UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, May 31, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani: Perpetrators of attacks on NATO troops to be held accountable (media)
Police arrest Kosovo Serb in north suspected of identity theft (media)
Gervalla: Another war in the Balkans would be very welcomed by Russia (media)
Citaku says “very deep gap” between PDK and Vetevendosje (media)
Krasniqi: Three municipalities led by PDK mayors lead in transparency (Telegrafi)
Authorities in Kosovo arrest seven persons involved with AlbKings group (RFE)

Serbian Language Media:

Petkovic responds to Osmani’s remarks about impunity (Kosovo Online)
SL: The opening the Ibar bridge announcement is an unacceptable move with the aim of further destabilization (Kosovo Online)
Close Vulin's associate arrested in Leposavic for "identity theft", different names in Serbian and Kosovo documents (KoSSev)
Borrell's report: Minority representation in institutions and the use of both official languages are not respected in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)
Surlic: European draft CSM statute is not non-paper as Kurti represents it (Kosovo Online)
Gathering in Pristina for local elections in Presevo and Bujanovac - Kurti with mayoral candidates (KoSSev)
Emanuele Giaufret: We want Serbia in the EU as soon as possible, but accession is a merit-based process (NIN)

International:

NATO demands accountability for attacks on peacekeepers in north Kosovo (RFE)
Why do the 2024 EU elections matter for the Balkans? (Kosovo 2.0)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani: Perpetrators of attacks on NATO troops to be held accountable (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said today that the perpetrators of the attacks against NATO troops in the north of Kosovo in May last year must be held accountable. “Yesterday marked one year since the May 29th attacks on NATO soldiers in the north of Kosovo. As clearly proven by video footage and criminal investigation conducted by law enforcement agencies, 93 soldiers were injured, some with life-altering injuries, through attacks by Serb organized crime groups with clear political orders by Vucic’s regime and his gang leaders. Perpetrators, who are still running free around Serbia and protected by the Vucic regime, must be held accountable! Impunity has only emboldened them to repeat attacks, as clearly shown through the 24th of September act of aggression by Serbia. This was an attack against NATO, and those who ordered and executed it are clearly known. Impunity must end! We all owe it to the young soldiers who lost their limbs and whose lives have been changed forever because they put their life on the line for peace, security and safety of all citizens,” Osmani writes in a post on X.

Police arrest Kosovo Serb in north suspected of identity theft (media)

Several news websites report that Kosovo Police have arrested Marko Knezevic, a Serb from the north of Kosovo, who is suspected of “identity theft” and “access equipment”. The arrest was confirmed by Kosovo Police Deputy Director for the north, Veton Elshani. “This person has two identities – one for Serbian documents and one for Kosovo documents,” Elshani told Serbian media. He also said that the charges against the suspect could be reclassified depending on the course of investigations. “He is suspected of stealing someone’s data, but we will see, if it is not so, the qualification of the penal action will change”. Koha in its coverage notes that Knezevic was a close associate of Aleksandar Vulin, when the latter was head of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo. Under the headline “Serbian spy arrested in Mitrovica North”, Pristina-based TeVe1 TV station quotes unnamed sources as saying that during the search at Knezevic’s residence, police found and confiscated an ID showing that he is a member of the Serbian Ministry of Interior Affairs, other documents belonging to the said ministry, and several laptops.

Gervalla: Another war in the Balkans would be very welcomed by Russia (media)

Most news websites cover an interview that Kosovo Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla gave to NatSecDaily, highlighting her remark that “ Putin’s strategy is to keep the West distracted with various conflicts. So another war in the Balkans would be very welcomed by Russia”. She also said that “Putin speaks every week about Kosovo … It’s not about the geopolitical importance of Kosovo, but it is about the fact that Kosovo is a success story of the West, a success story of the United States of America, it’s a success story of NATO, a success story of the European Western countries”.

Serbian Language Media

Petkovic responds to Osmani’s remarks about impunity (Kosovo Online)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic in reaction to Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani’s remarks that those responsible for attacks on KFOR members “are walking free in Serbia”, said that those who shot Dragisa Galjak in the back {on May 29, during the clashes in front of Zvecan municipality} and brutally beaten up Dusan Obrenovic {arrested by KFOR prior to the clashes on May 29}, as well as 50 more Serbs during the protest one year ago are walking free.

“Those who shot Dragiša Galjak in the back and brutally beat Dušan Obrenović and 50 other Serbs walk freely with glaring impunity @VjosaOsmaniPRKS! For a year, Priština has terrorized Serbs, with your gauleiters ruling on just 3.5% of Albanian votes”, Petkovic said in a post on X media platform.

He added that the ruling regime in Kosovo turned municipalities in the north “into narcotics caves”.

