Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: 3941 Serb citizens have applied for conversion of driver's licenses (Nacionale)

• Removal of visas for Serbs - LVV blames EU, AAK sees it violation of sovereignty (Ekonomia)

• CEC: Preparations for elections will start after the date is set (media)

• Abdixhiku to citizens: On one side you have division, on the other the "New Way" (media)

• Hoti: Kurti turned dialogue to zero, attacks on media like in totalitarian states (Reporteri)

• Kandic called for re-excavations in Serbia, in search of bodies of the missing (Koha)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucevic: Serbs in Kosovo do not have basic conditions for life (Tanjug, RTS)

• Vilan: After four years in Serbia, I understand all the sensitivity of solving the issue of Kosovo (Tanjug)

• Office for KiM: Threatening graffiti on the house of a Serbian family in Gojbulja village near Vucitrn; SL reaction (RTS, Kosovo Online, media)

• The Kosovo police launched an investigation into graffiti on a family home near Vucitrn (NMagazin, Beta, KoSSev, media)

• UNESCO: Monasteries in Kosovo endangered due to political problems (NMagazin, Beta, KoSSev, Vreme, media)

• Vucic: Lavrov right, Western double standards for Kosovo and Crimea (Kosovo Online)

• Stosic: Only one goal behind the opening of the Bridge on the Ibar – raising tensions (Kosovo Online)

International Media:

• Roma Refugees from Kosovo Still Suffering Exclusion in Serbia – Report (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti: 3941 Serb citizens have applied for conversion of driver's licences (Nacionale)

Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, has announced that 3 thousand 941 citizens of the Serbian community in all municipalities of Kosovo have applied for the conversion of their driver's licences from those issued by illegal Serbian structures to official licences of Kosovo.

He called on those who have not yet applied for driver's licence conversion to take advantage of the opportunity offered in all municipalities until August 9.

Removal of visas for Serbs - LVV blames EU, AAK sees it violation of sovereignty (Ekonomia)

The MP of the Vetevendosje Movement, Arber Rexhaj, has said that the Council of the European Union has taken the decision to remove visas for Kosovo Serb citizens who have Serbian passports, without consulting Kosovo. Rexhaj emphasised that this decision is arbitrary and is a direct interference in the sovereignty of Kosovo. 

On the other hand, the opposition is assessing that this decision, which violates the sovereignty of Kosovo, is a consequence of the bad leadership of diplomacy and foreign policy of Kosovo. "This was actually not done in consultation with the government of Kosovo. Initially, it was decided in an arbitrary way, the data and analyses were not heard and analysed in the field, as far as I have information, and secondly, this is a direct interference and mining of the sovereignty of the Republic of Kosovo", said Rexhaj.

He added that international institutions are paying more attention to Serbia than to Kosovo, and this is happening even though Serbia is openly a non-constructive party. "It is unacceptable, we are an independent country and of course we have bilateral relations with the EU and I think that in this sense, even when it was discussed, the Kosovo side has given its own reasons and in fact this has been moved to an automatic form quickly and repeatedly, once again undermining the sovereignty of the Republic of Kosovo", he said. 

"Now the Government will talk with the international institutions in the sense of dialogue, but we express our deep indignation because while facing the demands of the Serbian state, the EU always, especially recently, seems to be pampering Serbia. And taking into account that Serbia is the non-constructive party in the dialogue, which is attacking Kosovo in terms of sovereignty and international representation, and on the other hand, I think that in this case it was necessary to say, at the very least, as part of the discussion, Kosovo should be asked because a decision is being made for the citizens of Kosovo. Because the Serb citizens who live in our Republic without distinction, they are also citizens of Kosovo, so they are Kosovans", continued the MP.

