Albanian Language Media:

• PM Kurti to visit Tirana tomorrow (media)
• PDK boycotts Assembly presidency meeting (media)
• Ruling coalition, opposition divide parliamentary committees (Kallxo)
• Basketball club from Serbia refused entry to Kosovo (Klan Kosova)
• Engel unconvinced with Trump’s mediation of Pristina-Belgrade talks (Express)
• Haxhiu plans to visit the north to see work of institutions there (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

• Dacic: I expect nothing from new Kosovo government (Tanjug, Radio KIM)
• Blic daily on Merkel-Vucic meeting, plan for Kosovo (B92, Blic)
• Census lowered to three percent, 40 percent of women on the election lists in Serbia (Tanjug, B92)
• Basketball players banned to enter Kosovo, Office for KiM, Srpska Lista react (KoSSev)
• Janjic: Reciprocity would mean endless conflicts (RTK2, Radio kontakt plus)
• Lawyer Vasic says no conditions for hearing in Ivanovic’s case to be held tomorrow (Kosovo-online)
• Prosecutor Syle Hoxha is retiring, controversial court cases remain (TV Most, Kosovo-online)

Opinion: 

• New EU Enlargement Strategy Leaves Balkans Unimpressed (Balkan Insight)

International:

• New Kosovo PM Says Ties With Serbia Should Be Based On ‘Symmetry’ (RFE)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Record number of women in government ‘inspirational’ (Prishtina Insight)
• Maternal deaths ‘lost in the system’ (Prishtina Insight)
• Rumena Ljubic: Solitude is my greatest enemy (Radio Gorazdevac, KoSSev)

Albanian Language Media

PM Kurti to visit Tirana tomorrow (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti is set to visit Tirana tomorrow in his first visit outside Kosovo since taking on the new post, media report.

Kurti is scheduled to meet President of Albania Ilir Meta, Prime Minister Edi Rama, Assembly Speaker Gramoz Ruci and opposition leader Lulzim Basha.

PDK boycotts Assembly presidency meeting (media)

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) has announced it will again boycott the meeting of the Assembly presidency. 

PDK said it was not going to attend today’s meeting because of “unconstitutional and unlawful actions that the new Assembly Speaker Vjosa Osmani undertook by removing the official picture of the President of the Republic of Kosovo from the front wall of her office, as set out by the Law on State Protocol.” 

In a letter to Osmani, PDK called for reinstatement of Hashim Thaci’s picture on the front wall of her office and cautioned her against, as the party said, creating a precedent which could have repercussions in the institutional and political life. 

Osmani has responded to the PDK boycott saying it is politically motivated. 

“This is a closed issue. PDK has begun boycotting institutions on 3 February. If they want to find justifications about the way I arrange my office, they are free to do so but they have no courage to say the truth. Their boycott is political,” Osmani said. 

Ruling coalition, opposition divide parliamentary committees (Kallxo)

Kosovo Assembly Speaker Vjosa Osmani said after today’s meeting of the Assembly Presidency that the next session will be held on Thursday and there will be a vote on the parliamentary committees. 

“We agreed for the session to be held on Thursday because we have lost a lot of time. By Wednesday, we will send the names of the committee members. Sessions will be held every Thursday, unless there are special events. As we have a smaller number of committees, this will require a 2/3 of votes,” Osmani said.

“We have the agreement of the two opposition parties, the AAK and NISMA, to reduce the number of committees from 16 to 14. I don’t see any problems with a 2/3 vote to change the number of committees. The vote on the composition of the committees will be done with a simple majority of votes.”

Osmani also announced the division of committees:

Committee for Foreign Affairs and Diaspora (AAK)

Committee for European Integration (LDK)

Committee for Legislation and Oversight of the Anti-Corruption Agency (LDK)

Committee for Education, Science, Technology, Culture and Innovation (LDK)

Committee for Budget and Finances (LVV)

Committee for Local Governance, Regional Development and Media (PDK)

Committee for Economy, Employment, Industry and Strategic Investments (NISMA)

Committee for Security and Defense (LVV)

Committee for Health and Social Wellbeing (AAK)

Committee for Agriculture, Forestry, Rural Development, Infrastructure (LVV)

Committee for Community Rights and Interests (Serbian List)

Committee for Human Rights, Gender Equality, Missing Persons (6+)

Committee for Oversight of Public Finances (PDK)

Committee for Oversight for Kosovo Intelligence Agency (PDK)

Basketball club from Serbia refused entry to Kosovo (Klan Kosova)

Kosovo Police confirmed that a  basketball club from Serbia was not allowed entry to Kosovo citing lack of adequate permission. 

