UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, May 23, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti: Serbia’s enormous armament shows it aims escalation (media)
Gervalla meets Congressman Turner: Kosovo in NATO creates security (RTK)
PDK, LDK clarify stance on Association: Will rewrite draft with U.S. (Nacionale)
Kosovo Assembly approves two international agreements (RTK)
Haxhiu thanks MPs for adopting agreement with Denmark on prison cells (EO)
CEC begins preparations for next elections, allocates € 1 million for supply of cameras (ekonomia)

Serbian Language Media:

Jedinstvo newspaper staff held collegium at open, deadline for their eviction expires tomorrow (Radio Kontakt Plus, media)
Milicevic: There will be no progress in the north until new elections are called (Kosovo Online)
Stosic: Mayors of the northern municipalities have not justified their mandates (Kosovo Online)
Surlic: Mayors in the north engaged in populist measures directed by Pristina (Kosovo Online)
Citizens in north about work of mayors: Everything went downhill, potholes on streets, people are leaving (Kosovo Online)
Deda: Kosovo today is a collective defeat of building an inclusive society (KiM radio)
‘We Speak Because They Cannot’ panel in NYC hears witness testimonies (N1, media)
On the occasion of the vote on the Resolution on Srebrenica, the bells of the churches of the SOC, and the Diocese of Raska-Prizren will ring at noon (KoSSev)

International:

Muslim majority Kosovo considers same-sex unions amid fierce opposition (Reuters)
Kosovo's trade gap widens 12% y/y in April (seenews.com)
Serbia reels at UN resolution on Srebrenica massacre (politico.eu)
UN Srebrenica resolution sets Balkan politicians at loggerheads (intellinews.com)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti: Serbia’s enormous armament shows it aims escalation (media)

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti is participating in the Defense Conference in London, the United Kingdom. He stated from there that Serbia’s large armament shows that it is aiming to escalate the situation. "The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, opened the conference by highlighting the threat of Russia and Serbia. He said that Serbia's "enormous armament" is an indication that it "aims for escalation". - it is said in a post of the organizers of the conference.

Kurti writes in a post on X: “A great pleasure to start the day in the UK with a keynote address at the London Defence Conference. I spoke about the critical role of NATO and democratic allies, as well as the acute threat that autocrats pose to the security of Kosova, the Western Balkans & Europe as a whole.”

Gervalla meets Congressman Turner: Kosovo in NATO creates security (RTK)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gervalla met with Republican congressman Mike Turner, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives' Permanent Committee on Intelligence Services. They discussed the current security situation and the concerns after the Serbian attack on September 24 in Banjska, the ongoing threats to Kosovo and the need for the membership of Kosovo in NATO, informs a press release issued by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The press release also reports that Minister Gervalla has assured Congressman Turner that Kosovo remains steadfast on its Euro-Atlantic path, alongside the United States of America and its partners and allies.

Haradinaj on Serbia’s letter to NATO Parliamentary Assembly: Action due to Kosovo’s mistakes (Klan)

The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj spoke about the letter sent by Serbia to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which says that granting status to Kosovo would be a harmful decision both for the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and especially for the processes of stabilization and Euro-Atlantic integration of Western Balkans.

"Serbia is encouraged by Kosovo's mistakes, by Kurti's mistakes, and it goes one step further, so I call them more minuses because Serbia has certainly drafted such a letter, the letter did not come first, so surely they have all the time sent reports that Kosovo acts against the rights of the Serb community or even other developments, therefore we warned in time of the deepening of losses for Kosovo", said Haradinaj.

As for the possibility of it failing as in the case of the Council of Europe, Haradinaj said that relations between neighbors are also important.

"We have no issues to discuss now because there is no contractual process, but for example there are skeptical and non-recognizing countries that will also use Serbia's position because you know that for membership in NATO, relations between neighbors are important as for other agreements", said Haradinaj.

PDK, LDK clarify stance on Association: Will rewrite draft with U.S. (Nacionale)

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) have clarified their position on the draft of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, the news website notes. Leaders of the two parties said that if they come to power, they won’t send the current draft of the Association to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, as requested by the U.S. and the European Union.

PDK leader Memli Krasniqi said he would write a draft in cooperation with the Americans. “Nothing happens without the Americans. As early as tomorrow, I would start a process with a request for assistance from U.S. experts … it is not late. This is not rocket science, but they [the ruling party] did not want to, did not know how or they lacked the courage, otherwise, this can be done in a week,” Krasniqi said in an earlier interview with RTV21. He also argued that the current draft means political autonomy for the Kosovo Serbs. “I think it is a bad draft, which poses a threat not on the day that the Association is formed, but six months or five years later to have an entity which in addition to having political autonomy also threatens the functioning of the text of Kosovo. It is unfortunate that it has come to this, because this text was a result of Albin Kurti’s lack of action,” he said.

LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku strongly criticized Prime Minister Albin Kurti in a debate on T7 claiming that Kurti opened the dialogue package with Serbia, ended up with an agreement in Ohrid that includes autonomy and removed mutual recognition with Serbia. “We had a rejecting stance to the Ohrid Agreement. We said the Association should be formed in line with the Constitution of Kosovo because we had requests and guarantees from the United States. His justification in the Kosovo Assembly was ‘I cannot write a draft because the facilitator will then bring us an even worse draft’,” Abdixhiku said. “What will I do as Prime Minister? I believe we need a dialogue with the U.S. to begin with. We have pledged for the Association. We will establish an Association that is not the autonomy that Kurti brought. We need to avoid that because it is a threat, and we don’t even need mutual recognition this way.”

Kosovo Assembly approves two international agreements (RTK)

The Assembly of Kosovo has approved two international agreements in continuation of the extraordinary session. Members of the opposition parties also voted for them.

With 93 votes in favor, the Assembly of Kosovo has voted the Draft Law for the ratification of the Amendment to the Agreement on the Establishment of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development - article 1. The Minister of Finance, Labor and Transfers, Hekuran Murati, has stated that the ratification of this international agreement is important for Kosovo.

The Assembly also approved the Draft Law for the ratification of the Agreement for the recognition of professional qualifications for nurses, veterinary surgeons, pharmacists and midwives in the context of the Central European Free Trade Agreement, which was presented by the Minister of Health, Arben Vitia. Vitia has emphasized that on November 3, 2022, Kosovo signed an Agreement, which is valid from June 1, 2023, based on directives for the recognition of qualifications. This Agreement enables them to exercise their profession freely in each of the six countries of the Western Balkans. The Assembly approved this Agreement with 93 votes in favor, out of 95 MPs present at the session.

The Assembly of Kosovo has approved the Draft Law for the ratification of the Treaty between Kosovo and the Kingdom of Denmark for the use of the correctional institution in Gjilan for the purpose of executing Danish sentences. With 86 votes for, 7 against and no abstentions, the MPs gave the green light to this agreement.

With the majority of votes in favor, the agreement with OPEC and the 2016 IPA agreement also passed.

The Assembly has also passed the Draft Law for the ratification of the Co-financing Agreement for the drafting of the Project for the construction of the tunnel on the Tetove-Prizren road.

However, the Assembly of Kosovo failed to approve the Draft Law on reproductive health and medically assisted fertilization, due the lack of a quorum in the amendments given by the MP, Visar Korenica.

Haxhiu thanks MPs for adopting agreement with Denmark on prison cells (EO)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, thanked today members of the Kosovo Assembly for voting in favor of the agreement with Denmark on prison cells. She said in a Facebook post that the agreement is proof of the mutual trust and respect between Kosovo and Denmark. “It will bring mutual benefits and will open new doors for future cooperation,” she said.

CEC begins preparations for next elections, allocates € 1 million for supply of cameras (ekonomia)

The Central Election Commission (CEC) at today's meeting, has decided to approve the specifications for the supply of cameras that will be used in polling stations for the upcoming elections in the Republic of Kosovo. The total amount planned for this procurement activity according to the CEC is one million euros.

The PDK member, Arianit Elshani, said that the placement of cameras in polling stations, according to the CEC, aims to preserve the integrity of the electoral process. While the CEC member from LVV, Sami Kurteshi raised the issue of whether this supply can be made if the elections are held soon.

According to the explanations that were given in this meeting, this is a regular procurement procedure and it would be impossible for this process to be completed by the month of July. "These cameras cannot be contracted for such a short time,", said Arianit Elshani of PDK.

In case of the impossibility for the CEC to provide the cameras for polling stations in time, the other member of Vetevendosje in the CEC, Alban Krasniqi, said that they can again turn to the CEC of Albania for the loan of the cameras.

"In this case, I think we can turn to the Republic of Albania, the Central Commission there to make available the cameras they have and use in the election processes, if this is presented as necessary."

Serbian Language Media

Jedinstvo newspaper staff held collegium at open, deadline for their eviction expires tomorrow (Radio Kontakt Plus)

Staff of Jedinstvo newspaper held a collegium at open near their editorial premises in Mitrovica North, and agreed that as of today they will work from home, Radio Kontakt Plus reported.

