UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, December 21, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti: Few indictments for countless paramilitary attacks (Koha)
Lajcak: We’re ready to make reasonable corrections in proposed statute (Express)
Osmani: Serbia’s aggression presented constant challenges (Dukagjini)
Hammerstein: Security situation in Kosovo is deteriorating (media)
Tense situation in Kosovo north and Bosnia, “Albanian Army vigilant” (media)
Police confiscate alarm siren, six sound amplifiers in Mitrovica North (Telegrafi)
Police officer assaulted in Mitrovica North on Tuesday (media)
Schieder: I haven’t seen anywhere what I saw in Serbian elections (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Milovic on Rajska Banja spa complex: I expect international community to raise voice and stop usurpation (N1, RTS, Kosovo Online)
Mijacic and Radosavljevic: Taking away the Rajska spa is illegal and problematic (KiM radio)
Vucic: Serbs to survive in Kosovo, preserve their property (Tanjug, KoSSev)
Serbian National Forum: Vucic without support of Kosovo Serbs for further Kosovo politics after the elections (N1, FoNet)
Brnabic: SNS can form next Serbian government on its own (Tanjug)
Kosovo police removed alarm siren in Mitrovica North (Kosovo Online)
Petkovic: With the free legal aid project, the EU sending a clear message to Pristina (Tanjug)
Dasic: I was hit several times by the Kosovo police in Jarinje, I will sue them all (N1, NMagazin, KoSSev)
General Ralf Hammerstein: Germany sending an additional 200 soldiers to Kosovo (Tanjug)

International:

NATO peace mission continue patrols to ensure security on Kosovo-Serbian border (AA)
Witness Identifies Kosovo Village Attack Trial Defendant in Court (BIRN)
Serbia’s Telecom to Appeal Kosovo Fine for not Notifying Mergers (Balkan Insight)
Serbia: Alarm over indications of serious elections breached (transparency.org)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti: Few indictments for countless paramilitary attacks (Koha)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti criticized institutions today for failing to file indictments against attackers who he referred to as paramilitaries and who caused increased tensions in the north of Kosovo. Addressing the Council for Democracy and Human Rights, Kurti said that there were many arrests and charges, but that the suspects were released on bail and no indictments were filed. “We have very few indictments for the countless crimes committed against our citizens, the constitutional and legal order, and the territorial integrity of Kosovo, both in 2022 and in 2023. Even when there were arrests and charges, the suspects were placed on house arrest, and there was a treatment that did not discourage the criminals,” he argued.

Kurti also said that his government faced challenges related to the reforms it initiated. “A challenge that we faced as a government was that our reforms ended up at the Constitutional Court. Since November 16 last year until November 2 this year, there are 10 important laws of our reforms that are trapped at the Constitutional Court, or were rejected or deformed there,” he said.

Lajcak: We’re ready to make reasonable corrections in proposed statute (Express)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, said in an interview with the news website that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic have accepted in principle the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. Because of Chapter 35, the end of January 2024 is the timeline for formalizing the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, but so far, no party has moved forward with the implementation.

Lajcak said that the agreement, including the draft of the Association, do not have to be signed. He also said that the EU is ready to make reasonable corrections in the proposed draft statute. “We understand the importance of full clarity related to the document and we gladly respond to any question related to it. At the same time, we are ready to make reasonable corrections and explanations, especially to improve the readability of the text and to make it more comprehendible,” Lajcak said.

Osmani: Serbia’s aggression presented constant challenges (Dukagjini)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said today that the focus in the second part of the year was “safeguarding and guaranteeing security in Kosovo because of the aggression from Serbia”. At the meeting of the Council for Democracy and Human Rights, Osmani said that “next year requires continuous institutional coordination and more concrete actions to reach our objectives and be successful in different areas as we owe this to our citizens”.

Hammerstein: Security situation in Kosovo is deteriorating (media)

Director of NATO Advisory and Liaison Team Kosovo, Brigadier General Ralf Hammerstein, said in an interview for Die Welt that the security situation in Kosovo is deteriorating noticeably and that NATO is stepping up its presence in spring also with the help of the Bundeswehr. He also said that “nationalists are mobilizing in Serbia and that the unstable situation in the Western Balkans is playing into Russia’s hands''.

“It has been almost 25 years since NATO intervened in the former Yugoslavia in 1999 and forced Serbian troops to withdraw from Kosovo. Subsequently, the alliance installed the Kosovo Force (KFOR) to stabilize the situation – and continues to do so to this day. Even more soldiers will be needed again in the future,” Hammerstein said.