“The team did not have permission from the relevant Ministry, therefore was refused entry in the Republic of Kosovo,” said KP spokesperson Daut Hoxha.

Head of Kosovo Basketball Federation, Arben Fetahu, meanwhile said: “I was contacted yesterday by the Kosovo Police and asked whether this team has permission to enter Kosovo. I confirmed that they have no permission to play matches in our country and they were sent back by the police.” 

Fetahu said this was not the first time basketball clubs from Serbia try to play matches in the territory of Kosovo adding that they have on many instances alerted basketball authorities at FIBA.

Engel unconvinced with Trump’s mediation of Pristina-Belgrade talks (Express)

Despite the mediation of the U.S. to find a solution for the final phase of the Kosovo-Serbia eventual peace agreement, the U.S. Congressman Eliot Engel who is also Chairman on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, assesses that the future of the discussions remains unclear.

Engel wrote about the matter in a letter addressed to the Presevo municipality mayor Shqiprim Arifi.

“Although the future normalization talks between Belgrade and Pristina remain unclear, it is imperative that any final agreement take into account the right of ethnic Albanians and address opportunities for economic growth in the Presevo Valley. As the Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs and a long-term supporter of the Albanian people, I am dedicated to ensuring minority rights in the region,” Engel wrote in his letter where he looks forward to a meeting in Washington D.C. to discuss issues the Presevo Valley is facing. 

Haxhiu plans to visit the north to see work of institutions there (RTK)

Albulena Haxhiu, recently appointed Minister of Justice, plans to visit the north of Kosovo to see from close the work of the institutions in that part. She said that Belgrade’s impact on the prosecutors and judges there remains a concern. She added that justice institutions there warned with boycott of work and strikes if the tariff on products coming from Serbia remains in power.

“I believe that institutions there should not depend on Belgrade. They are justice institutions that should be in service of citizens. I will receive a report on the situation, if the institutions there cooperate with respective councils here and then I will plan the agenda,” she said.

Speaking about the justice agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, Haxhiu said this issue should have not been discussed in Brussels and that local institutions should have reach the agreement instead.

“I did not criticize for the fact that I considered it to be a political process,” she said.

Asked if she has information on whether crime and smuggling is being fought in the north, Haxhiu said she “it is clear that smuggling, organized crime and corruption is very evident in that part, and they act freely in sight of the institutions of justice.”

“Therefore, if we establish the grounds of the state of justice, such cases will of course not be allowed, be it in the north or anywhere else.”

Serbian Language Media

Dacic: I expect nothing from new Kosovo government (Tanjug, Radio KIM)

Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic said he expects nothing from new Kosovo government headed by Albin Kurti, adding, that however, he expects all those who have influence over that government to lastly and finally demonstrate that influence in practise and make Pristina act responsibly, Tanjug news agency reports.

“Dialogue is halted for more than a year, and this what happened is Pristina’s merit exclusively, as well as tolerating that it by playing and making unthinkable acts disrupts and completely blocks this process. I will recall that uncivilized 100 percent tariffs on goods from central Serbia are in force longer than a year, which practically means banning trade, and it happens in Europe in the XXI century,” Dacic said.

He underlined Belgrade’s stance is that this irrational decision of Pristina must be revoked in order to continue the dialogue.

“We expect that to happen soon and we are ready to continue the talks immediately, because Serbia is the most interested in reaching a solution. Solution that would be based on compromise, not imposed, solution that would ensure a lasting peace and stability in our region, and would enable our children have a normal future, without fear of reactivating the conflict,” Dacic noted.

He also welcomed the appointment of US President Trump’s Special Envoy for Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Richard Grenell, because this makes some sort of progress to get out from the current stalemate.

