UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, May 14, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani to participate in Copenhagen Democracy Summit (media)
Lajcak optimistic that agreement on dinar can be reached (media)
Sources: PDK proposed dissolution of Assembly next week (Indeksonline)
Tahiri: Assembly dissolution only after Kurti’s dismissal or resignation (Koha)
Krasniqi slams conditioning of CoE membership with Association (media)
Weber: Kosovo won’t be included in agenda to avoid failed vote (Sinjali)
Gervalla: Serbia against EU-proposed agreement, wants only Association (media)
Bislimi speaks of importance of Kosovo’s membership in CoE (media)
Reuten reacts to Vahelyi: Serbian President destabilizes the region (media)
Lajcak “insightful and inspiring meeting” with Finnish President (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Quint and EU statement on Kosovo Government May 13 decision not to allow entry of Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch and accompanying clergy (media, social media)
Stano: Pristina violated the Agreement on official visits by banning the Patriarch of the SOC to enter (Kosovo Online)
The Mesihat of the Islamic Community of Serbia condemned Pristina's decision (KiM radio, Blic)
Office for KiM: Transport of Zvezdara Theater equipment to Kosovo forbidden (KiM radio, N1, RTS, Kosovo Online)
Zvezdara Theater: Crew of theater play The Book of Milutin banned from entering Kosovo (Tanjug, KoSSev, Kosovo Online)
Vucic: Pristina's moves, Srebrenica draft resolution not contributing to regional stability (Tanjug)
Varhelyi: I hope for Serbia’s membership in EU by 2029 (Beta, N1)
Indictment raised against Goran Rakic for not reporting incomes while being a minister (N1, KoSSev)
Andric-Rakic: Until there is agreement on how people will receive money from Serbia, it is irrational to start with punitive measures (Kosovo Online)
Tutin: Unknown assailants shot at police officers in the Ground Security Zone (Tanjug)
Olena Zelenska thanked Serbia for its support to Ukraine (RTS, media)

International:

Kosovo Nears the End of a Challenged Census Process (Prishtina Insight)
Political Attacks, Misogynistic Insults Continue to Pollute Balkan Online Space (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media

President Osmani to participate in Copenhagen Democracy Summit (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani has traveled to the Kingdom of Denmark where she will participate in the Copenhagen Summit for Democracy. At the Summit, President Osmani will have a keynote speech and a discussion on Kosovo's efforts to protect and strengthen democracy, as well as about the importance of the integration of Kosovo and other aspiring countries in the Euro-Atlantic institutions in light of geopolitical developments. During the visit to the Kingdom of Denmark, President Osmani will hold meetings with state leaders. Also, Osmani will meet the Albanian diaspora in this country.

Lajcak optimistic that agreement on dinar can be reached (Koha)

The EU emissary for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, has said that during this week he will lead the meeting between the chief negotiators Besnik Bislimi and Petar Petkovic in Brussels. The topic of the meeting, as he announced on Facebook, will be the dinar issue.

Lajak said that they are aiming to find a temporary and lasting solution for those affected by the regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo. "I am sure that an agreement can be reached, but it will require flexibility and compromise from both sides," he said.

Sources: PDK proposed dissolution of Assembly next week (Indeksonline)

Citing unnamed sources, the news website reports that in their meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, leaders of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) proposed for members of the Kosovo Assembly to vote on the dissolution of the assembly next week, and proposed June 30 and July 7 as potential dates for early parliamentary elections.

Tahiri: Assembly dissolution only after Kurti’s dismissal or resignation (Koha)

Head of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) parliamentary group, Besnik Tahiri, told reporters today that the Kosovo Assembly can be dissolved only after the dismissal or resignation of Prime Minister Albin Kurti. He argued that Monday’s meeting between Kurti and Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) leader Memli Krasniqi was not focused, as initially planned, on the agenda of the Assembly, but that “Kurti wants to find a way out, and enabled by the opposition, in order to allow for his amnesty”. “Today the ambassadors in Strasbourg, the ambassadors will discuss whether Kosovo will be included on the agenda for membership. One day before the decision on Kosovo’s membership [in the Council of Europe], he [Kurti] is worried about elections with the sole purpose of covering shame,” Tahiri said.

