UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, November 26, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani at Intl Conference on Elimination of Violence against Women (media)
Konjufca: Violence against women isn’t fought only with institutions (Koha)
Haxhiu: “Legal mechanisms against gender-based violence are now stronger” (EO)
Kurti: Government drafting a new law for protection from discrimination (RTK)
Osmani meets with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia (media)
Next dialogue meeting to be held on December 17 (Koha)
Ministry of Agriculture confirms it suspended three “problematic” grants (RTV21)
Krasniqi concerned over arrest of KLA veterans in North Macedonia (media)
Palokaj: EU prefers “approach of ambiguity” in dialogue (KTV)
Two Kosovo Albanians believed to have been arrested by Serbia (media)
Police arrest 2 persons, suspected of smuggling ammunition from Serbia (Koha)
Kryeziu: Kurti’s wife lives in Oslo and Pristina, not in Belgrade (media)
Passivisation of Albanian addresses to be sent to Strasbourg Court (RFE)

Serbian Language Media:

Jevtic: If anyone breaks into our schools, we will protect them with our lives (KiM radio)
Former US Asst Secretary of State: The issue of Kosovo will not be among Trump's priorities (Kosovo Online)
The detention order of Vulin's associate in Kosovo, arrested for identity theft, lifted (KoSSev)
Body of a young man from Banjska who died from injuries sustained in a traffic accident taken to Pristina for an autopsy by KP (KoSSev)
Serbian List: Kurti's police abducted the body of a young man killed in a traffic accident (KiM radio)
Fourlas: We will do our best to reschedule EU-Serbia SAPC to beginning of 2025 (N1)
Vucic called for ruling coalition-opposition talks (FoNet, N1)
Mbasogo: Serbia can always count on the support of Equatorial Guinea (Tanjug)

International:

As high-drama trial’s end nears, Bosnian Serb leader plots next move (BIRN)

Humanitarian/Development:

UNDP Public Pulse Analysis on Effects of Visa Liberalization on Migration (media)
An art exhibit generating ‘epistemic friction’ (Kosovo 2.0)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani at international conference on elimination of violence against women (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in a post on X today that she started her visit to Colombia by joining leaders, survivors and activists at the International Conference on the Elimination of Sexual Violence against Women. “This event also coincided with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women,” she said.

Osmani said: “It has been told many times sexual violence in conflict is one of the most horrendous crimes known to humankind. It goes beyond the physical harm, it shatters not just individuals but entire families, communities and societies. It is a weapon of war that is intentionally designed to inflict intergenerational harm. Addressing this is not just essential for the dignity of survivors but for the very integrity of our shared humanity. That is why I commend Colombia for placing a spotlight on the need to center survivors in our efforts for restorative justice and peacebuilding. In all honesty we cannot speak of solutions without first listening to those who have been most affected. Survivors have been those most affected, especially women, and they must be at the heart of decision-making, policy developments, and interventions. The resilience and wisdom are vital to creating solutions that are not only effective but also culturally relevant, timely and sustainable. The choice to use sexual violence as a weapon of war is a deliberate one. The intent is to break the spirit of a nation. While the Milosevic regime brutally targeted our women, girls and even men, the war criminals were not prepared to face the unyielding determination, the indominable spirit and the resilient people of Kosovo. A people who would never break. A people who would rise from the ashes of war to become a source of empowerment, solidarity and support not for one another within our country but also for others in need everywhere in the world”.

Osmani’s full speech at: https://shorturl.at/y5zx0

Konjufca: Violence against women isn’t fought only with institutions (Koha)

Kosovo Assembly Speaker Glauk Konjufca said today that everyone must fight violence against women. At an event as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign, he said that “we all have an obligation to engage and work for an equal society free from violence”. “The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo last year drafted and adopted the legal initiative for protection and prevention from domestic violence, violence against women and gender-based violence, and we have tried to harmonize it with the Istanbul Convention. The legislation knows different kinds of violence, including physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm, but also violence against women in politics, different intimidation and sexual harassment online,” he said.

Konjufca also said that despite the measures and campaigns, the process has not been satisfactory. “This makes us think that a holistic approach is needed toward this phenomenon, a broad-based strategy that addresses all aspects and factors that are directly or indirectly linked to this problem,” he argued.

