• COVID-19 report: 245 new cases, 13 deaths (media)
• Prime Minister Hoti tests positive for COVID-19 (media)
• Kusari-Lila: Hoti did not self-isolate following testing for COVID-19 (media)
• Haziri: My criticism of government was well-intentioned (Ekonomia Online)
• Kosovo dialogue coordinator Hyseni travels to U.S. (media)
• Wilson: Difficult decisions ahead for both Kosovo and Serbia (media)
• No new recognition of Kosovo’s independence in 30 months (KTV)
• Haxhiu: Hoti and Hyseni, part of Thaci’s dangerous projects (Koha)
• Kosovo reacts to ex-KLA member being detained in Albania (media)
• Name of Roma Child Missing in Kosovo Massacre Memorial (Exit News)

Kosovo Media Highlights

COVID-19 report: 245 new cases, 13 deaths (media)

245 new cases of coronavirus and 13 deaths have been recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo.

The highest number of new cases is from the municipality of Prishtina (71).

629 patients with the coronavirus are being treated in Kosovo’s health facilities.

Gazeta Express reported that 20 patients are currently on respirators. Koha reported that 72 people died from the coronavirus in Kosovo last week.

Prime Minister Hoti tests positive for COVID-19 (media)

Most news outlets reported on Sunday evening that Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti has tested positive for the coronavirus. Hoti said in a Facebook that he will go into self-isolation for two weeks and perform his duties from home.

Kusari-Lila: Hoti did not self-isolate following testing for COVID-19 (media)

Kosovo MP Mimoza Kusari-Lila has criticised Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti for not self-isolating following his testing for COVID-19 but continuing to hold meetings during this period. She said this was in violation to the health protocols and that Hoti exposed tens of people to the risk of infection by not heeding to instructions of health professionals.

“I wish Mr. Hoti speedy recovery and return to his duty which I hope will leave soon as soon as he recovers,” Kusari-Lila wrote.

Haziri: My criticism of government was well-intentioned (Ekonomia Online)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) deputy leader and Gjilan Mayor, Lutfi Haziri, said in an interview to the news website that his criticism of the government led by LDK’s Avdullah Hoti was well-intentioned. Haziri said he has called for a more aggressive approach in the management of the coronavirus pandemic, because in his opinion the current situation cannot be managed with what he called soft policies.

Haziri said the government made the right decision to activate the National Reaction Plan, “because the pandemic cannot be managed only with the Law on Infections because it is insufficient to resolve all problems”.

Haziri also said that he is against restrictions on the movements of citizens. He said there should be more controls in the field “and no decisions to close businesses”.

Kosovo dialogue coordinator Hyseni travels to U.S. (media)

Skender Hyseni, Kosovo’s coordinator for dialogue with Serbia, has travelled to the U.S. where he is expected to meet Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and the U.S. Special Representative for the Western Balkans, Matthew Palmer. 

Wilson: Difficult decisions ahead for both Kosovo and Serbia (media)

Damon Wilson, executive vice president of the Atlantic Council, said that he expects difficult decisions ahead concerning the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

“I welcome the assistance of President Vucic in preparing Serbia for this process and negotiations. A sincere conversation with the public is more than necessary both in Kosovo and in Serbia for the fact that there will be difficult decisions and compromises are necessary,” Wilson told Voice of America.

Wilson said that political courage and leadership need to be demonstrated so that the people can focus on the future. “This is what is happening now, preparing the public for realising that this is a really good thing for these countries.”

No new recognition of Kosovo’s independence in 30 months (KTV)

The TV station reported on Sunday that Kosovo has not secured a new recognition of its independence in over 30 months now. The last country to recognise Kosovo’s statehood was Barbados in August 2018.

Since then three governments have changed in Kosovo but none of them managed to secure a new recognition, while Serbia has never stopped its derecognition campaign. In fact, Serbia has managed to convince 18 countries to retract their recognitions of Kosovo’s independence.

The TV station contacted the Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs to comment on any new strategy for more recognitions but received no reply.

Haxhiu: Hoti and Hyseni, part of Thaci’s dangerous projects (Koha)

Albulena Haxhiu from Vetevendosje Movement said that Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and dialogue coordinator Skender Hyseni are part of projects conceived by President Hashim Thaci which she deems dangerous.

Haxhiu accused Hoti of not being transparent in the process of dialogue with Serbia and of not having build support or unity for the process. She said no one can bring a damaging agreement to Kosovo and noted that there can be no meaningful dialogue without elections taking place beforehand.

“An illegal, illegitimate government cannot bring an agreement and even less so people who did not even won the least trust of the citizens to represent Kosovo,” Haxhiu wrote on Facebook.

Kosovo reacts to ex-KLA member being detained in Albania (media)

Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla has reacted to the detention of a former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) member by Albanian border authorities on an Interpol arrest warrant issued by Serbia.

Following the detention of Murtez Kastrati, Haradinaj-Stublla contacted Albania’s Foreign Minister Gent Cakaj and the former KLA fighter was shortly after released.

“It is unacceptable how Serbia internationally pretends to show ‘constructiveness’ towards Kosovo when as soon as dialogue doors close it continues illegal actions against Kosovo,” Haradinaj-Stublla said adding that Albanian authorities need to update the international arrest warrants which she said do not correspond to Kosovo’s political and legal reality.

Name of Roma Child Missing in Kosovo Massacre Memorial (Exit News)

A memorial commemorating a massacre in Mitrovica in 1999 does not include the name of a Roma child who allegedly was one of the victims.

On March 13, 1999, a grenade was thrown at the Green Market in Mitrovica, killing seven people and injuring dozens. The massacre is thought to have been carried out by Serbian forces.

In March 2020, the municipality erected a memorial to commemorate the massacre, but only the names of six Albanians are found in it. The name of five-year-old Roma girl Elizabeta Hasani is missing.

On Sunday, on the Day of the Holocaust against the Roma by the Nazis, Kosovo activist Shkëlzen Gashi denounced this fact.

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