Albanian Language Media:

• COVID-19: 774 new cases, four deaths (media)
• Albin Kurti to receive the anti-Covid vaccine today (Express)
• Anti-COVID vaccination in Prishtina starts Tuesday (media)
• The Serbian List addresses Constitutional Court claiming bigger share in government (Express)
• Shala: We do not make compromises with candidates who lack political unity (media)
• Gashi: final decision on issue of President is made by LDK MPs (media)
• Kosnett urges parties to take a constructive position on the issue of president (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• 12 new cases of Covid-19 registered in Serbian areas on Sunday (Radio KIM, RTS)
• Serbian List filed complaint with Constitutional Court over one ministerial post (KoSSev)
• Mass vaccination of citizens and foreigners in Serbia; PM says no politics (N1)
• Cadez: 8.500 businesspeople from region vaccinated in Serbia (N1)
• German media: ‘Vaccination weekend’ new success of Serbia immunisation policy (N1)
• Bartolome: Spain will not change stance on Kosovo, no matter who requests that (Kosovo-online)
• Petkovic: Announcement of constructing KSF base in northern Kosovo dangerous (Kosovo-online)
• NSI reacts to announced KSF base at Crnusa hill above Mitrovica (media, social media)
• Andjelkovic: Formation of KSF base in northern Kosovo direct threat to Serbs (Kosovo-online)
• Milic: Disrespect of Resolution 1244 (B92)
• YIHR: Officials should stop manipulating data related to victims of Kosovo war (KoSSev)

International:

• Serbia Vaccinates Thousands from Region Over Weekend (Balkan Insight)
• Foreign vaccine-seekers flock to Serbia for COVID-19 shots (Reuters)
• Serbia vaccinates migrants amid surge in COVID-19 cases (ABC News, Associated Press)

Albanian Language Media  

COVID-19: 774 new cases, four deaths (media)

Kosovo has recorded 774 new cases of COVID-19 and four deaths in the last 24 hours. 903 persons have recovered from the virus during this time.

There are 13,594 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Albin Kurti to receive the anti-Covid vaccine today (Express)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, will be vaccinated today with the vaccine against COVID-19, reports Gazeta Express.

This was announced through a press release from the Office of the Prime Minister.

He will be vaccinated at 16:30 in the hall “1 Tetori” in Pristina.

“Prime Minister Albin Kurti will be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca – Oxford COVID-19 vaccine. Venue: Sports Hall “1 Tetori”, Prishtina, time: 16:30 “, it is said in the announcement.

Anti-COVID vaccination in Prishtina starts Tuesday (media)

Last night, Kosovo was supplied with the first contingent of 24 thousand vaccines “AstraZeneca” by the international coalition COVAX.

Meanwhile, the vaccination process is expected to start tomorrow (Tuesday) and the priority will be the medical staff at the Infectious Diseases Clinic and then the people over the age of 80 with chronic diseases, media report. Vaccination in other municipalities will start in the following days.

This was announced today by the Minister of Health, Arben Vitia in a virtual meeting he held with the mayors of Kosovo regarding the coordination and the process of starting vaccination.

The Serbian List addresses Constitutional Court claiming bigger share in government  (Express)

The Serbian List addressed today the Constitutional Court with regards to the decision of the government led by Albin Kurti to let this political entity lead only with one ministry, reports Gazeta Express.

“The appeal opposes the decision of the Assembly for the election of the Government in Pristina on March 22, 2021, in which the Serb community was given only one ministry, although according to the Constitution it was obliged to appoint two,” is written in a statement issued by the Serbian List.

“The Serbian List expects the Constitutional Court to rule in accordance with constitutional law, respecting the rights of the Serbian people, but also of other non-majority communities,” the statement said.

Further, the Serbian List added that with this decision, Serbs have been denied fair representation.

The Serbian List did not vote for the Government headed by Albin Kurti, while they also announced during the session that they will address the Constitutional Court.

They claim that they should have two ministries out of the total number of ministries that are in the executive.

Shala: We do not make compromises with candidates who lack political unity (media)

Ferat Shala, MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) said his political party does not make compromises if the candidate for president does not represent political unity.

“Our position is already clear, we are an opposition party and we will be active with all its social, economic and parliamentary dimension, we will be guardians in relation to state institutions. We will do our best in the most democratic way to maintain the vital institutions and the position of the state of Kosovo in relation to all those developments that await it and are not easy and few, so we will be at the service of the citizen, and politics which protects the Constitution and our country,” Shala said.

According to him, the main reason that the presidential candidate, Vjosa Osmani, does not have the support of this party is the lack of personality of unity that they have not seen in her.