Haxhiu: “Legal mechanisms against gender-based violence are now stronger” (EO)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said today at the conference “United against Violence – Enough!” that Kosovo has made many steps forward in terms of fighting gender-based violence. She said that in her capacity as minister she is committed for the laws not to remain only on paper but to become “a powerful weapon against violence”. “Violence is not only an act, but also a wound that challenges us as a society. A political failure that requires a courageous response. Kosovo has made many steps forward, but the success of a state is most measured by what we as institutions do for those that are the most vulnerable. Domestic violence and gender-based violence continue to be our biggest challenges. As Minister of Justice, I am committed to making sure that the laws do not remain only on paper but that they become a powerful weapon against violence. We are strengthening the legal mechanisms. I have to be vocal in calling on the media to be our allies because offenders must not be amnestied and the offenders must be held accountable for what they have done,” she said.

Kurti: Government is drafting a new law for protection from discrimination (RTK)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today at the Western Balkans Summit against Racial Discrimination, which started its work in Pristina that the Kosovo government is drafting a new law for protection from discrimination, in accordance with the human rights standards of the Council of Europe.

He also spoke about the problem related to early marriages of Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities, saying that the Kosovo government is committed to ensuring that minority communities are employed in Kosovo institutions.

The Western Balkans Summit against Racial Discrimination is an annual event that is bringing together governments, civil society organisations, independent experts and communities to collectively address the issue racial discrimination against Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities in the region.

The Summit is organized under the leadership of the Office of the Prime Minister with the support of Terre des hommes Mission in Kosovo, Voice of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians and HEKS Foundation, within the framework of the project - Social Justice for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

Osmani meets with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Luis Gilberto Murillo.

In a post on Facebook, Osmani wrote that both Kosovo and Colombia, but also many countries around the world, recognize the deep pain caused by sexual violence during war. “This weapon of war causes deep and difficult to recover suffering. Cooperation and exchange of experiences in strengthening the voices of survivors, as well as advancing the Agenda for Women, Peace and Security, were the focus of the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Luis Gilberto Murillo,” Osmani wrote.

Next dialogue meeting to be held on December 17 (Koha)

The dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia at the level of chief negotiators is expected to continue on December 17. This was confirmed by the advisor to Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi, Klisman Kadiu. The meeting in December was also announced by the EU envoy for the dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, a few days ago. It is still not known what will be discussed or whether a trilateral meeting will be held. The last meeting at the level of chief negotiators was held on October 24.

Ministry of Agriculture confirms it suspended three “problematic” grants (RTV21)

Kosovo’s Ministry of Agriculture confirmed to the TV station today that it has suspended three grants for which some media reported that they were given to the brother and the uncle of Vetevendosje MP Fitore Pacolli and one to the advisor of the minister, Naim Huruglica.

“As a result of allegations in the media, we have asked the issue to be addressed by the Anti-Corruption Agency for potential conflicts of interest. The cases that were mentioned are also in the process of internal auditing. In administrative procedure, this is an independent legal matter the resolution of which falls under the jurisdiction of other bodies, and it is a precondition to resolve the main issue that was initiated in the administrative procedure,” the ministry said. It also noted that the grants have been suspended pending a final decision by the Anti-Corruption Agency.

On the same topic, the Kosovo Assembly Speaker Glauk Konjufca also said today that the Special Prosecution can investigate the allocation of public funds by the Ministry of Agriculture, following doubts that grants and subsidies were granted to relatives of senior members of the ruling party. “I think the issue is simple, the Albanian Post reports. There needs to be a merit-based mechanism for the allocation of grants and subsidies. The prosecution can look into it. And if there were interventions, punishments can follow, and if there were no interventions then those that made the propaganda must be held accountable,” he said

Krasniqi concerned over arrest of KLA veterans in North Macedonia (media)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi met with the Speaker of the Parliament of North Macedonia, Afrim Gashi, in Pristina on Monday, and expressed his concern over the arrest of KLA veterans in North Macedonia. “During our meeting I expressed concern about the arrest of KLA veterans in North Macedonia – an act that threatens our inter-state relations and I called on the Albanian factor there to engage strongly in preventing these persecutions,” Krasniqi wrote in a Facebook post after the meeting.

Krasniqi also said that the PDK remains committed to safeguarding good neighborly relations with North Macedonia, especially with the Albanian political parties, in coordinating common policies for empowering Albanians in the region.

Palokaj: EU prefers “approach of ambiguity” in dialogue (KTV)

Brussels-based correspondent Augustin Palokaj, in an interview with the TV station on Monday evening, argued that the European Union prefers the approach of ambiguity in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia and that it is expected to maintain this approach. “I believe this ambiguity will continue because it is intentional. The EU prefers the approach of ambiguity because it enables the parties to say what they want and they could be right in a way,” he said.

