Albanian Language Media:

• COVID-19: 14 new cases, two deaths (media)
• Opposition MPs call on Kurti to clarify position on Washington agreement (media)
• Hoxhaj: U.S. presence in Ujman – vital for Kosovo (Klan)
• Haradinaj urges Kurti to ‘stop deceit’ with dialogue (RTK)
• Gen. Wolters: KFOR plays key role in maintaining security in Western Balkans (Klan)
• Assembly has no quorum to vote for dismissal of civil service oversight board (Koha)

Serbian Language Media:

• No new Covid-19 cases in Serbian areas in Kosovo (KoSSev)
• Dacic: We will not impose sanctions on Russia despite the pressure (Danas, Beta)
• Vucic receives Primakov (Tanjug)
• Office for KIM: 22 years since kidnapping of doctor Andrija Tomanovic in Pristina (KoSSev)
• Odalovic: We are searching for bodies of 21 soldiers in Kosovo (N1)
• Vucic: President of China to visit Serbia again (RTS)
• Defense ministers of Serbia and Russia plan 91 joint activities this year (N1)
• Western Balkans parliaments’ speakers in EP on Monday (N1)
• Serbian List thanked Vucic for his presentation (Radio KIM)
• Serbs from Kosovo Polje invite President Vucic to visit them (Radio KIM)
• Vucic: Construction and reconstruction of hospitals in Kosovo within the shortest deadline (Radio Mitrovica North, KiM radio, Tanjug)
• Harvard lecturer: Tacit deal between Belgrade and Pristina on crime, corruption (N1, Vreme, Beta, KoSSev)
• Spahiu: Kosovo will use good relations of France with Serbia and Russia (Kosovo-online)
• “Kurti is welcome if he is well-meaning” (KiM radio)

International:

• Merkel Wants EU Outreach to Putin to Address ‘Provocations’ (Bloomberg)
• German-French overture to Putin splits EU (politico.eu)
• French-German push for Putin summit sparks fury in Baltic states (Financial Times)

Humanitarian/Development:

• UN Global Open Day: Women to be part of decision-making during the Covid-19 pandemic (media) 
• Pagan ritual ‘Gjama’ revived through audiovisual installation in Prishtina (Prishtina Insight)

Albanian Language Media  

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

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

There are 171 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo, the Ministry of Health said in its daily update.

Opposition MPs call on Kurti to clarify position on Washington agreement (media)

Members of the Kosovo Assembly from opposition parties called on Prime Minister Albin Kurti to clarify position on the September 4 agreement in Washington, as part of which the U.S. Department of Energy presented a report on water management at Ujmani/Gazivode Lake to the governments of Kosovo and Serbia. 

Head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group Abelard Tahiri said the Government of Kosovo needs to clarify its position not only on the Washington agreement but also on that for border demarcation with Montenegro. “It is your duty to renegotiate the agreement with Montenegro and not to hide your stance on the Washington agreement,” Tahiri said. 

Former Prime Minister of Kosovo and MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Avdullah Hoti said the Washington agreement is very important for Kosovo and called on the Government of Kosovo to state whether it considers the deal to be undermining Kosovo’s sovregnity. 

Hoxhaj: U.S. presence in Ujman – vital for Kosovo (Klan)

Acting leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Enver Hoxhaj said the Government of Kosovo led by Albin Kurti needs to be serious towards international obligations. He said the U.S. presence in the Ujman/Gazivode Lake is vital for Kosovo and its energy security.

“Washington commitments present a strategic interest for the country by focusing American investments in a strategic sector like energy and infrastructure and in this direction it is vital for Ujman to serve the citizens of Kosovo,” Hoxhaj told Klan Kosova.

He said that the new U.S. administration has continued support for Washington commitments and Kosovo needs to demonstrate the same seriousness. 

Haradinaj urges Kurti to ‘stop deceit’ with dialogue (RTK)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj called on Prime Minister Albin Kurti to, as he said, stop the deceitful actions regarding dialogue with Serbia. 

