Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti calls on west to take harder line against Serbia (media)

• Osmani meets Borrell; “Serbia must be held accountable” (media)

• Svecla claims “close associate of Vucic’s son was part of Banjska attack” (Koha) 

• Niksic: Serbia is lying, Radoicic did not buy the weapons here (media)

• Advisor: “Kurti to address act of Serbia’s aggression at Berlin Process (KSP)

• Stoltenberg: Situation in Kosovo is cause for great concern (Albanian Post)

• NATO Deputy Secretary: Time for de-escalation (Albanian Post)

• Gervalla congratulates O’Brien on confirmation of new post (media)

• Von Cramon: Package of measures prepared against Serbia (media)

• Reuten: European Union must sanction Serbia (media)

• Knaus: Attack in north, Serbia’s attempt to change borders with force (VoA)

• Kurti: Investments in weapons have increased by 191 percent (RFE)

• SPO arrests Ismet Bahtjari and Sabit Januzi (media)

• One-month detention for 16-year-old suspected of planning terrorist acts (media)

• Lajcak: Time for Western Balkans to make rapid progress toward EU now (media)

• Kosovo leaders condemns terrorist attacks against Israel (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Serbian President Vucic denies any role in violence in Kosovo (media, Sky News)
• Dacic: Meeting with Baerbock difficult but fair, double standards must be avoided (Tanjug)

• Vucic refutes allegations that his son has anything to do with Banjska events (KoSSev, N1, Kosovo Online)

• Djuric: Kurti day after day shows that he is not partner for normalization (Kosovo Online, social media)

• Stoltenberg: NATO ready to maintain peace in Kosovo, Belgrade and Pristina to return to dialogue (Tanjug, media)

• Elek: Medical reserves are being spent, ambulance vehicle with patient stopped and searched (Radio KIM, RTS, media)

• EULEX Head visits Visoki Decani Monastery, speaks with Abbot Janjic (Tanjug, media)

• Vucic condemns attack on Israel (N1, media)

International Media: 

• The spectre of a second war in Europe looms large with tensions extraordinarily high in Kosovo (Sky News)

• Additional British Troops Arrive In Kosovo To Bolster NATO Forces (RFE)

• Radovanovic: “Vucic commissioned, Radoicic executed event in Banjska” (The Geopost)

• Kosovo to Pay Over 20 Million Following Arbitration Loss to ContourGlobal (BIRN)

• Normalising Extremism: How Far-Right Narratives Spread in the Balkans (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

 

Kurti calls on west to take harder line against Serbia (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in an interview with Sky News on Saturday called on the international community west to take a harder line against Serbia after the attack against Kosovo Police in the north of Kosovo on September 24. "They [Serbia] deny because they are playing with Putin's playbook in Donbas. Little green men in northern part of Kosova. Not that little, but green men for sure, who wanted to start a war and divide Kosova," he said. 

See full interview at: https://tinyurl.com/44mbtju2

Osmani meets Borrell; “Serbia must be held accountable” (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met with EU High Representative Josep Borrell at the European Political Community in Granada, Spain. Osmani said they discussed “Serbia’s act of aggression against Kosovo”. “Serbia must be held accountable for its clear violation of Article 3 of the EU agreement of 27 Feb, which provides for the obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force,” Osmani said after the meeting.

Gervalla: EU should impose sanctions on Serbia (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla, said that during the Berlin Process Ministerial Meeting in Tirana on Friday she “emphasized that Serbia’s act of aggression” against Kosovo must be condemned universally and resolutely. She also argued that the European Union should impose sanctions on Serbia.

