UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, December 5, 2024

Albanian Language Media:

Kurti: Latest attack, highly calculated operation, targeting civilians (media)
Osmani Costa discuss latest developments, including “terrorist attack” (media)
Kurti received by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos (media)
Kurti will take part in conference in Sarajevo on relations in the region (media)
Surroi: Kosovo and Serbia risk bringing new cold war to their borders (VoA)
KFOR Commander meets UNMIK chief Ziadeh (media)
AJK condemns Mujka’s lynching language against KTV journalist (media)
Student Resource Center opened for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian youths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucic: As long as I am president, Serbia will not recognize Kosovo and will remain militarily neutral (Kosovo Online)
Vucic: Serbia frontrunner of development in Western Balkans, economy always wins (Tanjug)
COM KFOR meets SRSG Ziadeh, discuss security situation in Kosovo (Kosovo Online, social media)
Main hearing in case against KSF member: Lawyer someone who wounded young persons is charged with ‘causing general danger’ (KoSSev, media)
Jevtic on Kurtaj’s trial: It comes as no surprise that he feels no guilty (KoSSev)
Kosovo police officers armed with long-barreled weapons near ‘crucial infrastructure’ in Leposavic (Alternativna.com)
Brnabic: Serbia deserves to open Cluster 3, already working on other clusters (media)

Albanian Language Media

Kurti: Latest attack, a highly calculated operation, targeting civilians (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a post on X on Wednesday that “in the several meetings I have had with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jim O’Brien over the last two years, we have always discussed thoroughly and openly the pressing issues, as well as the friendship and strategic partnership between Kosova and the United States”.

“Brussels, in many ways, represents the heart of the transatlantic alliance to which we belong. It's the capital of the European Union and the home of NATO headquarters. In today's meeting, we also discussed bilateral relations and current issues, with a focus on the recent terrorist attack against our critical infrastructure. I shared with Assistant Sec. O’Brien that Kosova views the latest attack as a highly calculated operation, deliberately targeting the civilian population. It aimed at water and electricity, which are essential for the everyday lives of the people, in order to stoke fear and chaos. We welcome the strong declarations and await actions to follow these declarations. The lead terrorist of the Banjska attack and his group, who walk freely and are protected in Serbia, must be handed over to Kosova to face prosecution in order to ensure accountability for their crimes and to prevent further attacks,” Kurti said.

Osmani Costa discuss latest developments, including “terrorist attack” (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani was received in Brussels on Wednesday by the President of the European Council António Costa. She congratulated Costa on his new assignment, hoping for continued cooperation to the common interest. “President Osmani discussed developments in the field of security, including the recent terrorist attack on Kosovo’s vital infrastructure, an attack that was intended to leave a large part of Kosovo’s citizens without water, electricity, heating and with disruptions to the telecommunications system. She presented to President Costa evidence of Serbia’s links to this attack, as well as to the attack of September last year, which was an act of aggression against Kosovo. She added that the chief terrorist who had carried out the orders of official Belgrade on attacks on Kosovo, namely Radoicic, is still at large and this proves Serbia’s lack of readiness to take responsibility and accountability for acts of aggression against Kosovo,” a press release issued by Osmani’s office notes.

Osmani also said that Kosovo is ready to cooperate with international partners in the investigation of the terrorist act against vital infrastructure in Kosovo, while thanking the EU, the US and other NATO countries and beyond for the solidarity shown and the assistance provided. She emphasized that “it is very important that, in addition to the investigation, our joint work also focuses on prevention of new attacks”.

“She added that Kosovo is committed to the fulfilment of its European integration objectives, and therefore requested support in advancing Kosovo’s application for EU candidate country status. Furthermore, Madam President underlined that the lifting of restrictive measures would be a powerful message for Kosovo to contribute to the shared values and vision of the European Union, arguing again that they are unjust and that they harm the people of Kosovo the most, but also the very principle of balance and impartiality in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue”.

Kurti received by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti was received on Wednesday in Brussels by the EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos and discussed Kosovo’s advancement in the EU integration path and progress achieved on the agenda of European reforms, institutional reforms in Kosovo, economic development, democratic progress and good neighborly relations.

A press release issued by Kurti’s office quotes him as saying that Kosovo is a very good model of economic development and democratic progress going hand in hand. “He expressed the government’s commitment to implement the Growth Plan, which is the key instrument for economic growth and accelerating the EU integration process,” he said.

Kurti informed Kos about the details of the November 29 attack on the Iber Lepenci water canal, and he also said that the EU penalty measures against Kosovo must be removed.

Kurti will take part in conference in Sarajevo on relations in the region (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti will travel to Sarajevo today and on Friday he will attend a conference organized by the non-governmental organization “Association of Independent Intellectuals Krug 99”. The news was confirmed to Radio Free Europe by the head of the NGO, Adil Kulenovic, who also said that Kurti will hold a speech at the conference. “The session will discuss relations in the region,” he said.