Krasniqi slams conditioning of CoE membership with Association (media)

Kosovo’s Minister for Local Government, Elbert Krasniqi, said in a Facebook post today that Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe would be beneficial especially for non-majority communities. “Europe’s current leadership conditioning Kosovo’s membership in the organization with the Association of Serb-majority municipalities is a very bad signal for non-majority communities in Kosovo. First, the Association is not a request of the Kosovo Serbs. According to the Constitution, the Kosovo Serbs have the right and freedom of association as every other community. Second, with this condition, the heads of some European states are unfortunately showing that they are not that interested in the empowerment of other non-majority communities in Kosovo, such as the Roma, Ashkali, Egyptians, Turkish, Gorani and others, who would benefit most from the mechanisms of the Council of Europe. Third, prioritizing and insisting on monoethnic mechanisms and entities risks creating in Kosovo a super non-majority community, thus dissolving the constitutional harmony that exists among non-majority communities. As a citizen of the Republic and as an Egyptian in Kosovo, I am highly concerned by this,” Krasniqi argues.

Weber: Kosovo won’t be included in agenda to avoid failed vote (Sinjali)

Bodo Weber, senior associate at the Democratization Policy Council, in an interview with the news website, said that he doesn’t expect Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe to be included on the agenda of the Committee of Ministers in order to prevent a negative or unsuccessful vote.

“It seems this is finally clear after developments and statements by the main actors in the last couple of days that Kosovo’s main European allies, namely, France, Italy and Germany want the Kosovo Government to send the Quint’s draft statute for the Association [of Serb-majority municipalities] to the Constitutional Court and that the Kurti-led government is not ready to do this. As a result, Kosovo’s membership application will not be included on the agenda in order to avoid a failed vote which would be a great concern for all parties. Therefore, unless there is no last-minute progress in the next two-three days, I simply don’t think this will happen,” Weber said.

Gervalla: Serbia against EU-proposed agreement, wants only Association (media)

Kosovo’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla, said in an interview with TV Syri that Serbia is against the EU-proposed agreement and that it only wants the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo. “Vucic and his Prime Minister submitted a letter to the European Union saying that they don’t recognize Kosovo’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. If Serbia is willing to accept the full package [of the Brussels agreement] then we too will keep the promises made. Otherwise it is very dangerous to single out the draft [on the Association] from the package. The draft that our partners presented to us makes sense only if Serbia recognizes Kosovo, otherwise it will be a Trojan Horse just like Republika Srpska in Bosnia,” she said.

Explaining the criticism and separation from the LDK, Gervalla also talked about former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and "LDK's criticism of the murders". "I haven't been so vocal against the PDK-LDK alliance just because it suits me. But LDK, being transformed into a branch of PDK by Sejdiu and Mustafa, left Kosovo without a center-right party,” she said. "The election of Hashim Thaci with the vote of LDK MPs - among them who, at least in the media, felt that his family was endangered and suffered murder in the family, that was the moment when LDK began to sink. PDK, even for international allies, has been synonymous with corruption and organized crime.”

Gervalla said that Guxo would form a coalition with the PDK, if this party would "remove the figures associated with yesterday's crime and corruption". "I don't think that's going to happen. Let's talk about reality. In the extreme case, which I do not expect to happen in the next mandate, if PDK was separated from people who represent crime and corruption, I would not see any obstacles. I know them well from the past, I don't see a coalition with those people,” she argued.

Bislimi speaks of importance of Kosovo’s membership in CoE (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi, during his stay in Budapest was invited at the Hungarian Institute for International Affairs (HIIA), where he highlighted “the impressive rate of lowering unemployment in Kosovo as well as the economic growth and positive macro-economic indicators that improved Kosovo’s performance in the last three years”. He said that the ongoing population census is important to get accurate data for developing well-targeted policies and that the government “has continuously worked on improving the lives of all citizens without any differences”. Bislimi also talked about the importance of Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe.

Reuten reacts to Vahelyi: Serbian President destabilizes the region (media)

Dutch member of the European Parliament, Thijs Reuten, has reacted to a post by EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi about his meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Reuten said in a post on X that “Serbian President Vucic destabilizes the region, rigs elections, installs pro-Russian government with two US-sanctioned ministers, flirts with autocrat club BRICS, licks boots of dictator Xi Jinping. Orban’s EU Commissioner: this is fine! Nothing to see here! Come join our club!”

Lajcak “insightful and inspiring meeting” with Finnish President (media)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, said in a post on X today that he had an insightful and inspiring meeting with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. “We did a tour d'horizon of EU enlargement, Western Balkans and the EU-facilitated Dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia,” he wrote.