“I am asking Kurti to stop the deceit with dialogue, at least be more accurate in communication with internal parties,” Haradinaj said in his remarks during the Kosovo Assembly session underway today. 

Haradinaj also asked Kurti to provide clarifications on the issue of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities and state whether he supports its establishment or not. “We sometimes hear the Prime Minister mention different types of Association. Beforehand, a question should be asked to him, do you support it or not?”

Gen. Wolters: KFOR plays key role in maintaining security in Western Balkans (Klan)

The U.S. General Tod D. Wolters, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, visited KFOR headquarters and met Commander, Major General Franco Federici.

“Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Tod D. Wolters, visited #KFOR HQ and met with COMKFOR, MG Franco Federici, along with the international HQ Staff, expressing his appreciation for the key role the command plays in maintaining security in the Western Balkans,” KFOR wrote on Twitter. 

Assembly has no quorum to vote for dismissal of civil service oversight board (Koha)

The Assembly of Kosovo did not have the necessary quorum to vote on the motion for dismissal of five members of the Independent Oversight Board for the Civil Service of Kosovo with only 57 MPs taking part in the vote. 

Opposition parties did not vote on the motion, proposed by the Assembly Committee on Public Administration, Local Government, Media. Opposition accused the Government of trying to capture an independent institution.

The Committee chair, Doarsa Kica-Xhelili said the recommendation to dismiss the members was based on the violations of the law on the Independent Oversight Board for the Civil Service of Kosovo.

Serbian Language Media

No new Covid-19 cases in Serbian areas in Kosovo (KoSSev)

Out of 21 tested samples in the Serb-populated areas in Kosovo, none tested positive for Covid-19, Crisis Committee of Mitrovica North announced, KoSSev portal reports.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic a total of 6.036 cases of Covid-19 were registered in the Serbian areas in Kosovo and a total of 148 persons have died due to Covid-19 related complications, portal recalled.

Dacic: We will not impose sanctions on Russia despite the pressure (Danas, Beta)

The President of the Assembly of Serbia, Ivica Dacic stated today that Belgrade would never impose sanctions on “its friend Russia”, despite the pressures faced, reported daily Danas.  

“Russia is the most influential ally in preserving our territorial integrity and sovereignty in Kosovo,” Dacic said at the opening of the conference “Russia in the Balkans – a look into the future”.

He said that the support given, by primarily Russia and China, provides space for Serbia to respond to challenges in foreign policy.

According to Dacic, the EU was one of Serbia’s foreign policy priorities, but that does not cause any dispute in relations with Russia and does not represent an obstacle to mutual relations.

“Relations between Serbia and Russia are of strategic importance. They are at the highest point that our generations remember,” he said.

Vucic receives Primakov (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday received Yevgeny Primakov, head of Rossotrudnichestvo, the Russian Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation, to discuss cultural, scientific and educational cooperation between Serbia and Russia, as well as overall bilateral relations, reported news agency Tanjug.

Vucic and Primakov agreed that spiritual ties between the two nations were a solid foundation for development of relations at all levels, as well as that every visit to Serbia by a Russian official further strengthened the cooperation between the two countries, the presidential press office said in a statement.

They discussed proposals for expansion of cultural cooperation and for educational cooperation.

Vucic thanked Russia, its President Vladimir Putin and Russian artists for assistance in interior decoration of the Church of St Sava in Belgrade.

The significance of the support provided by Russia in UNESCO and other international forums for the safeguarding and protection of Serbian cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo-Metohija was also highlighted at the meeting.

Vucic and Primakov also discussed the situation in the Western Balkan region.

