• COVID-19: Eight new cases, no deaths (media)
• Government vows to support Decan, opposition accuses it of negligence (media)
• Hajdari: Government preparing for reciprocity measures (Kallxo)
• Dragica Gasic’s case to be raised in Brussels, U.S. Embassy reacts too (Koha)
• Former EULEX judge sparks controversy over Ivanovic war crimes trial (BIRN)
• Former Judge Simmons’s allegations, EU says it stands by EULEX and its achievements (Kallxo)
• Borrell: Genocide denials have no place in Europe (RFE, media)
• Kosovo buys 14 military vehicles from Turkey, Vucic expresses reservations (TV Pink, media)
• IREX: Kosovo and Albania with sustainable information system (RTK)

COVID-19: Eight new cases, no deaths (media)

Eight new cases with COVID-19 and zero deaths from the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 32 persons recovered from the virus during this time.

There are 108 active cases with COVID-19.

6,503 vaccine doses have been administered in the last 24 hours. To date, 270,641 vaccines have been administered in Kosovo.

Ministry of Health has meanwhile announced that as of yesterday, all persons above 18 will be able to apply for vaccination appointment.

Government vows to support Decan, opposition accuses it of negligence (media)

The municipality of Decan decided yesterday to declare a state of emergency throughout the territory of the municipality after more than a thousand of citizens reported signs of poisoning. The municipality’s decision notes that “all local institutions are obliged to raise the level of readiness to manage the emergency after the recent poisonings”.

Minister of Health Arben Vitia visited the municipality yesterday and said at a press conference with Mayor of Decan Bashkim Ramosaj that they will be preparing a list of essential medicaments and treat it as a priority issue. Vitia underlined that the micro-biological tests have come fine but that the health authorities will be making efforts to trace the source behind the citizens’ complaints. Vitia also said the two recent deaths in the municipality, reported as suspicious, are not related to the health situation in Decan.

Ramosaj said there is shortage of medicaments against poisoning at the main family healthcare centre in the municipality. He announced that the water supply in the municipality is back on but advised against drinking it.

Director of the main family healthcare centre in Decan, Selmon Berisha, has meanwhile confirmed that a contingent of medicaments to treat patients suffering from poison-related effects has arrived at the clinic.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a message via social media that he is in continuous contact with relevant institutions in the inability to be in Kosovo at this time. “In a conversation with Decan Mayor, Mr. Bashkim Ramosaj, I have been informed about the emergency situation in the Decan Municipality. In order to make the support of the Government more concrete and to learn about the situation from up close, Deputy Prime Minister Ms. Donika Gervalla and Health Minister Mr. Arben Vitia are in Decan today,” Kurti said yesterday.

President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani also visited Decan yesterday and said Kosovo institutions would be coming to the aid of those in need. Osmani also noted that there are citizens who have experienced poison-like symptoms but who have not used water from the same branch of the water supply company. She called on relevant institutions to treat the cases of poisoning with urgency and reveal the cause behind.

Minister of Defence, Armend Mehaj, said the Kosovo Security Force is on the ground and is supporting response efforts. KSF will also be providing drinking water to those in need.

The opposition parties have meanwhile accused the Government of Kosovo of inadequately managing the situation in Decan.

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi said in a Facebook post that the Government of Kosovo has been negligent to the situation in Decan and that swift measures are needed to protect the health of citizens. “The poisoning of the citizens of this municipality is not only a public health issue but an issue of national security and requires the overall mobilisation of all government levels. I am concerned with negligence of the central government which is very late in treating the situation, at a time when it should be fully by the side of the municipality’s citizens.”

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lumir Abdixhiku also visited Decan and said now is not the time to make politics with the situation in the municipality nor is it the right time to be assigning blame. “On the contrary, it is time for help,” he said as quoted by Klan Kosova. At the same time, LDK MP Arben Gashi said citizens of Kosovo are not a priority for PM Kurti. “He is dealing with some interesting things in Greece for more than a week,” Zeri quotes Gashi as saying.

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj compared the situation in Decan to that of being in a war. “Yesterday was a situation of war in Decan. Many patients were in a very difficult condition,” Haradinaj said. “There is no response from the Government but only sightseeing visits from the President and others. The Security Council would have had to convene in such cases. These visits of politicians are tourism,” Haradinaj is quoted in the Telegrafi news website.