Palokaj said he does not expect any changes from the next meeting at the level of chief negotiators from Kosovo and Serbia scheduled for December. “The impression of diplomats in Brussels is that [EU Special Representative for the dialogue] Miroslav Lajcka is using the remaining months to find a new job. He goes more to meetings where he can lobby for himself and writes once a week that he had meetings about the dialogue. There was no such meeting in November. The last meeting was in October. There will be a meeting, as Lajcak announced, in December. This is to fill the norm, as one would say,” he added.

Two Kosovo Albanians believed to have been arrested by Serbia (media)

Citing a report by Llapi.info news website, several media report that the Serbian army is believed to have arrested two Kosovo Albanians from Podujevo on Friday. It is believed they were arrested in Serbian territory while they were cutting trees. Serbian authorities ordered a 30-day detention measure for the two youths. The news website contacted their families, and they confirmed the case. According to the news website, Kosovo’s security authorities are also aware of the case.

Police arrest two persons, suspected of smuggling ammunition from Serbia (Koha)

Kosovo Police arrested two persons on Monday in Prizren after they were noticed smuggling ammunition from Serbia into Kosovo in shooting ranges. During a checkup of the vehicle of the suspect and at a shooting range, police found and confiscated over 13,300 gas bullets. The prosecution ordered the two suspects to be sent to detention.

Kryeziu: Kurti’s wife lives in Oslo and Pristina, not in Belgrade (media)

Spokesperson for the Kosovo Government, Perparim Kryeziu, said today that the wife of Prime Minister Albin Kurti lives in-between Olso and Pristina. His reaction came after a statement by a Serb journalist who said on Monday evening that Kurti’s wife lives and works in Belgrade. The government spokesperson denied the allegation: “This is not true. This is fake news. The wife of Prime Minister Kurti works only at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs and lives in-between Oslo and Pristina. She is also not a member of any board anywhere”.

Passivisation of Albanian addresses to be sent to Strasbourg Court (RFE)

The European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg is the next address that Safet Demiri from the village in southern Serbia will go to after claiming that Serbian authorities have unrightfully passivized his address in 2019. For five years, Demiri went to different court instances in Serbia, while the Constitutional Court of Serbia rejected his complaint this month. His case triggered reactions by the authorities in Kosovo and by the European Union.

The passivisation of addresses, which means the erasing of citizens from addresses where they were registered, has been foreseen by law in Serbia since 2011. Based on the legislation, police make three controls to see if a resident lives in the registered address and in case they don’t find the person there, the address is passivized. The passivisation then results in losing Serbian citizenship and all civil rights, including the rights to vote, to own property, health insurance, pension and the right to employment.

The Albanian majority that lives in the municipalities in the south of Serbia – Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja known as the Presevo Valley – have been complaining for years about the passivisation of addresses. The issue was mentioned in this year’s EU Progress Report for Serbia, and in the U.S. State Department’s Human Rights Report in Serbia for 2023.

“I am a local. I did not come here as a tourist,” Demiri said in an interview with the news website. He said that for years he has been living and working in-between Austria and Serbia. In Medvedja, where his parents live, he says he has registered a telecommunications company and that he works in construction in Vienna. His birthplace address was passivized in 2019. “They [the authorities] only said that I don’t reside there. They did not verify my documents, that I own property, I have land there, I was born there,” the 46-year-old said.

He also said he has evidence to prove that when Serbian authorities claim they visited his address and did not find him there, he was in fact at the police station to get a document. He said he is certain that Serbian authorities did not visit his address, as is foreseen by law. “My building is covered by cameras. My mother and father live there. They are there all the time. No one came to the address,” he said.

Demiri said that he will address the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg. His lawyer, Aleksandar Olenik, confirmed this to the news website. “We will send the complaint in the next two months. My office will prepare in the meantime. I don’t know how long the procedure there [the Strasbourg Court] and when the court proceedings will start,” Olenik said. He added that this is the first case on the matter that will be addressed by the European court.

Serbian Language Media

Jevtic: If anyone breaks into our schools, we will protect them with our lives (KiM radio)

Dalibor Jevtic, President of Strpce Municipality and Vice President of the Serbian List, told KiM radio that "if there are any attempts to break into our schools and forcibly take over our educational institutions in any way, we will protect our schools and our faculties with our lives".