See at:https://bit.ly/3wX8HPV

Office for KIM: 22 years since kidnapping of doctor Andrija Tomanovic in Pristina (KoSSev)

On this date in 1999, Doctor Andrija Tomanovic, chief of the Surgery Clinic at the Clinical-Hospital Center in Pristina, full Professor at the University of Pristina, Faculty of Medicine, member of the International Association of Surgeons and Vice President of the Red Cross of Kosovo and Metohija was kidnapped”, Office for Kosovo and Metohija said, KoSSev portal reports.

“Doctor Tomanovic was kidnapped from his working place at the Surgery Clinic where he worked for 36 years”, the Office added.

The date of Tomanovic’s kidnapping is marked as a Day of Murdered and Kidnapped Health Professionals in Kosovo and Metohija, in the period from 1998 to 2000.

The Office also said that during this time a number of reputable Serbs, including doctors have been killed or kidnapped in Kosovo. The Office listed names of Doctor Josif Vasic, Mile Vuksanovic, Stamen Genev, Doctor Zlatoje Gligorijevic, Svetomir Mikic, Borislav Pavic, Dusko Patrnogic, Doctor Nebojsa Petkovic, Doctor Aleksandar Stanojevic, Aleksandar Todorovski, Doctor Andrija Tomanovic, Doctor Djordje Toskovic and Dimitrije Sabic.

It added they were humanists, dedicated, responsible and noble people, faithful to their ethic and professional principles and Hippocratic Oath.

“They were a link between Serbs and Albanians, and treated them without distinction (…)”, the Office said.

The Office stressed that crimes against Serbian health workers in Kosovo and Metohija have not been resolved, nor criminals found and brought before justice. It added that covering up the crimes and Pristina’s efforts to let them be forgotten represent a major obstacle to the lasting peace and interethnic trust. 

Odalovic: We are searching for bodies of 21 soldiers in Kosovo (N1)

Chairman of the Serbian Government Missing Persons Commission Veljko Odalovic said that based on figures from the Army of Serbia, 21 soldiers are still listed as missing in Kosovo, N1 reports.

In an interview with Novi Magazin, Odalovic said the focus of the work of the Commission is to find bodies of six soldiers buried in Kosare.

He added Pristina authorities claimed for years there are no KLA archives, and they have no documents they could share with the Commission in Belgrade.

“Nevertheless we obtained documents from the archive of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, that could help us in searching for missing persons. The best example was recently published video footage showing KLA members next to the bodies of murdered Serb soldiers in Kosare, digging graves”, ODalovic said.

He noted that although Berlgade and Pristina agreed on consolidated list of missing persons, on which whereabouts of 1.639 persons are not know yet, Pristina side have not reacted to a single out of ten requests Belgrade submitted related to locations in Kosovo presumed to be mass grave sites, while on the other had Belgrade submitted 2.417 documents to the International Red Cross Committee which handed them to Pristina.

He recalled that mortal remains of 907 murdered Albanians have been found in central Serbia, identified and handed over to the families, while in Kosovo mortal remains of 380 missing Serbs and non-Albanians were found, while 570 of them are still missing.

Speaking about the organ-harvesting case Odalovic said there is Dick Marty’s report on that, the report on the visit to the location that provided many indicators and evidence that people had their organs removed in northern Albania, near Burel town.

“This story gained solidity following the statements of Albanians who were either drivers or guards at illegal prison camps, and there were 140 camps with kidnapped Serbs. It is possible that bodies of those Serbs could be buried in Albania”, Odalovic said, expressing hope that the investigation in The Hague against the former leaders of the KLA would provide the answers to this question.

He also said that following the arrival of international missions in Kosovo in 1999, 701 persons were reported as missing, out of this number 281 of them have been identified, and 420 are still listed as missing.

“Therefore, following NATO aggression, 1.500 Serbs and members of other ethnicities have been killed in Kosovo and Metohija. After June 10, 1999, more than 400 Albanians, who were loyal to the state of Serbia, and worked as forest guards, mailmen, EPS (electricity provider) cashiers or in local self-governance, were also killed”, Odalovic told Novi Magazin. 