Hajdari: Government preparing for reciprocity measures (Kallxo)

Kosovo’s Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari, said the Government of Kosovo is making preparations to introduce reciprocity measures to Serbia.

In an interview with Kallxo, Hajdari said the measures will be taken in full coordination with the governing cabinet. “When we take the measures, there will be no going back. We are preparing for reciprocity measures,” she said. “I have requested from the prime minister to review barriers we have with Serbia. We should not be taking ad-hoc decisions and then face problems with implementation,” Hajdari continued.

Speaking about the CEFTA agreement, Hajdari said Kosovo has not been treated as an equal in this mechanism and that being represented there through UNMIK is something that the Government plans to change. Hajdari said they have prepared a draft letter to that end. “The letter states: Since UNMIK has no executive role, Kosovo from now on will be representing itself.”

Dragica Gasic’s case to be raised in Brussels, U.S. Embassy reacts too (Koha)

Koha reports that Serbia has prepared the agenda of meetings with EU officials in Brussels and has included the case of Dragica Gasic whose return to Gjakova sparked discontent with local population.

On the second day of visit to Kosovo, head of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo Petar Petkovic visited Gasic and said there can be no normalisation of relations if the return of displaced persons is hindered. “Messages sent such as those in the case of Dragica Gasic are messages of intimidation of internally displaced persons. We have taken a decision to help financially for additional household equipment, provide conditions, and the state of Serbia will do all it can,” he said.

Meanwhile, the United States Embassy in Kosovo said in a Facebook post that “victims deserve justice and displaced persons have the right to return home”. “Ministers and mayors – please put politics aside and cooperate to ensure all Kosovans enjoy peace and security, free from harassment and intimidation,” the statement noted.

Former EULEX judge sparks controversy over Ivanovic war crimes trial (BIRN)

The lawyer for murdered political party leader Oliver Ivanovic said on Tuesday that allegations made by Malcolm Simmons, former head judge at the EU’s rule-of-law mission in Kosovo, showed that the war crimes prosecution of the Kosovo Serb politician was a “fabricated court case.”

Simmons told MPs on Kosovo’s Parliamentary Commission on Legislation on Monday that he was pressurised to bring forward the prosecution of Ivanovic for political reasons, in order to prevent him from running for office.

“The head of the [EULEX] mission… made it clear to me that he did not want Ivanovic to run in the next local elections in Kosovo,” Simmons said.

BIRN contacted Simmons to clarify which head of the EULEX mission he was referring to, but did not receive an answer by the time of publication.

Ivanovic’s lawyer in the war crimes case, Nebojsa Vlajic, told BIRN that he is “absolutely sure there is a lot of truth” in what Simmons said.

Vlajic said he did not know if EULEX was trying to “prevent Oliver from running.” But, he thought that the EU mission was under pressure because “they did not charge anyone with high profile, especially not a Serb, and they needed such a case.”

Vlajic said that EULEX judges were “at a high level in terms of their expertise and professionalism” but that he did not believe in their impartiality.

Ivanovic was found guilty in 2016 of war crimes and sentenced to nine years in jail for ordering the murders of Kosovo Albanians. But the appeals court sent the case for a retrial, and the case was ultimately dismissed after Ivanovic was shot dead in 2018.

EULEX responded by saying that Simmons’ claim was “unfounded” because Ivanovic “did take part in the November 2017 elections.”

It said that its judges and prosecutors were fully independent.

“Simmons was aware of all judicial activities, participated in directing and supervising the work of EULEX judges, evaluated their performance and participated in the selection of judges and in case allocation, including in the Ivanovic case,” its press office told BIRN on Tuesday.

Simmons first made accusations against EULEX after resigning as a judge in 2017. The EU mission then revealed that Simmons himself was the subject of several investigations into alleged wrongdoing.

Prior to his assassination, Ivanovic ran in two elections as a rival to Srpska Lista, the only Belgrade-backed Serb political organisation in Kosovo.

He was gunned down in front of his party’s office in the northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica in January 2018. The trial of six people accused of participating in the murder is currently ongoing in Kosovo.

The alleged leaders of the organised criminal group that killed Ivanovic are Serbian businessmen who have long been suspected of criminal activities by Serbia’s security services – Milan Radoicic and Zvonko Veselinovic.

Radoicic became vice-president of Srpska Lista in 2018.

