Albanian Language Media:

• COVID-19: 194 new cases, 8 deaths (media)
• Rohde: Non-paper published by Koha Ditore is fake news! (media)
• French Embassy: We are not the source of the non-paper (media)
• Kosovo government reacts to non-paper (media)
• Kosnett: Dialogue essential to Kosovo economic success and integration (media)
• Michel to Kurti: Looking forward to working together (media)
• Kosnett: Fate of missing persons should not be hostage to politics (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Covid-19 in Serbian areas: 23 new cases, one death (KoSSev)
• Vucic: Non-paper composed by somebody “very, very smart” (N1)
• Deimel: No one, including Berlin officials, knows about the non-paper, maybe the test balloon (KoSSev)
• Vucic: Imagine sanctions on Russia and its support of us in return (Beta, N1)
• EU to Serbia: Improve rule of law, media freedom; adjust foreign policy (N1)
• US State Dept: Speculation on redrawing Balkan borders may foster instability (VoA, N1)
• BCSP: Majority of Serbian citizens want broad autonomy for Kosovo, but they know it is unrealistic (KoSSev)
• Serbian List condemns attack on Lazar Djordjevic in Gojbulja (TV Most)
• Bilcik: Vucic commitment to reforms crucial (N1)
• Vucic: Kosovo Serbs want to be vaccinated, Pristina authorities ban our help (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)
• Gerxhaliu: Excavations in Kizevak will start again on May 5 (Kosovo Online, RFE) 

Opinion:

• Demands to relocate the Specialist Chambers are unlikely to be met (Kosovo 2.0)

International:

• Serbia, Kosovo Must Make Missing Persons a Priority: Report (Balkan Insight)
• Brussels steps up pressure on Serbia over Kosovo talks (euronews.com)
• Small is Beautiful: Citizens’ Movements Are Bringing Democratic Change to Balkans (Balkan Insight)
• Edi Rama declares victory in Albanian elections, 92% polling stations counted (EWB)

Albanian Language Media  

COVID-19: 194 new cases, 8 deaths (media)

Kosovo’s National Institute for Public Health said in a statement today that 194 new cases of COVID-19 and eight deaths from the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 599 persons have recovered from the virus during this time.

Rohde: Non-paper published by Koha Ditore is fake news! (media)

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, took to Twitter today to react to a non-paper about a final settlement between Kosovo and Serbia published in Koha Ditore daily newspaper today. “The so called ‘German-French non paper published by Koha Ditore is fake news! There might be a paper but it’s for sure not a German-French one. Our full support is for the EU-led dialogue led by EUSR Miroslav Lajcak as German FM Maas again underlined last Thursday in Pristina,” Rohde tweeted.

French Embassy: We are not the source of the non-paper (media)

The French Embassy in Prishtina distanced itself from the non-paper published in Koha Ditore today. “France and Germany are not the source of the so-called French-German non-paper published today by Koha Ditore. We fully support the mediation by the European Union and we welcome the efforts in this respect by the Special Representative of the Belgrade – Prishtina dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak,” the embassy said in a Twitter post.

Kosovo government reacts to non-paper (media)

The Kurti-led government of Kosovo did not want to comment on the so-called non-paper for a final settlement between Kosovo and Serbia. A spokesman for the government said today: “both the German and French embassies have commented on the document by refuting it and distancing from it. We have nothing to add to their statements”.

Kosnett: Dialogue essential to Kosovo’s economic success and integration (media)

United States Ambassador to Kosovo, Phillip S. Kosnett said today that he had wide-ranging discussions with Prime Minister Albin Kurti and State Department’s Matthew Palmer on Monday evening. “The EU-led dialogue process remains essential to Kosovo’s economic success & Euro-Atlantic integration,” Kosnett wrote in a Twitter post.