Vucic: President of China to visit Serbia again (RTS)

The President of China Xi Jinping has accepted an invitation to visit Serbia again, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said, RTS reports. The two presidents had a phone conversation today.

“This conversation went not only in a friendly manner, but also in an honest and cordial environment. We spoke about all our projects. We support the policy of China, and China supports preservation of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia, with particular reference to Kosovo and Metohija”, Vucic said.

Defense ministers of Serbia and Russia plan 91 joint activities this year (N1)

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu told his Serbian counterpart Nebojsa Stefanovic in Moscow on Wednesday his country was committed to the further development of bilateral cooperation and support in empowering the Army of Serbia (VS) capacities, N1 reports.

Stefanovic, who is on a visit to Russia upon Shoygu’s invitation, said that the two countries planned 91 joint activities this year and invited his counterpart to visit Serbia.

He added that the bilateral cooperation in defense policy has been on a historical maximum, Serbian MOD said.

Shoygu said that “Serbia today runs its policies“.

“Only powerful armed forces guarantee a country’s independence. We are committed to the continuation of bilateral cooperation between our countries“, he added.

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

Western Balkans parliaments’ speakers in EP on Monday (N1)

The parliament’s speakers of Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo will meet in Brussels on Monday upon the EP President David Sassoli ‘s invitation, EP’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The second such summit will focus on a critical role a parliament plays in the EU enlargement process in the ‘post-COVID-era’.

The parliament speakers of Portugal and Slovenia will attend the summit as countries that preside over the EU in 2021. On July 1, Ljubljana will be taking over  from Lisbon.

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

Serbian List thanked Vucic for his presentation (Radio KIM)

“On behalf of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija Serbian List (SL) expresses immense gratitude to the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic for everything said at Republic of Serbia National Assembly session, for everything he does every day for the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as for fearless fight, under impossible conditions, for the better life of our citizens”, Serbian List said in a statement, Radio KIM reports.

SL added that all those living in Kosovo “were aware that support of the state of Serbia is of life-importance to every person”.

“Our people are immensely grateful for the policy of peace our state advocates for, because it builds, opens new employment opportunities, helps each our man and for the first time ever a political unity of the Serbian people reflected in the Serbian List has been established by implementing President Vucic’s policy”,  the SL concluded. 

Vucic: Construction and reconstruction of hospitals in Kosovo within the shortest deadline (Radio Mitrovica North, KiM radio, Tanjug)

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic stated today that the construction of the KBC in Gracanica will begin within the shortest deadline, as well as the reconstruction of the KBC in North Mitrovica, reported Radio Mitrovica sever, citing Tanjug. 

After handing over the employment contracts to the most successful graduates of all medical faculties and secondary medical schools in Serbia, and answering questions from journalists, Vucic said that money was not a problem, but that there were technical problems.

“We have technical problems, money is not a problem, we have set aside money and we have it for the health center in Gracanica and the hospital in Kosovska Mitrovica,” Vucic said.

He adds that KBC “Kosovska Mitrovica” will be a de facto clinical center and points out that it will be with the investments of the state of Serbia and would have a large number of medical staff.

“I believe that people will be even more satisfied with their income, but the equipment of the highest standard will also be delivered, so I think that everyone will be satisfied,” said Vucic. 

According to him, for Serbia and Kosovo Pomoravlje, central, south Kosovo, it was of great interest for the health center in Gracanica to be built in the best possible way. He said that it would be done at the highest level, adding that he would provide information on when exactly the construction would start in the coming days.

Serbs from Kosovo Polje invite President Vucic to visit them (Radio KIM)

“I am telling you precise figures. We no longer have anyone in Kosovo Polje. (…), there are no Serbs in Kosovo Polje”, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in the Assembly of Serbia while presenting the report on dialogue with Pristina, Radio KIM reports.

The Radio added Serbs from this town said they live there and invited President Vucic to visit them. Although the majority of the Serbs left Kosovo Polje during and after the March pogrom in 2004, a certain number still live there. 