Serbian Language Media

Quint and EU statement on Kosovo Government May 13 decision not to allow entry of Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch and accompanying clergy (media, social media)

“The Embassies of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States and the European Union Office in Kosovo are concerned by the decision of the Government of Kosovo not to allow Patriarch Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church and his accompanying bishops to enter Kosovo to attend the ceremonial start of the regular annual assembly of the Synod at the Patriarchate of Pec/Peja”, reads the statement published on EU Office in Pristina website.

“The Government’s decision is contrary to the provisions of the Ahtisaari Plan, which clearly prescribes rights, privileges, and immunities for the clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and is not consistent with Kosovo’s obligations in the EU Dialogue”.

“We expect the Government of Kosovo to meet the highest human rights standards both in its legal framework and in its actions, act in the interests of all its citizens, and uphold its core values and responsibility towards regional stability”.

“We continue to call upon both parties to refrain from any actions and rhetoric that could increase tensions and may lead to incidents”, the statement concluded.

Stano: Pristina violated the Agreement on official visits by banning the Patriarch of the SOC to enter (Kosovo Online)

The spokesperson of the European Union, Peter Stano, said that by banning the entry of the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Porfirije, Pristina violated the Agreement on official visits agreed in Brussels in 2014. He emphasized that the topic of tomorrow's meeting in Brussels will be the dinar, but that the EU does not miss the opportunity to convey its messages, as well as dissatisfaction with certain actions, reported Kosovo Online.

"The visit of Patriarch Porfirije to Kosovo was noted and is part of the important Dialogue Agreement and should have been allowed. By refusing his entry, the Government of Kosovo not only violated the Agreement on Official Visits from 2014, but also unjustifiably ignored the importance of the Serbian Orthodox Church being in contact with believers in Kosovo," said Stano.

He added that such a move is against the fundamental principles of any multi-ethnic and tolerant democratic society.

"The EU continues to repeat its call for the full and unconditional implementation of all agreements from the dialogue, including the one on official visits," said the EU spokesperson.

He added that tomorrow's meeting in Brussels focuses on a very specialized agenda, but that the EU will not fail to express its position.

"We never miss an opportunity to convey our messages and expectations, as well as our dissatisfaction with the actions and decisions of individuals when we meet them on any occasion. However, the topic of tomorrow's meeting is the solution to the situation surrounding the abolition of the dinar and the Regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo, such as was the case with previous meetings," Stano emphasized.

The Mesihat of the Islamic Community of Serbia condemned Pristina's decision (KiM radio, Blic)

The Mesihat of Serbia in front of the Rijaset (Leadership) of the Islamic Community of Serbia condemned the actions of the Kosovo authorities, which banned the Serbian Patriarch from entering Kosovo, reported KiM radio.

The Islamic community in Serbia considers this procedure un-Islamic and inhumane.

"Such behavior is inadmissible and does not contribute to interpersonal and neighborly relations, which the Almighty God commands everyone to do," the statement said.

The KP yesterday at Merdare crossing did not allow the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije and the seven bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church to enter Kosovo. They intended to travel to the Patriarchate of Pec, where the regular Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church was supposed to begin today, recalled KiM radio.

The Kosovo MIA stated that this decision is in force until, as they point out, Serbia stops violating the Brussels Agreement.

Office for KiM: Transport of Zvezdara Theater equipment to Kosovo forbidden (KiM radio, N1, RTS, Kosovo Online)

The authorities in Pristina, headed by the Kosovo PM, Albin Kurti, have forbidden the theatrical equipment necessary for the performance of the play "The Book of Milutin" by Zvezdara Theater to be transported to Kosovo, thus making it impossible for this play, starring Nenad Jezdic, to take place in Mitrovica and Leposavic, announced the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, reported KiM radio.

Namely, tonight, Jezdic was supposed to perform the 202nd performance "The Book of Milutin" at the Cultural Center in North Mitrovica, and tomorrow evening in Leposavic. However, as stated by the Office for KiM, the equipment and its associates were stopped at Jarinje, even though they had all the necessary supporting documentation and specifications of the equipment.