“If the appointment of an EU Special Envoy would contribute in a similar manner, then we would also gladly accept that,” Dacic concluded.  

Blic daily on Merkel-Vucic meeting, plan for Kosovo (B92, Blic)

Kosovo, European integration and new EU accession methodology will be the main topics of discussion between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Belgrade-based daily Blic reports in its Saturday edition. According to the daily Vucic and Merkel should have a meeting in a month or so.

“It is certain that major part of Vucic’s talks with Merkel will be devoted to the new (EU) envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina talks and his future agenda. Vucic could find out in what direction the Miroslav Lajcak-led talks will go. Serbia is restrained for now, since Lajcak comes from Slovakia, a country that has not recognized Kosovo, so he will do his best to show that he does not represent the interests of his country but the interests of EU”, the source of Blic says.

President Vucic earlier said that he could neither confirm nor deny information that outgoing Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak would be the EU’s newly appointed special envoy in the Belgrade-Pristina talks, saying he would not rule out that possibility, but stressed that the person placed in charge of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue would certainly be strongly influenced by Berlin.

See at: https://bit.ly/31Hku6a

Census lowered to three percent, 40 percent of women on the election lists in Serbia (Tanjug, B92)

The census in the forthcoming spring elections in Serbia will be reduced to three percent, and women will be represented on local and parliamentary lists by 40 percent, Tanjug news agency reports. This was decided by the Serbian Parliament.

Deputies voted for amendments to the law on the election of MPs and local elections, submitted by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) parliamentary group, which, among other things, provide for a reduction in census.

SNS parliamentary group leader Aleksandar Martinovic said in a debate that the ruling party had suggested reducing the electoral threshold from five to three percent to have more parties represented and to further strengthen parliament’s role in political life.

The MPs also voted for amendments to the law on election of MPs and local elections, submitted by Democratic Party (DS) MP Gordana Comic, which provide for a 40 percent representation of women on election lists.

The Parliamentary Committee earlier today adopted an amendment to SNS MP Marija Obradovic, which specifies a better position for women on the electoral rolls.

See at: https://bit.ly/2SweZ6f

Basketball players banned to enter Kosovo, Office for KiM, Srpska Lista react (KoSSev)

Basketball team “Sloga” from Batocina town, central Serbia was banned to enter Kosovo at Jarinje crossing point, KoSSev portal reports.

The “Sloga” team was supposed to play a game with its host, basketball team “Trepca” from Mitrovica North.

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija reacting to the ban, said last night “that as in previous cases, it was about an attempt to isolate the Serbian people in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, and undue mistreatment which as a consequence can only have further deepening of an interethnic gap in the province.”

Serbian List (LS) also condemned the ban, saying it is a continuation of practise of the previous authorities in Pristina to prevent the Serbian youth from engaging in sports. SL said that Serbian population “expected the newly appointed government in Pristina to revoke all decisions of its predecessors that hamper normal lives of all citizens in Kosovo and Metohija,” and “which perform a classic segregation of citizens based on national background.” 

Janjic: Reciprocity would mean endless conflicts (RTK2, Radio kontakt plus)

Forum for Interethnic Relations Director, Dusan Janjic told RTK 2 that announcements of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on introducing reciprocity measures to Serbia that would replace 100 percent tariffs “is just an ideological mantra that politicians use in the elections.”

Negative effects of such ideological use of this word that has very clear international and legal definition would at the end go to Kurti’s detriment, Janjic thinks, adding that he would present himself to the Kosovo constituencies as someone making “rotten compromises.”

“Reciprocity means hitting back with an equal strength the one who hit you first. In this case, it would mean endless conflicts, and this is what shook Quint states and Grenell to say it over again (the stance of tariffs). People, it is a stance of the international community, and if you do not want to be part of the world, if you do not want to be internationally recognized, do not want US support, just go ahead,” Janjic opined.

According to him, Kurti “won’t be able to move further from what Haradinaj’s government was preparing, suspension of the tariffs, that is a maximum. Suspension of tariffs for 120 days which means the goods can enter, but there are some conditions, such as certificates and similar (…).”