They made this decision because the alleged new owner threatened them with eviction, assisted by police, if they do not vacate the premises by 10.00 tomorrow.

“The same outcast, the same persecutor. Jedinstvo somehow seems to be destiny, created in the midst of the fight for freedom in 1944, and as if it is its destiny to always fight for survival on its own land. This is our land. In fact, our newspaper shares the fate of the Serbian people, it is not just an ordinary informative messenger, it is the guardian of the language, script, culture and Serbian identity. What should I tell you, we hold a collegium now and our journalists agreed that we should endure, remain, and work from home. Of course, this would affect their families, but we have no alternative”, Jedinstvo director Rada Komazec said.

She also said without any written document they have been told that premises will be vacated in assistance with the police, adding they are forced to leave editorial premises in order to ensure safety of employees.

“We no longer have premises. The Kosovo Government moved into our home in Pristina, our bookstores, gas station, two printing houses, everything is usurped. Everything is appropriated. We have been plundered, expelled for the second time”, she underlined.

Secretary General of the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) Nino Brajovic said it is unbelievable that Jedinstvo newspaper is being evicted with verbal order, without any written trace, respectively, a decision that relates to Jedinstvo publisher.

“This is something we cannot accept and cannot come to terms with. Principles must be defended. The newspaper staff should have their own space, and can be moved out only with a mechanism of a legal system, regardless of whose it is and what it is like. It is impossible to threaten someone with eviction with phone calls”, he added.

New Jedinstvo collegium has been scheduled for tomorrow. They are supported by their colleagues of media outlets reporting in Serbian and UNS members.

Jedinsto is the only Serbian print newspaper in Kosovo and had its headquarters at House of Culture in Pristina until mid of 1999. Since then the newspaper has been located in Mitrovica North.

Milicevic: There will be no progress in the north until new elections are called (Kosovo Online)

The executive director of the NGO "Aktiv" Miodrag Milicevic says that the first year of the mandate of the Albanian mayors in the north of Kosovo was a very turbulent period that is still ongoing and that "the whole story about the municipalities in the north will end only when new elections are called", reported Kosovo Online.

"What we will remember for the past year is not only political friction, but the inability of municipal leaders and municipal officials to exercise their mandate in the manner provided by law and the way it is done in other municipalities. However, the situation here is much different because we know how the mayors were elected and how the self-governments were constituted. There were numerous calls from the international community, precisely because of the lack of legitimacy of the elected representatives, that apart from North Mitrovica, the mandate is carried out outside the municipal buildings. We even had calls in this period, however long it lasted, not to make key, essential decisions that would further worsen the situation on the ground, but that was not the case," Milicevic told Kosovo Online.

He reminds that at the very beginning of the mandate of the new authorities, the construction of the Student Center was prohibited in the municipality of North Mitrovica and that a series of decisions followed that at one point threatened to worsen the situation in what he said was already a complicated socio-political situation.

"It seems that there will be no progress until we reach the stage where extraordinary elections are called in order to return the political dialogue to where it belongs, which is the local assembly and the assembly at the central level of Kosovo. We have a complete absence of political dialogue," Milicevic assesses.

The dialogue, he notes, should not have an alternative in the form of unilateral actions and decisions taken by the Kosovo government, and in that context, he cites the decisions on banning the dinar and banning the import of Serbian goods.

"Only sometimes we have more serious reactions that point to the necessity of changing such decisions of the GoK, but so far without real effects," concludes Milicevic.

Stosic: Mayors of the northern municipalities have not justified their mandates (Kosovo Online)

The Program Manager of the Center for Advocacy of Democratic Culture (ACDC), Slobodan Stosic, tells Kosovo Online that the four mayors in the north, who are approaching the first year of their mandates, have not done anything to justify their mandates, nor have they acted in the interest of the predominantly Serbian community.

"A year passes, but the mayors never. As for North Mitrovica, I think this ruling structure, along with the mayor and the assembly, will be remembered for allocating land near the Military Overhaul Facility to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was a decision without any basis. Regarding other municipalities, Leposavic will surely be remembered for the long quarantine of the mayor, who self-isolated in the municipality, Zvecan will probably be remembered for yet another series of expropriations, particularly in the villages around Zerovnica, and Zubin Potok will likely be remembered for nepotism in employment," Stosic says.

He assesses that the four mayors have not acted in the interest of the majority population.

"Even their election was quite questionable, with a turnout of three to 3.5 percent. They took office without having the support of the majority population here and have not done anything over the past year to justify their mandates, nor have they succeeded in increasing their voter base," Stosic concludes.