Svecla claims “close associate of Vucic’s son was part of Banjska attack” (Koha)

Kosovo’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Xhelal Svecla, said on Sunday that as part of investigations into the September 24 attack in Banjska, a personal document and vehicle of Milorad Jevtic were found. “At the site of the attack, police units have found the personal document and vehicle belonging to Milorad Jevtic, which proves that he was part of the unit that attacked the Kosovo Police,” Svecla said. According to him, Jevtic is known as one of the closest associates of the son of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Danilo Vucic. “From four out of five last five visits of Vucic’s son to Kosovo, they were in the same car together. Milorad Jevtic has also been identified as one of the attackers against KFOR soldiers on May 29 in Zvecan. It is up to security and investigation bodies to find out if in addition to Vucic and senior Serbian state structures, his son was also part of planning and organizing the terrorist attack in Banjska near Zvecan,” Svecla wrote. 

Dukagjini published a video on Sunday where Jevtic is seen accompanying Danilo Vucic during his stay in Kosovo, in Gracanica, in late June.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in an Instagram post on Sunday evening that his son had nothing to do with the attack in Banjska and criticized Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti for accusing his family. “The first characteristic of a coward that a person notices is that they attack the families of others, children, because they always seem like the easiest targets,” Vucic wrote. 

Niksic: Serbia is lying, Radoicic did not buy the weapons here (media)

Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nermin Niksic, ruled out allegations that weapons used by Milan Radoicic’s group against Kosovo Police in the attack in Banjska were bought in Tuzla, saying that these are false and unsubstantiated claims. “I understand that in the last couple of days Serbia was exposed to major pressure from democratic countries, but this doesn’t mean that they can look in Bosnia and Herzegovina for an alibi for their actions. Serbia cannot look for responsibility on this side of the border for arms supplies, training of paramilitary formations and groups of Serb citizens and local officials that caused the armed conflict in the north of Kosovo. Serbia’s intelligence services and its political leadership have unfortunately drafted a plan to transfer part of the responsibility to Bosnia and Herzegovina about the terrorist attack in a neighboring country. Given the political situation in our country, maybe they believed there would not be proper, swift and fact-based reactions. They have underestimated us again,” Niksic argued.

Advisor: “Kurti to address act of Serbia’s aggression at Berlin” (KSP)

Advisor to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Jeton Zulfaj, said in an interview with Kosovapress on Sunday that in his address at the Berlin Process Summit in Tirana, Albania, Kurti will talk about the need for regional cooperation and will also address “Serbia’s act of aggression against Kosovo on September 24”.

Stoltenberg: Situation in Kosovo is cause for great concern (Albanian Post)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, in an interview with Welt, said that the situation in Kosovo is very concerning after the September 24 events in Banjska near Zvecan and guaranteed that KFOR troops will safeguard peace in the region. He also said that NATO will not allow the violence of the 1990s in the territories of the former Yugoslavia to return.

Stoltenberg called on Kosovo and Serbia to return to the EU-facilitated dialogue for the normalization of relations “as this is the only way to reach sustainable peace for all communities”.

NATO Deputy Secretary: Time for de-escalation (Albanian Post)

NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoana, during his speech at the 2B Secure Forum in Budva, Montenegro, commented on the tense relations between Kosovo and Serbia, saying that the attack against Kosovo Police on September 24 and the attack against KFOR peacekeepers in late May are unacceptable and that violence must stop.

Geoana said around 200 soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment will join a 400-strong British contingent after the attack in Banjska and increased tensions in the mainly-Serb inhabited north of Kosovo.

“NATO, in response to increased tensions, has deployed hundreds of troops to Kosovo. The UK has 600 troops, and we stand ready to make further changes to the presence of KFOR as needed. KFOR will continue to monitor the situation upclose and we are ready to act,” he said. “We will always undertake all necessary actions to implement our mission according to UNSC Resolution 1244: to provide a safe environment and freedom of movement for all communities in Kosovo.”

Commenting on current developments, Geoana said NATO strongly supports the EU-facilitated dialogue for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, adding that unresolved issues need to be solved through political agreement and in the spirit of compromise. “This requires trust, patience and certainly compromise. The time is for de-escalation,” he said.