"After banning Patriarch Porfirije from visiting his spiritual house, the Pec Patriarchate, banning and canceling the use of the Serbian dinar in Kosovo, Kurti now wants to cancel cultural events for Serbs and thereby practically cancel the life of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, as he has repeatedly defended and canceled sports events, took off the Serbian tricolor, defended vaccination and stopped the delivery of Serbian goods to the province," reads the statement of the Office for KiM.

Performing a theatrical performance, they note, has nothing to do with politics, but, they add, "Kurti, in his insane plan to attack and expel everything Serbian from the area of Kosovo and Metohija, hesitating from nothing, now even deals with cultural events."

Zvezdara Theater: Crew of theater play The Book of Milutin banned from entering Kosovo (Tanjug, KoSSev, Kosovo Online)

After extensive arrangements and preparations for the guest appearance, to which we paid a lot of attention, today, without any explanation, the crew of the play The Book of Milutin, produced by Belgrade-based Zvezdara Theater was forbidden to cross the administrative line with Kosovo, Zvezdara Theater said in a statement.

"The plays planned as part of the announced visit to Kosovska Mitrovica and Leposavic will not be performed. After yesterday's ban on Patriarch Porfirije from entering Kosovo, today one theater play has also been banned. After a series of bans, starting with political through economic, religious and other bans, the turn has come to culture, everything that has a sign of Serbian is forbidden", the Theater added in a statement.

Zvezdara Theater also said that they "as a theater that traditionally nurtures local text in its repertoire, will continue making efforts to perform its plays in front of any audience wishing to see them, regardless of obstacles of any kind because culture knows no boundaries".

Leading actor of the play, Nenad Jezdic termed Pristina’s decision as “essential weakness and impotence, and it only looks and seems powerful, and that against a theater... It's an uncivilized act, against culture and theater”. He also said The Book of Milutin is anti-war drama and that he would be pleased if Albanian audience could hear it as well, as the main protagonist does not belong to any ideology or politics, but only poses a human and moral dilemma about all our sufferings and misunderstandings, both of the Serbian and other people living in this region, he added.

Vucic: Pristina's moves, Srebrenica draft resolution not contributing to regional stability (Tanjug)

At a meeting with Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic noted that preserving stability in the region was vital for Serbia and that Pristina's self-willed moves as well as initiatives such as a draft UN General Assembly resolution on Srebrenica were in no way contributing to the reconciliation process, trust-building and cooperation in the region, Tanjug news agency reported.

In a post on his official Instagram account, Vucic wrote that he had reiterated his gratitude to the Russian Federation for its firm position on the territorial integrity of Serbia and for respecting Serbia's sovereignty regarding an independent policy and a unique path the country had chosen.

"That path is not an easy one but, on it, we are counting on full support from all sincere friends of Serbia", Vucic noted. He wrote that discussion with Botsan-Kharchenko had addressed the difficult period ahead of Serbia, its diplomatic struggle on several fronts and the serious challenges facing Serbs in Kosovo and the region.

Varhelyi: I hope for Serbia’s membership in EU by 2029 (Beta, N1)

European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said in Belgrade that he hopes the new Serbian government will step up the pace of accession to the European Union (EU), noting that it is expected to conduct democratic and rule of law reforms and align more closely with EU’s foreign policy.

Addressing a joint media conference following his meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Varhelyi said he also hopes Serbia will become an EU member before the next European Commission’s term is up in 2029. Regarding the draft resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica to be considered by the UN General Assembly, Varhelyi said he absolutely disagrees with any position on the collective guilt of the Serbian people. The next European Commission will have to be an enlargement commission and focus on new members because it is clear what membership has brought to Central and Eastern European countries that joined in 2004, he said.

We are now building up the momentum so the next Commission could achieve results in terms of enlargement, said Varhelyi, adding that the EU's doors are open to new members and that the EU wants enlargement.

Serbian President Vucic voiced his opinion that no country will be admitted to the EU before Ukraine, but at the same time at the very best. Addressing reporters after his meeting with Varhelyi, Vucic said he expects Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and the Western Balkans to all join the EU at the same time, adding he was not sure if a Western Balkans country may be an exception.

“Mark my words and then, in four years’ time, remember that there was someone who told you exactly how things would happen,” said Vucic.

Indictment raised against Goran Rakic for not reporting incomes while being a minister (N1, KoSSev)

Basic Prosecution in Pristina has raised an indictment against former president of the Serbian List, Goran Rakic, accusing him of not delivering properly requested information in a template for reporting incomes, while he was the minister for communities and returns in the Kosovo government, N1 reports citing KoSSev portal.