“PDK and its structures, the Steering Council and the Presidency have taken a position that there will be no vote for Ms. Osmani as a candidate for President. The first reason is that at no point in her political and legal life has she reflected as a person of unity. So, the primary duty, from the first moment and primary characteristics of the President should be a personality that reflects unity and inclusiveness in terms of leadership. These are the qualities that we do not find in her, since entering the political scene until today, in no case and moment have we seen the personality of unity in her,” Shala said

“The personality of the President must be unifying, intellectual with culture and vision of the state, who has never damaged the national position, a pure national and intellectual figure,” he said.

Speaking about foreign affairs and the attitude of Prime Minister Albin Kurti towards dialogue, Shala emphasized that Kurti is already hostage to all his promises made during his time in opposition and added that it will not be very easy for him to make a required transformation. “However, we are here, and we will be the exact face-to-face confrontation,” he concluded.

Gashi: final decision on issue of President is made by LDK MPs (media)

The Presidency of the Democratic League of Kosovo is expected to decide today regarding the issue of election of the President. This position is aimed by Vjosa Osmani, who left the LDK after being fired from all leadership positions in the party, to later win the general parliamentary elections, where she ran alongside Levizja Vetevendosje (LVV).

The head of the LDK Parliamentary Group, Arben Gashi, told the Express news portal that the final decision on the issue of the President, as well as on other issues, will be made at the meeting of the MPs of this political party. He also added that the meeting of the LDK Parliamentary Group will not be held today.

“The meeting of the Parliamentary Group will definitely be held, but at a different time. For every decision in the Assembly, we hold a meeting of the Parliamentary Group and a decision is made in the Parliamentary Group,” Gashi said.

“We are in constant coordination with the Parliamentary Group. Usually, we gather a day before the session or on the day of the session,” he added.

He refused to say whether he would vote for Vjosa Osmani for president or not. Gashi did not even want to show the mood of the LDK deputies on this issue.

LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku, after the early parliamentary elections, has met at least twice with Vjosa Osmani to discuss the possibility of LDK MPs support for her election as president.

Kosnett urges parties to take a constructive position on the issue of president (media)

The Office of the President of Kosovo has announced through a press release that the Acting President, Glauk Konjufca met today with the U.S. Ambassador to Pristina, Philip Kosnett.

The communiqué informs that Kosnett has congratulated Konjufca for the new tasks, confirming his commitment and that of the United States to cooperate with the institutions of Kosovo.

Further, according to the communiqué, Konjufca stated that there should be institutional stability as soon as possible.

“On the other hand, Acting President Konjufca thanked Ambassador Kosnett and the United States of America for their continued assistance and partnership with the Republic of Kosovo. Mr. Konjufca stressed the importance of cooperation and further deepening of relations between the two countries, confirming his commitment to this. Acting President Konjufca also emphasized the importance of institutional stability and the speedy constitution of all institutions, as a precondition for the development of processes important to the country,” the statement said.

Further, according to the announcement, Kosnett emphasized the importance of electing the new president of Kosovo.

“Ambassador Konsett emphasized the importance of electing the President of the country, thus concluding the constitution of institutions after the February 14 elections. He stressed the need for a constructive role of all political forces in the country during this process, by putting the state interest before the political and party one,” was said in the announcement.

Serbian Language Media

12 new cases of Covid-19 registered in Serbian areas on Sunday (Radio KIM, RTS)

12 new cases of Covid-19 were registered in the Serb-populated areas in Kosovo, Crisis Committee of Mitrovica North announced on Sunday, Radio KIM reports.

A total of 29 samples had been tested.

The breakdown of the new cases is as follows: one in Mitrovica North, five in Leposavic, four in Zubin Potok, and one each in Gracanica and Priluzje.

At the same time, 64 persons have completed a two-week isolation period, bringing the total number of active cases in the Serbian areas in Kosovo to 767.

Also, a total of 129 persons had passed away since the outbreak of the pandemic in the Serb-populated areas in Kosovo. 

Meanwhile, RTS reports that around 13.000 people from Serb-populated areas in Kosovo and Metohija received the first dose of the vaccine, and around 11.000 received the second dose.

Manager of the hospital in Mitrovica North, Danica Radomirovic said there was an increase in the number of positive cases over the last couple of days, adding that the number decreased on weekend.

She also said 109 persons are hospitalized in Mitrovica North and 45 of them require oxygen support. She added people who want to get vaccinated have four vaccines at their disposal. 

18 new cases of Covid-19 registered in Gracanica municipality

Over the last three days 18 new cases of Covid-19 have been registered in the territory of Gracanica municipality, Radio KIM reports today.