"You closed the branches of the Postal Savings Bank and the cash office with armed force, and your thugs harass the Serbs every day, driving them out of Kosovo and Metohija. This is the reality of your and Kurti's "state of law" and "democracy””, Petkovic added in a post.

SL: The opening the Ibar bridge announcement is an unacceptable move with the aim of further destabilization (Kosovo Online)

Serbian List reacted today saying that ''the announcement by the regime of Kosovo PM Albin Kurti that he plans to open the main city bridge in North Mitrovica for motor vehicle traffic is an absolutely unnecessary, unacceptable, and escalatory move with the aim of further destabilizing the situation on the ground,'' reported Kosovo Online.

The SL stated that it would also be another unilateral move that no Serb in North Mitrovica and throughout Kosovo would support, which, as they point out, would further heat up tensions and create situations for the continuation of ethnically motivated attacks on Serbs.

"We remind you that the current situation is part of the agreement reached in Brussels between Belgrade and Pristina. At the same time, we emphasize that traffic is currently flowing normally from the southern to the northern part of the city in four directions, over three bridges and one local road, and there is no need to the bridge, which represents a critical security point, where there have been hundreds of inter-ethnic incidents and almost a thousand violent incursions from the south to the north, to open at this moment. Especially because now members of the KFOR from the Italian Carabinieri units are taking care of the security on the bridge itself," it was said in the SL's statement.

The SL called on KFOR, EULEX, and representatives of Brussels to react, and prevent another crisis from happening.

"We call on KFOR, EULEX and also the representatives of Brussels to prevent Kurti from causing another crisis and stand in the way of his plan to expel Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija. We call on you to react immediately and to publicly indicate to the regime in Pristina that the opening of the bridge cannot be conducted without the consent of the Serbs who live in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, especially Kosovska Mitrovica. Among them, many of them were wounded, whose family members suffered, and many Serbs escaped from the South part of the city and couldn't return to their homes to this day. Because of this, out of several thousand Serbs, only one priest lives in southern Kosovska Mitrovica with his family under constant police surveillance," it was said from the Serbian List.

Close Vulin's associate arrested in Leposavic for "identity theft", different names in Serbian and Kosovo documents (KoSSev)

KoSSev portal reported last night that yesterday Kosovo police arrested one person in Leposavic on suspicion of identity theft. It is about a man with the initials M.K.

The news was confirmed for KoSSev last night by the deputy commander of the KP for the North region, Veton Elshani.

The police said that they had information about the possible commission of a criminal offense of identity theft, and that the officers of the regular unit of the KP stopped him yesterday in the territory of the municipality of Leposavic, and then arrested him, reported KoSSev.

"This person has two identities - one for Serbian documents, and the other for Kosovo documents," Veton Elshani, deputy commander of the KP for the North region, told KoSSev.

He was detained for 48 hours.

At the same time, the police searched the house of this person in the northern part of Mitrovica, where they found and seized evidentiary material, Elshani told KoSSev without specifying what exactly was seized.

Although for now he is officially charged with identity theft, Elshani stated that there is a possibility that the crime will be reclassified depending on the further course of the investigation.

"It is suspected that he took someone's data, but we will see, if that is not the case, the qualification of the criminal offense will change", he said.

According to KoSSev, M. K. was engaged in the "Most" network for several years in the position of a journalist, that is, a member of the supervisory board of this network. Also, KoSSev added, he is known as a close associate of the former director of the Office for KiM, Aleksandar Vulin, and an official in his party, the Movement of Socialists.

At the time when Vulin managed the Office for KiM, M.K. oversaw media relations in the field.

Borrell's report: Minority representation in institutions and the use of both official languages are not respected in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, in the annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World for 2023, in the part related to Kosovo, drew attention to the representation of members of non-majority communities in public institutions and the Serbian language as the official language. He reminded that there was no progress in implementing the decision of the Constitutional Court on the Decani monastery and warned that hate speech against vulnerable groups, including non-majority communities, is still present., reported portal Kosovo online among other things.

Read the full report at:https://tinyurl.com/29nafa8u

Surlic: European draft CSM statute is not non-paper as Kurti represents it (Kosovo Online)

Pristina officials had been saying repeatedly over the last days that the European draft statue of Association/Community of Serbian Municipalities (A/CSM) was unacceptable for them. Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, Stefan Surlic told Kosovo Online portal he would not say this draft statue is a non-paper, as Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti is presenting it, but rather a document which has a green light from leading EU countries.

He added this draft statute is currently the only document that could supposedly be implemented in Kosovo in some legal framework, that in principle it has consent from the Serbian side, adding EU representatives and experts concluded it could be a good model to preserve particularity of the Serbian community in Kosovo, their cultural heritage, economic and local planning.

“I think this is a document which was seriously worked on. EU experts took part in its preparation and it is important that the European Union states agreed on that document. We could hear that Belgrade in principle supports this document. Of course, there are a lot of unknowns of how something will be implemented on the ground and how something that is a letter on paper would come to life”, he said.