The indictment says that in a template reporting his properties and incomes, submitted on March 31, 2021, Rakic did not submit requested information for 2020, respectively he did not report annual incomes obtained as assistant professor at the Higher Economics School from Pec, currently dislocated to the north, and from a position he holds at public utility enterprise Standard in Mitrovica North. In elaboration of the indictment, as N1 further reported, in a statement made to the prosecution, Rakic admitted the act, and was ready to enter negotiations on pleading guilty, according to the media report.

Andric-Rakic: Until there is agreement on how people will receive money from Serbia, it is irrational to start with punitive measures (Kosovo Online)

New Social Initiative Program Manager Milica Rakic Andric said although transition period for implementation of the Kosovo Central Bank regulation on payment transactions has expired, it is not logical to start implementing punitive measures as long as the agreement on how will citizens receiving funds from the Serbian budget have these money transferred to their accounts in Kosovo is reached.

She also said the transition period was introduced before the Kosovo Government admitted that there is a problem which should be negotiated about.

“That period was meant for an information campaign, directed at people so they would open their accounts in banks registered in Kosovo. Since then, the Kosovo side admitted that the problem is a bit bigger, and the negotiations on how the money should be transferred to the bank accounts of citizens are ongoing”, she said.

She added that having this in mind it is not logical to change anything at this point, until the agreement on how these transactions would be carried out is reached.

“For me, it would not be normal to start implementing some measures now because we have an admission from the Kosovo government that there must be agreement on how the money will be transferred. Citizens were not offered a solution”, she said.

Tutin: Unknown assailants shot at police officers in the Ground Safety Zone (Tanjug)

Inspectors of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are intensively searching for the assailants, who are still unknown, who fired at police officers yesterday in the Ground Safety Zone, near the administrative line with Kosovo, Tanjug learned.

"The shooting took place in the village of Istocni Mojstir, and after unknown assailants shot at the police officers, there was an exchange of fire in which, according to initial information from the scene, there were no injuries," sources from the Serbian MIA said.

According to sources from the investigation, the incident took place in the forest, while the reason for the shooting is most likely illegal tree cutting.

Olena Zelenska thanked Serbia for its support to Ukraine (RTS, media)

The wife of the Ukrainian president, Olena Zelenska, expressed, on behalf of herself and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, her gratitude to the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, for his support and humanitarian aid to her country, reported RTS.

In a post on X, Olena Zelenska thanked not only the president, but also the citizens of Serbia for their "contribution to Ukraine's resilience".

"Together with Dmytro Kuleba, I expressed my gratitude to the President of Serbia for his support and humanitarian aid in difficult times. We are grateful to the people of Serbia for their contribution to the resilience of Ukraine, so that our country would continue to be a role model for the world," Zelenska wrote.

Zelenska and Kuleba paid a bilateral visit to Belgrade, during which they met with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic.

Kuleba also met with PM Milos Vucevic, Speaker of the National Assembly Ana Brnabic and Head of Diplomacy Marko Djuric, while First Lady Tamara Vucic hosted the wife of the Ukrainian president.

International

Kosovo Nears the End of a Challenged Census Process (Prishtina Insight)

Kosovo’s second population census since the war is facing significant challenges such as mass resignation of registrars, a lack of informative campaigns , and boycotts by residents of Serbian-majority municipalities. Kosovo is also attempting to register its diaspora, including those not born in the country.

Kosovo’s Agency of Statistics said on Monday that over 1.4 million citizens have been registered so far as the data-collection process enters its final week.

Kosovo’s second population census since the 1998-99 war has faced challenges from the beginning, as over 1,700 trained enumerators from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, ASK, resigned, the agency’s director told Kallxo Përnime TV programme.

“Out of the initial 4,300, around 1,700-1,800 were not willing to continue, stating they cannot work for 700 euros,” Avni Kastrati, the ASK director, told Kallxo Përnime programme on May 3, 2024.

Penalties for non-participation in the population census are estimated to be between 200 to 2,000 euro fines depending on the reason for non participation.

Bekim Dobra, a member of the municipal commission for population registration in Drenas municipality, criticised the Government for the census’ insufficient informational campaign.

“Compared to 2011 (when Kosovo held its first population census), we now have more television channels, yet we do not see enough advertisements calling for registration,” said Dobra.