42 patients were hospitalized, while their families’ members were instructed to remain in self-isolation. 

Serbian List filed complaint with Constitutional Court over one ministerial post (KoSSev)

As announced earlier the Serbian List filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court today as it received only one ministerial post in the new Kosovo Government, KoSSev portal reports.

“The appeal challenges the decision of the Assembly on the election of the Government in Pristina from March 22, 2021, in which only one ministry was given to the Serbian people to manage, although according to the Constitution there was an obligation to assign two”, the Serbian List said.

The Serbian List also said it expects the Kosovo Constitutional Court to decide “in accordance with constitutional law, respecting the rights, interests of the Serbian people, but also other non-majority communities.”

Mass vaccination of citizens and foreigners in Serbia; PM says no politics (N1)

Vaccination of citizens from the entire region continued in Belgrade and Nis over the weekend with the 10,000 AstraZeneca vaccines that were secured, and Prime Minister Ana Brnabic responded to critics, denying it was Serbia’s political move, N1 reports.

Long queues formed in front of the Belgrade Fair on Sunday, but it was not as crowded as the day before. The crowd cleared around noon.

Ana Brnabic, Serbian Prime Minister, denied on Monday that Belgrade’s offer to people from the region to be vaccinated in the country was not a political move. The picture of neighbours queuing for the shots was the best one sent across the former Yugoslav republics.

She added that “the most likeable picture was one of Albanian air company flight attendants in their uniforms who came to Belgrade to get shots“.

Everything went according to plan, according to N1’s reporter at the scene, and security allowed 20 people to enter the vaccination points at a time while the others would wait for their turn.

There were two lines of people waiting – one was for those who had scheduled their vaccination and the other for those who did not do so.

According to Belgrade Deputy Mayor Goran Vesic, a total of 6,446 people, foreigners and Serbian nationals, were vaccinated at the Belgrade Fair on Saturday.

“5,299 people, most of whom are foreigners, received the AstraZeneca vaccine“, Vesic told the Beta agency, stating that 1,147 people were revaccinated.

Cadez: 8.500 businesspeople from region vaccinated in Serbia (N1)

The President of Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) Marko Cadez said 8.500 businessmen from the region were vaccinated in Belgrade and Nis, while Belgrade Deputy Mayor, Goran Vesic said this will not affect the vaccination process in Serbia, N1 reports.

The largest number of registered businessmen is from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia and Montenegro, Cadez said in Belgrade’s Belekspo Centre, where the vaccination of businessmen from the region was organized.

According to Vesic, Belgrade is “becoming the centre of the region again.“

“The vaccination of businessmen from the region does not affect the process of vaccination of Serbian citizens, since the Serbian Chamber of Commerce procured vaccines through a special fund“, he stressed.

German media: ‘Vaccination weekend’ new success of Serbia immunisation policy (N1)

Thousands of foreign nationals were vaccinated in Serbia last weekend, German media reported on Monday, adding that the readiness for immunisation in the country was low, and the Government was reportedly considering benefits for the vaccinated, Deutsche Welle reported.

During the weekend, thousands of people from the neighbouring countries of BiH, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro and Croatia, were vaccinated in Serbia, Deutsche Welle said, adding Belgrade politicians said some 9,600 foreign citizens were immunised on Saturday alone, while another 8,500 vaccinations were carried out on Sunday.

Immunisation also took place in the northern city of Novi Sad and southern Nis, the DPA news agency reported.

“Numerous people from Bosnia and Northern Macedonia expressed their gratitude to Serbia on social networks. In those two smaller Balkan countries, vaccinations against the coronavirus have hardly begun“, it added.

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

Bartolome: Spain will not change stance on Kosovo, no matter who requests that (Kosovo-online)

Stance of Spain regarding the territory of Kosovo remains the same, didn’t change, Spain does not recognize Kosovo independence and this is the state policy, Spanish Ambassador to Serbia Raul Bartolome told Novosti daily.

“We will accept only what Serbia accepts”, Ambassador said in a response to a question what is the current position of Spain regarding Kosovo issue and was there a possibility that official Madrid reconsiders recognition of Kosovo. 

Petkovic: Announcement of constructing KSF base in northern Kosovo dangerous (Kosovo-online)

Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic said today the announcement of constructing the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) base in northern Kosovo was equally dangerous as the one that the so-called Kosovo Army has been formed, Kosovo-online portal reports.

“We have understood the message, the intention and the aim of constructing that base have been clear to us, and we just ask them not to threaten Serbs, because this is 2021. Serbia shall protect and is protecting its people, it is for peace and dialogue, while those doing that should take care of what they are doing, because it endangers peace and stability in the Western Balkans”, Petkovic told Tanjug news agency.

