UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, March 25, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Kosovo leaders’ messages on 25th anniversary of NATO aerial campaign (media)
Kosovo authorities: Kosovo’s status in NATO PA advanced (media)
O’Brien: We made it clear to Serbia that use of force against Kosovo unacceptable (media)
Kosovo pledges to form Association after Council of Europe membership (Koha)
Bislimi: Serbia destructive approach by refusing to sign agreement (media)
Kosovo, Serbia chief negotiators to meet in Brussels today (media)
Kurti hosts ambassadors of Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Luxembourg (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Serbia marks 25 years since beginning of NATO bombing (N1, BETA, RTS, media)
Vucic speaks at Remembrance Day ceremony, says Serbia will not join NATO (Kosovo Online)
Anniversary of NATO bombing of Serbia commemorated in Serbian areas in Kosovo (Kosovo Online, media)
Vucevic: Global views on 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia changing (Tanjug, FoNet)
Anniversary of NATO bombing of Serbia, Western ambassadors mourn innocent victims (N1, Hina)
Russian MFA: NATO intervention against FRY an act of gross violation of international law (RTS)
Von Cramon reacts to Vucic’s statement that Serbia will leave Council of Europe (N1, FoNet)
Dacic, Brnabic react to von Cramon’s statement on Serbia and Council of Europe (N1, FoNet, social media)
Dacic: No threat of terrorism in Serbia (N1)
Serbian flag on the Zvecan fortress was taken down then returned, again (KoSSev)
Dacic concludes visit to Moscow (Tanjug, media)

International Media:

‘I thought it Was a Celebration’: Six Months On, Kosovo Citizens Recall Banjska Bloodshed (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

Kosovo leaders’ messages on 25th anniversary of NATO aerial campaign (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said on Sunday on the 25th anniversary of the NATO aerial campaign that “25 years ago, our NATO allies united in strength and purpose to bring an end to the brutality of Milosevic's genocidal regime. The intervention saved countless lives and laid the foundations for the free and democratic country we cherish today. Forever grateful. Thank You NATO!”

In another post on X, Osmani said that together with ambassadors from allied countries in Kosovo, they honored the service and sacrifice of brave NATO soldiers–the women and men who served in our country. “On the 25th anniversary of the NATO intervention, our message remains the same: Thank You NATO!”

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a post on X that “25 years ago, NATO began its aerial bombing campaign, one of the most successful humanitarian interventions in history, which stopped the unspeakable horrors of genocide. We are always grateful to the world leaders & the countries involved, who used politics to protect humanity.”

Kosovo authorities: Kosovo’s status in NATO PA advanced (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said on Sunday that the Standing Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly “made a pivotal decision to upgrade the status of the 🇽🇰 Parliament to that of an associate member. This will enable the voice of the most pro-NATO people on Earth to be heard, as we continue to make strides toward full membership.”

Kosovo’s Minister of Defense Ejup Maqedonci, and Vetevendosje MP Dritan Hyseni too shared the news, with Maqedonci calling it “a big step forward for the security & prosperity of Kosovo and the region. Membership in both NATO and EU is essential for every democratic country”.

Hyseni, who chairs the Kosovo Assembly’s delegation at the NATO PA, said “this is the highest level of representation at the Parliamentary Assembly until the full member of Kosovo in NATO” and that the decision would be made official through a vote at the NATO PA on May 27. “With the increased level of Kosovo’s representation at the NATO Assembly, our delegation will expand, we will have greater inclusion in the Assembly’s decision and we will have the right to address amendments and comments for every process and document treated by the Assembly, and which we earlier had to do through the delegations of other countries, mainly Albania,” Hyseni said in a Facebook post.

O’Brien: We made it clear to Serbia that use of force against Kosovo unacceptable (media)

U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, James O’Brien, said in an online meeting with journalists that the United States have made it clear to Serbia that any use of force against Kosovo would be unacceptable. He also said that the US is tracking Serbia’s military movements along its border with Kosovo. “In Serbia, President Vucic knows well that any use of force against Kosovo would be unacceptable. That would be regarded as putting in danger the NATO troops who are there in order to protect the population, whether ethnically Serb or Albanian,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien also said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said there will be no use of force. “These exercises, yes, we are tracking them, but the key point here is that both sides need to reduce the tensions around the region and that involves actions that are directly related to the exercises,” he added.