In response to the frequent statements that can be heard from representatives of Kosovo institutions that Serbian education and health institutions in Kosovo are parallel, Jevtic asked the question "to whom are they parallel?".

"Our faculties and our health institutions are the pillars of our life and survival. Considering that we see everything that Kurti is doing...If there will be any attempts to break into our schools, and take over our educational institutions by force, we will protect our schools and our faculties with our lives," he said. He pointed out that he also informed representatives of KFOR about that attitude during their stay in Strpce.

Recently, the principal of the elementary school "21. November" in Gojbulja near Vucitrn was detained. As reported by the Kosovo Police, the director of the school V.M. was detained because he had with him the stamps of the school, which the Kosovo Police treats as a parallel institution of Serbia in Kosovo.

Educational and health institutions, among the few operating under the system of the Republic of Serbia, that function in the north of Kosovo, after the closure of temporary authorities, banks, post offices, centers for social work, PIO fund...

Education and health are crucial for Serbs in Kosovo

For Serbs in the north, but also in other parts of Kosovo, education and healthcare are key systems, not only because of the services they receive, but also because of the large number of employees who work in them. There is no alternative to Serbian education and healthcare in Kosovo, unlike other institutions in the Kosovo system, so some citizens believe that the statements of Kosovo officials that they are parallel are groundless.

"We have no other institutions; our children cannot go to other schools. Simply, it is the only way to educate them, and for them to stay here. If those institutions close, we have no opportunities either, they won't be able to get an education, so unfortunately, we will all have to leave Kosovo. We will be forced, we will have no alternative," said Milos Subotic from North Mitrovica.

North Mitrovica is a university town because the former faculties from Pristina had to move to the north. To questions about how the Serbian university functions, Rector Nebojsa Arsic did not want to provide answers, stating that "now is not the time to talk about it".

However, it is known that there are problems in education as well, says the editor-in-chief of Radio KiM, Goran Avramovic, stating that the Kosovo authorities do not allow the delivery of textbooks from Serbia to Kosovo.

"What is a characteristic problem of the Serbian education system is that every September 1, parents practically turn into smugglers, because they smuggle textbooks for their children that they bring from the territory of central Serbia, because legally they cannot show those books here, so they simply have to hide them in their vehicles," says Avramovic.

Director of the CHC in North Mitrovica Zlatan Elek recalled yesterday that the Kosovo Police broke into the premises of the Hospital in North Mitrovica on two occasions. They say that on that occasion, damage was done, that nothing was found, but that there was no explanation as to why the search was conducted.

Speaking about the supply of medicines and medical supplies, which was previously a problem, Elek notes that a solution has been found.

"We partially overcame the problem in terms of supply, by organizing a company in the Kosovo system that now supplies us with medicines and infusion solutions".

He said that it was not enough to meet the needs of the hospital, but that the first positive step has been taken.

Former US Asst Secretary of State: The issue of Kosovo will not be among Trump's priorities (Kosovo Online)

The issue of Kosovo will not be among Trump's priorities, and the problem in the stalled dialogue is neither in Brussels nor in Washington, but in Belgrade and Pristina, Thomas Countryman, the former US assistant secretary of state in charge of Europe, told Kosovo Online.

Asked about the possibility that the new American administration headed by Donald Trump could solve the issue of Palestine and Israel through the "territorial solution" of the Kosovo issue, the former American senior diplomat was skeptical that this would happen.

"I will not comment on Palestine and Ukraine, but when it comes to the Balkans, the Serbia-Kosovo problem will not be Donald Trump's first priority. In fact, it won't even be among the top 50 priorities," Countryman pointed out.

He believes that the idea of dividing the territory was not good from the very beginning.

"I said five years ago when it was first mentioned that it was not a good idea. Not a good idea because then there would be no end. There are no ethnically pure states in the Balkans, and if one country cannot live as a multi-ethnic country, the problem cannot be solved by exchanging people or territories," Countryman said. He added that it was a wrong perception that the USA and the EU are most responsible for the deadlock in the negotiations.

"It seems to me that the problem of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina is neither in Washington nor in Brussels, the problem is in Belgrade and Pristina. And the new American president cannot change that fact," emphasized Countryman.

He specified that it is impossible to resolve the conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine in the same way.

"I don't see what the connection is to tell you," Countryman specified.

The detention order of Vulin's associate in Kosovo, arrested for identity theft, lifted (KoSSev)

A close associate of Vulin, who was arrested at the end of May this year in the municipality of Leposavic on suspicion of identity theft, the Kosovo authorities lifted the detention measure in September, it was confirmed for KoSSev from the Basic Court in Mitrovica.