Meanwhile, the MP of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Shemsedin Dreshaj, stated that this decision by the European Union is an alarm for the government. "It is an alarm for the government and they must act in such a way that this should not happen because if this truth is factual and it is realised in practice, this will not serve to calm the situation, on the contrary, this will be a further step towards the irritation of the relations between Serbia and Kosovo", said Dreshaj. He added that this decision has a direct impact on the violation of sovereignty. "This is a very bad decision for Kosovo, in particular, it is also a bad decision for the European Union because it is practically violating the country's sovereignty by blatantly interfering directly in travel documents abroad", he added. Dreshaj said that the blame falls on the improper leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 "I think it is a failure of the country's foreign policy, we have no recognition, no pronouncement, no promotion, practically the foreign policy is led by Mrs. Osmani, the president of the country, while the government is completely overlooked. ", MP Dreshaj said.

CEC: Preparations for elections will start after the date is set (media)

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, has invited the leaders of the political parties on July 31 to talk about the date of the regular elections for the Assembly of Kosovo. The spokesperson of the CEC, Valmir Elezi, said that this institution "starts intensive preparations for the preparation and organisation of the elections, in terms of carrying out the activities according to the deadlines set by law, once the date for holding them is set". 

But, despite the fact that the date of the elections has not yet been set, Elezi said that the CEC has been working since to prepare for the upcoming election process. "Being aware that this is an election year, since the beginning of this year, the CEC has focused its work on the preparation of many issues related to the CEC's legal obligations. In this direction is also the software of the CEC, the development of which is in progress and has been made possible with the support of the OSCE. Through this software, many of the electoral operations will be digitised," Elezi said.

Abdixhiku to citizens: On one side you have division, on the other the "New Way" (media)

The leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lumir Abdixhiku, while speaking about the achievements of the municipality of Peja, led by his political party, said "in the next elections, the choice will be very easy. On one side you have those who keep you in the swamp of frustration full of hatred, disunity and division towards everyone and everything - and on the other side you have the 'New Road' with a full 5 billion euros of concrete projects in sports, culture, education, health and infrastructure; in things that really determine your life and that of your families", Abdixhiku wrote.

Hoti: Kurti turned dialogue to zero, attacks on media like in totalitarian states (Reporteri)

The MP of the Democratic League of Kosovo and the former prime minister of Kosovo, Avdullah Hoti, has made the government responsible for the failures in the dialogue with Serbia and in internal policies, including the attack on the media through the Vetvendosje Movement MPs.

In an interview with the news website, Hoti said "Dialogue in the previous government was built on strong principles and agreed with friends. The basic principle of the dialogue was that it should be concluded with a final agreement for mutual recognition, that we agree on all issues or nothing", said Hoti.

He called the foreign policy pursued by Minister Donika Gervalla regrettable, while attacks on the media, like those of Kurti's government, according to him are only done in totalitarian states.

Kandic called for re-excavations in Serbia, in search of bodies of the missing (Koha)

The director of the Fund for Humanitarian Law in Serbia, Natasa Kandic, has called for re-excavations to be carried out in several locations, mainly in Serbia, where mass graves have been discovered. She participated in the 16th Forum on Transitional Justice in post-Yugoslav countries, which was held in Pristina, and in an interview with the news website, she said that now is the last time to put pressure on governments to solve the fate of the missing.

 "Batajnica is not a done deal, Perucaci is also not finished, and what is important, Petrovo Selo is also not finished. However, some locations such as the village of Budisavci, Likosani are mentioned by many, many people and based on their knowledge, perhaps some remains are there, but there is ample evidence that it is possible that the remains of 16 people from April 27, 1999 are somewhere in the Batajnica area", she said.

Last year, Kosovo and Serbia, through a statement, gave a number of commitments to cooperate with the aim of clarifying the fate of the missing, but it has not been implemented. Kosovo authorities have requested access to archives in Serbia, with the aim of providing potential information for the missing.

Kandic says that both parties should change their approach. "Now is the time to put pressure on the governments, especially in Serbia, but also in Kosovo, to change their approach and tell them: Now it is important to disclose the information about the mass graves".

Kandic also expressed concern that over the years, the difficulties in providing information about those who disappeared during the war are increasing.