Several news websites in Kosovo highlighted another statement by O’Brien from the online briefing, quoting him as saying that “the current step for Kosovo to take is to advance in its course with the Council of Europe. For it to do that, the Council of Europe rapporteur has made clear that substantial progress and then the implementation of the association must be done. Now, if some governing body or a referendum or some step in Kosovo wants to make a different decision, that’s of course your right. But the consequence would be turning away from the path that Kosovo has said it wants to take for the last 15 to 20 years.”

Kosovo pledges to form Association after Council of Europe membership (Koha)

The daily reported on its front page on Sunday that the rapporteur on Kosovo at the Council of Europe, Dora Bakoyannis, has received the pledge of Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Assembly Speaker Glauk Konjufca that Kosovo will form the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, but after Kosovo becomes a member of the Council of Europe. Meanwhile, Serbia has threatened to leave the Council of Europe if Kosovo becomes a member.

Bislimi: Serbia showed destructive approach by refusing to sign agreement (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and chief negotiator in the EU-facilitated talks with Serbia, Besnik Bislimi, said in a Facebook post on Sunday that Serbia showed a destructive approach toward Kosovo by refusing to sign the Brussels Agreement and the Implementation Annex. He said that Kosovo is continuing its engagement “by showing constructiveness and being an active party that continues to make proposals in the dialogue”.

Bislimi said the Kurti-led government returned the process of dialogue on the right track. “Electricity in the north is being paid for the first time now. The illegal license plates were removed. Rule and order now prevail in every corner of the country. The process of dialogue turned to the path of normalization and mutual recognition, but our northern neighbor continues to refuse this, as it has done with the Basic Agreement reached in Brussels and the Implementation Annex reached in Ohrid,” he argued.

Kosovo, Serbia chief negotiators to meet in Brussels today (media)

Chief negotiators from Kosovo and Serbia, Besnik Bislimi and Petar Petkovic, will meet in Brussels today, and there are different expectations from discussions on the use of the Serbian Dinar in Kosovo. Koha Ditore quotes political commentators in Pristina as saying that they are optimistic an agreement will be reached. They argue that the regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo, which provides that the Euro is the sole currency for payments in Kosovo, is legitimate, but also that modalities need to be find for its implementation on the ground without having a negative impact on Kosovo Serb citizens.

Kurti hosts ambassadors of Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Luxembourg (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti hosted the ambassadors of the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Finland and Luxembourg, in a meeting in Pristina, and the focus of the discussion was the process of Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe. Kurti thanked for the friendly meeting between them and highlighted the importance of cooperation and joint efforts in advancing Kosovo’s aspirations for membership in the Council of Europe.

A press release issued by the Kosovo government notes that Kurti “spoke about the actions taken by the government in the last three years which have brought positive results in improving the rule of law, advancing democracy and socio-economic progress, this progress is recognized and proven by various international reports.”

Serbian Language Media

Serbia marks 25 years since beginning of NATO bombing (N1, BETA, RTS, media)

On Sunday, Serbia marked 25 years since the beginning of the NATO bombing of the-then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SRJ), N1 reported. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, said on that occasion that on March 24, 1999, “19 of the most powerful and strongest attacked Serbia without any right and for the first time without a decision of the UN Security Council“.

“They destroyed our country for 78 days. They killed children. Tore our territory. Nevertheless, despite everything, Serbia lives. Awakened. Stronger, Braver. Defiant. And most of all, free. Freedom is more important than air, freedom will never be taken away from us. Long live Serbia“, Vucic wrote in a post on his official Instagram account.

During the 78 days of NATO airstrikes on Yugoslavia, over 1,000 people were killed, and thousands more were wounded. Infrastructure, military and civilian facilities were severely damaged, and the damage was estimated at around $ 30 billion, N1 reported. RTS reported that more than 1.100 members of the army and police have been killed, while the total number of civilian victims still remains unknown. The youngest civilian victim was 11-months old Bojana Tosovic, from Merdare. The estimates include the figure of around 2.000 to 2.500 people, including members of the police and the army, RTS said.

