Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Kosovo, a beacon of democracy in Western Balkans and beyond (media)
• Gervalla arrives in NY for meetings as part of UN High-Level Week (media)
• UN adopts Pact for the Future (media)
• Kurti meets Koopman in Brussels (media)
• Osmani: Albanian diaspora, driving force for many historical processes (media)
• Maqedonci: Process of transformation into army in the second phase (EO)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic: International law applies only to "small" countries; peace important than anything else (Kosovo Online, Tanjug, RTS)
• Djuric at the UN Future Summit: Serbia committed to maintaining international peace and security (Beta, Tanjug, media)
• Kosinus: Lazovic and Trajkovic on solving the Kosovo problem (KiM radio, FoNet)
• Marsenic (New DSS) proposes declaring Kosovo an occupied territory as the only solution to the crisis (Beta, N1, Nova)
• Serbian Democracy: The holy place in Zubin Potok desecrated (Kontakt plus radio) 
• Serbia to delay appointment of ambassador to the U.S. until after American elections (N1)

International Media:

• The Roma Forced to Clean up Serbia’s Crimes in Kosovo (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti: Kosovo, a beacon of democracy in Western Balkans and beyond (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti delivered the keynote address at the graduation ceremony of the Global Campus of Human Right’s Master's Program in Human Rights and Democratization in the wondrous city of Venice. Kurti said in a post on X that he spoke to the graduates at the end of an academic year that included two milestones: “the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and the 20th time that students from the EMA program visited Kosova to learn first-hand about our country's progress since liberation in 1999”.

Kurti also said: “as I told the graduates, these milestones are not unrelated: Just as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights symbolized the final triumph of the human spirit over the horrific evils perpetrated during World War Two and the Holocaust, so also does the Republic of Kosova represent the culmination of a remarkable journey from the depths of repression, apartheid, and genocide to what we have now become: a beacon of democracy and human rights in the Western Balkans and beyond”.

Gervalla arrives in NY for meetings as part of UN High-Level Week (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Donika Gervalla arrived in New York for meetings with “senior representatives of different world organizations” as part of the High Level Week at the United Nations. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Sunday that as part of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, Gervalla will take part in different multilateral meetings that will address topics of global and regional security, politics and the economy. 

UN adopts Pact for the Future (media)

Several news websites report that the United Nations adopted on Sunday the Pact for the Future, a landmark declaration pledging concrete actions towards a safer, more peaceful, sustainable and inclusive world for tomorrow’s generations. The Pact along with its annexes, the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations, was adopted by consensus, despite a last-minute proposal for an amendment by some countries, including Russia, Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Syria.

The Pact’s five broad focus areas include: sustainable development; international peace and security; science and technology; youth and future generations and transforming global governance.

This has become an urgent pivot, as multilateral financial institutions and even the United Nations itself have come up short seeking solutions to 21st century problems, the pact lays out.

By endorsing the Pact, UN Member States pledged, among other things, to:

Turbocharge the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on climate change, two landmark 2015 agreements that have seen halting progress and missed milestones

Listen to young people and include them in decision-making, at the national and global levels

Build stronger partnerships with civil society, the private sector, local and regional authorities and more

Redouble efforts to build and sustain peaceful, inclusive and just societies and address the root causes of conflicts

Protect all civilians in armed conflict

Accelerate the implementation of our commitments on women, peace and security

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

Kurti meets Koopman in Brussels (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti was received in Brussels by the General Director for Enlargement of the European Union, Gert Jan Koopman, and discussed many aspects of the process of Kosovo’s integration into the EU, including the perspective for advancing the candidacy for membership in the current European context. They also discussed other issues related to the EU enlargement process in the Western Balkans, including the need to functionalize the Common Regional Market, on the principles of equal participation for all the countries in the region.

Kurti said that Kosovo is interested in making the Common Regional Market functional, especially now when the 10th anniversary of the Berlin Process is being marked, and added that this should be achieved by advancing in the direction of bringing the region closer to European standards, such as those in the field of the economy, as well as those in the field of democracy and the rule of law.