Hammerstein also said that KFOR’s mandate has remained unchanged in principle for 25 years. “KFOR is here to prevent the worst. There is only one political solution to the conflict between Belgrade and Pristina. According to the UN resolution, NATO should ensure a secure environment and support the development of a stable, democratic, multi-ethnic and peaceful Republic of Kosovo. My role as Director of the NATO Advisory and Liaison Team is also to advise on the development of Kosovo's security forces,” he said.

Tense situation in Kosovo north and Bosnia, “Albanian Army vigilant” (media)

Albanian Minister of Defense, Niko Peleshi, said on Wednesday that Albania is a safe country as a member state of NATO but that developments in the region and the world require the Albanian Armed Forces to be vigilant and on standby. “We are in an important moment because security is a priority due to expanding conflicts in the world. We are in a fragile region, the Western Balkans, and it is fortunate that we are a NATO member state, but the dormant conflicts in our region are also linked to the security situation in the world. We prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” he said. “You have followed the developments, there is no secret, the two hottest points in the Balkans are the north of Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Police confiscate alarm siren and six sound amplifiers in Mitrovica North (Telegrafi)

Kosovo Police, during an operation in Mitrovica North, confiscated an alarm siren and six sound amplifiers, Police Deputy Commander for the North, Veton Elshani, confirmed to the news website. He said that the equipment was used in different periods of time to ruin public order and quiet. “We can confirm the confiscation of an alarm siren and six sound amplifiers in Mitrovica North,” he said. The news website also notes that “the alarm sirens in Mitrovica North were activated many times by the parallel structures there when they called on the local population to organize”.

Police officer assaulted in Mitrovica North on Tuesday (media)

Most news websites report that a suspect tried to hit a Kosovo police officer with his car in Mitrovica North on Tuesday. The suspect then hit the officer’s car. Kosovo Police Deputy Director for the north, Veton Elshani, told Indeksonline today that the suspect has been arrested.

Schieder: I haven’t seen anywhere what I saw in Serbian elections (media)

Several news websites report that Andreas Schieder, Socialist and Democrat MP and a member of the European Parliament mission that observed the elections in Serbia, said on Wednesday that he hasn’t seen anywhere what he saw in the elections in Serbia. “I observed many elections, but the ones held in Serbia were far from any European standards,” he argued.

“First of all, let me be clear, this is not in accordance with European standards, this is far from any standards.” I have observed many elections, these are far from the standards we are used to. “Those who have power and control over these elections are doing a bad job and are not working in the interest of their country,” Schieder said.

“We saw phantom ballots again, we heard that 50,000 people were brought to Belgrade, we saw photos on social networks, people took pictures of the ballots, we had testimonies of vote buying,” Schieder said. He added that European Parliament representatives are asking Serbian authorities to clarify the events surrounding the elections and maybe even conduct an independent investigation. He also said he is certain that at least in the elections in Belgrade, “the result would have been different if the process was better organized and there was less cheating”.

Serbian Language Media

Milovic on Rajska Banja spa complex: I expect international community to raise voice and stop usurpation (N1, RTS, Kosovo Online)

Serbian List Vice President and former Zvecan mayor Dragisa Milovic told RTS everything is possible in Kosovo, also that heavily armed Kosovo police officers on Saint Nikola day intrude Rajska Banja spa complex, throw workers out on the street and hand over the complex to Kosovo Privatization Agency.

I expect that the international community, regardless of Pristina acts, raises its voice and prevents usurpation of properties, he said.

Milovic also told RTS that the Rajska Banja spa complex was constructed with the funds of Serbian Government, Serbian Orthodox Church Raska-Prizren Eparchy and Office for Kosovo and Metohija. “And now some are trying to usurp it by force and hand it over to the Kosovo police (…)”.

He said around 60 people are employed in this complex and around 1000 patients receive treatments there. By taking over Rajska Banja complex, the right to work and right to treatment had been denied to the people. “This is an act of intimidation. Acts such as this one do not lead to de-escalation. This is lawlessness and use of force at any step”, he said.

The spa complex is located in the cultural heritage protection zone, Milovic added.

Speaking of elections, Milovic said Pristina made it difficult for the Serbs to vote at December 17 elections, adding Serbs who were going to vote outside of Kosovo had to wait for several hours at crossing points of Jarinje and Brnjak.

Mijacic and Radosavljevic: Taking away the Rajska spa is illegal and problematic (KiM radio)

With the confiscation of the "Rajska banja" tourist complex in Banjska near Zvecan, the local Serbs lost their jobs, and the village lost its tourism and economic development. "The decision is controversial and has no legal basis", believes Dragisa Mijacic from the Institute for Territorial Economic Development (INTER). Jovana Radosavljevic from the New Social Initiative (NSI) believes that "the move of Kosovo institutions is very problematic", reports KiM radio.

The tourism potential of Banjska, the health resort and recreational center "Rajska banja" was taken over by the MIA, after the Privatization Agency seized all facilities within the complex two days ago, claiming that it was built on the property of the Trepca company.