In question is a man with the initials M.K, who was immediately ordered to be detained in May, after the end of the police detention.

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

However, he was already released from custody in September, it was confirmed today to KoSSev.

"Referring to your request to receive information regarding the defendant M.K., we inform you that on September 27, 2024, the Court issued a decision by which the defendant M.K.'s detention measure was canceled in the absence of the state prosecutor's request," stated the Basic Court in Mitrovica in a response to KoSSev.

The Court did not confirm the unofficial information that, after his release from custody, he was immediately escorted to central Serbia via the Merdare crossing, reported KoSSev.

This portal recalled that M.K. was engaged in the "Most" Network for several years in the position of a journalist, i.e., a member of the supervisory board of this network. Allegedly he was seen as a close associate of the former director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Aleksandar Vulin, and an official in his party, the Movement of Socialists. At the time when Vulin was managing the Office for KiM, M.K. oversaw media relations in the field.

KoSSev tried to contact M.K. immediately before the publication of this news, via the number through which this portal communicated with him in the past. However, now the same number is non-existent, reported KoSSev.

Body of a young man from Banjska who died from injuries sustained in a traffic accident taken to Pristina for an autopsy by KP (KoSSev)

KoSSev portal reported today that the body of a young man from the village of Banjska, who succumbed to injuries sustained in a traffic accident that happened six days ago in Srbovac, was taken by the KP early this morning from the home of the victim’s family, against their will, for an autopsy. In the end, the family agreed to give consent, when the police officers explained to them that there was no other way, considering that there is no autopsy report in the documentation from Clinical Hospital Centre Kragujevac (central Serbia) .

Deputy regional commander of Kosovo Police for the North, Veton Elshani, told KoSSev that they took over the body early this morning, although the parents initially did not want to give their consent for an autopsy to be performed. Elshani explained that the police officers who know the family spoke to them this morning on the spot in their house, and he personally spoke with them on the phone.

“We had a conversation with the family last night and this morning. I was on the phone with them early this morning as well. First of all, I want to express my condolences, I sympathize with the pain of the family, which I know personally. I explained to them that we understand the gravity of the situation, but that we have no other choice, because we have the prosecutor’s request for an autopsy. The accident happened in Kosovo, the body was delivered from Kragujevac with a hospital discharge paper, but without an autopsy report, and now we have to perform an autopsy for the purpose of investigation,” Elshani said.

The parents are currently on their way to Pristina and are in a police vehicle, with their son’s body, which the KP is taking to the Institute of Forensic Medicine.

“We told the family that we will do everything as soon as possible. We took the parents in our police vehicle to be there while the autopsy is done and we bring them back, so they can bury their son. Once again, I want to express my condolences and say that we are very sorry, but also that we have no other choice”.

When asked whether they would insist on performing an autopsy if the CHC in Kragujevac had already done it, Elshani said that they would not, citing the practice when the CHC in North Mitrovica in similar situations makes an autopsy report, which is then recognized as a valid and sufficient document for the investigation. Although Elshani now confirms that almost everything is over, as KoSSev has learned, it was particularly distressing in this family’s house this morning, given that the young man’s body was taken out of the home.

KoSSev reminded that a young man with the initials R.M. from Banjska village was injured in an accident that happened on the night of November 20 in Srbovac. He succumbed to his injuries a few days later in the Clinical Centre in Kragujevac, where he was transferred to from the hospital in Mitrovica.

Serbian List: Kurti's police abducted the body of a young man killed in a traffic accident (KiM radio)

"We are appalled by the behavior of Kurti's parapolice units, and we strongly condemn today's incursion into the village of Banjska, where, under pressure from the family they kidnapped the body of a young man, M.R., who died in a traffic accident, and thus, in moments of greatest sadness, inflicted additional pain on this suffering family," read the statement of the Serbian List, reported KiM radio..

The Serbian List claims that, according to the locals, dozens of armed members of the Kosovo Police took the body.

"Dozens of members of Kurti's phalanx, armed to the teeth, invaded this Serbian village this morning and took the body of a deceased young man while the family was preparing to bury him and said goodbye to him in pain, all under the pretext that they had to take the body to Pristina for an autopsy," it was added in the statement.

It is emphasized that the unfortunate family had no other choice but to follow the body of their dead son to Pristina.

