeti, at the meeting of the Committee on Security and Defense Affairs, said that this information was possessed by the Police on September 10, while he added that it was planned to destroy the container construction set up for the Special Police.

He added that the gathered Serbs, coordinated with parallel structures and people with criminal backgrounds known to the Police, planned to use the excavators placed on the street.

"Usually, they were there in shifts, every six hours. The lack of desire of the citizens to join the protest has been noticed. Employees of public organizations were often used. For your information, even the vehicles that have been used, most of them belong to public organizations," Mehmeti said.

Kosovo Assembly MP from the Vetevendosje Movement Shqipe Mehmeti-Selimi asked Mehmeti if the Kosovo Police is ready to respond to the Specialized Chambers for requests for protection at liberty of the accused persons. 

General Director of Police Samedin Mehmeti refused to answer the question for the Special Court, even after the insistence of the MP  to understand what conditions he offers for the free protection of persons accused by the Special Court.

“I cannot answer for Specialized Chambers, ask them” Mehmeti said. 

President Osmani decorates KFOR Commander (media)

The President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani has decorated the Commander of KFOR in Kosovo, Major General Franco Federici with the Presidential Military Medal for contribution to the service of peace, security and stability during his term at the helm of these troops.

President Osmani stressed the readiness to continue cooperation with KFOR, emphasizing that Kosovo's strategic goal remains NATO membership.

Pacolli claims three countries have provided guarantees for the accused in The Hague (media)

Behgjet Pacolli, leader of the Alliance for New Kosovo (AKR) told Euronews Albania that three countries have given guarantees for the admission of Specialist Chambers detainees, currently in The Hague.

"I know that three states have given their consent to the admission of detainees, if the court or judge decides that they can be released. I cannot say anything on whether there is a need to pay any financial amount," Pacolli said, adding that he expects them to be released.

He also confessed to the four hours of meeting with the former KLA leaders, where he said that they were fine and that all the accusations against them were untrue.

"I saw all three of them, Veseli, Thaci, Selimi, they were all fine. I spent four hours with them and came back. It was a nice feeling to be with them, but I was upset when I left them at the end," he said.

"I was demoralized by the fact that the trial starts somewhere in April-May, a mistake of the president and the institutions in general. We have not reacted," he added.

COVID-19: No deaths, 35 new cases (media)

No deaths from COVID-19 and 35 new cases with the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 79 persons recovered from the virus during this time.

There are 1,051 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

     

Serbian Language Media

  Covid-19: 20 new cases registered in Serbian areas (KoSSev)

Out of 96 samples tested in the Serb-populated areas in Kosovo, 20 were positive for Covid-19, Crisis Committee of Mitrovica North announced, KoSSev portal reports.

The new cases were registered as follows: seven each in Mitrovica North and Leposavic, three in Zvecan, and one each in Zubin Potok, Gracanica and Kamenica.

Currently there are 226 active cases in the Serbian areas in Kosovo. 

Summit of Non-Aligned Movement continues in Belgrade (B92)

A summit marking six decades since the founding of the Non-Aligned Movement, attended by a large number of foreign officials, continues today in Belgrade, B92 reports.

More than 105 countries, as well as nine other delegations from international organizations, gathered in the Serbian capital for a two-day gathering. The hosts of the gathering, which is being held at the Belgrade Fair, in memory of the Summit held on September 1, 1961, in Belgrade, are Serbia and Azerbaijan this year.

The two-day summit began on Monday with speeches by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, followed by a plenary session with delegations, which continues today. Other events are taking place in parallel, such as the Business Forum organized by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.

Among the participants are Ghanaian President Nana Akufo Addo, son of the first Egyptian president and one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement Gamal Nasser - Abdelhakim Gamal Abdel Nasser, President of the United Nations General Assembly Abdulla Shahid, about 40 foreign ministers, numerous special envoys from Asia and Africa, Latin America, and as special guests - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. More than 3.000 members of the Ministry of the Interior have been engaged in securing the event.