Gervalla congratulates O’Brien on confirmation of new post (media)

Kosovo’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla, in a post on X on Sunday, congratulated Jim O’Brien on his confirmation as the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. “We look forward to strengthening our strategic partnership with the United States, rooted in our shared values of democracy and freedom,” Gervalla said.

Von Cramon: Package of measures prepared against Serbia (media)

European Parliament’s Rapporteur on Kosovo, Viola von Cramon, said in an interview with Alice Taylor in Inside Albania podcast, confirmed that a package of measures has been prepared against Serbia in response to the armed attack against Kosovo Police in Banjska near Zvecan on September 24. “I wouldn’t call them sanctions because they need to be adopted by the Council. But these are political and financial measures, and they will certainly damage the government of Serbia,” she is quoted as saying. 

Von Cramon said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic needs to cooperate to ensure fair investigations into the September 24 events. “Vucic is control of most things happening in Serbia. It is difficult to believe that he was not aware of what was happening in terms of weapons purchases, or the organization of the aggressor group. I don’t think that Serbia has interests in a major military attack or war,” she argued.

Von Cramon also said that a new proposal is being prepared for the pending issues in dialogue between the parties. “I have heard that many diplomats are drafting another proposal on how to move forward. I cannot disclose more details for now,” she said.

Reuten: European Union must sanction Serbia (media)

Dutch member of the European Parliament, Thijs Reuten, in an interview on Inside Albania podcast, commented on the situation in Kosovo after the attack in the north, saying that it is clear which party is destabilizing the situation and called on the European Union to sanction Serbia. “Regardless of numerous criticisms for several months by the [European] Parliament, sanctions were imposed only against Kosovo and not the aggressor and the main cause of destabilization and provocations that we have seen in times,” he argued.

According to Reuten “the EU should abandon the policy of appeasing Vucic, because it is not functioning. Every time that Vucic went back from Brussels to Belgrade and proudly said that he did not sign anything, Commissioner Varhelyi knocked on his door with 600 million euros! This needs to end”.

Reuten said it was important for the parties to return to the dialogue but only after provocations stop. “Everything that happened not only last week but also in the months after the Ohrid Agreement, is part of a long list of provocations. The right atmosphere needs to be created for the parties to sit at the table again and work on normalization,” he said.

Knaus: Attack in north, Serbia’s attempt to change borders with force (VoA)

Head of the European Stability Initiative, Gerald Knaus, said in an interview with the Voice of America, that the September 24 attack by an armed Serb group in the north of Kosovo was an attempt by Serbia to change borders with force and part of preparations followed by an inciting rhetoric and armament for an armed confrontation. Knaus said that developments in the Western Balkans should be an alarm bell for the European Union to review its policy toward the region, including the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, which in his opinion has turned into a problem and not a solution.

Kurti: Investments in weapons have increased by 191 percent (RFE)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a Facebook post on Sunday that during his governance the budget for the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) has been doubled and that nearly 2,000 new soldiers were recruited during this period. “Our army today is more professional and more prepared because during this period 3,325 soldiers have completed professional training abroad. They are better skilled than before and investments in weapons have increased by 191 percent. We have also added the Bayraktar drones to our military arsenal,” Kurti said.

The news website notes that Kosovo is in the process of transforming the KSF into an army. The process started in 2018 and is expected to last ten years.

SPO arrests Ismet Bahtjari and Sabit Januzi (media)

Ismet Bahtjari and Sabit Januzi have been arrested in Kosovo by the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO), pursuant to an arrest warrant and transfer order issued by a Pre-Trial Judge of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers. They have been transferred to the Detention Facilities of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague and will appear before a Pre-Trial Judge of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers without undue delay, the SPO said in a statement on Friday.