According to Surlic, sending this document to the Constitutional Court would mean that Kosovo Government took the obligation that it is an official document, it has agreed to it, and that it can move to further procedure.

Gathering in Pristina for local elections in Presevo and Bujanovac - Kurti with mayoral candidates (KoSSev)

Under the slogan "With mind and heart", a rally of support for the elections in the valley was held yesterday in Pristina, which was attended by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, candidate for mayor of Presevo, Ardita Sinani, candidate for mayor of Bujanovac, Ragmi Mustafi, Albanian member of Parliament of Serbia, Shaip Kamberi, reported portal KoSSev.

At this gathering, according to the portal, the need to support the valley was highlighted to "overcome the inequality inflicted on them by the Serbian state".

Kurti said that the elections in the valley are a unique opportunity for Albanians there.

"The valley is a symbol of hope and endurance, it carries a rich cultural heritage, but also great development potential. It is still one of the most sensitive areas, we have seen many challenges that the valley has gone through, continuous discrimination, lack of access to documents are just some of the problems faced by Albanians. The government worked non-stop to provide social and economic support. We have invested and will continue to invest to help our community there, to provide a better life for the citizens there. Now, with the upcoming elections in the valley, we have unique opportunities to advance this cooperation. The government will always be with them, supporting development at every step," said Kurti.

The candidate for the mayor of Presevo, Ardita Sinani, asked the citizens who live and work in Kosovo to come on Sunday and exercise their right to vote, in order to improve the future of the valley through the governance of Albanians.

The candidate for the president of Bujanovac municipality, Ragmi Mustafi, pointed out that only moral support is not enough, but that Kosovo and the valley must be connected like never before in order to improve the life of the Albanian citizens there.

"Just moral support is not enough, we need to communicate like never before with Kamenica, Gnjilane, and Pristina, you who live here are the best proof. Today, you Albanians from Bujanovac can go home with RKS license plates, you can receive health services as equals. We will try to jointly provide a future for every Albanian living in Bujanovac," he said.

The only Albanian deputy in the Serbian Parliament, Shaip Kamberi, expressed his belief that ''the Albanians will win on June 2, adding that many challenges in the valley were overcome with Kurti's many years of help. He called on Albanians with the right to vote to vote for the welfare of the country'', reported KoSSev, citing Klan Kosova. At the beginning of the text, the portal points out that part of the text was originally translated from Albanian.

Emanuele Giaufret: We want Serbia in the EU as soon as possible, but accession is a merit-based process (NIN)

The European Union is clearly geared towards enlargement and wants Serbia to be a part of the European family, but it is a process that has its rules and those rules must be observed, Emanuele Giaufret, the EU Ambassador to Serbia, says in his interview with NIN.

According to Giaufret, Serbia has made significant progress in the reform process, but there are some things, one of the key ones being the normalization of relations with Priština, that need to be done before joining the EU.

How do you see the current situation in the region? To an observer with no previous knowledge, it might appear as if the region is on the verge of conflict?

I think the region is going through a very particular moment. It is faced with a great opportunity to make significant progress towards accession to the European Union. I believe that this, if I may say so, is “the bigger picture” that everybody understands in the context of a new reality created by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and a new geopolitical reality. The result of that new reality is that the European Union wants to step up the accession process for Western Balkan countries. That is precisely what we have seen in recent months, such as the decision to open negotiations with North Macedonia, Albania, and in March with Bosnia-Herzegovina. That is what everyone should focus on. On the other hand, I know that there are legacies of the past that are still unresolved. Some issues are yet to be addressed, but we must address them in that spirit, in the spirit of Brussels and getting closer to the European Union, through dialogue, negotiations, compromises and reforms. That is how we can make progress. And that is the effort that the European Union is currently making, through the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, which essentially articulates a new momentum, a political will, if you want to move forward.

Read full interview at: https://tinyurl.com/y9v73xyj

International

NATO demands accountability for attacks on peacekeepers in north Kosovo (RFE)

One year after violent protests against the installation of ethnic Albanian mayors in Serb-majority northern Kosovo municipalities, during which scores of NATO peacekeeping troops were injured, the Western military alliance called for the perpetrators to be held accountable.

“One year ago, peacekeepers of the NATO-led KFOR mission were attacked in the course of violent protests in the municipality of Zvecan. 93 personnel were wounded, some of whom with life-changing injuries. These attacks were unprovoked and were totally unacceptable,” KFOR said in a press release.

“NATO maintains that the facts must be established and the perpetrators must be held accountable,” it added.

Violence erupted amid protests in four Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo on May 29 last year. Protesting Serbs argued that the ethnic Albanian mayors of Leposavic, North Mitrovica, Zvecan and Zubin Potok, who won elections after Serbs boycotted the polls, were illegitimate and should not be allowed to take office.