Michel to Kurti: Looking forward to working together (media)

European Council President Charles Michel said in a Twitter post that he had a telephone conversation with Kosovo Prime Albin Kurti. “I have just spoken with prime minister Albin Kurti and congratulated him on his strong mandate to strengthen rule of law in Kosovo. Looking forward to working together and to the advancement of the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue,” Michel tweeted. 

Kosnett: Fate of missing persons should not be hostage to politics (media)

United States Ambassador to Kosovo, Philip S. Kosnett, said today that the fate of missing persons should not be hostage to politics. “On this National Day of Missing Persons, we commend recent working-level progress. But, after over two decades, families still lack answers and closure about their loved ones. To all the region’s political leaders: the fate of the missing should not be hostage to politics,” Kosnett said in a Twitter post.

Serbian Language Media

Covid-19 in Serbian areas: 23 new cases, one death (KoSSev)

Out of a total of 80 tested samples in Serbian areas in Kosovo in the last 24 hours, 23 people were positive for coronavirus, one person passed away, the Crisis Staff of the Municipality of Kosovska Mitrovica announced.

The number of active cases is currently 359, and 98 people have come out of fourteen-day isolation.

The new cases: Leposavic – 8, Zvecan and Zubin Potok 4 each, North Mitrovica – 3, Gracanica – 2, Gnjilane and Priluzje 1 each.

The total number of deaths since the beginning of the epidemic is now 141.

Vucic: Non-paper composed by somebody “very, very smart” (N1)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic commented on the new non-paper on resolving the Kosovo issue by saying it has been composed by somebody “very, very smart”, N1 reports.

“There are things that Serbs would like, and then a thing to recognize Kosovo independence, that is very bad for Serbs”, Vucic said.

He also said last night, upon return from Brussels around 1.30 he read that non-paper.

“That non-paper has been composed by somebody very smart, smarter than me, cunning, I could see everybody is refuting it now, but the second non-paper caused more concerns to me, than the first one, as this one was written by somebody very, very smart”, Vucic said.

He added it was written by somebody well informed, adding he doubts one person standing behind it.

“It is about a fantastically smart woman, as no one else could compose or create it”, Vucic said, adding “it was not released just like that”.

Vucic also said he would analyse what is being told to the Serbian side, and what to the other side, however recognition of Kosovo independence remains unacceptable for Serbia.

Vucic also said the talks have not started yet, no one submitted that non-paper to Belgrade and he would hide nothing from the people. 

Deimel: No one, including Berlin officials, knows about the non-paper, maybe the test balloon (KoSSev)

“The alleged paper comes out of nowhere. No one, including Berlin officials, knows about this paper,” Johanna Deimel, an expert on the Western Balkans and Southeast Europe, told portal KoSSev

Deimel commented for the portal last night’s exclusive news published by Koha Ditore about another non-paper, this time exclusively for Kosovo, allegedly backed by Germany and France.

German Ambassador Rohde called this paper a fake news on Twitter, Deimel reminded.

“It may be that this alleged German-French paper may be intended to serve as a kind of test balloon for the proposals included in it. The German-German Treaty (the two Germanys agreement) is, of course, a good step forward, but only a transitional step towards EU membership and insufficient for Kosovo and Serbia to join if such an agreement is reached,” she said.

Deimel has no doubts about what she sees as the outcome of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina:

“At the very end, there must be the recognition of Kosovo by Serbia, therefore this must be part of the dialogue, which is the responsibility for the mediation of Miroslav Lajcak, whom Germany fully supports, as the German Foreign Minister Maas just emphasized.”

The US also confirmed that it is ready to “support the work on a comprehensive, binding agreement on normalization between Kosovo and Serbia, focused on mutual recognition,” Deimel also recalled. 

The alleged document implies in short – “independent, sovereign, equal states with their international borders / border lines”, and “according to international law”.