KiM radio unofficially learns that the facilities are located on the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) property registered in the Serbian system, but it is unknown whether the land registration was also carried out in the Kosovo system.

Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Svecla yesterday, in response to Radio KiM's question on who owns the facilities whose construction was financed by the Government of Serbia with 121 million dinars, said:

"The owner of this complex is the Kosovo Privatization Agency. There is no doubt about this. If someone illegally invested there, I think this is a lesson for all people who illegally do something or invest", said Svecla.

Dragisa Mijacic thinks differently.

"That complex cannot possibly be owned by the Privatization Agency because it was built with the funds of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, so the Kosovo Privatization Agency must act on the basis of some court process and not on the basis of its own acts. That's why this decision is really controversial. The fact that the facility was handed over to the MIA is also very contradictory, which calls into question and opens many other topics on the agenda, primarily the issue of security," Mijacic told KiM radio.

"Rajska banja" is registered as a limited liability company in Kosovo in the name of Aleksandar Zlatkovic, as the director of the company.

When asked what the Serbian authorities did wrong when registering the complex, Mijacic says:

"The Serbian authorities made a mistake, first of all, that they did not understand that such a situation could occur, that they did not create a legal basis and a legal system in which the KPA and the Kosovo authorities can react in this way, but we simply see that, especially in recent years that there is a lot of arbitrariness on the part of Kosovo institutions, that they simply implement the law in a way that is not established in the Kosovo legal system, and therefore the Government of the Republic of Serbia really could not make any move in this specific case and at this specific moment".

Jovana Radosavljevic also believes that the move by the Kosovo institutions is problematic.

"Definitely one of the wrong moves that further antagonizes the community and creates even greater discord. I think that what we have been pointing out for the last few years that it is the time for things to really turn in that direction, and that is for the Kosovo government to finally start listening to the Serbian community in Kosovo, to hear what their problems, concerns, interests are and to start to implement policies that are in line with the interests of the community if we want to see a cohesive multi-ethnic society in Kosovo, but with such moves as the case that happened yesterday with the "Rajska banja" complex, it is definitely not the way forward," Radosavljevic points out for Radio KiM.

"Rajska banja, that is, that complex is one of the few positive examples of building the economic development of the north, which essentially brought and improved tourism in the village of Banjska, employed people and revived that village, now with this case, we are literally going in the opposite direction, so definitely reflects badly," says Jovana Radosavljevic.

Vucic: Serbs to survive in Kosovo, preserve their property (Tanjug, KoSSev)

Obliterating the name Banjska, as well as the Rajska Banja spa complex - in which Belgrade has invested considerably - is what Pristina would like the most, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday.

Asked by reporters to comment on Kosovo police raid in the Rajska Banja complex, situated in the Banjska village near Zvecan and it’s taking over by Kosovo Privatization Agency, Vucic said Pristina wanted to eradicate Serbian ethnic identity from Kosovo.

"They are doing it thoroughly amid the world's loud silence, but the Serbs will survive and preserve both their property and their capital", Vucic said.

Rajska Banja complex was built in 2019 with funds of the Serbian Government. KPA took over administration of it, assisted by Kosovo police, under the pretext that the facility is owned by Trepca Standard company in Mitrovica North, and that Serbian authorities renovated it “without their approval”.

It turned out that this complex, the only resort of this type for the Serbs in northern Kosovo, was given for lease to the Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Serbian National Forum: Vucic without support of Kosovo Serbs for further Kosovo politics after the elections (N1, FoNet)

The Serbian National Forum (SNF) announced that the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, ''does not have the support of the Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija for the further implementation of the Kosovo policy after the elections on December 17'', reported N1.

As stated, out of the total number of voters from Kosovo and Metohija, that is 94,161, the vote was cast by 23,878. They state that 25.36 percent voted in the elections.

"Out of the total number of registered voters in Kosovo and Metohija, only 17 percent voted for Aleksandar Vucic," the announcement states.

According to reports, Vucic "experienced a debacle" in Pristina - that is, voters from Gracanica, Caglavica, Laplje Selo, Preoce, Susice and Brnjica, because the total number of registered voters is 10,087, and 1,965 citizens, or 19.48 percent, voted, adding that out of this number, 1,337 people voted for Vucic.

In the municipality of Lipljan, out of 4,937 registered voters and 1,438 of those who voted, 1,119 people voted for Vucic, while in Kosovska Mitrovica, out of 15,203 registered voters, 3,055 people went to the polls and 1,910 people voted for Vucic, adds the Serbian National Forum.

"Aleksandar Vucic and his SNS (Serbian List) experienced a fiasco on December 17, 2023, and received a clear message that they have no legitimacy to decide and resolve their issue and the issue of Kosovo and Metohija without the Kosovo-Metohija Serbs," the statement said.