He expressed regret that Pristina at the moment of facing numerous economic challenges and issues, has no (money) for medicaments, ventilators, not even for tests on Covid-19 and vaccines, but has the money only when it takes to threaten Serbs.

NSI reacts to announced KSF base at Crnusa hill above Mitrovica (media, social media)

Mitrovica-based non-governmental organization New Social Initiative (NSI) reacted to the announced land allocation to the KSF for a purpose of reconstructing base at Crnusa hill overlooking Mitrovica, media reported.  

“Yesterday we received news from Mr. Agim Bahtiri that the Assembly of the Municipality of South Mitrovica allocated 191 hectares of land on Crnuša hill to the Kosovo Security Forces for the purposes of building the “largest military base in Kosovo”. Crnuša hill is located in the immediate vicinity of the city at an altitude of 1010 meters, and from it, the territories of the municipalities of Mitrovica North, Zvecan, Zubin Potok, Mitrovica South and Vucitrn can be monitored. According to Mr. Agim Bahtiri, this base is “of strategic importance for the defense of every inch of Kosovo”, NSI said in a statement.

“Having in mind the sensitive nature of relations between Serbs and Albanians, the news caused anxiety among the citizens of the four northernmost municipalities. New Social Initiative, as an organization dealing with relations between Serbs and Albanians, expresses concern over such announcements and insinuations by Kosovo authorities and urges the government to reconsider this decision, which can potentially further segregate the already divided communities in the Region of Mitrovica and increase fears Serb minority already has towards Kosovo institutions”, the statement added.

Read the full statement at: https://www.facebook.com/newsocialinitiative/

Andjelkovic: Formation of KSF base in northern Kosovo direct threat to Serbs (Kosovo-online)

“Formation of the base of Kosovo Security Force in South Mitrovica is a direct threat to Serbs in the north”, political analyst Dragomir Anđelković told Kosovo Online on Saturday.

He pointed out it was a message that Albanians were preparing “for a campaign to the north, for an attempt to occupy the north of Kosovo”.

“The idea to name that base Isa Boljetinac or Boljetini, as they say, after the Albanian military leader from the end of the XIX and the beginning of the XX century, known for the fight against Serbia and Montenegro, but also for crimes against Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, especially at the border of Serbian ethnic space in the north of Kosovo, it is clear that the Albanians are saying, sooner or later we will use those forces to occupy the north”, Andjelkovic said.

He added that Serbia “should not react violently because of that, but that it should initiate a serious international action and be ready to use military defense of northern Kosovo if necessary”.

“Negotiations are good, but the capitulation is unacceptable. If someone tries to conquer the north of Kosovo, then everything we had in 2011 must be repeated, when organized Serbian resistance prevented the campaign of Albanian paramilitary formations on that part of our territory”, Andjelkovic concluded.

Milic: Disrespect of Resolution 1244 (B92)

Director of Centre for Euro-Atlantic Studies (CEAS) Jelena Milic opined on Saturday that announced construction of the largest military base of Kosovo Security Force in the north of Kosovo and Metohija was a violation of Resolution 1244, B92 reports.

She said that the UN SC Resolution 1244 contained the obligation to disarm the KLA, and the culmination followed the transformation of the Kosovo Protection Corps into the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) in 2018.

She told Kosovo online that according to the recommendations from Ahtisaari’s plan, the transformation into the KSF foresaw a reaction in emergency situations, which was also intended to justify their deployment to the north of Kosovo.

“On the one hand, Serbia insisted that Kosovo police should be responsible for emergency situation response, and that competence was deliberately transferred to KSF, and not to the Kosovo Police, which the Americans in the UN bodies insisted on a lot, and some KSF units were certified according to NATO standards for those areas of expertise”, Milic said.

She explained that since four NATO members do not recognize Kosovo independence, and oppose the KSF’s entry into KFOR bases, there was a need to build a base that would enable the transformation of KSF into Kosovo’s armed forces led by key NATO members which recognized it.

Milic pointed out that the culmination started in 2018, with the unconstitutional transformation of KSF, according to a ten-year plan, into the armed force.

“Due to its cohesion, NATO has vehemently protested against it and for a long time claimed that it was considering its further engagement with KSF, and the United States continued to implement that plan. Serbia, as a military neutral country, should continue to strengthen defense cooperation with the United States and help reduce the gap between Serbs in the north and Serbs south of the Ibar, who should be provided with the Community of Serbian Municipalities”, Milic added.