"All Serbs in the north of Kosovo and Metohija were disturbed by this incursion, and the inhumanity of this treatment caused the indignation of the entire Serbian people. When the living have no peace from Kurti and his henchmen, shouldn't at least those who passed away," it was stated in the announcement of the Serbian List.

As it is added, today's event is an insult to all Serbs, but also "a stain on the face of all those who speak about the rule of law and respect for human rights at meetings with representatives of the Serbian List".

"The taking away of the body of the Serbian boy who unfortunately died from his loved ones will remain a permanent scar on the soul of all Serbs in the north, but also throughout Kosovo and Metohija. That scar will be a warning to all of us to never agree to this kind of violence again," concluded the statement of the Serbian List.

Fourlas: We will do our best to reschedule EU-Serbia SAPC to beginning of 2025 (N1)

“I received an urgent letter from the Serbian Co-Chair Mr Vujadinovic canceling the Serbian delegation’s participation in the SAPC meeting, citing circumstances relating to the adoption of the draft budget law in Belgrade,” Chair of the EP Delegation to the EU-Serbia Stabilization and Association Parliamentary Committee (SAPC) Loucas Fourlas confirmed to N1.

In a written reply to N1, he said they were “aware from the news of the tense situation in the national assembly, also related to the tragedy in Novi Sad.”

“While it is a pity to miss this opportunity to meet and discuss with our Serbian counterparts, we fully respect the decision by the Co-Chair. We will do our best to reschedule the meeting at the beginning of the year,” said Fourlas. He added that the preparation stage for the meeting “went well” and that there was “constructive cooperation on the joint draft of recommendations between the co-chairs.”

“We hope to build further on this,” Fourlas told N1.

The 16th European Union (EU) – Serbia Stabilization and Association Parliamentary Committee (SAPC) was set to be held in Strasbourg on 27 and 28 November 2024.

Vucic called for ruling coalition-opposition talks (FoNet, N1)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic called for talks between the ruling coalition and opposition following the incidents in Parliament on Monday.

Speaking live on the pro-regime TV Pink, Vucic said that he wants peace and stability, not war. He said that there was no fighting in parliament, only pushing and shoving and accused the opposition of causing the incident to prevent a debate on the budget.

“They didn’t kill parliamentarism, they killed themselves politically…. I tried countless times to tell them to behave differently. It’s in my interest to have good relations in order to develop the country,” Vucic said.

He also accused the opposition of wanting war. “That is the fundamental difference and once people see that, it’s clear who they will choose”.

According to Vucic, the opposition wants to get as much done as possible in the next two months before Donald Trump takes office because they think that Elon Musk will cut funding for foreign NGOs and because they’re not sure how much (United Group founder Dragan) Solak will be able to finance them.

Mbasogo: Serbia can always count on the support of Equatorial Guinea; Vucic: You can count on Serbia’s help (Tanjug, RTS)

The President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, said today in an official visit to Belgrade that Serbia can always count on the support of that country, which will continue to recognize Serbia's integrity.

After the meeting with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the plenary meeting of the delegations of Serbia and Equatorial Guinea, he said that Serbia can count on the support of Equatorial Guinea.

"I hope that the agreements signed today will serve both parties so that in the future we can explore opportunities for cooperation in other sectors as well," said Mbasogo.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at a press conference that he wants to improve the cooperation between Serbia and Equatorial Guinea.

Vucic thanked the President of Equatorial Guinea for his support for the territorial integrity of Serbia, as well as for his support in the United Nations in, as he said, a difficult moment. He announced the formation of a mixed committee that will start working in the next two months, as well as cooperation in many other areas.

"Accepting students, they represent a bridge between our countries. But also, cooperation in agriculture, construction, but also in the military-medical field," said Vucic among other things.

International

As high-drama trial’s end nears, Bosnian Serb leader plots next move (BIRN)

After portraying his trial as an attack on Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik may try to drag out the process until Trump takes office – hoping a changed US stance may ease his legal troubles.

In October last year, the president of Bosnia’s Serb-majority entity, Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, arrived at the state court in Sarajevo under heavy police escort.

Security measures at the court in Bosnia’s capital, Sarajevo, were tight, as hundreds of people had gathered to support him ahead of his first court hearing. They would do so every hearing since then.

After walking proudly into the court, Dodik, and his co-accused, the acting director of Republika Srpska’s Official Gazette, Milos Lucic, refused to enter a plea.

“I do not understand the indictment,” Dodik claimed after receiving an indictment written in the Latin script instead of Serbian Cyrillic – despite both scripts being official in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Lucic did the same.