The action was carried out without the approval of the United Nations Security Council.

The bombing ended with the signing of the Kumanovo Agreement on June 9, 1999, the following day UN SC Resolution 1244 was adopted, and the Yugoslav army withdrew from Kosovo.

Vucic speaks at Remembrance Day ceremony, says Serbia will not join NATO (Kosovo Online)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, speaking in Prokuplje at commemoration of Day of Remembrance for those who perished in the NATO bombing in 1999, said Serbia would never enter NATO, but would instead preserve and protect its military neutrality, Kosovo Online portal reported.

Noting that Pristina was granted an associate member status in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Vucic "thanked" the Alliance for it, adding this was enough to ensure that Serbia never joined that alliance.

"Thank you, just so we know that we will never join NATO, that we will preserve and protect our military neutrality. And when you accept them into the Council of Europe, we will have an answer to that as well. That's enough about your lies, about sanctions against Pristina and everything else; there's nothing you haven't rewarded them with, nothing you haven't punished Serbia with", Vucic said.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/aopxD

Anniversary of NATO bombing of Serbia commemorated in Serbian areas in Kosovo (Kosovo Online, media)

The 25th anniversary of NATO bombing of the-then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SRJ) was commemorated in Serbian areas in Kosovo, in presence of Office for Kosovo and Metohija officials, Serbian List representatives, Provisional Municipal Authorities, local municipalities, citizens, friends and families members of those who perished during the bombing, Kosovo Online portal reported.

A memorial service was held by Raska-Prizren Eparchy priests and wreaths laid in front of the cross erected in honor of fallen Serbs in the yard of the Cultural Centre in Gracanica. The director of the National Library in Gracanica, Brankica Kostic, emphasized that for Serbs “the time was divided into two - before and after the war”. Commemoration was also held in Strpce. Representatives of SUBNOR (Alliance of Fighters Associations of People's Liberation Wars) from Strpce laid flowers at the memorial in the courtyard of the Church of St. John in this town. By laying the wreaths at Brothers Milic Square commemoration was also held in Mitrovica North.

Assistant Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Milena Parlic, Serbian List Vice President, Dragisa Milovic, families and friends of the victims, as well as numerous citizens laid wreaths and lit candles for the 13 persons killed in Zvecan municipality in 1999.

"That relentless bombing was not only targeting military barracks but also civilians. Kindergartens, schools, bridges, highways, and companies were destroyed. 37,000 cluster bombs were dropped, and ammunition containing depleted uranium, which is banned, was used. After 25 years, we see the consequences of this ammunition in the increasing number of people suffering from severe diseases, both among the young and the old", Milovic said.

In Leposavic commemoration was held in memory of 24 victims from this municipality. Zoran Todic, Provisional Municipal Authority President, said that 25 years later Serbs “endure the institutional violence of the authorities in Pristina, which every day perpetrate pogroms and persecution against everything Serbian and bearing a Serbian name. It is our duty and obligation to never forget March 24, 1999, but to remember, to commemorate our fallen heroes who, defending their homeland, gave their lives in the events of the war”, Todic said.

Vucevic: Global views on 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia changing (Tanjug)

Outgoing Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Milos Vucevic said on Friday that, 25 years after the 1999 NATO bombing, Serbia remembered those events with sadness as well as with respect for its fighters and protectors of the fatherland, and noted that global views on the NATO bombing were increasingly changing, Tanjug news agency reported. At the opening of a commemorative international conference titled From An Aggression to a New, Just Order, Vucevic said more and more people in the world now thought and spoke freely about what had happened to Serbia 25 years ago.

He said March 24, 1999 - when the aggression began - had been a day of overwhelming sadness over the plight of a sovereign state and the death of international law. Serbia will never forget the children, civilians and fighters who died in the NATO aggression, he added. It was an act of injustice to the Serbs, who died in their millions in the fight against fascism and Nazism, in the fight for a more just world, and are a nation that was one of the founders of the League of Nations and the UN, he said.