Radio KIM visited Kosovo Polje and spoke with local Serbs. The biggest number of them, 45, including several children live in the so-called “Machine Park”. They have a hair salon and a café there. With Albanian neighbors they occasionally have problems, but what troubles them is that the state of Serbia has written them off.

“It takes great courage to live in Kosovo Polje today. Although our Mister President claims there are no Serbs in Kosovo, we are there. What we heard hurts us a lot and I do not know who is providing those figures to him, but reality is completely different. We are there and there we will be, I hope”, Mirjana Markovic said.

Her neighbor Rajko Trandafilovski echoed her statements. Radmila Lucic-Popovic said when elections come, they visit us and invite us to vote. “We are all on the voters’ list. When it comes to voting then we are Serbs from Kosovo Polje. They come to our doors and invite us to vote and it is normal that we voted for the President. Then they know we exist”, she said, Radio KIM reports.

Red Cross: Around 95 Serbs live in Kosovo Polje

According to the figures of Red Cross, currently there are around 100 Serbs scattered across the town.

“I can tell you certainly, that two years ago we conducted the social card evidence and there were 130 Serbs in Kosovo Polje. Two years after and according to our data there are 90 or 95 Serbs there”, Red Cross Secretary Jovica Mitrovic told Radio KIM.

Harvard lecturer: Tacit deal between Belgrade and Pristina on crime, corruption (N1, Vreme, Beta, KoSSev)

Danilo Mandic, a sociologist and a lecturer at Harvard University, said there was a tacit agreement between Kosovo and Serbia leaderships that a joint anti-corruption, anti-smuggling and anti-mafia policy would undermine the stability of both nationalist regimes.

In an interview with the Belgrade Vreme weekly Thursday’s edition, he added that the US and Europe did not even mention the anti-mafia fight, ”what is even worse”.

”Until that hits the schedule, Belgrade and Pristina will use negotiations as a rock-solid alibi for incompetence and authoritarianism. At the same time, that serves as proof to the international community that against tribal primitives a force must be used,” Mandic, whose book ‘Gangsters and Other Statesmen’ had been recently published, said.

He adds that when the mafia instrumentalizes a state, it’s called ‘corruption’, ”but when states instrumentalize the mafia, that’s ‘patriotism’ ”.

Mandic’s book deals with links between mafia and separatists across the world. As Vreme writes, he discovers how the connections between criminals and national leaders often become natural.

Referring to organised crime in Kosovo, Mandic said it had flourished after the war ended, following the ‘liberation’.

”It got access to official institutions, border crossings, companies, banks, Pristina’s airport. Mafias begin when conflicts end because peace brings stability and regularity of crime and criminal partnerships, including multi-ethnic, which are not possible in the war chaos,” Mandic said.

Asked if Serbia is among countries trying to prevent separatism by joining forces with organised crime, he says the country has attempted to use criminal links to solve ethnonational issues such as Georgia, Nigeria, Turkey, etc.

See at: https://bit.ly/3vN5AbW

Spahiu: Kosovo will use good relations of France with Serbia and Russia (Kosovo-online)

Political analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu opined that France is an important friendly country for Kosovo, Kosovo-online portal reports citing Klan Kosova.

According to him, France’s rapprochement with Russia and Serbia should be used as it is the only Western country that has such a relationship with these two countries, which oppose Kosovo independence.

“When we talk about the EU, which is very important for us, then we mean Germany and France. Lajcak and Borrell are administrative diplomats, but the core of the EU are Merkel and Macron. The European Union is whatever Merkel and Macron say”, Spahiu said.

He added French President Emmanuel Macron is important because of the ties that this country historically had with Russia, in order to influence them to reach an agreement with Serbia to recognize the independence of Kosovo.