On Friday, the Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, announced that in the cemetery near Tjegullore in Podujeve, the mortal remains of an individual who is suspected of belonging to the list of violently disappeared have been found. She emphasised that the excavations are continuing in search of other individuals.

Kandic, among the locations for excavation in Serbia, also mentioned Tutinj and Sjenica.

Serbian Language Media 

Vucevic: Serbs in Kosovo do not have basic conditions for life (Tanjug, RTS)

The Prime Minister of Serbia, Milos Vucevic, said on Saturday that the survival of Serbs in Kosovo was threatened, because, as he pointed out, they do not have basic conditions for life.

Vucevic told RTS that the Serbian people in Kosovo suffer daily pressures in various ways, and that the Serbs practically do not have any institutions in that area.

"All that remains is to attack the education system. Health care has already been attacked to a good extent," said Vucevic. 

He reminded that the entry of goods from central Serbia to Kosovo was prohibited and the energy supply to Kosovo was threatened, reported Tanjug.

Vilan: After four years in Serbia, I understand all the sensitivity of solving the issue of Kosovo (Tanjug)

Israel's Ambassador to Serbia Yahel Vilan said that after spending four years in Serbia, he was aware that the issue of Kosovo was one of the most important topics for Belgrade and that he fully understood all the sensitivity on that issue.

In an interview with Tanjug on the occasion of the end of his four-year mandate in Serbia, he pointed out that Israel was sensitive when it came to its conflicts, which he believed can only be resolved through direct negotiations, and not through other countries' advice. 

"Like every other country, we would like to see a peaceful solution to the Kosovo issue. But we are not here to give advice to Serbia on how to act on that issue," said Vilan.

Commenting on why the representative of Israel did not vote when the General Assembly of the United Nations discussed the Resolution on Srebrenica, Vilan pointed out that Israel would have voted for that resolution if it believed that genocide took place in Srebrenica.

"We have never accepted the term genocide according to what happened in Srebrenica. I want to repeat, a very serious war crime definitely happened there, but from our point of view, it does not represent the term genocide," Vilan said among other things.

Office for KiM: Threatening graffiti on the house of a Serbian family in Gojbulja village near Vucitrn; SL reaction (RTS, Kosovo Online, media)

The graffiti "KLA'' and the name of Faton Hajrizi, the killer of a policeman in Loznica, were written on the house of the Djurkovic family in the village of Gojbulja near Vucitrn. The Office for Kosovo and Metohija expects representatives of international organizations to condemn the case without delay, as well as to take measures to solve this case as soon as possible and to prevent similar incidents from happening again, reported RTS on Sunday. 

"This glorification of a terrorist organization, and especially of a terrorist who recently carried out a bloody feast in Loznica, adds to this very sensitive security situation for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, additional unrest and uncertainty for further life in the province," the Office pointed out.

The Office added that ''this example shows that the crime of the terrorist Hajrizi is openly celebrated by Albanian extremists in the area of Kosovo and Metohija, and writing his name on a Serbian house cannot be understood otherwise than as a threat to the remaining Serbs, both in Gojbulja and on the entire area of KiM''.

Serbian List: Writing graffiti best describes the state of inter-ethnic relations

Writing graffiti on the house of the Djurkovic family is aimed at intimidating the Serbian people in the municipality of Vucitrn and best illustrates the state of inter-ethnic relations between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo, Serbian list said. 

The SL demand that EULEX and KFOR increase their presence in Serbian areas and act preventively, in order to provide security and freedom to Serbs in these areas, reported RTS.

The locals of Gojbulje told the portal Kosovo Online that they are upset, but that they don't even count similar incidents anymore. For their safety, they did not want to be in front of the cameras. They say that such things are mostly the work of individuals, mostly young people, who pass through the village. In previous years, they added, still unknown perpetrators even threw Molotov cocktails and bombs in the village, Kosovo Online reported.