An “autonomous district of northern Kosovo” would be created in Kosovo in accordance with the laws and the Constitution of Kosovo. The Autonomous District of Northern Kosovo would include the territory of the towns of Zvecan with 35 villages, Leposavic with 72 villages, North Mitrovica and the cadastral zone of the town of Zubin Potok with 63 villages.

The document also proposes a special status for the Serbian Orthodox Church. According to the document, protected areas should include more than 40 churches and cultural sites.

After ratifying the legally binding agreement, Serbia is obliged “not to interfere with Kosovo’s membership in international and regional organizations.

Koha Ditore emphasized that it failed to get confirmation for the authenticity of this non-paper, but “some diplomats with whom Koha contacted more or less confirmed that the points mentioned in it were in line with what is expected to be discussed in the dialogue,” reported portal KoSSev.  

Vucic: Imagine sanctions on Russia and its support of us in return (Beta, N1)

Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia’s President, said on Monday his country would have only one request for Kosovo in the meeting in Brussels on May 11 – to implement everything that had been agreed and signed so far and added Belgrade should take care about own interests when harmonizing its foreign policy with the European Union.

Speaking to Serbia’s reporters in Brussels after he met the European Union top officials, Vucic said Serbia faced some limiting factors such as its territorial integrity and did not want to work against its interests and that it wasn’t easy to lead a ‘multi-vector politics’.

”Imagine we impose sanctions against Russia every day and expect its support of our territorial integrity in return,” he added.

He commented on what he said was a special political issue in his Brussels talks – ”our acceptance or unification with the EU declarations”.

”At this moment, it’s just above 52 percent. I told them that certain issues are not easy for us, especially regarding Kosovo, where our strategic interests intertwine. Still, we will do our best to increase the percentage and harmonize with the EU foreign policy by up to 60 percent,” Vucic said.

Speaking about the forthcoming resumption of the Belgrade – Pristina dialogue on the normalization of relations, due on May 11, he said it should be seen what the Albanians would demand and that it shouldn’t be expected too much from a single meeting.

But, he added, it was good to talk because only that could ease the tensions.

”We come in goodwill and believe will knock on an open door and be able to talk about essential solutions, primarily about the preservation of stability and peace and compromises for lasting peace in the Balkans,” Vucic said.

He added that the main topics in his meetings in Brussels were Serbia’s EU integration, the rule of law and the harmonization of Belgrade’s foreign policy with the bloc.

Speaking about the rule of law, Vucic said Serbia had additionally dealt with that and added that many more good things could be done.

”I think the European Commission (EC) has noted it, but we’ll see what its next report will say. I believe that the EC will award our additional effort by the end of June at the intergovernmental conference in Brussels. And I believe Serbia can open several chapters, i.e., the whole cluster, and two by the end of the year,” Vucic said.

See at: https://bit.ly/2R1FB1I

EU to Serbia: Improve rule of law, media freedom; adjust foreign policy (N1)

The European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borell said on Monday the bloc expected Serbia to fulfil its reform agenda, especially in the rule of law and media freedom, adding it was also important for Belgrade to adjust its foreign and security policies with that of the Brussels since many member countries demanded it.

After he met with Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic, Borell told reporters at a joint news conference, the EU was committed to the Western Balkans European perspective and that the talks in the so-called Western Balkans Brussels’ Week focused on how to speed up the process.

”There is another issue which should improve, and that is Serbia’s adjustment with the EU foreign and security policy regarding restrictive measures in line with the accession negotiation framework. Many member countries request Serbia’s stronger adjustment to the joint security and foreign policy, ” Borell said.

Vucic confirmed the two discussed the topic and added that Belgrade promised to increase the adjustment level to declarations that Serbia would agree on with the EU.

”Of course, there will be exemptions due to our difficult position, and I, as you see, don’t hide that here in front of the High Representative, ” Vucic said.

Neither Borell nor Vucic mentioned any specific part of Serbia’s foreign and security policy. Still, Brussels had said it would like Belgrade to be closer to the EU on several occasions than to Russia and China.