“Bahtjari and Mr Januzi were arrested for offences against the administration of justice, including intimidation during criminal proceedings under Article 387 of the 2019 Kosovo Criminal Code (KCC), Code No. 06/L-074 and obstructing official persons in performing official duties within the meaning of Article 401(1), (2) and (5) of the KCC in violation of Article 15(2) of Law No. 05/L-53 on Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office. The Pre-Trial Judge has found a well-grounded suspicion that Mr Bahtjari and Mr Januzi tried to dissuade a witness from testifying in Specialist Chambers proceedings,” the statement notes.

One-month detention for 16-year-old suspected of planning terrorist acts (media)

The Basic Court in Pristina has ordered a one-month detention for a 16-year-old suspected of planning terrorist acts in Peja. The prosecution said the suspect was detained “because over several months he made plans and preparations to carry out a wide attack against several pupils in a school in Peja”. According to the prosecution, the suspect was planning to carry out the attack in late October. A defence attorney on the other hand said the only evidence that the prosecution has presented was a comment on a video on Facebook. 

Kosovo’s Deputy Minister for Education, Taulant Kelmendi, said in a reaction that “it is important that the authorities reacted in time to prevent a big tragedy”.

Lajcak: Time for Western Balkans to make rapid progress toward EU now (media)

EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, said in his address at the 2B Secure Forum in Budva, Montenegro, that “the time for the Western Balkans to make rapid progress on their EU paths is now”. “This year, the forum focused on the challenges and opportunities that arise in the era of great power competition, particularly focusing on the aspects of security and democracy. My panel focused on the future of the Western Balkans. I highlighted that the challenges each one of the WB6 faces are unique and you cannot use a one-fits-all-approach. The different circumstances and stages on their individual journeys to the 🇪🇺, require unique and tailormade approaches from our side. At the same time, the urgency of including new members in the Union, underscored by the war in Ukraine, is not met with enthusiasm, but rather with stagnation and backsliding in the region. This has to change quickly as the time for EU integration is now. While in Montenegro, I also met with Prime Minister-Designate of Montenegro Milojko Spajic. We spoke about the need for a stable pro-European government coalition, which ensures that Montenegro seizes the current pro-enlargement momentum,” Lajcak wrote in a Facebook post.

Kosovo leaders condemns terrorist attacks against Israel (media)

Kosovo leaders reacted on Saturday to the terrorist attacks against Israel, with Prime Minister Albin Kurti condemning them and saying “our thoughts are with the people of Israel during this incredibly challenging time. We condemn all acts of violence and stand in unwavering solidarity with those affected”. President Vjosa Osmani said in a post on X that “Kosovo is appalled by the terror attacks and killings of innocent civilians in Israel. We express our full solidarity with President Isaac Herzog, the people, and the State of Israel in these dark hours. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims”. Assembly Speaker Glauk Konjufca said “we stand in solidarity with the state of Israel and its people during this challenging time. On behalf of the Parliament of Kosova, I extend our heartfelt condolences to the families who lost their loved ones.”

Israel’s Ambassador to Kosovo, Tammy Ziv, said in a post on X: “We are deeply grateful for the unwavering support from our friends in Kosovo. Your support holds immense significance to us in these extremely dark and difficult days. As the situation in Israel continues to develop, our hearts and thoughts are with the families and communities in the southern region.”

U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, said in a post on X on Sunday: “The United States unequivocally condemns the appalling attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israel, including civilian communities. There is never any justification for terrorism. We stand in solidarity with Israel and extend our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks.”

Serbian Language Media

Serbian President Vucic denies any role in violence in Kosovo (media, Sky News)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has denied any role in recent violence in Kosovo after an armed incident that took place in Banjska village, northern Kosovo in late September, Serbian media report citing the interview Vucic gave for Sky News.

As Sky News further reported the Serbian government claims that it was an act of resistance to hardline nationalist policies which they claim are causing fear amongst the minority ethnic Serb population.

President Vucic says he knows why this is happening.

He said: "Everybody can understand, because those people were mainly expelled from their thresholds. Many of them were shot by Kosovo police, even kids, 11 years old, and no one was held accountable for that."