She recalled that KFOR has a base in Leposavic in northern Kosovo and opined that Serbia should start an organized campaign to change the parts of UN Resolution 1244 that would go in its favor, in order to control the north of Kosovo together with KFOR under the UN mandate.

“What can be seen from which hill depends a lot on who controls southern Kopaonik. If Serbia is doing that with KFOR, then it remains militarily neutral, and the NATO partner that has a mandate to implement Resolution 1244, and it would be difficult for the Chinese and Russians to justify themselves by refusing a compromise”, Milic explained.

“Serbia should ask for legitimate changes to Resolution 1244, which is binding for all”, Milic said. She pointed out that Serbia was the only actor so far honoring the most all commitments stemming from Resolution 1244, Brussels and Washington agreements, and it had gained the least understanding of Kosovo and the Western international community for such behavior.

YIHR: Officials should stop manipulating data related to victims of Kosovo war (KoSSev)

The Youth Initiative for Human Rights – Serbia (YIHR Serbia) warned on Saturday of data manipulation by official Serb and Kosovo institutions during this week’s commemoration of the anniversary of the NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. They urged all institutions, as well as Serbian officials, to stop manipulating data on the number of victims of the Kosovo war and celebrating convicted war criminals, KoSSev portal reports.

“Several Serb officials presented inaccurate and incomplete data on the number of victims at several commemorative gatherings on the occasion of the beginning of the NATO bombing, thus showing disrespect for human lives“, the YIHR said.

On the other hand, the Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote on its official Twitter account that the Yugoslav Army and Serb police killed more than 15,000 Kosovo Albanians during the Kosovo war – the YIHR statement further reads.

See more at: https://bit.ly/39oDXxw

International

Serbia Vaccinates Thousands from Region Over Weekend (Balkan Insight)

Thousands of people from all over the Western Balkans took advantage of Serbia’s offer of free and rapid vaccination over the weekend, including 8,500 business people.

Some 8,500 business people from all over the Western Balkan region got their first vaccine jab against COVID-19 in Serbia over the weekend

The remarkable initiative was organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia whose head, Marko Cadez, told national broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia RTS that the action will be repeated.

eGovernment Office did not answer questions from BIRN about exactly how many other people from the region got jabs in Serbia on Saturday and Sunday.

But long lines of people could be seen in front of main vaccination centres in Belgrade, the Belgrade Fair and Belexpo Centre, as well as on border crossings with Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro. Others came to Serbia from Montenegro and Albania.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told Happy Television on Monday that Serbia would have to destroy 20,000 to 25,000 AstraZeneca vaccines because they expire at the beginning of April, and that Serbia did not want to do that, but to instead help the region by inviting citizens of other countries to take them.

See more at: https://bit.ly/31sqPD5

Foreign vaccine-seekers flock to Serbia for COVID-19 shots (Reuters)

BELGRADE (Reuters) – Elma jumped in her car with her mother and brother as soon as she heard that Serbia was offering free COVID-19 vaccines to foreigners, and made the five-hour trip from her home in Bosnia to queue up for a shot.

When she arrived on Thursday, she found she was one of hundreds flocking in from Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia who had heard the same reports of Belgrade’s plentiful supplies.

While many countries across the Balkans, and beyond the European Union, have been struggling with hold-ups and shortages, Serbia has been trumpeting its success in securing vaccines from a clutch of different suppliers.

See more at: https://reut.rs/3fpjufY

Serbia vaccinates migrants amid surge in COVID-19 cases (ABC News, Associated Press)

United Nations officials say Serbia has become the first European country to vaccinate people living in its refugee camps and asylum centers against the coronavirus.

KRNJACA, Serbia — Bashir Ahmad Shirzay lived through wars in Afghanistan, survived a harrowing journey to reach Europe and has no intention of taking a gamble with the coronavirus.

He was among the first to roll up his sleeve for a COVID-19 shot on Friday as Serbia became the first European country to vaccinate people living in its refugee camps and asylum centers, according to United Nations officials.

”We should take the vaccine for our health,” Shirzay said. “The virus takes a lot of lives.”

Some 530 migrants and asylum-seekers across Serbia have signed up to get vaccinated. The first recipients had their initial jabs of the AstraZeneca vaccine Friday at a drab camp on the outskirts of the Serbian capital, Belgrade.

“Today is a very, very special day because we have vaccination of refugees and asylum-seekers in the centers,” Francesca Bonelli, a U.N. refugee agency representative in Serbia, said. “It is really an important sign of support that Serbia provides to refugees, and it is a very good example of inclusion of refugees in Serbian society.”

See more at: https://abcn.ws/3fobTy7