"The aggression itself represented a headlong demise of justice and morality and was deeply unjust", Vucevic said. “An expulsion of Serbs from Kosovo that had begun after the aggression was still underway”, he added.

“Terror over the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija continues, they cannot get medical help, they cannot get staples, they cannot own property, they cannot use their money, they are unwanted in Kosovo and Metohija”, Vucevic said.

Anniversary of NATO bombing of Serbia, Western ambassadors mourn innocent victims (N1, Hina)

The ambassadors of France, Italy, Germany, Norway, the United States, and the United Kingdom in Serbia issued a joint statement on Saturday, marking the 25th anniversary of the start of NATO's bombing campaign against the-then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SRJ). They said it as a “military intervention that no one desired,“ expressing “profound regret for the loss of civilian lives in Kosovo and Serbia“, N1 reported.

NATO launched airstrikes on the territory of the-then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 24 March 1999. Its member states attempted to secure UN approval, but China and Russia opposed, announcing vetoes. Consequently, NATO launched airstrikes without UN authorisation, which lasted until 10 June 1999. An agreement was reached in Kumanovo, mandating the withdrawal of Yugoslav military and police forces from Kosovo and establishing the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

The withdrawal of the army and police was accompanied by the exodus of tens of thousands of Serb residents from Kosovo. In February 2008, the Kosovo parliament unilaterally declared independence, with a majority of Western support. The normalization process between Belgrade and Pristina began in April 2013 with the Brussels Agreement under the auspices of the EU. This process, characterized by mutual accusations, has been accompanied by constant tensions.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/gBCIY

Russian MFA: NATO intervention against FRY an act of gross violation of international law (RTS)

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of NATO bombing of the-then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SRJ), Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) recalled that Russia immediately condemned the military attacks of the North Atlantic Alliance, assessing it was a gross violation of international law, and that military operations of NATO and US against official Belgrade were undertaken without UN Security Council approval.

“As the Russian Prime Minister at that time, Yevgeny Primakov said, the attack of NATO was not just an aggressive attack against a certain state, but also an attack against an entire world order established after WWII”, the Russian Ministry said in a statement.

“According to information from the Serbian authorities, during barbaric bombardment around 2.500 people were killed, including 89 children. 12.500 people were injured and 1.500 settlements destroyed. The estimated material damages vary from 30 to 100 billion dollars”, the statement added.

“25 years ago the NATO planes showed to the world what so-called humanitarian intervention means, the term used by US leadership and NATO for the aerial attacks and bombardment of military and civilian targets in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, whose leadership, in order to preserve the integrity of the country, was forced to wage armed clash against Albanian separatists in Kosovo and Metohija”, reads the statement.

Von Cramon reacts to Vucic’s statement that Serbia will leave Council of Europe (N1, FoNet)

The European Parliament’s rapporteur for Kosovo, Viola von Cramon, said on Saturday that Serbia will not leave the Council of Europe (CoE), as President Aleksandar Vucic has hinted if Kosovo is admitted to this organization, N1 reported.

“A bluff of course. Of course, Serbia will not leave. The talk shouldn’t impress anyone. The members of the Council of Europe will decide for themselves whom they will accept. I don’t know what he’s saying against Kosovo’s membership“, Viola von Cramon wrote in a post on the X social network.

The Council of Europe confirmed that on March 27, the report on Kosovo will be on the session agenda of the Committee for Politics and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly. Kosovo applied for the Council of Europe membership on May 12, 2022.

Dacic, Brnabic react to von Cramon’s statement on Serbia and Council of Europe (N1, FoNet, social media)

Outgoing Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic strongly reacted to the statement of the European Parliament rapporteur for Kosovo Viola von Cramon that Serbia will not leave the Council of Europe in case Kosovo is admitted to this organization, as indicated by the President Aleksandar Vucic, adding it was “a bluff of course”.