Watch the full interview at: https://tinyurl.com/yhub5e8j

Dacic: Meeting with Baerbock difficult but fair, double standards must be avoided (Tanjug)

Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Friday he had had a "difficult but fair" meeting with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Tirana, adding he pointed out that double standards must be avoided in a resolution of Kosovo issue, as well as that the latest escalation there was a result of failure to implement the provisions of the Brussels Agreement.

He noted that Baerbock had told him the crisis in Kosovo was a result of failure to comply with the Ohrid Agreement, which also includes the Brussels Agreement, and that she believed a Community of Serb Municipalities must be formed.

"We pointed out that failure to respect the Brussels Agreement, the terror against the Serbs and the passiveness of the international community when it comes to stopping (Albin) Kurti are the problem", Dacic said.

He said Serbia had been the party that had been warning for years that failure to respect the Brussels Agreement led to an escalation of problems.

Vucic refutes allegations that his son has anything to do with Banjska events (KoSSev, N1, Kosovo Online)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic refuted allegations of Kosovo Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla that his son Danilo has any connection with the armed group and September 24 events in Banjska.

“He has no links to anything, apart from loving Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija as its integral part in line with the UN Charter”, Vucic said.

“Tonight (Albin) Kurti accused my family, my first-born son Danilo, himself does not know how this happened that he somehow took part, as he said, in a terrorist attack in Banjska. The first feature of a coward everybody notices is when someone attacks other people's families, children, because to them they always seem like the easiest targets. Danilo, of course, has nothing to do with anything, except that he loves Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija as part of it, in accordance with the UN Charter. You (Kurti) tried to take off his shirt with (people) armed with long-barrelled weapons, but you didn't succeed. You insulted my daughter in “the heroic and manly” way that only you can. The terrorist in Kosovo is only you, because you kill and terrorize the Serbian people, and don't worry about Danilo, he is a brave young man, never and in no way similar to you (…)", Vucic wrote in a post on his official Instagram account.

Petkovic: Kurti and Svecla obsessed with Vucic, do not spare children either

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic reacting to the allegations of Kosovo Interior Minister Xhellal Svecla on alleged links of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s son Danilo with Banjska September 24 incident said that “Svecla and Kurti are obsessed with the family of President Vucic and pathologically attack all of them, not even spearing the children”, N1 reports.

"Kurti's extremist Svecla blatantly lied and attacked President Vucic, in order to try, albeit unsuccessfully, to link Serbia to the events in Banjska. Svecla and Kurti are obsessed with the Vucic family, so they pathologically attack all of them, not even sparing the children", Petkovic wrote in a post on social network X (Twitter).

Serbian List also rejected allegations of the Pristina authorities about the incident in Banjska and alleged links to it, terming them as fabrications.

The Serbian List also accused the Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti of being behind this. “In an attempt to link tragic events in Banjska with the Serbian state, he now went one step further and together with his errand boy Svecla fabricated the story that even the President's son Danilo Vucic was involved in those events”, Serbian List said in a statement.

Djuric: Kurti day after day shows that he is not partner for normalization (Kosovo Online, social media)

Serbian Ambassador to US, Marko Djuric reacting to allegations Pristina made in relation to the alleged links of the President’s Vucic son Danilo with Banjska incident said that “dangerous hybrid conflict of Albin Kurti with Serbia has no respite, despite permanent calls from US and the EU”, Kosovo Online portal reports.

“Simultaneously on the ground, the reign of terror continues on a daily basis - today Kurti's forces stormed an ambulance and prevented the delivery of vital provisions to a medical facility. Yesterday, they conducted training flights of killer drones over Djakovica, thus continuing the unprecedented buildup of Kurti's special forces in the north of Kosovo* in defiance of Article 9 of the Brussels Agreement for the 20th month in a row”, Djuric wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.

