UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, August 21, 2024

UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, August 21, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Ruge on Iber bridge: Decisions through dialogue, in coordinated manner (media)
Shea: It won’t be long before we see a united Mitrovica (media)
AJK submits comments to IMC law to Constitutional Court (media)
Kosovo to sign US$ 34.5 mil agreement with USAID today (media)
Osmani, Hargreaves talk latest developments, including Iber bridge (media)
Memorandum signed on safehouse for domestic violence victims in north (media)
Family of person accused by Dacic: “Propaganda, he has special needs” (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Safe House Initiative in North Mitrovica: New Facility Planned on Previously Halted Site (KoSSev)
Dacic: Threatening messages to airport, embassies and consulates sent by Albanian whose parents are from Kosovo (KoSSev, media)
Ruge: NATO stance is that issue of Ibar Bridge be resolved through dialogue and in coordinated manner (Kosovo Online, social media)
Vucic to meet Ruge today (Tanjug)
Lawyer: Detention of three Serbs arrested in relation to Banjska case extended for two more months (Kosovo Online)
Serb from Gorazdevac released after spending 48 hours in detention (RTS)
6.100 requests submitted for conversion of drivers’ licences (Radio KIM)
“Where there’s no law, there’s the people”: Fresh lithium protests in Serbia (N1)

International Media:

In Serbia, Shadow of a Mass Shooting Hangs over Trial of Another (Balkan Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Ruge on Iber bridge: Decisions through dialogue, in coordinated manner (media)

NATO Assistant Secretary General Boris Ruge, met on Tuesday in Pristina with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, and said that NATO is proud of having provided a safe and secure environment for all in #Kosovo for 25 years. “Today with Vjosa Osmani we took stock of what was achieved. On the bridge over the Ibar/Ibër, I underlined NATO's view that decisions must come thru dialogue & in a coordinated manner,” he said.

Ruge also said that “it is essential that all actors refrain from unilateral declarations & actions that could create tensions. This is key to lasting security across #Kosovo - for the benefit of all people & communities - and to regional stability”.

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, shared Ruge’s remarks and added “full support for all aspects Boris Ruge mentions. Germany is doing its part in support KFOR from its very beginning, contributing to safety + stability in Kosovo and the entire region. This stability achieved must not be put at risk through lack of dialogue or uncoordinated action”.

Shea: It won’t be long before we see a united Mitrovica (media)

Former NATO spokesperson Jamie Shea said in an interview with KTV on Tuesday that it is disappointing that even 25 years after the end of the war the northern part of Kosovo is not fully integrated in Kosovo’s structures. Commenting on the issue of the opening of the bridge, he said he was certain that it won’t be long before Mitrovica will be united.

“One must understand the international stability circumstances there in order to move forward. I don’t share the fatalist opinion that because that bridge was closed for half a century it should remain forever closed. This is what they said about the bridges between West and East Germany during the cold war, but those bridges are open now and Germany is united. I am certain that it won’t be long before we see a united Mitrovica. But in politics, same as in life, timing is everything,” Shea said.

AJK submits comments to IMC law to Constitutional Court (media)

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) and media lawyer Flutura Kusari submitted to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday their comments concerning the law on the Independent Media Commission (IMC)

AJK chairman Xhemajl Rexha said the Constitutional Court is the last hope that the law will be turned down in its entirety. “Today we have submitted to the Constitutional Court comments for contesting the Law on the IMC adopted by the Assembly. We thank [the court] for asking comments from the AJK as an interested party. We were given the necessary space to return our comments. Flutura Kusari assisted the AJK in preparing the comments for the Constitutional Court. The discussion that will take place is of a historical importance, because for the first time a decision will be made concerning the law on the freedom of the media, but we believe that our comments, and those made by other parties too, will persuade the Court that the law is anti-constitutional. The initiation of the law, the way it was drafted, are in opposition to the Constitution of Kosovo. It is our hope that the Constitutional Court will reflect on this and that the law will not enter into force,” Rexha said.