Surlic: Mayors in the north engaged in populist measures directed by Pristina (Kosovo Online)

Over the past year, the mayors in the four northern municipalities have dealt with peripheral issues that do not concern the real life and daily reality in the north. These were mostly some populist measures directed by Pristina, whose effect was to send a message that the Serbs, as a community, do not have the right to distinctiveness, Stefan Surlic, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, told Kosovo Online portal on the occasion of the first anniversary of the mandates of the Albanian mayors in North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Leposavic, and Zubin Potok.

"They dealt with signs, the implementation of expropriation measures imposed by the central government in Pristina, and all possible actions that would undermine the idea that there is a special city of Mitrovica in the north in the context of some unification of the southern and northern parts of Mitrovica, as well as the idea that these municipalities become members of an association with Albanian municipalities. These were all populist measures that had no real effect except for intimidation and sending a message that the Serbs, as a community, do not have the right to distinctiveness, to their institutions, and that regardless of the dialogue process, Pristina has a clear agenda to undermine normal life for the Serbs still living in the north", Surlic said.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/Cl9vR Citizens in north about work of mayors: Everything went downhill, potholes on streets, people are leaving (Kosovo Online)

Citizens in Leposavic and Mitrovica North do not have positive opinions about the work of mayors in their municipalities, Kosovo Online portal writes today, one year after these mayors took over their mandate. They told the portal no one is asking citizens anything, they see no perspective, adding many people have left Kosovo during this period.

Dragisa Lakicevic from Leposavic said he did not see the mayor for a year, and that apathy prevails among people.

“To tell you the truth I do not know the mayor, nor did he appear somewhere, or that we had communication about anything. A year has passed, the time is as if it stopped, nothing happens here, only police, repression, hopelessness…. We see no perspective here. I absolutely do not know, perhaps they changed some bulbs, but I also doubt that. Not a single shovel of concrete or asphalt was done here in a year. And who is to blame, whether executive or some other instances, I do not know”, he said.

His co-citizen Dragan Vukicevic said everything is “on a dead-end”. “Nothing went for worse or good, I do not know…I went to the municipality once, and did not go afterwards. Everything is dead, frozen, at the dead-end”, he said.

Velimir Savic from Leposavic is also displeased saying it is hard to live “under rifles and machineguns”.

“There is no freedom, nothing is being done, it is difficult, until this changes, to become different, normal, that we are together, work and create. It is difficult for us to live, and they (special police units) are there with rifles and machineguns. You see the roads, potholes after potholes, no one is fixing it. Madness, there is no law, there is nothing”, Savic said.

Citizens in Mitrovica North, the portal spoke to, had no nice words about their own local authorities either, with one of them saying “everything went downhill”.

“I do not know what decisions they made, no one asked us anything. They do their job. Everything went downhill”, he said.

“Over the last year, unfortunately, many people have left northern Kosovska Mitrovica, citizens are deprived of many things, dinar has been abolished and because of it we receive salaries in euros”, a female resident of Mitrovica North said.

One of the interviewed citizens had a glimpse of optimism. He said some new houses were reconstructed by members of the Bosniak community and that was nice. He wested his hope on Serbia and the EU and that things would become better.

Deda: Kosovo today is a collective defeat of building an inclusive society (KiM radio)

"Kosovo needs to implement the commitment it has taken, we have the signature of Vjosa Osmani, Albin Kurti and the President of the Assembly who said that they will fulfill a list of demands, that list of demands is the creation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities next year," said Ilir Deda, member of the European Future project and former member of the Kosovo Parliament in the Aequitas podcast show, reported KiM radio.

Deda believes that Kosovo today represents a collective defeat of building an inclusive society.

According to him, in inter-ethnic relations there is tremendous mistrust and great distance between Serbs and Albanians, while there is great political polarization among Albanians. When it comes to the lack of formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities, Deda believes that it is a mistake by the Kosovo authorities that will cost them dearly.

"The formation process should and would start with the Government adopting that draft, which is an official document of the European Union and the Constitutional Court, because in 2015 the Constitutional Court requested that the Statute be submitted to them by the Government and no other mechanism, not by the Assembly, not by the President, but by the Government, in order for the Constitutional Court to see whether the draft and the Statute, which the communities with a Serbian majority, after the local elections, will adopt in accordance with the Constitution. I have never been a supporter of party interests being more important than general interests. But here, this Balkan of ours is like that, where party interests are more important, and the collective suffers because of it," he states.