Both Borell and Vucic denied having seen the alleged non-paper drafted by the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, suggesting border changes in the Western Balkans. The EC also denied having any knowledge about that.

Borell added Vucic met all other relevant officials in Brussels, including the Commissioner for Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

The meetings included discussion about the Pristina – Belgrade dialogue on the normalisation of relations that Borell said could resume on May 11 and the Belgrade – North Macedonia railway, which the EU was ready to support financially.

See at: https://bit.ly/3nwjMn9

US State Dept: Speculation on redrawing Balkan borders may foster instability (VoA, N1)

The recent “unwarranted speculation” on redrawing borders in the Balkans based on ethnicity “risks fostering instability in the region and evoked memories of past tensions,” the US State Department said on Monday.

The statement, by Spokesperson Ned Price, comes in light of the uproar caused by an alleged ‘non-paper’ that was published mid-April by the Slovenian news portal necenzurirano.si.

The ‘non-paper’ proposes Kosovo joining Albania and Serbia annexing parts of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated Republika Srpska (RS) entity, while the mostly Croat-populated parts of southern Bosnia and Herzegovina would become part of Croatia.

According to the Slovenian news portal, the country’s PM, Janez Jansa, sent the document to Brussels. Jansa, however, denies this.

The US State Department said that the United States is committed to supporting Western Balkan countries “on their path to European integration and membership in key European and Euro-Atlantic institutions” and “working with Western Balkan countries and our European partners to advance the governance, rule of law, and anti-corruption reforms – as well as the promotion of independent media and vibrant civil societies – that will reinforce the region’s European perspective and advance the long-standing goal of a Europe whole, free, and at peace.”

“We are committed to helping the countries of the Western Balkans deepen their own regional economic partnerships, achieve their climate goals, counter Russia’s energy coercion through diversification and clean energy development, and combat corruption and organized crime. We also want to help the region grow and prosper while protecting strategic infrastructure and industries against China’s malign practices,” it said.

The statement said that the US is “working with the international community to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in pursuing the reforms that will enable it to prosper and secure EU candidate status, including electoral reforms.”

It said that the Office of the High Representative (OHR), the official tasked with overseeing the civilian implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, “has contributed significantly to peace and stability” in Bosnia and that the US continues to support the important role of the institution in advancing the ‘5+2 agenda’ – a set of requirements that need to be met by the BiH authorities prior to the closure of the OHR – “with a renewed focus on anticorruption as key to entrenching the rule of law.”

As for the relations between Kosovo and Serbia, the US “stands ready to support work towards a comprehensive, binding normalization agreement” that would be centred on “mutual recognition” and “lays the foundations for lasting cooperation and prosperity.”

“We support the EU-facilitated Dialogue and encourage the parties to reengage in this process with a sense of urgency to address both technical and political issues. We will work with Serbia and Kosovo to implement their Washington Commitments in support of the goal of full normalization.”

The statement said that the US values its “partnerships in the defence and security space” as well, including with “our newest NATO Allies, Montenegro and North Macedonia.”

“We intend to further enhance that cooperation through joint training, exercises, deployments, and procurements. We welcome the progress made by Albania and North Macedonia on critical reforms and continue to support the opening of EU accession negotiations with both countries in June.”

“As we have seen, recent unwarranted speculation about changing borders in the Balkans along ethnic lines risks fostering instability in the region and evokes memories of past tensions. A stable, prosperous future for the Western Balkans must be based on good governance, rule of law, multi-ethnic democracy, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the statement concluded

See at: https://bit.ly/3dX7pNY

BCSP: Majority of Serbian citizens want broad autonomy for Kosovo, but they know it is unrealistic (KoSSev)

Since the beginning of the political dialogue in 2013 to this day, the support of the citizens of Serbia for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina has been above 50%. The initial resistance to dialogue in April and October 2012 was slightly reduced and today, about one third of citizens oppose the process, KoSSev portal reports.