Flutura Kusari said that their comments focused on articles about the independence of the media and gender equality. She argued that the ruling of the Constitutional Court will set a precedent for the position of this court on the freedom of the media. “We submitted our comments through which we argued that the procedure in which the law was drafted falls in contravention with several articles of the Constitution, it goes against the principle of gender equality, the freedom of the media and the independence of the Independent Media Commission. We have argued that some of the articles should be repealed, and if they are repealed, the law cannot survive. We hope that the law will be repealed in its entirety. Beyond the impact that the law has on the regulation of the media, for us it is a historical event because it is the first time that the Constitutional Court relates to the freedom of the media, and the ruling will set a practice with regards to the freedom of the media. We have high esteem for the Constitutional Court, and we hope that our arguments will persuade the Court,” Kusari said.

Kosovo to sign US$ 34.5 mil agreement with USAID today (media)

The Office of Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in a media statement on Tuesday that Osmani and the USAID will sign an agreement grant worth US$ 34.5 million today. Osmani and U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier will address the media after the signing ceremony.

Osmani, Hargreaves talk latest developments, including Iber bridge (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met on Tuesday with UK Ambassador to Kosovo, Jonathan Hargreaves, and discussed the latest developments, including the opening of the Iber bridge. “At the meeting, President Osmani re-potentiated her position that the opening of the bridge, as an act of normalization and integration, is in the interest of all citizens, irrespective of their ethnicity. In this spirit, President Osmani reiterated that the implementation plan for the opening of the bridge should be done in consultation and coordination between our institutions and our security partners. Continuing expansion of bilateral relations and cooperation between Kosovo and the United Kingdom were also part of the discussions at today’s meeting,” a press release issued by Osmani’s office notes.

Memorandum signed on safehouse for domestic violence victims in north (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said on Tuesday that together with Minister for Interior Affairs, and the vice president of the Municipality of Mitrovica North, Katarina Adancic, they signed a memorandum that enables the functioning of the safehouse for victims of domestic violence in the north. Haxhiu said in a Facebook post that she remains committed to offering sheltering services for victims without any differences.

Family of person accused by Dacic: “Propaganda, he has special needs” (media)

The family of a person accused by Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic of sending threatening messages to several Serbian embassies in Belgrade reacted saying that these allegations are “a filthy propaganda”, Insajderi news website reports. They said that their family member is a person with special needs and that the Serbian state “knows that there is no threat from him”.

“Denis is a person with special needs, and he has had these problems since birth. The state of Switzerland knows this. He is 90 percent invalid. Serbia knows that there is no threat from our family member – he doesn’t even speak. This is why Switzerland did not question him in relation to Serbia’s allegations. It is despicable and shameful to engage in such propaganda,” a family member said.

Serbian Language Media

Safe House Initiative in North Mitrovica: New Facility Planned on Previously Halted Site (KoSSev)

Yesterday, a memorandum of understanding was signed in North Mitrovica for the construction of a new safe house. This facility, designated to offer protection for victims of domestic violence, will be located in a building whose reconstruction had previously been halted by the municipality in July of last year. That building, under construction, was to host Serbian schools dislocated from Southern Mitrovica following the conflict and also intended for Roma students.

The memorandum was signed by representatives from the municipality, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry for Local Government, KoSSev portal reported. The signing ceremony was attended by three ministers from Pristina: Xhelal Svecla, Albulena Haxhiu, and Elbert Krasniqi. Their visit, which was not announced to Serbian media, included a tour from the mayor’s office through the former military remanufacturing facility (known as “Vojni remont“), the promenade, and the main bridge, before returning to the municipal building.

The building in question had previously been the site of halted construction on a school intended for children from pre-conflict Southern Mitrovica schools (predominantly Roma children), along with other buildings, including a rectorate funded by Serbian authorities. Despite the construction halt last July, work had continued on this facility, including the installation of windows and doors.