Analyst: Arms trade, Kosovo issue on Belgrade Non-Aligned Summit’s agenda (N1)

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Belgrade was, as analyst Srdjan Cvejic said, a pale shadow of what the movement was in 1961 and before the end of the 1989 cold war and its goals were the arms trade and Kosovo issue, N1 reports.

Cvijic, a senior analyst at the Institute for Public Policies of the Open Society Foundations and a member of the Balkan Advisory Group for Europe also said that “then, they (NAM) served the purpose by positioning themselves between the two blocks.”

But now, he said, “it’s simple: in addition to trying to prevent further recognition of Kosovo by the Non-Aligned states or to make them revoke them, the goal is narrowly economic for the ruling elite (in Serbia)“.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3v1wm1A Dacic, Cavusoglu: Serbia-Turkey relations at exceptional level (N1)

Serbian National Assembly Speaker Ivica Dacic and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu agreed on Monday that intensive dynamics of the high-level visits confirmed that the relations between Belgrade and Ankara were exceptional, N1 reports.

Cavusoglu participated as a special guest at the Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Belgrade to mark the 60th anniversary of the first Summit, and met Dacic at the conference sidelines.

Cavusoglu thanked Dacic for his contribution to improving relations between the two countries, adding satisfaction with the projects the two of them started, which were being realized.

Dacic said that bilateral relations were at a very high level and that his recent visit to Ankara, at the invitation of Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop, further strengthened ties between the two parliaments and overall bilateral relations.

See at: https://bit.ly/3BuGhz0 Vucic: Pristina thinks it solves problems with fierce statements (KoSSev)

"They think that politics is about attacking Serbia and denying everything that Serbia is doing. They think that the problems are being solved, that you have finished your job politically and that you have done a great thing if you give the most aggressive and fierce statement possible," the President of Serbia assessed Pristina's political moves today, at the opening of the arms fair in Belgrade.

The Non-Aligned Summit is being held in Belgrade and today, marking 60 years of the first conference of the movement of countries that did not want to join the world blocs' division that was held in the then Yugoslav capital.   

The previous day, the President of Serbia welcomed high-ranking guests from more than 105 countries in the African and Asian world, but also said that the most painful of all the struggles for Serbia was the preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Several statements came from Belgrade that the majority of "non-aligned friends" do not recognize Kosovo, and that they will maintain this position.

Meantime, Kosovo's president, Vjosa Osmani has reacted, accusing Serbia of "fleeing genocide", calling it a "country of colonizers" and a state that is in stark contrast to the values on which the Non-Aligned Movement is built.

At the same time, Osmani called on all non-aligned countries, which have not done so yet, to recognize Kosovo.

Vucic told the media today that he did not hear what Osmani said, but he also said that the officials in Pristina think that "they are doing a great thing and solving problems with fierce statements".

"And in fact, you don't have to do anything, it is enough to tweet or publish your position somewhere three times and you have solved the problem," he said.

Unlike Pristina, but also those who support them and "deceive the public", according to the Serbian president, Serbia does not do that.

He even states that the Summit in Belgrade was not used for messages against Pristina, but for messages of peace.

"We did not use this summit for brutal, dirty propaganda, or against Pristina, or against anyone. We used it to promote Belgrade, as well as to talk about lasting values, such as peace, stability, territorial integrity, sovereignty," he said.

He also states that these are exactly the values on which the Non-Aligned Movement was founded.

"And those values have nothing to do with them and their values. On the contrary!” he estimated. 

However, Vucic is not worried and does not react to the statements from Pristina, and once again said that it is Serbia's job to work, reported KoSSev.

Osmani attacks the Non-Aligned Summit due to loss of support at the international level, says Petkovic (NMagazin, Beta)

The director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic stated today that the attacks of the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, on the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Summit in Belgrade show nervousness, because it is clear that she is losing international support every day, reported Beta news agency. 

"In the manner of a jealous child, Vjosa Osmani is attacking official Belgrade again, trying to mitigate her own political failures and shortcomings, which were recently obvious, and to the media in Pristina," he said, the Office for KiM announced.   