When asked what punitive measures Kosovo will bear due to non-fulfillment of the demands to which itself has agreed, Ilir Deda points out that it will be left without IPA funds, the growth plan package, as well as membership in the Council of Europe. He is most concerned about the escalation of the security situation.

"That is what worries me, especially now that we have a kind of political vacuum due to the elections for the European Parliament, the creation of the new European Union Commission and the elections in the United States of America, because the Balkans do not function normally in a vacuum. Here we have such irresponsible leadership, which can sacrifice people's lives for their stupidity. During the next six months, it is very important to exert as much pressure as possible, to have a process of managing the situation, and not to allow the vacuum that is in front of us anyway," concludes Deda.

In the Aequitas podcast, Deda spoke about the current situation of Serbs in Kosovo, the upcoming elections, what Serbs and Albanians can change in their societies in order to live better in the future, instead of living in the past, and many other topics.

The Aequitas podcast is part of the Barabar project supported by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), reported KiM radio.

‘We Speak Because They Cannot’ panel in NYC hears witness testimonies (N1, media)

I wanted to once again say that Serbia has never been silent on the horrendous events that took place in Srebrenica, on the contrary, we arrested, apprehended, and extradited anyone who was individually responsible for those crimes, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in New York.

I am touched by the testimonies of all the Serbs who came here to testify of what they experienced 30 years ago, Vucic told the panel discussion titled “We Speak Because They Cannot” that heard testimonies from Serb victims and witnesses of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The panel debate was hosted by Serbia’s Permanent Mission to the UN at the UN headquarters in New York.

This is just a group of people living in the US. We did not bring here hundreds of thousands of people of Serbian origin from Bosnia and Serbia. We wanted to show that the truth is not one-sided, and never has been. This is precisely what some of the victims said, explained Vucic.

International

Muslim majority Kosovo considers same-sex unions amid fierce opposition (Reuters)

In a Pristina apartment, gay actors laugh and cry their way through rehearsals for a play lampooning homophobic politicians and advocating equal rights for the LGBT community in Kosovo, which may soon become the first Muslim-majority country to allow same-sex unions.

The play is scheduled to run during Pride Week in June, but may also coincide with a vote in parliament on a new civil code legalising civil unions between people of the same gender. It is not clear exactly when the vote will be held, but Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said last month it would be soon.

The passage of the code, while still uncertain, would be a major boost for gay rights in the conservative Balkans country, although many in the community fear that it will not alter entrenched attitudes.

During rehearsals, lesbian play director Arlinda Morina said she would marry her partner if the law is passed. But she did not expect to become suddenly accepted in society.

"It will make a big noise and it will give a little shake to the country, but I don't believe it will change much the way we are treated," she told Reuters.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/xWGPK Kosovo's trade gap widens 12% y/y in April (seenews.com)

Kosovo's trade deficit expanded by 12.2% year-on-year in April, reaching 427.5 million euro ($462.88 million), the statistical office, ASK, said.

Exports increased 8.8% on the year to 73.2 million euro in April, while imports grew 11.7% to 500.7 million euro, ASK said in a statement on Wednesday.

Kosovo's main exports include metals and their by-products; plastic, rubber and their by-products; food, beverages, tobacco, diverse manufactured items and textiles.

See at: https://t.ly/3J50U Serbia reels at UN resolution on Srebrenica massacre (politico.eu)

Decades later, Belgrade is still determined to control the narrative over the slaughter of over 8,000 Bosniaks in 1995 during the Yugoslav war and mold it to its own interests.

BELGRADE — As the U.N. General Assembly prepares to vote on a resolution recognizing the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide on Thursday, Serbia has launched a full-blown diplomatic offensive to block the initiative.

“This will be the most difficult day since I became president and [was] prime minister,” said Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in an Instagram video Wednesday, with the Manhattan skyline in the background. “Tomorrow we will see who our real friends are.”

The resolution, sponsored by Germany and Rwanda, bestows U.N. recognition on what is regarded by many as the worst crime to happen in Europe since World War II: the slaughter by Bosnian Serb forces of over 8,000 Bosniaks in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, on and around July 11, 1995, during the brutal Yugoslav wars.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2hmkfcex UN Srebrenica resolution sets Balkan politicians at loggerheads (intellinews.com)

A growing number of countries in Southeast Europe are becoming embroiled in the row over a draft UN resolution declaring a day of remembrance for the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Sponsored by Germany and Rwanda, the resolution is set to be discussed at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on May 23. It faces strong opposition from Serbia, Bosnia's Republika Srpska and pro-Serbian politicians in Montenegro.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/25rj2r8x