“Kurti is welcome if he is well-meaning” (KiM radio)

In the first hundred days of the Kosovo government, Prime Minister Albin Kurti has not yet visited any Serb community. Dejan Radivojevic from the FDMC believes that the Prime Minister should take the first step towards the Serbian community, and the representatives of the municipalities of Gracanica, Partes and Novo Brdo say that “Kurti is welcome, if he is well-meaning”, reported KiM radio.  

Although he said in the election campaign that he would be open to cooperation with all communities, including the Serb one, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has so far sent only negative messages to the Serb community, concerning the alleged genocide committed by Serbia in Kosovo, that the Community of Serbian Municipalities will not be formed, and he also demanded that the monastery of Visoki Decani be removed from the list of endangered monuments both by UNESCO and the organization Europa Nostra. 

So far, there have been no concrete and personal meetings between the first man of the government and the citizens of the Serbian community and their local representatives.

The director of the Forum for Development and Multiethnic Cooperation (FDMC), Dejan Radivojevic believes that PM Kurti should take the first step

“One hundred days is not a long period, but a promise is a promise. I think that the initiative itself should come from the Prime Minister himself or his team. For a start, if not the Prime Minister, his team should be engaged to fulfill that promise, because I think that after the election itself, he completely forgot about that topic, which is one of the main ones,” says Radivojevic.

Kurti is welcome, say from the municipality of Gracanica.

“We are traditionally good hosts in the municipality of Gracanica, but also in all other Serbian communities and municipalities with a Serbian majority. Everyone who is well-intentioned is welcome. You are witnesses of how many visits of local and world officials were organized in the Municipality of Gracanica, so the well-intentioned, welcome,” says Nebojsa Peric, director of the Cadastre Department.

Ivica Jancic from the Municipality of Partes says that Kurti should come to the Municipality of Partes-Pasjane.

“The Prime Minister should visit our municipality, to get personally acquainted with the problems faced by a small municipality that is of a rural type and composed of three administrative units. Our annual income is somewhere around 30 to 40 thousand euros, and that is enough to paint primary and secondary schools because we have money for that much,” said Jancic, who oversees security in the municipality of Partes.

Zoran Cvetkovic from the municipality of Novo Brdo also says that Albin Kurti is welcome if he has good intentions.

“The population expects some changes as promised. It expects improvement, new investments. Our municipality is very poor. Any kind of investment is welcome. If he (Kurti) brings some good information, if it is not an even bigger rift between the population, why not,” says the director of the Department for Communities in the Municipality of Novo Brdo.

According to the report presented today by Radivojevic in the Media Center in Caglavica, the surveyed citizens from Serbian communities believe that their problems should be solved by the representatives of Serbs in the institutions of Kosovo, and not the Albanian ones. Radivojevic points out that this is a completely wrong thinking

“It is a complete paradox and it is completely meaningless. Everyone who sits in the government must answer to all communities because it is their job and not the desire or opinion of one of the communities. I repeat, Mr. Kurti should take that first step,” Radivojevic said.

During the pre-spring campaign, Albin Kurti visited the municipality of Strpce, where he talked to some Serbs in this place. He was then accompanied by Nenad Rasic, the president of the PDS, recalled KiM radio.

International

Merkel Wants EU Outreach to Putin to Address ‘Provocations’ (Bloomberg)

Chancellor Angela Merkel said the European Union must forge a direct line of communication with President Vladimir Putin to address Russia’s “many provocations” against the bloc and its neighbors in eastern Europe.

Just over a week after U.S. President Joe Biden met with Putin in Geneva, the German leader said the EU has to shape its own destiny with the Kremlin as Russian interests clash with the bloc’s in Ukraine, Belarus and the Balkan region.

“It’s not enough for the American President Joe Biden to speak with the Russian president — which I very much welcome — but the European Union must also establish a format for talks,” Merkel told Germany’s lower house of parliament in what may be one of her last major policy speeches as German leader.