Kurti argued that Kosovo’s current obstacles to its progress are related “to the security situation and the constant threat coming from Serbia, and which he said that Kosovo seeks to address in cooperation with its Western partners, precisely because of the many connections and Serbia’s close relationship with Russia”.

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

Osmani: Albanian diaspora, driving force for many historical processes (media)

Most news websites report that during her stay in the United States, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met on Sunday with the Albanian diaspora there. She said in a Facebook post that “outstanding Albanian diaspora is the driving force behind many historical processes in Kosovo”.

Maqedonci: Process of transformation into army in the second phase (EO)

Kosovo’s Minister for Defence, Ejup Maqedonci, said in an interview with the news website that the process of the transformation of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into an army is in its second phase. He also said that the comprehensive transition plan foresees for the KSF to also have a fleet of helicopters, which is expected to happen in the third phase, namely from 2025 to 2028. “In continuity with our partners, especially with the United States, we are generating options to purchase helicopters. These helicopters will be multifunctional, in addition to support duties for transporting our troops, they will also be able to carry out medical evacuation operations and other operations in support of civilian authorities,” he said.

Serbian Language Media 

Vucic: International law applies only to "small" countries; peace important than anything else (Kosovo Online, Tanjug, RTS)

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, said last night in New York that peace is more important today than anything else, but that large countries with a lot of hypocrisy brutally violate UN laws and peace, while public international law only applies to "small" countries, reported Kosovo Online. 

"Public international law applies to the small and weak and only in cases where they are not attacked by the big ones. When it comes to big countries, it is incredible with how many lies and hypocrisy they brutally violate UN laws and peace," Vucic said in his address at the Summit on the Future, which precedes the debates of the UN General Assembly.

He said that today peace is more important than anything, but no one sees it as a great value.

He said that Serbia supports the Plan of the UN Secretary General and the Pact for the Future, although he wants to see more compromises and more understanding between big and small countries.

"But how can we talk about sustainable development and financing, about the position of young people, when we have huge conflicts and tensions in the world," he noted.

He pointed out that Serbia believes that it is important to find a balance between Western interests and the rule of law and the demands of other countries when it comes to family and traditional values.

He said that Serbia is on the way to the EU and respects the norms of international law.

"Serbia is at the same time a modern country with a high growth rate, but it is not ready to sacrifice its traditional values and resists all attempts from outside and the so-called 'woke' movements that impose the state of society that we need to reach in the future," added Vucic among other things.

Djuric at the UN Future Summit: Serbia committed to maintaining international peace and security (Beta, Tanjug, media)

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Marko Djuric, was participating yesterday at the Summit on the Future, held at the UN HQ in New York, as part of the beginning of the annual session of the General Assembly, announced the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia.

"The start of the Future Summit at the UN headquarters in New York with inspiring discussions on how to face global challenges together and implement international cooperation," Minister Djuric wrote on his Instagram profile.

He added that "Serbia remains committed to maintaining international peace and security and preventing conflicts."

Opening remarks at the two-day Summit on the Future will be given by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and General Assembly President Philemon Yang.

Kosinus: Lazovic and Trajkovic on solving the Kosovo problem (KiM radio, FoNet)

The Serbian president's Kosovo policy is a complete debacle, Radomir Lazovic, MP of the Green-Left Front, told FoNet. The small number of Serbs (in Kosovo) is a factor of peace, according to the president of the Serbian National Forum, Momcilo Trajkovic, reported KiM radio.

Kosinus, FoNet's series of conversations about solving the Kosovo problem, brings the views of Lazovic and Trajkovic in the latest edition.

"I think that Vucic is comfortable with constant tension, as if there will be a conflict where he appears as a factor of peace for foreigners or as a saviour for Serbs from Kosovo and that he is constantly in the centre of attention," said co-president of the Green-Left Front and MP Radomir Lazovic.

"He's always the one in the centre of attention. If this is the case, the people living in Kosovo will be on the periphery of attention. We would like this to turn," concluded Lazovic.

"I often tell our Albanian neighbours that the few Serbs who remained are the factor of peace. If there is an exodus of them, and you can see that it is in the process, I am afraid that a serious crisis could occur," said the president of the Serbian National Forum, Momcilo Trajkovic, for Kosinus.