Meanwhile, the president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, has argued that Kurti’s visit to Sarajevo will complicate relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. “We won’t allow Albanians from that region to enter with ID cards, because this would imply some sort of recognition of so-called Kosovo. In this regard, there is the news that Kurti is coming to Sarajevo. And when we intervened and said that it would be a spark for serious problems among us in Bosnia and Herzegovina, they decided that he should be invited by a non-governmental organization for a session,” Dodik said.

The news website recalls in October, Kurti said at the summit of the Berlin Process that Kosovo would allow citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina to travel to Kosovo with ID cards starting from January 1 next year.

Surroi: Kosovo and Serbia risk bringing new cold war to their borders (VoA)

Publicist Veton Surroi said in an interview with the Voice of America in Albanian on Wednesday that Kosovo and Serbia risk bringing a new cold war to their borders and that last week’s attack in the north of Kosovo brings further tensions between the two sides. “In the next quarter of the century, the risk is that if the current situation continues, the dividing line between Kosovo and Serbia will be the dividing line between the Euro-Atlantic and the Euro-Asian world and there will be a new cold war on our borders. This is neither the strategic interest of Kosovo, the west or Serbia for the future and this situation must be overcome,” he argued.

Surroi said that the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia needs to enter into a new phase where the guarantees of the international community need to address security issues. “Kosovo has entered a negotiations process with full readiness. The Prime Minister has several times expressed his readiness to sign the agreement. Serbia has said several times, even in writing, that it cannot accept the agreement in its entirety. This proved the weakness of the facilitators and now we need to enter into a new phase, in which the guarantees of the international community must be as such that are seriously understood by the parties and to go into the implementation of a process, which in addition to this permanent dynamic, must also address security issues,” he said.

KFOR Commander meets UNMIK chief Ziadeh (media)

Commander of NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, Major General Enrico Barduani, met on Wednesday with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, Caroline Ziadeh, at KFOR Headquarters, in Camp Film City in Pristina. KFOR said in a Facebook post that “they discussed views on various topics, including lasting security across Kosovo, regional stability situation and KFOR’s efforts in support to the EU-facilitated dialogue. Major General Barduani underlined KFOR’s continuous commitment to providing safe and secure environment for all citizens of Kosovo regardless of their ethnicity, gender or religion or political affiliations. The visit was part of the KFOR Commander’s regular exchanges with his main counterparts in Kosovo”.

AJK condemns Mujka’s lynching language against KTV journalist (media)

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo said in a statement on Wednesday that it condemns the attack that the chief executive of “Ibër Lepenci”, Faruk Mujka, has made against the journalist, Mimoza Koprani Muçaj, author of the show Konfront on KTV. “Reacting to the journalist’s questions in an interview with the Minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanolli, Mujka, among other things, referred to the questions raised as something ‘extremely vile and extreme misuse of the public broadcaster with the aim of spreading lies and denigrating people who hinder their goals, that is, the goals of Stanisic’s group’. The former Vetëvendosje official has compared the KTV television to Sputnik and Russia Today, the propaganda machines of the Putin regime. AJK considers this to be unacceptable and very dangerous language towards the journalist and the media where she works. Mujka and other public officials must face all questions that arise in the public interest and stop using derogatory language,” the statement notes.

Student Resource Center opened for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian youths (media)

Several news websites reported on Wednesday that a Student Resource Center was opened for youths from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in Pristina, and a program was launched for additional support for academic studies. Representatives of these communities said the initiative is proof of the transformative power of education. The center is located in the premises of the organization “Voice of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians” and supported by the Swiss Office for Cooperation in Kosovo.

Kosovo’s Minister of Education, Arberie Nagavci, said that the support offered for youths of these communities is aimed at their advancement in society. “The support that the Ministry of Education offers for students from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in Kosovo aims not only to support every beneficiary student, but above all, to inspire and encourage youths from the communities to advance not only themselves and their families but society as a whole,” she said.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic: As long as I am president, Serbia will not recognize Kosovo and will remain militarily neutral (Kosovo Online)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said yesterday that Serbia, as long as he holds office, will not recognize Kosovo and will maintain its military neutrality, Kosovo Online portal reported.

Commenting on the "non-paper" published by Sarajevo-based Slobodna Bosna, which proposes that a conference for Balkan countries be held in spring or by autumn 2025, during which Serbia and Kosovo would commit to mutual recognition and pursue a joint NATO membership candidacy with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vucic stated, "It's not just that they're lying, but they also stack the deck".

"As long as I am President of Serbia, Serbia will not recognize Kosovo independence. As long as I am President, Serbia will remain militarily neutral. And I will be the President of Serbia for at least another two years and several months. During that time, those global conferences and other miracles - let them hang them on a cat’s tail", Vucic said.