Brnabic: SNS can form next Serbian government on its own (Tanjug)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Wednesday the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) would have far more than 125 seats in the new parliament and would thus be able to form the next Serbian government on its own, Tanjug news agency reports.

"That ensures that we do not need anyone to form a government. So, that is majority support, far more than the 125 seats we need to form a government on our own", Brnabic said during a visit to the Lebane municipality, southern Serbia.

She said the SNS would also have consultations on the matter with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Kosovo police removed alarm siren in Mitrovica North (Kosovo Online)

Kosovo police removed yesterday afternoon an alarm siren located in one of the buildings in King Peter Street in Mitrovica North.

Following information posted on social networks, Kosovo Online learned the action took place in the afternoon. Several Kosovo police officers entered the building in King Peter Street and took away the alarm siren that was lately mainly used to warn of incursions of Kosovo special police units to the north.

According to Veton Elshani, deputy police commander for the region North, the alarm siren and related equipment were confiscated because “those devices were used at different time periods for obstructing public peace and order”.

Petkovic: With the free legal aid project, the EU sending a clear message to Pristina (Tanjug)

The director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, said today, at the final conference of the free legal aid project, that the issue of property is an inviolable human right and that when the European Union stands behind such a project, it means that Brussels is also sending a clear message to Pristina, reported Tanjug agency.

"When it comes to the Free Legal Aid Project, I have to say that it is one of the few projects that shows its humanity, and in this regard, I would like to thank the EU delegation in Serbia and Mr. Giaufret, who well understands the need for such a project," said Petkovic.

He stated that thanks to that project and its long-term funding, everyone in the free legal aid team, led by its leader Rados Dabetic, as well as all the lawyers throughout Kosovo, before the Pristina judiciary, fight fearlessly for every foot of Serbian land, every square meter of the apartment and everything that was usurped and, as he added, they are succeeding in that, reported Tanjug.

Dasic: I was hit several times by the Kosovo police in Jarinje, I will sue them all (N1, NMagazin, KoSSev)

Igor Dasic, born in Zvecan, wrote on his Facebook profile that he was harassed and beaten by the Kosovo police at the Jarinje crossing, reported N1.

“I am a little stiff from a couple of blows, hand twisting, handcuffs, but it’s nothing. Some gave their lives. The Kosovo police officers in Jarinje tried to explain to me that they are the “state” with threats and blows, and tried to put me in a room without cameras where they apparently educate Serbs with beatings, then accuse me of assaulting an official and send me to prison with the rest of our brothers without the public hearing of the other side of the story,” Dasic wrote in FB post, reported the media.

He described in detail how the incident happened and announced a lawsuit against members of the Kosovo Police. According to Dasic this incident happened on Tuesday late evening.

“The uniform does not mean violence and fear, but rather responsibility,” he underlined and asked what the Serbs should expect from the units sent to the north of Kosovo.

He stated that this was a “classic template for arresting and expelling Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija” which, as he wrote, he will talk about at the press conference.

General Ralf Hammerstein: Germany sending an additional 200 soldiers to Kosovo (Tanjug)

Germany will send an additional 200 soldiers to Kosovo, announced the Director of the Advisory Team for NATO Relations in Kosovo, Brigadier General Ralf Hammerstein, reported Tanjug agency.

"The Bundeswehr currently has about 80 soldiers here, which will soon be increased by about 200, including support staff. So that makes about 280 (soldiers)," Hammerstein told Germany's Welt, reported the agency.

He assessed that the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina is not progressing "as (quickly) as we all hoped" and stated that it is a task for several generations.

International

NATO peace mission continue patrols to ensure security on Kosovo-Serbian border (AA)

NATO's Peace Force in Kosovo (KFOR) continues to ensure security Wednesday with patrols on the border between Kosovo and Serbia.

Anadolu accompanied the patrol of Italian soldiers under KFOR along the border area close to the municipalities of Zvecan and Zubin Potok, where most Serbs live in northern Kosovo.

KFOR soldiers were also observed on boat patrol on Ujman Lake in the border region.

Guglielmino Esercito, commander in charge of the Italian unit, told Anadolu that units carry out patrols to ensure a safe environment and freedom of movement for all in Kosovo.

"We are well equipped and trained, so our flexibility can allow us to face all kinds of challenges in the field of operation, so KFOR is ready to face all kinds of challenges,'' said Esercito.

KFOR increased its presence and patrol after a clash broke out in the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo near the Serbian border when a group of armed Serbs blocked a bridge with two trucks in late September.

A shootout erupted after the group opened fire on police, leaving an officer dead and another injured.

A large number of security forces were dispatched and the Brnjak border crossing between Kosovo and Serbia was closed.