• COVID-19: 461 new cases, three deaths (media)
• Agriculture agency officials suspected of bribery and theft detained (BIRN)
• Hoti: Those responsible must receive maximal punishment (media)
• “Police operation proves Kosovo deeply immersed in corruption” (media)
• Serbian List silent over warning of Vetevendosje Movement (Radio Free Europe)
• Parties to complaint to court over suspected vote manipulation (Koha)
• “No one can be prosecuted for voting the party of another community” (media)
• Rexhepi: We must vote for Osmani as Kosovo President (media)
• In Kosovo, uncertain future for war crimes court nobody wanted (EuroNews)

COVID-19: 461 new cases, three deaths (media)

Kosovo has recorded 461 new cases of COVID-19 and three deaths in the last 24 hours. 319 persons have recovered from the virus during this time, while the number of active cases is 6,968.

Agriculture agency officials suspected of bribery and theft detained (BIRN)

Prosecutors on Wednesday said police had swooped on officials from the Agriculture Ministry, suspected of taking bribes and pocketing agricultural grants.

Twelve persons were arrested on Wednesday as Special Police targeted the offices of Kosovo’s Agency for Development of Agriculture on suspicion that officials are involved in bribery and misuse of state cash.

Confirming the arrests, Chief Prosecutor Aleksander Lumezi said that 10 of them are officials and two are ordinary citizens.

“Collection of information for this case started in January. After obtaining the evidence, we received the order for raids in several locations,” Lumezi said.

The dragnet operation was also conducted in the municipalities of Peje, Gjilan, Istog and Lipjan.

Beside the arrests, police confirmed that they had seized around 400,000 euros in cash, several cars, computers and laptops.

“The cash was found in the homes of the suspects and it is suspected that it was received as bribes,” the head of the police’s Department for Economic Crimes, Nazim Sahiti, told the media.

BIRN has learned that the money was found in two separate bags, one in the toilet of a house of one of suspects and another in the courtyard of another suspect.

Caretaker Minister of Agriculture Besian Mustafa on Wednesday declined to give more details on the case while the operation is ongoing, but supported the operation.

“Such operations should be experienced as good days, when things get clarified and justice does its job. I call on the Prosecution and Police to take this case to the end,” Mustafa said.

In its annual “Progress Report” on Kosovo, in 2020, the European Commission concluded that “corruption is widespread and remains an issue of serious concern” in the country.

“There is a need for strong political will to effectively address corruption issues, as well as a robust criminal justice response to high-level corruption,” the report added.

The report also noted “a continuous need to promote integrity in the public service as a tool for preventing corruption and ensuring discipline”.

The global watchdog Transparency International, TI, in its report for 2020, published last month, ranked Kosovo in 104th place out of 179 countries in its corruption perceptions index – a decline of three places compared to 101st place the previous year.

Hoti: Those responsible must receive maximal punishment (media)

Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister, Avdullah Hoti, took to Facebook on Wednesday to comment on the police operation on suspected bribes and misuse of state cash by some members of Kosovo’s Agency for Development and Agriculture. “Those responsible must receive maximal punishment. These people do not deserve to be part of the institutions,” Hoti said in a Facebook post.

“Police operation proves Kosovo deeply immersed in corruption” (media)

Several news websites report that the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) said in a press release that the police operation in Kosovo’s Agency for Development and Agriculture is proof that Kosovo is deeply immersed in corruption. “The arrests and the discovery of the large amount of cash in the hands of individuals is proof of how deep Kosovo is immersed in corruption and how organised criminal groups are … The arrest of ten state officials for corruption and the finding cash clearly shows the lack of control over state funds and the possibility of abuse by state officials for personal benefits or for the benefit of other persons,” the statement notes.

Serbian List silent over warning of Vetevendosje Movement (Radio Free Europe)

The Serbian List (SL) refuses to say how it will act toward the new government which is expected to be formed by the Vetevendosje Movement (VV) which won the February 14 parliamentary elections. The SL, which won all ten guaranteed seats for the Serb community in the Kosovo Assembly, can be part of the new government without being part of the ruling coalition. This is guaranteed with the Constitution, because in this event it would be the only Serb political party in the Assembly. The Vetevendosje Movement however has made it clear that it will not form a coalition with the SL, but only with some other MPs from non-majority communities. Radio Free Europe tried to contact with leaders of the Serbian List, but they were not available for comment.

Kadri Kryeziu, former member of the Constitutional Court, told the news website that even if the Serbian List refuses to nominate candidates for ministers in the new government, this party cannot block the formation of the new government.

“They can block Kurti from choosing a different name from the Serb community which is not part of the Serbian List, but they cannot block the voting process on the government, which can be formed if it gets 61 votes, regardless of which community they come from,” he said.

Parties to complaint to court over suspected vote manipulation (Koha)

The paper reports on page three this morning that political parties from non-majority communities have said they will complain even to the Constitutional Court over the suspected vote manipulation by the Serbian List. Representatives of these parties claim that with the goal of having more seats in the new Kosovo Assembly, the Serbian List has helped two other parties, a Bosniak and a Roma party, to get more votes. Albert Kinolli, from the Kosovo Roma United Party, said the actions of the Serbian List have violated the rights of non-majority communities guaranteed by the Constitution of Kosovo.

“No one can be prosecuted for voting the party of another community” (media)

Fejzullah Hasani, former President of the Supreme Court, said on Wednesday that if there is evidence that there has been a vote manipulation in the February 14 parliamentary elections, those people would be prosecuted. “However, we cannot prosecute someone only for voting, because we know that the vote is confidential. But even if we know that someone voted for someone from a different community, we cannot prosecute this person for that,” he said in a debate on Dukagjini TV. Hasani also said that there is no doubt that “votes were orchestrated in certain regions”.

Rexhepi: We must vote for Osmani as Kosovo President (media)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) member Fatmir Rexhepi said on Wednesday that LDK representatives must vote in favor of Vjosa Osmani for Kosovo President. “The LDK must vote in favor of Osmani because in the past we have even voted in favor of our biggest opponents,” he said in a TV debate.

In Kosovo, uncertain future for war crimes court nobody wanted (EuroNews)

When Kosovo’s parliament debated in 2015 whether to establish an international court to probe alleged war crimes by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the 1998 and 1999 war with Serbia, the vote was presented as a simple choice. Yes, would result in a deeper relationship with the European Union and Washington DC. No would mean further isolation. The latter option was a stark option for the tiny Balkan state, whose 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia was still not recognised by Belgrade, Russia, China, and even a handful of European nations, including Spain and Cyprus. In Kosovo, the vote was seen as an ultimatum: vote the war crimes court into existence, or kiss goodbye to ever joining the EU.

“The threat the international community posed on Kosovo was isolation,” Gëzim Visoka, associate professor of peace and conflict studies at Dublin City University, said. The extent to which Kosovo’s political elite took that threat seriously in 2015 is demonstrated by the fact that the campaign to vote yes was led by Hashim Thaci, a former KLA commander. Thaci’s alleged involvement in war crimes during the 1998-99 war was one of the reasons the Hague-based international court was being set up in the first place.

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