• COVID-19: 353 new cases, four deaths (media)
• Zemaj: New anti-COVID measures to be coordinated with all stakeholders (media)
• Hoti: Threatening statements from Belgrade do not help dialogue (media)
• Still no date set for discussions on Kosovo’s next president (Prishtina Insight)
• “Kosovo heading towards snap elections” (RFE)
• Aide refutes reports Osmani will call parties to discuss president post (media)
• Haradinaj: If my candidacy is not endorsed, we head to elections (Telegrafi)
• 100 days since signed, Washington agreement remains in paper only (Koha)
• Serwer: Albright to become involved in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (media)
• Kosovo War Veterans’ Leaders Indicted for Obstructing Justice (Balkan Insight)
• Status conference in case against Mustafa held at The Hague (media)
• Joint defence requests variation of time limit for preliminary motions (media)
• One of two Kosovo men arrested by Serbian authorities, released (Klan)
• Blast reported at police officer’s home in Leposavic municipality (Kallxo)

COVID-19: 353 new cases, four deaths (media)

353 new cases of COVID-19 and four deaths from the virus have been recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 661 persons have recovered from the virus during this time.

There are 13,114 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Zemaj: New anti-COVID measures to be coordinated with all stakeholders (media)

Kosovo’s Health Minister Armend Zemaj and Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Tahiri held a virtual meeting with mayors of Kosovo municipalities to discuss the measures taken against the COVID-19 pandemic and coordinate efforts for the coming two-week period.

Zemaj said the current measures have proven effective and will remain in place. He also said that together with mayors, Prime Minister Hoti and health authorities, “we will remain in continuous contact and fully coordinate before taking anti-COVID decisions during the end of the year.”

Tahiri meanwhile said that they discussed the pandemic and the respect for anti-COVID measures. “We also agreed that the complete lockdown is not necessary at this stage,” he wrote on Facebook.

Hoti: Threatening statements from Belgrade do not help dialogue (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti held a virtual meeting with the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly rapporteur for Kosovo Peter Beyer and discussed about non-majority communities in Kosovo, media freedom and the current developments, all of which will be part of a CoE report.

According to a press release issued by Kosovo PM’s office, Hoti spoke about the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken by the government so far to manage the situation. “Prime Minister Hoti also raised the issue of the President, where he stressed the readiness of political entities to reach a solution, while underlining that if there is no solution to this issue, the country must go to the polls.”

On the issue of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue currently underway in Brussels, Hoti is reported to have stressed that “threatening statements by senior Serbian officials do not help this process.”

Beyer meanwhile tweeted: “All political parties in Kosovo must see the importance of genuine and inclusive consultations and constructive cooperation in view of the presidential elections next year. Nobody should risk another unnecessary constitutional crisis.”

Still no date set for discussions on Kosovo’s next president (Prishtina Insight)

The Kosovo Government has not yet set a concrete date for a roundtable discussion between political parties on the issue of the country’s next president. Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti first mentioned the need for consultations between parties over the issue on November 16, but no official meeting has yet been held.

The Office of the Prime Minister told BIRN on Monday that a date will be announced as soon as it is confirmed. “We still do not have a concrete date, as soon we do, we will inform you,” said Antigona Baxhaku-Idrizi, an advisor of Prime Minister Hoti.

After President Thaci’s resignation on November 5, presidential duties have been handled by acting President Vjosa Osmani. However, according to the Kosovo Constitution, an acting president can only occupy the position for six months, while the Constitution also dictates that a new president must be elected 30 days before the end of the current president’s mandate.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3a7JBW0

“Kosovo heading towards snap elections” (RFE)

Radio Free Europe quotes officials from the ruling Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and the largest opposition party the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) as saying that Kosovo is sliding towards fresh parliamentary elections and that this option is likelier than an agreement between political parties on the issue of the new president of Kosovo.

LDK deputy leader Lutfi Haziri said the idea of the party leader, Isa Mustafa, is to invite political parties to a roundtable to launch internal dialogue on the president issue. “Efforts are underway for quite some time now but we are waiting for the confirmation from the parties. If there is no agreement, no other option remains. It seems likelier we are heading towards elections,” Haziri said. He noted that he did not see how elections could result in a sustainable solution as the process, he said, will only fuel new cycle of political crises. “If there is no political will to resolve problems at the table today, we will still face the same problems. Parties will still go back to their same political positions,” Haziri said.

Perparim Kryeziu, spokesperson for LVV, said they have not received any invitation from the LDK but noted that the true meaning behind the initiative for a roundtable is not to find a solution for the next president but to prolong the life of the current government. “In Vetevendosje’s view, the way out of this situation is through new elections, through a new and re-legitimised Assembly, through agreed criteria for a unifying figure for president,” he said.

Aide refutes reports Osmani will call parties to discuss president post (media)

Faton Peci, chief of staff to acting President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani, rejected reports that political parties will be invited to a meeting to discuss the post of Kosovo president.

He said in a Facebook post that Osmani’s position is clear in that the new president should be a result of new elections. Peci however did say that Osmani will call a meeting with political representatives but that it will focus on the issue of the Covid pandemic and the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.

Haradinaj: If my candidacy is not endorsed, we head to elections (Telegrafi)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj reiterated that if other political parties do not support his candidacy for president of Kosovo, elections remain the only way out.

“We will have discussions and if no agreement on this formula is reached, we will have elections,” Haradinaj said in an interview with the Tirana-based Report TV. He added that he put forward his candidacy in order to prevent Kosovo from heading to fresh elections.