“Day after day, month after month, Kurti is demonstrating to the entire world that he is not a partner for normalization, that he never plans to fulfil the obligation of forming the Community of Serb-majority municipalities, and that he wants all Serbs out”, Djuric added. 

Stoltenberg: NATO ready to maintain peace in Kosovo, Belgrade and Pristina to return to dialogue (Tanjug, media)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO forces are ready to maintain peace in Kosovo, and that they “will not allow return of violence from 1990-ies”, Tanjug news agency reports.

In an interview with German newspaper Velt he called upon Belgrade and Pristina to return to the negotiations under the EU’s auspices, adding that this path is the only sustainable means for reaching the lasting peace for all communities.

“I want to make it clear that NATO forces are ready to preserve the peace in Kosovo. We will not allow violence from 1990-ies to return”, he said. 

Elek: Medical reserves are being spent, ambulance vehicle with patient stopped and searched (Radio KIM, RTS, media)

The supply of medicines and medical materials is getting difficult in northern Kosovo. Antibiotics, saline solutions, and oxygen are missing. The hospital in Mitrovica is still functioning, emergency surgical interventions and births are being performed, however, what is worrying is that we are facing an obvious humanitarian disaster, Clinical Hospital Centre Director Zlatan Elek told Serbian public broadcaster RTS on Sunday, Radio KIM reports. He also said that the ambulance transporting the patient was stopped and searched by Kosovo police that night as well.

Elek also said that reserves are currently being spent and that the problem with supplies deteriorated with the arrival of current Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to power. He appealed to the international community, World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNMIK and EULEX to help resolve the problem of medical supplies for the hospital.

Ambulance vehicle transporting patient searched by police

Elek also said that one ambulance vehicle transporting a patient from Belgrade was stopped by Kosovo police and searched in Zubin Potok, and medical personnel, as he said, were thrown out of the vehicle with hands up.

He said there have been more than 210 such stoppings in the last four to five months. He opined implementation of the Brussels agreement that ensures continuous stability is a solution so they could provide services to all patients, regardless of their ethnic or religious background.

“Also now we have Albanian patients that are being treated the same as everybody else. Therefore, it remains that we hope someone from the international community will realize the situation and help us”, he said.

EULEX Head visits Visoki Decani Monastery, speaks with Abbot Janjic (Tanjug, media)

Head of EULEX Mission in Kosovo Giovanni Barbano visited the Serbian Orthodox Church Visoki Decani Monastery yesterday and spoke with Abbot Sava Janjic, Tanjug news agency reports.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) Giovanni said he had a positive meeting with Abbott Sava at the magnificent Decani Monastery.

“In these challenging times, it is crucial to keep on bolstering the safety of all Kosovo communities where religious leaders can play a crucial role in fostering peaceful inter-communal messages & relations”, Giovanni said. 

Vucic condemns attack on Israel (N1, media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic condemned Saturday morning's attacks on Israel, N1 reports.

“We condemn the horrific attacks on Israel. The Jewish people have endured a history of suffering and Israel deserves to live in peace and with security. Now, more than ever, the world needs Israelis and Palestinians to come together and put a stop to the violence”, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Several dozen attackers of the militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel Saturday morning on paragliders and motorbikes, while over 2,500 rockets were simultaneously fired from the Gaza Strip. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country is in a state of war and the enemy will face the consequences. Not long after, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves.

International Media

The spectre of a second war in Europe looms large with tensions extraordinarily high in Kosovo (Sky News)

A late September siege in Kosovo raised the spectre that another Balkan conflagration may be simmering below the surface of what had been a period of relative calm.

The Kosovo police are reasserting their authority in these northern territories after gunmen stormed the village of Banjske in the valley below.

The attack, by more than thirty heavily armed ethnic Serb paramilitaries in late September was the worst explosion of violence in this nascent state for many years.

The siege lasted many hours and cost the life of one police officer - it also raised the spectre that another Balkan conflagration may be simmering below the surface of what for many had been a period of relative calm.