The recognition of Kosovo independence, as well as the exchange of territories are undesirable options for the majority of Serbian citizens. Even Serbia’s EU membership as compensation for the recognition of Kosovo would not be an acceptable concession. Citizens still prefer the status quo.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3eyiCnd

Serbian List condemns attack on Lazar Djordjevic in Gojbulja (TV Most)

In a statement issued Monday afternoon the Serbian List strongly condemned, as it said, “the devious attack on our compatriot Lazar Djordjevic in Gojbulja, in front of his mother and minor children, by neighbours of Albanian ethnicity”, TV Most reports.

The Serbian List also requested competent authorities to process the case as soon as possible, adding the attackers are known “for dozens attacks against the Serbs in Gojbulja”.

“It is absolutely unacceptable that in the 21st century, ethnically motivated attacks on Serbs in Kosovo are perceived as a normal occurrence both by Kosovo institutions and by international organizations that have forgotten their mandates and the role they play”, the Serbian List said.

Bilcik: Vucic commitment to reforms crucial (N1)

European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia Vladimir Bilcik MEP said that President Aleksandar Vucic’s commitment to reforms is crucial on the country’s path to the European Union, N1 reports.

“President Vucic’s visit to Brussels comes at an important time for a European future of Serbia. I therefore appreciate the President’s commitment to domestic reforms, which will be crucial in accelerating Serbia’s path towards the EU. I welcome the President’s strong support to Serbia’s European future, which he underlined in our meeting”, Bilcik said in a press release.

The press release said that they had a frank discussion about the European Parliament’s position on Serbia’s EU reform process and about the EP-facilitated Inter-Party Dialogue in Serbia. “I have assured President Vucic of my full institutional commitment and support for Serbia’s European future.”

See at: https://bit.ly/3no4y3w

Vucic: Kosovo Serbs want to be vaccinated, Pristina authorities ban our help (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)

President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic assessed today that the vaccination process in Kosovo works better than in some parts of central Serbia, emphasizing that the implementation of that process is complicated because there are prohibitions of the Pristina authorities that people get help from central Serbia,  reported news agency Tanjug, quotes portal Kosovo Online. 

Answering the questions of journalists in Pukovac, where he was previously revaccinated, Vucic said that “on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, they do not allow that people get help in medicines from central Serbia, as well as they persecute those who want to vaccinate those interested”.

“But there is a much greater interest of our population from Kosovo and Metohija than in many municipalities in central Serbia,” said Vucic.

As he says, the difficulty of conducting “the vaccination process in the southern Serbian province by the temporary Pristina authorities speaks of the persecution of our people, only to show that someone else is establishing a state, and that the Serbian state cannot have access to its people.”

“We will fight, and I call on them to be vaccinated everywhere, in every place, from Kursumlija, Raska, Bujanovac … every place that is close to their place of residence in Kosovo and Metohija,” said Vucic.

Gerxhaliu: Excavations in Kizevak will start again on May 5 (Kosovo Online, RFE)

The director of the Institute for Forensic Medicine, Arsim Gerxhaliu said in an interview with Radio Free Europe that the works on finding the remains in Kizevak near Raska will continue May 5.

Gerxhaliu also said that work will be done in Kizevak for two weeks in a row, if the weather conditions allow it. According to him, it has already been confirmed that the remains exhumed last year at this location belong to the victims of the war in Kosovo.

“Last Friday, based on the decisions made in the working group held two weeks ago in Belgrade on the issue of missing persons, a decision was made to check the terrain and the possibility of resuming work in the field. During the visit, we saw that the terrain is still difficult. There is a ski resort nearby. We also need water drainage, to dry the earth thrown out of the mine and taking into account the holidays, we agreed that the works will start on May 5, where we will start de-conserving the terrain, which we did in December last year,” said Gerxhaliu, quoted portal Kosovo Online.