In a written statement, Ivica Dacic said that Serbia is a sovereign state and “no one neither asked nor cared for the opinion of Viola von Cramon”. “The level of insolence which some European politicians show towards Serbia is astonishing. Who and what gives Viola von Cramon the right to insult Serbia, its President Aleksandar Vucic and the Serbian people? The fact that she is a proven lobbyist for (Albin) Kurti does not mean that she can dictate to Serbia and Vucic what we should do“, Dacic said. He pointed out that admission of Kosovo to the Council of Europe would be a precedent and a gross violation of the principles on which that body rests, because Kosovo is not an internationally recognized member of the UN.

Ana Brnabic said that Serbia was not bluffing and if the Council of Europe violates its statute and its values, and accepts Pristina as a member, Serbia should not be part of that hypocrisy and charade.

She recalled that April 19 marks 11 years since the signing of the Brussels Agreement, which was also signed by a high representative of the European Union, but there is still no Community of Serbian Municipalities in Kosovo which is part of that agreement. “Finally – what are the arguments against Kosovo membership in the CoE? The most important thing is the fact that, in accordance with international law, the UN Charter and UN Security Council Resolution 1244, Kosovo is an autonomous province of Serbia, not a European state“, she said.

She recalled the fact that Serbia’s European and other partners have on several occasions publicly and quite explicitly pointed out that the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities is an absolute prerequisite for any further discussion on Pristina’s accession to the Council of Europe or any other similar issue. “Did our European partners and others lie?“ she asked.

Dacic: No threat of terrorism in Serbia (N1)

The Serbian National Security Council met on Saturday in Belgrade, after the terrorist attack in Moscow. Minister of Foreign Affairs in technical mandate Ivica Dacic said, after the session, that there is no immediate knowledge that Serbia is threatened by a terrorist act, regardless of all the challenges the country is facing, N1 reported.

“The security situation in Serbia is stable. Of course, with the obligation that the police and all other state authorities, and I mean above all the security services, take all precautionary measures and preventive actions to prevent any possibility of a terrorist act or a serious breach of order and peace“, Dacic said.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who presided over the Council session, said in a post on his official Instagram account that the safety and security of the citizens of Serbia is a priority. “We will save our country in very complex geopolitical circumstances. The tasks have been divided and will be carried out“, Vucic said after the Council session.

Serbian flag on the Zvecan fortress was taken down then returned, again (KoSSev)

The Serbian national flag was hoisted on the Zvecan Fortress on Friday evening, after it was removed yet again in the late afternoon by unknown persons. Kosovo police said they don’t know who took it down, adding that they cannot open a case since no report has been filed, KoSSev portal reported.

The metal stand on which the flag was displayed for years has been damaged, probably caused by a drill, which indicates that this time an attempt was made to remove the stand itself. The residents of Zvecan confirmed the information for KoSSev, who put up a new flag and sent the photos to the portal. The KoSSev portal verified the information on the ground Saturday morning as the portal's reporter went to the field.

The hikers who were strolling along this path towards the fortress told KoSSev, they noticed an unknown man wearing jeans, a dark sweatshirt with a gray cap, and gray sneakers. The man was carrying a backpack, according to passers-by, who happened to be on the scene at that moment. The man was accompanied by a Stafford dog. He was reportedly spotted coming down the path less than 10 minutes after the locals noticed that the flag was no longer displayed on the fortress. Later, a man matching this description was photographed walking down the asphalt road from Mali Zvecan towards Brdjani settlement.

A group of locals told the portal that they reported the case to the police.

International Media

‘I thought it Was a Celebration’: Six Months On, Kosovo Citizens Recall Banjska Bloodshed (BIRN)

Bojana Milosevic was sleeping in the early hours of September 24 last year when she heard gunshots nearby.

“I thought they were from some wedding. People here celebrate marriages and child births with gunshots,” the 72-year-old told BIRN, seated on a low roadside terrace near her house in Banjska, a village near the northern Kosovo municipality of Zvecan.

Banjska made international headlines six months ago when a group of armed Serbs attacked a Kosovo police patrol, killing a sergeant.

“I thought: All the best for the couple who are getting married,” Bojana added.

At that moment, Bojana was sleeping in the upper floor of her home, which is located just in front of the hotel, close to the Serbian Orthodox monastery whose surroundings were the arena of a gunbattle between police and the armed group after the police officer’s murder. Her son was sleeping on the ground floor of the same house.