The Kosovo police launched an investigation into graffiti on a family home near Vucitrn (NMagazin, Beta, KoSSev)

The Kosovo police have launched an investigation into the graffiti that appeared on a family house in the village of Gojbulja near Vucitrn, it was confirmed for the KoSSev portal.

The Kosovo Police stated that they received a report regarding the graffiti on this house Sonday morning, when they went to the scene.

"The police in Vucitrn acted according to the case, while a misdemeanor case - 'vandalism' - was initiated on the authority of the prosecutor and it is being investigated," the spokesman of the Kosovo Police for the South region, Avni Zahiti, told KoSSev.

UNESCO: Monasteries in Kosovo endangered due to political problems (NMagazin, Beta, KoSSev, Vreme, media)

For the first time since the medieval monuments in Kosovo were included in the UNESCO list of world heritage in danger, political problems were cited as the reason for their place there.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided at the 46th session in New Delhi that the medieval monuments in Kosovo will be kept on the List of World Heritage in Danger, and the consideration of their conservation status was again postponed until the next session of the Committee.

The reason is a political problem, which has never been mentioned as a reason, wrote Vreme.

Until now, the reason for keeping the medieval monuments in Kosovo on the UNESCO list has always been - the requirements of modern conservation.

President of the National Committee of the International Council for Monuments and Sights (ICOMOS), Sanja Kesic Ristic, said that every decision should be repeated every year until the problem is solved.

Vucic: Lavrov right, Western double standards for Kosovo and Crimea (Kosovo Online)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stated in an address from Paris that he agrees with Sergei Lavrov's assertion that the West applies double standards, emphasizing that "when they were taking Kosovo, they invoked human rights, and now they are invoking the UN Charter".

Vucic highlighted that Lavrov was correct in stating that the "West applauded" when they were taking Kosovo.

"When they were taking Kosovo from us, their mouths were full of human rights, of life destinies, and today they are invoking the United Nations Charter, everything they didn't give us the right to invoke. Nothing new. They even held some sort of referendum in Crimea, while those in Kosovo didn't even hold a formal referendum. They didn't care at all; the Americans said, 'you can do whatever you want,' and they did whatever they wanted," said the President of Serbia.

According to him, the West now doesn't know how to explain this, and the Russians will increasingly use the "Kosovo precedent" in their policy.

Vucic also stated that he will not give up Kosovo and will not go to a referendum.

Speaking about the article in "Slobodna Bosna" reported by RTK, which claims that some media in Kosovo are subordinate to the Serbian president, he stated that this is one of a thousand lies.

He also added that by September 5th or 6th, he will have the opportunity to host French President Emmanuel Macron.

Vucic denied reports from certain media outlets that he met with Milan Radoicic in Kragujevac.

Stosic: Only one goal behind the opening of the Bridge on the Ibar – raising tensions (Kosovo Online)

The program manager of the Center for Advocacy of Democratic Culture (ACDC), Slobodan Stosic, told Kosovo Online that the intention of the Kosovo authorities to open the main bridge on the Ibar has only one goal, which is to raise tensions to a higher level and create new problems to be discussed while the old ones are forgotten.

He also assesses that freedom of movement, which is one of the excuses used by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti when talking about this issue, cannot be justified in this case when there are two other bridges open for both pedestrians and vehicles.

Read more at: https://t.ly/vC-Wx

International Media

Roma Refugees from Kosovo Still Suffering Exclusion in Serbia – Report (BIRN)

Many Roma people who fled Kosovo for Serbia after the Kosovo war in 1999 still feel the consequences in terms of their social exclusion from society, poor financial situation and mental health, the Krusevac-based Association Romani Asvin, an NGO, says.

Its new report draws on the experiences of Roma refugees from Kosovo now living in Nis, Vranje and Bujanovac and was made based on interviews with 67 people.

Research author Bojan Brankovic said that, “as far as health and psychosocial consequences are concerned, post-traumatic stress disorder is noted, through trauma, states of anxiety and loss of security.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/3dhuauj6