His ideological mantras Albin Kurti needs to turn into the ones that would be of use to him as prime minister Janjic went on saying, adding it is not reciprocity in this case, but rather suspension of tariffs. Janjic also concluded that in this case Kosovo prime minister could get from Serbia a memorandum or statement of intent that the latter would cease its lobbying activities against Kosovo independence.

Lawyer Vasic says no conditions for hearing in Ivanovic’s case to be held tomorrow (Kosovo-online)

Dejan A. Vasic, defense lawyer of Dragisa Markovic one of the accused in case of Oliver Ivanovic’s murder, told Kosovo-online portal that “conditions for continuation of the trial have not been met, as it is primarily necessary to determine which of the two indictments is valid and which one will be discussed”, Kosovo-online portal reports.

Second hearing in the case of Oliver Ivanovic’s murder is scheduled to take place tomorrow, February 11. The portal has previously reported that the first hearing was postponed on December 30 last year because defence did not receive translation of the amended indictment into Serbian language, while the defence lawyer of one of the defendants, lawyer Dejan A. Vasic told Tanjug news agency that in the meantime he had received the translation of 40 pages of the amended indictment and 12,500 pages of the documentation, with evidence from that case.

“After reading all 12,500 pages of the case submitted to me by the prosecution, I conclude in accordance with an old judicial rule: the bigger the volume of documents, the thinner the evidence are,” Vasic said.

“They did not even fulfill the condition of delivering all of the documentation. Specifically, for my client (Dragisa Markovic), key documents are missing in relation to his communication on the morning of the murder and about the manner in which they have determined that he had called a person from the Serbian state security that morning. The Prosecution did not deliver to us also the documents obtained in connection with those communications with the authorities of the Republic of Serbia, although they have achieved this cooperation and these documents should be part of the case file,” Vasic said.

According to Vasic, the same photographs are endlessly repeated, the same private correspondence from the telephone of Oliver Ivanovic, as well as documents from other cases which are being led by the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office.

According to Kosovo-online portal the hearing is expected to be open to public as before, since there is a lot of interest in this process. At the hearing, the defendants will briefly enter their plea and then the evidence presented by the prosecution and the defence will be discussed.

Prosecutor Syle Hoxha is retiring, controversial court cases remain (TV Most, Kosovo-online)

Zvecan-based TV Most reported on Sunday, citing Kosovo-online portal that Kosovo Special Prosecutor Syle Hoxha is retiring, his associate police investigator Besim Smakolli posted on the Facebook page, along with their shared photos.

“We wish you a comfortable retirement prosecutor Syle Hoxha. It was an honour and a privilege to have worked together all these years. Good luck in life” Smakolli posted on his Facebook account, according to TV Most.

Meanwhile, the media pointed out that Hoxha is retiring at a time when there are serious allegations connected to some of the cases he has led. He was under public scrutiny after it was discovered that the Swiss expertise showed there were doubts about the circumstances under which Vetevendosje activist Astrit Dehari died in prison in Prizren. Syle Hoxha was a chief prosecutor in Prizren at that time.

Prosecutor Hoxha has also been linked in the media with the indictment against Serbs in northern Kosovo who were arrested last year on charges of involvement in the murder of Oliver Ivanovic. The indictment has been amended several times and, according to the lawyers, does not contain any relevant evidence against the accused Serbs. The second hearing in the case of Oliver Ivanovic’s murder is scheduled to take place tomorrow, February 11.

Opinion

New EU Enlargement Strategy Leaves Balkans Unimpressed (Balkan Insight)

Despite the fanfare, Europe’s new accession strategy looks unlikely to reverse a long process of disillusion and disengagement between Brussels and the region, Srecko Latal writes for Balkan Insight.

Europe’s new Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, says the EU’s long-awaited new methodology will make the accession process “more credible, with a stronger political steer, more dynamic and predictable”.

The claim has met a polite but mute reaction from officials across the Balkans, who remain more involved with preparations for what promises to be a “hot” political year, in which most of their countries hold local or general elections, or both.

This near-silence and lack of excitement about what is supposed to be a crucial document testifies to the EU’s lower-than-ever image in the Balkans – and to the fact that even under the new strategy, a realistic perspective of EU membership still seems utterly lost.

Despite its declarative intention to “enhance the accession process,” the document – for the time being – offers little to change such a mindset.