The reasons behind the uprising are disputed and point to the complications that are knitted into the fabric of life here, it also means there's no room for complacency.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/4k42ekwa

Additional British Troops Arrive In Kosovo To Bolster NATO Forces (RFE)

A contingent of 200 British troops began arriving in Kosovo late on October 6, NATO and Britain’s Defense Ministry reported. The troops will bolster the 400-strong British force already in the country as part of an annual NATO exercise there. The additional troops will be under NATO command and authorized to conduct operations under the KFOR mandate. The deployment comes amid high tensions triggered by an attack late last month by ethnic Serbian forces on Kosovar police officers in northern Kosovo. Germany said on October 6 that it would deploy an additional 155 troops to Kosovo beginning in April 2024.

Radovanovic: “Vucic commissioned, Radoicic executed event in Banjska” (The Geopost)

I think that the state of Serbia is behind what happened in Banjska in Kosovo, and we are yet to see the exciting twists and turns of the already bloody drama, says Rade Radovanovic, a journalist and publicist, in an interview for TheGeopost.

Radovanovic is the author of the book “Laughter under the Gallows: Everything You Wished You Didn’t Know About the War in Kosovo”, which, translated into Albanian (by Flaka Surroi), was also published in Kosovo.

The interlocutor of TheGeopost believes that the recent events in Banjska were not organized on the personal initiative of Milan Radoicic, no matter what Vucic said.

“He (Radoicic) is the implementer of a certain, I think, state initiative that can also be defined as para-state, that is, the state of Serbia, and then as such he is a dangerous witness because it is unlikely that under certain conditions of a fair procedure such a witness would agree to anything and everything and protected someone who approved it and was aware of it, namely Aleksandar Vucic”.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/mw98u8t7

Kosovo to Pay Over 20 Million Following Arbitration Loss to ContourGlobal (BIRN)

The Government of Kosovo has officially lost the arbitration case against ‘Contour Global,’ resulting in an enforced compensation payment of over 20 million euros.

Arsim Zuka, a lawyer at the State Advocacy, confirmed this to BIRN.

“The State Advocacy has accepted the final decision of the International Court of Arbitration [ICA],” he said.

Zuka added, “The Arbitration’s ruling mandates the Republic of Kosovo to pay ‘ContourGlobal’ the sum of 20,053,125.63 euros.”

He emphasized that the State Attorney’s Office and the contracted legal representative have analyzed the final arbitration decision and according to Zuka the decision will be challenged in the civil court in the United Kingdom.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2p84hju5

Normalising Extremism: How Far-Right Narratives Spread in the Balkans (BIRN)

From racism to misogyny and anti-LGBT rhetoric, the use of far-right talking points by mainstream politicians and public figures has become increasingly commonplace in the Western Balkans in recent years, an analysis by BIRN’s team of experts shows.

Hate-filled comments about migrants, Roma people and the LGBT community. Praise for authoritarian regimes like Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Misogynistic and sexist abuse. Conspiracy theories about George Soros, Covid vaccines and the so-called ‘Great Replacement Theory’, a far-right notion that there is a plot to supplant white European Christians with Muslims and non-white immigrants.

These are just some of the narratives often used by right-wing extremists that have also entered mainstream discourse in the Western Balkans in recent years.

BIRN’s analysis of the situation in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia shows how mainstream politicians and other prominent public figures have used talking points that sound like they come from the far right, even though they may not be right-wing extremists themselves. Indeed, some of those who have used such talking points claim to be on the left of politics.

These narratives have regularly been amplified by social media and, in some countries, by mainstream media outlets with links to government, often to the point where extreme viewpoints can seem unremarkable to the general public.

Western Balkan countries’ troubled histories – the armed conflicts of the 1990s; the difficult transitions to democracy and free-market capitalism; problems with poverty, corruption and bad governance – have made it easier for extremist narratives to find space in the public discourse as expressions of discontent.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2s35shwm