The Serbian authorities have not made any response to Simmons’ claims.

Former Judge Simmons’s allegations, EU says it stands by EULEX and its achievements (Kallxo)

The European Union has stated that it stands by the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) and its achievements, following allegations and claims of corruption in this mission, made by the former President of the Assembly of Judges at EULEX, Malcolm Simmons on Monday in a parliamentary committee of Kosovo. In a response to KALLXO.com, the EU spokesman for Foreign Policy and Security, Peter Stano said that the version of Simmons is biased and unverified.

“We stand by the EULEX mission and its achievements. It is not the first time that Mr. Simmons is trying to present his one-sided and unproven version of wrongdoing when he was a judge at the EU Rule of Law Mission.”

Stano stressed that the former EULEX judge had failed to provide evidence to support his allegations. Simmons refused to cooperate with an investigation team led by a retired judge of the European Court of Justice, which was set up to investigate the range of possible violations reported by Mr. Simmons.  “When given the opportunity to substantiate his various claims, Mr. Simmons failed to provide the investigative team with any evidence to support his allegations,” Stano said.

Borrell: Genocide denials have no place in Europe (RFE, media)

Following a meeting of the EU Stabilization and Association Council with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said the EU would not tolerate genocide denial and efforts to review history.

Speaking on Tuesday about the Srebrenica genocide, Borrell said that, 26 years later, this date reminds everyone of the need for reconciliation not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but throughout the Western Balkans.

“The Srebrenica genocide is internationally known. It is one of the darkest events in modern European history. It is in the collective consciousness of those who took part in it and those who did not prevent it. Let me be clear: efforts to review history, to deny genocide and to glorify war criminals have no place in Europe. They must stop and I assure you they will not be tolerated.”

On July 11, Bosnia and Herzegovina marked the 26th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, in which Serb forces killed over 8,000 Muslim men and boys.

From the Western Balkan countries, Kosovo, Montenegro and Northern Macedonia have adopted resolutions condemning the Srebrenica genocide.

Albania has not approved such a document.

There are two resolutions in the Serbian Parliament – one calling for Srebrenica to be convicted of a crime and the other of genocide – but discussion has not yet been put on the agenda.

Kosovo buys 14 military vehicles from Turkey, Vucic expresses reservations (TV Pink, media)

The news regarding Kosovo’s purchase of 14 military motor vehicles from Turkey in order to modernize and strengthen its border security capacities, wasn’t received well by the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic.

According to Vucic, this step undertaken by Prishtina is in violation of resolution 1244 and this is the reason why Serbia disagrees with it.

“We will tell our Turkish friends about their Vurans (armored vehicles) that they delivered to the Albanians, but I want people to know that they don’t have to be concerned over this,” Vucic said.

“We will tell our partners in Turkey about everything they gave them. But we want people to know this,’” said the Serbian president to Serbia’s TV Pink.

On the other hand, Vucic thanked the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, with whom he spoke regarding the issue, and according to the Serbian president, he holds a clear stance on the topic.

“Their and our army, – we don’t need to compare ourselves, because we want to keep the peace, it’s not the same category. This is not the time of the 1990s, now things are completely different,” noted Vucic.

During his interview, Vucic also added that the dialogue with Prishtina will continue in Brussels during the month of July.

The former Commander of the Security Forces of Kosovo, general Kadri Kastrati stated during an interview that now, they are ready to protect the borders.

IREX: Kosovo and Albania with sustainable information system (RTK)

IREX, a non-profit organization specializing in global education and development issues, has published a new report called the Pure Information Barometer (VIBE) for 2021, which focuses on the factors that have influenced the media and information sector in 13 countries, in Europe and Eurasia during the pandemic period.

In the Clean Information Barometer, Kosovo has a total of 24 points and ranks among the countries with somewhat clean information, or a stable information system.

According to the report, although the COVID-19 pandemic was the main topic of the news in Kosovo, the political problems in the country have attracted the most media attention. The report says the media sector has seen an increase in harmful content, including misinformation and false news about coronavirus in particular.

The report also states that Kosovar media provide quality information on a variety of topics and that mainstream media produce fact-based information. However, misinformation and hate speech are quite present in the media organization. This trend is particularly prevalent in online media that produce news with a single source.

In the Clean Information Barometer, Albania results in a total of 22 points and is ranked among the countries with somewhat clean information or a stable information system.