See more at:https://bloom.bg/3j8Anxb

German-French overture to Putin splits EU (politico.eu)

Initiative proposes a summit with Russian leader but also threatens new economic sanctions.

Germany and France threw the EU’s carefully orchestrated Russia policy into disarray on Wednesday by raising the threat of new economic sanctions while also floating the possibility of a summit meeting between European leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The proposals, put forward by German Chancellor Angela Merkel after consultation with French President Emmanuel Macron, came on the eve of a European Council summit at which heads of state and government were scheduled to discuss EU-Russia relations over dinner — a time reserved for their most sensitive conversations.

See more at:https://politi.co/3h51JBT

French-German push for Putin summit sparks fury in Baltic states (Financial Times)

Initiative is ‘irresponsible’, says Lithuania’s foreign minister

Lithuania’s foreign minister has called a Franco-German initiative to push for a summit between the EU and Russian president Vladimir Putin “irresponsible” and a case of “historical myopia”, in a sign of the deep divergences within the bloc over how to address worsening relations with the Kremlin. Gabrielius Landsbergis was speaking to the Financial Times after Berlin and Paris surprised their EU allies by putting forward new proposals on how the bloc could better engage with Moscow. Diplomats said that Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, wanted the EU to consider inviting Putin to a summit with EU leaders, and that the initiative was supported by French president Emmanuel Macron.

See more at:https://on.ft.com/2StxCf6

Humanitarian/Development

UN Global Open Day: Women to be part of decision-making during the Covid-19 pandemic (media) 

It is important for women to be included in all decision-making processes during the COVID-19 pandemic which, according to statistics, has had a more negative impact on women than men, participants of this year’s United Nations Global Open Day on Women, Peace and Security in Kosovo heard. 

Panelists said at the event that women across the world, including in Kosovo, have been at the forefront of healthcare response in handling the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic but at the same time they were left out of decision-making processes. 

UN Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of UNMIK Zahir Tanin quoted in his remarks the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that “COVID-19 is a crisis with a woman’s face”. He noted that “despite being at the centre of response and recovery efforts, as well as facing the gravest consequences of the pandemic, women have largely been excluded from decision-making during the pandemic”. 

UN Development Coordinator Ulrika Richardson said it was very important for women to be included in the decision-making during the pandemic and that the crisis has not only affected women that are part of the healthcare staff and mothers but that there was also pressure on working women in companies they managed. “Female business owners have less confidence to return to their businesses and recover from the losses they experienced, they have less confidence than their counterparts,” she said, adding that there many women are still not certain as to where they should go to seek financial support for post-Covid recovery. 

Head of the Agency for Gender Equality within the Office of the Prime Minister, Edi Gusia said that the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on women has been significant. She said the agency allocated over €200,000 for 273 small businesses owned by women while Adelina Berisha from the Kosovo Women’s Network argued that every decision-making process should include women. 

Pagan ritual ‘Gjama’ revived through audiovisual installation in Prishtina (Prishtina Insight)

Prishtina was introduced to Zgjim Elshani’s audiovisual installation Gjama at the Atelie Hall of the Palace of Youth and Sports on Wednesday, amid a funereal atmosphere. 

Soil covered the hall floor, spread out into a solar pattern, while cries from performers of a collective mourning ritual emanated far beyond its four walls. 

On a screen, a body covered in a fabric lay on the ground, surrounded by men whose shouts echoed around a meadow in the region of Shkodra in northern Albania. In the background, women wailed for the deceased.

The performers were reenacting an old pagan mourning ritual practiced by Albanians throughout the centuries, Gjama, from which the installation takes its name. The ritual, used only for dead men, has been practiced mainly in northern Albania and some parts of western Kosovo, particularly in the regions of Malesia e Madhe, Dukagjini, Gjakova, Iballa, Mirdita and Tropoja. 

It is used to overcome pain, to express collective grief and to respect the deceased, and the project encourages its audience to “rethink collective grieving and what it means to publicly display emotions in a male-headed society.” 

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