FM Selakovic: UN SC Resolution 1244 guarantee of peace, stability (Tanjug)

Meeting with UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid on Monday, Serbian FM Nikola Selakovic noted that UN SC Resolution 1244 was a guarantee of peace and stability and that the UN was the crucial venue for defending Serbia's territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as international law, where he said Serbia found its stronghold.

Selakovic briefed Shahid on the situation in Kosovo and the position of Serbs in the province, noting that, this year, there had been a dramatic increase of ethnically motivated incidents targeting Serbs.

He said the approximately 2 percent rate of returns to Kosovo was lower than in any other post-conflict area in the world, the Serbian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Selakovic said Serbia was consistently committed to maintenance of peace and stability in the region, as well as to protection of the Serb population in Kosovo, and that it therefore expected all actors constituting international presence in Kosovo to act in an objective and status-neutral manner, contributing to stabilisation of the situation.

Selakovic added that Serbia also insisted on the significance of continued UNMIK engagement in Kosovo and continuous assessment of the situation there before the UN Security Council.

See at:https://bit.ly/3Bz0zat Rakic: Victory of Serbian List a matter of survival, let's show unanimity and decisiveness (Vecernje Novosti, Kosovo Online)

''The local elections in Kosovo on October 17 are a continuation of the political struggle for the survival and stay of the Serb people in this area. The goal of the Serb List is to achieve another victory and keep all Serb-majority municipalities in the hands of the Serbian people. Also, in municipalities where Serbs are not in the majority to make their voice be heard,'' the President of Serbian List, Goran Rakic told Belgrade based daily Vecernje Novosti in an interview. 

Rakic said that although they were forced to dedicate more than half of their time to the defence of fundamental human rights due to Pristina’s unilateral move, the results they have achieved give them the right to show unity, harmony and determination with their people in these elections, just like at the Jarinje and Brnjak crossings.

''In order to realize the great goals and tasks that are ahead of us, new jobs, investments, capital projects in Serbian communities, what is of invaluable importance is the support of our state and President Aleksandar Vucic, who is with his people all the time. We need victory on October 17,'' Rakic said.

On a question whether SL is jeopardized by Albanian parties unanimity behind one candidate in North Mitrovica, Rakic said that this does not surprised SL but added that ''with mass support for the Serbian List, the people will thwart the intention of the Albanian parties to win power in North Mitrovica. We must remain up to the task because it is the center of Serbs in Kosovo when it comes to administration, health care, education, politics and culture. Our compatriots in the south are also looking at their North Mitrovica as a bastion of freedom”.

On the agreement on license plates, he said that the biggest value of the agreement was that the situation is calm, that there are no armed special forces at the crossings and that the citizens are enabled to use their vehicles. He also noted that other important issues have been raised, the Todosijevic's case and the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities. 

The daily asked Rakic how he sees "the accelerated armament of the Kosovo Security Force, which Croatia is especially assisting them with", whereby he answered that he is against any militarization of this area. 

''It is an unnecessary waste of money, and raising tensions among the Serbian people. Our Albanian neighbours lack workplaces, roads, social and health support, and not the weapons. I hope they will understand that in Pristina as well. If we want to build a future, peace and prosperity, then Pristina’s investments in weapons are a waste of money. Young Albanians are not leaving because there are no weapons, but because there is a lack of economic prospects,” Rakic concluded.

   

International 

  GRETA publishes its second report on Kosovo*

In the second evaluation report on Kosovo* published today, the Council of Europe’s anti-trafficking group GRETA acknowledges progress made in certain areas and calls on the authorities to further strengthen their anti-trafficking efforts, particularly with regard to the identification of and assistance to victims of trafficking.

GRETA welcomes the steps taken since the publication of its first evaluation report on Kosovo* in 2016, such as measures to prevent human trafficking through awareness raising and training, the adoption of unified indicators for the identification of victims and potential victims of trafficking, and the appointment of human trafficking co-ordinators at prosecutor’s offices.

See more at: https://bit.ly/2X7P8I4