Haradinaj also commented on the initiative of the Albanian parliament to set up a special committee into the former Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty’s allegations saying he does not see anything useful coming out of it. “There is no sense to go back to this issue,” he said adding that it is better for Kosovo and Albania to cooperate with the Specialist Chambers based at The Hague so that the innocence of the accused is confirmed.

100 days since signed, Washington agreement remains in paper only (Koha)

Koha Ditore reports on the front page that apart from approving the 16-point plan for implementation of commitments pledged in Washington on September 4, the Government of Kosovo has not revealed whether any concrete steps have been taken, 100 days into the agreement being signed.

Representatives of the Kosovo Prime Minister’s Office did not say at what stage are the actions agreed by the Government relating to the normalisation of economic ties with Serbia while opposition representatives say the agreement should not be implemented at all as it represents a diplomatic failure of the Hoti-led government. At the same time, representatives from the civil society say there have been some actions on the part of the Government of Kosovo towards implementation of the Washington agreement but that it will largely depend on the approach of the new U.S. Administration.

Serwer: Albright to become involved in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (media)

Balkans expert Daniel Serwer from the Johns Hopkins University told N1 regional media outlet that the former U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright will become engaged in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

He said Albright knows the region well although she may not be welcomed in Belgrade because she supported NATO airstrikes against Serbia: “It doesn’t matter what Serbs think about whether or not Madeleine Albright should be included. She will be included. She is a former secretary of state. She is also someone who has lived in Serbia, she speaks Serbian. I think that should be appreciated.”

Serwer said that while the EU should host the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, the Americans and the Europeans have to work together as neither can successfully conclude the process on its own.

Serwer also spoke about the jurisdiction of the Specialist Chambers and said he has proposed it expands it into Serbia as well. “We have a very clear case of three Americans, American Albanians from Kosovo, who were killed in Serbia after the war, and their killers cannot be tried in The Hague because special courts have no jurisdiction in Serbia This is ridiculous. I suggested in Washington, and no one noticed what I suggested, that Serbia extend the jurisdiction of the special court in The Hague to Serbian territory because they showed they would not try perpetrators of murders inside Serbia,” he said.

According to Serwer, there are several other things that need to be understood about the dialogue. “One is that the purpose of these talks, in the opinion of the Americans, and honestly I think in the opinion of many Europeans, is that they must result in mutual recognition and exchange of ambassadors. Vucic made it quite clear that he does not want to be the president of Serbia that will recognise Kosovo.  I think he seriously believes this. I think we have to get ready to wait for another President of Serbia to do it, if necessary. In the meantime, we may have to consider a mutual agreement, but only if Kosovo gets a UN membership. This problem must be solved, even if the problem of mutual recognition is not.”

Kosovo War Veterans’ Leaders Indicted for Obstructing Justice (Balkan Insight)

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers confirmed the indictment of the leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans’ Organisation, Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj, for obstructing justice and intimidating witnesses.

A pre-trial judge on Monday confirmed the indictment of Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj for “offences against the administration of justice, namely obstruction of official persons in performing official duties, intimidation of witnesses, retaliation and violation of secrecy of proceedings”, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers said in a statement.

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Status conference in case against Mustafa held at The Hague (media)

A status conference in the case against Salih Mustafa, former KLA commander, was held at the Specialist Chambers on Monday. Mustafa is charged with war including arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and murder of civilian prisoners. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts of the indictment.

Mustafa’s defence counsel said the pandemic situation could impact their investigations process, especially the part which will require travel to Kosovo and that up to nine months will be needed for the defence to prepare for the trial. This was opposed by the prosecution which argued that it would be ready for the start of the trial by March 2021.

The next hearing in the case against Mustafa is expected to take place in February.

Joint defence requests variation of time limit for preliminary motions (media)

Defence counsels representing Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi, and Jakup Krasniqi, have filed a request with the Specialist Chambers judge seeking variation of the time limit for presenting preliminary motions.

“Counsel for the four Accused jointly request a variation of the standard thirty day time limit set by Rule 97(2) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (“RPE”). Given the considerable volume of disclosure, the complex legal issues to be addressed and the particular circumstances of the case, good cause exists for the prolongation of this timeframe,” the legal representatives said in their request.

The legal representatives listed a number of reasons behind the request to prolong the time for presenting their motions, including the volume of the material that needs to be reviewed. “1760 documents in support of the indictment will take time to read, analyse and take instructions,” they said.

They proposed the preliminary motions be filed by 10 February 2021.

One of two Kosovo men arrested by Serbian authorities, released (Klan)

Berat Mexhuani, arrested alongside Blerim Maqastena, by Serbian authorities on Sunday, has been released from detention.

“Berat Mexhuani has been released while Blerim Maqastena has remained in 30-day detention,” said commander of Kosovo Police station in Podujeve, Isak Ejupi.

Media reported that the two men wandered into Serbia’s territory after losing their way in a heavy fog. Klan meanwhile says Maqastena was found to have been carrying a firearm for which he had a permit issued by Kosovo authorities.

Blast reported at police officer’s home in Leposavic municipality (Kallxo)

A blast took place yesterday evening in the northern part of Kosovo, with sources saying the target was the house of a Kosovo Police officer working at the border management unit.

The house, located in the village of Dobrova, Leposavic municipality, was damaged in the explosion but no persons are reported to have been injured in the attack which sources said has been carried out by yet unidentified persons.