Opinion

Demands to relocate the Specialist Chambers are unlikely to be met (Kosovo 2.0)

Court should focus on other ways of increasing bottom-up justice, writes Sindi Kuci.

On March 24, Gani Shehu, the president of the Atlantic Association of Kosovo, addressed an emotive letter to U.S President Joe Biden requesting the relocation of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) from The Hague to Kosovo.

In his letter, Mr. Shehu recounts the role that the president’s son, Beau Biden, played in the rebuilding of justice institutions in post-conflict Kosovo. He further reminds President Biden of the president’s own benevolence toward the ex-Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leader, Hashim Thaçi, who currently stands accused of war crimes before the KSC.

Mr. Shehu’s demand to uproot the KSC is based on an accusation that the court is currently misused by unspecified EU member states that seek to subvert the U.S.-Kosovo relationship. A relocation of the chambers, Mr. Shehu argues, would ensure its independence and allow Kosovo to “administer justice and its judicial system herself.”

His demand is not new among Kosovo’s elite. Politicians from different sides of the political divide have repeatedly called for the localization of the KSC within the territory of Kosovo. But what would this localization actually entail? And, more importantly, would this transfer facilitate or hamper the goals of the KSC?

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

International

Serbia, Kosovo Must Make Missing Persons a Priority: Report (Balkan Insight)

In the four years from 2016 to 2020, Serbia and Kosovo have identified just 50 of more than 1,600 missing persons from the Kosovo war, a new report says.

The remains of 18 people who disappeared during the Kosovo war were identified in Serbia from 2016 to 2020, while another 32 missing persons were identified in Kosovo, says a new report published on Tuesday by the Belgrade-based Youth Initiative for Human Rights, YIHR and the Mitrovica-based New Social Initiative.

Kosovo and Serbia must take a more proactive approach to the missing persons issue and open up all possible archives that could contain data about those who disappeared, the report urges.

Neither side is doing enough to ensure that the remaining 1,600 people who went missing as a result of the 1998-99 war are found, it argues.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3dVJ6Qd

Brussels steps up pressure on Serbia over Kosovo talks (euronews.com)

The European Union wants Serbia to continue talks with Kosovo as part of its membership talks with the bloc.

Serbian President Alexander Vučić was in Brussels on Monday to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Brussels’ foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, where it was made clear that for the Balkan country to accelerate its membership application, there must be positive developments in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3t1Nhi0

Small is Beautiful: Citizens’ Movements Are Bringing Democratic Change to Balkans (Balkan Insight)

National politics in the Balkans may remain in the grip of a class of authoritarian male leaders – but local community initiatives are keeping a vision of transforming the region alive.

In most parts of the Western Balkans, politics seems to remain firmly in the hands of older male politicians, deeply entrenched in the party power structures and mostly engaged in fighting change and preserving the old.

This kind of politics is still bound to the exclusive nation-state idea and to an authoritarian vision of society, with hierarchical decision-making processes, strong men on the top and a clientelist type of economy – all accompanied by the total neglect of progressive, ecological, gender-sensitive and just visions of society.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3gJ8RFk

Edi Rama declares victory in Albanian elections, 92% polling stations counted (EWB)

TIRANA – Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama has invited the members and supporters of his Socialist Party to a victory rally, as the vote count shows the SP closing in on an outright majority.

Currently, 92% of the polling stations have been counted and the Socialist Party has won 48,61% of the vote. Coalition around the opposition Democratic Party has won 39,38%, while the Socialist Movement for Integration (SMI) is at 6,89%.

This translates to roughly 73 seats for SP, which is enough for an outright majority in an 140-seat parliament. Democratic Party is projected to win 59 seats, SMI 5, and a small Social Democratic Party 3.

Edi Rama is posed to become the first person to win three consecutive parliamentary elections in Albania since the establishment of the multi-party system in 1991.

See at: https://bit.ly/3nnU9ou