• COVID-19: 811 new cases, 14 deaths (media)
• Zemaj says Kosovo has secured 100,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine (media)
• Humolli from WHO: Covid measures need to be toughened (RTV21/Telegrafi)
• Kosovo FM Gervalla: Embassy in Jerusalem is a done deal (media)
• State Department: Many corrupt officials continue to hold public posts (media)
• PM Kurti meets British ambassador Abbott (media)
• Abdixhiku: LDK with 12% could not condition a party with 50% of votes (Telegrafi)
• Opposition Party Clears Path to Parliament Vote on Kosovo President (Balkan Insight)
• PDK’s Deliu-Kodra slamms FM Gervalla for agreement with Serbia remarks (media)
• Haxhiu: Serious action needed to fight organised crime and corruption (Klan)
• U.S. Embassy opposes holding government meetings outside of Kosovo (media)

COVID-19: 811 new cases, 14 deaths (media)

Kosovo has recorded 811 new cases of COVID-19 and 14 deaths in the last 24 hours. 665 persons have recovered from the virus during this time.

There are 14,683 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Zemaj says Kosovo has secured 100,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine (media)

Former Minister of Health Armend Zemaj stated that from his communication with WHO-led COVAC initiative, 100,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine would be delivered to Kosovo by June.

Zemaj said he received a notification from COVAX, which he forwarded to the current Minister Arben Vitia, confirming that 100,620 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been allocated to Kosovo and are expected by the end of June, Zemaj wrote on Facebook alongside a copy of the letter from COVAX dated 29 March 2021.

Humolli from WHO: Covid measures need to be toughened (RTV21/Telegrafi)

Isme Humolli, representative of the WHO in Kosovo, said that Kosovo needs to toughen its measures against COVID-19 to prevent the further spread of infections.

“I don’t think there would be a total lockdown as at the start of the pandemic when we didn’t know much about the virus but it is necessary to toughen measures,” she said.

Kosovo FM Gervalla: Embassy in Jerusalem is a done deal (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Donika Gervalla commented on the opening of embassy in Jerusalem saying that the issue is a ‘done deal’ and there is no going back.

“I have hailed the diplomatic recognition from Israel and I think the issue of our embassy in Israel is a done deal. We will not enter diplomatic adventures and review an issue that has been concluded,” Gervalla said in an interview with Kallxo news website.

Gervalla also spoke about the Vjosa Osmani’s list saying that it will officially be registered as a political entity and will not be merging with the Vetevendosje Movement. “I don’t expect this to happen very soon as it requires quite a lot of work and time,” she added.

State Department: Many corrupt officials continue to hold public posts (media)

In its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the U.S. State Department assessed that significant human rights issues in Kosovo included: undue restrictions on the press, including violence or threats of violence against journalists; government corruption and impunity; and attacks against members of ethnic minorities or other marginalized communities.

“The government took steps to identify, investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, but at times lacked consistency. Many in the government, the opposition, civil society, and the media reported instances of senior officials engaging in corruption or acting with impunity. The government sometimes suspended or removed offenders from office, and the justice sector sometimes took steps to prosecute and punish those officials who committed abuses, offenses, and crimes. Many corrupt officials, however, continued to occupy public sector positions,” the report notes.

See the report at: https://bit.ly/2QT4Ymp

PM Kurti meets British ambassador Abbott (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti met yesterday the British Ambassador to Kosovo Nicholas Abbott who congratulated Kurti on election and expressed the readiness of his country’s government to support Kosovo, particularly in the field of rule of law and security.

According to a press release issued by the Government of Kosovo, Ambassador Abbott is quoted as saying that in the long term, the United Kingdom, as part of Quint, will continue supporting Kosovo towards becoming a stable and functional country with normalised relations with Serbia.

The two officials also discussed the COVID-19 situation, the arrival of the first doses of vaccine and the necessity to respect anti-Covid rules. Kurti said his government is committed in further deepening of bilateral relations with the United Kingdom and they agreed that joint investments between members of the Kosovo diaspora and serious British investors would contribute to Kosovo’s economic development.

Abdixhiku: LDK with 12% could not condition a party with 50% of votes (Telegrafi)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lumir Abdixhiku defended the party’s position to take part in the Assembly session for election of Kosovo’s president saying that he takes full responsibility if the decision proves to be a wrong move.

“With 12 percent LDK could not have a conditioning role in face of a force that had 50 percent. The alternative was either elections or reaching an agreement which we did,” he said in a debate with a group of analysts on RTV Dukagjini.

Abdixhiku said that for LDK it was important that the presidential candidate Vjosa Osmani would not have a political role once elected.

Speaking about the meeting he had with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Abdixhiku said he asked him to pledge to be constructive if things turn around in Kosovo’s political scene. “I asked for one thing from Albin Kurti in the first meeting we had. Will you behave in the future the way we are now? Will you take part in sessions? Will you guarantee that this constructiveness precedent will be applied when we win?” He said he received a half-pledge from Kurti.

Opposition Party Clears Path to Parliament Vote on Kosovo President (Balkan Insight)

The opposition Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, pledged on Tuesday to take part in a vote in parliament on a new president, most likely former LDK member Vjosa Osmani.

After a meeting with LDK MPs, party leader Lumir Abdixhiku said that the party would take part in an upcoming vote in parliament on Kosovo’s next president, with former assembly speaker Vjosa Osmani widely seen as the frontrunner.

Osmani, a former member of the LDK, took over the role in an acting capacity after Hashim Thaci resigned on November 5 to face war crimes charges at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

Osmani ceded the acting position last week to Glauk Konjufca when he was voted in as speaker of the parliament following a landslide electoral victory for the Vetevendosje party, of which Konjufca is a member, in mid-February.

See more at: https://bit.ly/2PNBPZq

PDK’s Deliu-Kodra slamms FM Gervalla for agreement with Serbia remarks (media)

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) MP Blerta Deliu-Kodra slammed the statement of Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla on the normalisation of relations with Kosovo.

Following a meeting with the U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Philip Kosnett, Gervalla said that in connection to the normalisation of relations with Serbia there need to be meaningful talks, mediated by international partners, that would result in an agreement that does not undermine the constitutionality, sovereignty and territorial integrity of either side as the only solution for sustainable peace in the region.

Deliu-Kodra said that for a minister of Kosovo to ask for respect of Serbia’s constitutionality which considers Kosovo its integral part is simply treasonous. “This statement of the Republic of Kosovo’s Foreign Minister makes the goal of this government clear in fulfilling the demand of those who do not recognise the state of Kosovo and who work on an agreement that creates an Association with executive powers for Serb municipalities by not obliging Serbia to recognise independence of Kosovo,” she wrote on Facebook.

Haxhiu: Serious action needed to fight organised crime and corruption (Klan)

Minister of Justice Albulena Haxhiu reacted to yesterday’s arrest of former Kosovo Telecom officials on abuse of authority charges saying that any action aimed at fighting corrupt activity is welcomed.

“Kosovo needs to take serious actions in the fight against organised crime and corruption. Only this way can the country develop and prosper. We will support justice institutions’ requests in strengthening their capacities,” Haxhiu said.

U.S. Embassy opposes holding government meetings outside of Kosovo (media)

The U.S. Embassy in Kosovo spoke against organising Kosovo government meetings outside of Kosovo saying they have long opposed such a ‘wasteful’ practice.

“We have long opposed holding Kosovo government meetings outside of Kosovo and commend institutional leaders who are working to stop this wasteful practice. Kosovo’s hospitality sector is struggling; public servants should spend taxpayer money in Kosovo,” the Embassy said in a social media post.