Tellingly, the new strategy was put together without consultation on the ground in the Balkans, which would have given it a better understanding of local realities.

See at: https://bit.ly/2SftXOM

International

New Kosovo PM Says Ties With Serbia Should Be Based On ‘Symmetry’ (RFE)

Kosovo’s new prime minister says he intends to abolish punitive tariffs on Serbian goods, as the two countries struggle amid an international push for them to establish diplomatic relations.

But Albin Kurti cautioned that he would only lift the 100-percent tariffs imposed two years ago after his government introduces measures of “reciprocity” in trade, politics, and economy.

See at: https://bit.ly/2HcaB6W

Humanitarian/Development 

Record number of women in government ‘inspirational’ (Prishtina Insight) 

For the first time since the war, seven senior positions in Kosovo’s governing institutions will be filled by women. Of the 15 new government ministries created on Monday, five of the most high profile will be led by a woman. 

Rozeta Hajdari and Albulena Haxhiu have been nominated by Vetevendosje to run the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Justice respectively, while the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, have selected Hykmete Bajrami and Vlora Dumoshi to be in charge of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture. Emilja Redzepi of the Bosniak New Democratic Party will lead the Ministry of Local Government. 

In the previous government only three women led ministries, despite the fact that the number of ministries peaked at 21.

It is not only the executive that will be comprised of more women. LDK’s Vjosa Osmani will be the Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly, marking the first time that a woman will be the head of the legislative body. The first Deputy Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly will also be a woman, Arberie Nagavci of Vetevendosje.

See at: https://bit.ly/2tFR4IW

Maternal deaths ‘lost in the system’ (Prishtina Insight)

Cases of women in Kosovo that have lost their lives during or after child birth in the last decade have not been taken seriously by Kosovo’s health institutions, with a lack of accurate data leaving those possibly responsible for their deaths immune from responsibility and their families without justice.

On February 9, 2019, 42-year-old Nurije Rexhahmetaj went to the Regional Hospital in Peja to give birth to her third child. Soon after the birth, her condition became complicated. After being treated in Peja for a rupture in her uterus, she was transferred to the University Clinical Center of Kosovo, UCCK. There, Nurije passed away along with her baby, Drin, who she named while she was pregnant. She left behind two daughters, a seven-year-old and a five-year-old.

See at: https://bit.ly/3bpT2yj

Rumena Ljubic: Solitude is my greatest enemy (Radio Gorazdevac, KoSSev)

Although 20,000 Serbs once lived in Pec, only one Serb woman – Rumena Ljubic – lives in the centre of this town today. This 90-year-old former teacher and professor of Serbian language is stoically resisting adversity while living alone in her well-preserved family home in the city centre, Radio Gorazdevac reported.

Rumena Ljubic has repeatedly faced problems and attempts to rob her family home. She says she has no problems with the locals she knew before.

“I was welcomed wherever I went. All traders know me as Aunt Ruska, but I have a problem in my street. They poured sand into my water pipes on two occasions, and stole my firewood. I caught them while they were removing my cables downstairs in the garage,“ Rumena told Radio Gorazdevac.

The situation was the worst after I returned to Pec, she said, adding that trespassing was common and several attempts to burn her house down were made.

“There was a heater here. Take a look. The heater worked fine for many years. He took it apart and when I came home, its parts were scattered near the door,“ Ljubic said.

Professor Ljubic’s home had also often been the target of stoning.

“I’ve kept the receipts from the shop where I repaired the windows. They broke seventeen windows in total,“ she underlined.

Rumena Ljubic regularly pays all utility taxes and bills. Moreover, she launched initiatives and submitted requests that were approved by the Municipality of Pec.

“I regularly pay taxes, I pay my electricity bill regularly. I paid my phone bill until recently.”

I couldn’t pay for the street. I wrote a request to the mayor to get the street paved. I wrote the request and a neighbour collected signatures and we got a lovely street,“ Rumena Ljubic told Radio Gorazdevac.

Rumena Ljubic is sometimes visited by an Orthodox priest who lives near her home, as well as Serbs from Gorazdevac village. According to Ljubic, the hardest thing she is facing is solitude.

See at: https://bit.ly/2H6zcdw