Marsenic (New DSS) proposes declaring Kosovo an occupied territory as the only solution to the crisis (Beta, N1, Nova)

Predrag Marsenic, Vice President of the New Democratic Party of Serbia (New DSS), stated yesterday that the only solution to the "Kosovo crisis" was for Serbia to “declare Kosovo and Metohija an occupied territory”.

In an interview with the newspaper Nova, Marsenic said that Serbia must clearly demonstrate that “it considers Kosovo its southern province, with substantial autonomy, from which follow the constitutional obligations of all state bodies to protect Serbia’s interests in Kosovo and Metohija in both internal and external political relations”.

He added that for his party the French-German agreement and the annex from Ohrid are null and void and cannot produce legal consequences, and that as such should be rejected in their entirety. 

He further stated that, considering “the violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, Serbia must declare the occupation of part of its state territory, thus showing that it will never stop fighting for the preservation of its territorial integrity”.

According to Marsenic, when speaking about the reintroduction of mandatory military service, said that the government was using the issue to distract from their mistakes and to “blindfold the public, mainly due to the failure of Kosovo policy.”

He added that the reintroduction of military service was a strategically important decision, and New DSS has long advocated for it, reported N1. 

Serbian Democracy: The holy place in Zubin Potok desecrated (Kontakt plus radio) 

Residents of several hamlets in the municipality of Zubin Potok found a desecrated holy place known as Medjugore, Serbian Democracy announced, demanding an immediate response from the competent authorities.

On the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, during a tour of the holy place, the locals found scattered icons, which they found fifteen metres away in the forest.

"One of the oldest icons that has been standing on Medjugora for about 50 years was broken in half, in the upper half of the icon you can clearly see three bullet holes from a firearm, three bullet holes are also visible on the roof of the summerhouse in the background where the icons were hung", read the announcement of the Serbian Democracy.

According to the residents of the village and hamlets, on August 25 around noon, they heard three shots that echoed from the direction of the holy place of Medjugora.

"After ten minutes, three quad vehicles with two members of the Kosovo Police each armed with long and short firearms, who came from the direction of Medjugora, passed through the mentioned places," the statement added.

The deputy commander of the Kosovo Police for the North region, Veton Elshani, said that this case was not reported to the police, but that they would immediately open an investigation and check all allegations.

Serbia to delay appointment of ambassador to the U.S. until after American elections (N1)

Serbia will not appoint an ambassador to Washington until the end of the U.S. election process, N1 has learned.

According to N1’s source, Minister Marko Djuric informed Serbian diplomats in Washington of this decision two days ago. N1 reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking when Serbia will have a new ambassador in the U.S. and why a new one has not been appointed yet, but no response had been received by the time of publication.

It is worth noting that Serbia has been without an ambassador in Washington since Marko Djuric was recalled to become Minister of Foreign Affairs.

International Media

The Roma Forced to Clean up Serbia’s Crimes in Kosovo (BIRN)

Twenty-five years ago, Shyhrete Berisha was taken for dead, her limp body dragged to a truck and tossed on top of dozens of others. The corpse of her husband was among them, and four of their children. But Shyhrete, 37 years old at the time, was still alive.

“We’ve got to clean this place up,” she recalled hearing, shortly after members of her immediate and extended family were herded into a café in Suhareka/Suva Reka by Serbian forces, who then lobbed hand grenades inside. Forty-eight people died. Somehow, Shyhrete, her sister-in-law Vjollca and Vjollca’s nine-year-old son, Gramoz, survived.

It was March 26, 1999, two days into a NATO bombing campaign that would take 11 weeks to drive Serbian forces from Kosovo and halt a wave of massacres and ethnic cleansing against ethnic Albanians in what was then a southern province of Serbia.

Lying in the truck, wounded in one arm and her abdomen, Shyhrete saw the body of her son, Altin, and called out to him, alerting Vjollca that her sister-in-law was alive. They decided to jump, but from the rear of the truck, not the sides, to avoid being spotted in the wing mirrors. Someone saw them anyway – Ali Gjogaj, a Roma municipal cleaner who had been forced by the Serbs to help dispose of the bodies.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/GrSv9