Albanian Language Media:

• COVID-19: 888 new cases, one death (media)
• German government on Open Balkan: Every regional cooperation useful (Express)
• Justice Minister: Scenario of vetting process yet to be decided (Indeksonline)
• Government adopts five-year strategy for rule of law (Telegrafi)
• Wiretap scandal: Special Prosecution now has the audio recordings (Kallxo)
• Over 58% of Kosovars say COVID-19 vaccination must be mandatory (media)
• US Embassy calls on pregnant mothers to get vaccinated (media)
• Women in politics lack support from parties and society (Radio Free Europe)
• Government adopts €15 million agreement to distribute vaccines (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Trajkovic: Only Serbian health care system functions in Kosovo (Danas)
• KFOR to hold 10-day exercises in Kosovo (N1, Radio KIM)
• Vucic spoke with Godfrey: Serbian-US relations on rise (Kosovo-online)
• Prosecution in Gnjilane launched investigation into attack on Serb in Zebnica village (Radio KIM)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Foreign tourists can get free vaccine at Belgrade Fair (B92)

Albanian Language Media  

COVID-19: 888 new cases, one death (media)

Kosovo has recorded 888 new cases with COVID-19 and one death from the virus in the last 24 hours. 38 persons recovered from the virus during this time. 16,905 vaccines were administered in the last 24 hours. To date, 521,737 vaccine doses have been administered in Kosovo. There are 3,489 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

German government on Open Balkan: Every regional cooperation is useful (Express)

A spokesman for the German federal government told the news website when asked about the Open Balkan initiative that every regional cooperation in the Western Balkans is useful and that this cooperation must be all-inclusive and open to all six countries of the region.

“Every regional cooperation in the Western Balkans is useful. At the same time, it is important for cooperation to be all-inclusive and open to all six countries of the region. This is why we strongly support the Action Plan for a Common Regional Market,” the spokesman said.

“The heads of governments of the six countries in the Western Balkans reaffirmed their commitment to this historical project at the last Berlin Process Summit on July 5. An urgent task now is to finalise negotiations for the four agreements for free travel with ID cards, free travel for third country nationals and the recognition of academic and professional qualifications. As German Chancellor Merkel said at the press conference after the Berlin Process Summit on July 5, there must be intensive efforts to reach this important step before the EU – Western Balkans Summit on October 6.”

Justice Minister: Scenario of vetting process yet to be decided (Indeksonline)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said today that this ministry has yet to decide how it will go about the vetting process in the judiciary. She told a press conference in Prishtina that they are working intensively on the process “because this is a request from our society”.

“We have yet to decide what scenario we will follow. If we don’t go with constitutional amendments, we will have a Plan B. In the event that constitutional amendments fail to pass at the Kosovo Assembly, our Plan B will be through legal amendments. We are working with experts to make sure that we don’t make any errors in the process,” she said.

Haxhiu said the ministry will very soon announce the plan for the implementation of the vetting and that political consensus is also required. “I believe we will announce the scenario very soon and I think that political consensus is also very important. I plan to meet very soon with other parliamentary groups in order to get their support for a process that is very important and in the service of the people,” she said.

Government adopts five-year strategy for rule of law (Telegrafi)

The Kosovo government adopted today a five-year strategy for the rule of law today, the four key objectives of which include strengthening the judiciary and the prosecution, strengthening criminal justice, greater access to justice and the fight against corruption.

Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said: “through its activities, the strategy will also contribute to the implementation of other government priorities, such as preventing and combating crime, and the engagement for respect of human rights guaranteed by the Constitution and international conventions and achieving gender equality.”

“In terms of gender equality, the strategy aims to secure an equal representation of women in decision-making in all levels of the rule of law sector, as the only way to effectively achieve gender equality, including strengthening institutional mechanisms and greater societal awareness for access to justice”.

Wiretap scandal: Special Prosecution now has the audio recordings (Kallxo)

The Special Prosecution of Kosovo ordered a special investigation unit of Kosovo Police last Friday to take the audio recordings secured by the news website Shqip.com. According to the news website, the audio recordings were given to the police without any intervention in the material. Shqip editor-in-chief, Lirim Mehmetaj, told Kallxo: “Yes they came here one day after the Chief Prosecutor went live on TV and they took the material without any intervention from what we have published so far. We haven’t been invited to any interview”. 

Over 58% of Kosovars say COVID-19 vaccination must be mandatory (media)

A poll conducted by the Prishtina-based Pyper company and the Institute of Psychology at Prishtina University showed that over 50 percent of respondents believe that vaccination against COVID-19 must be mandatory for all Kosovo citizens. 

35.6 percent of respondents said they were infected with the virus while 64.4 percent said they were never infected. Over half of the respondents (54.8 percent) said they are neither vaccinated nor have they scheduled a vaccination appointment. 39.4 percent of this group said they plan to get vaccinated. 22.7 percent of respondents said they don’t plan to get vaccinated ever, and 37.9 percent said they are undecided. Among the main reasons why this group does not want or hesitates to get vaccinated is the fear from side effects/allergies and lack of trust in the efficiency of the vaccines.

US Embassy calls on pregnant mothers to get vaccinated (media)

The United States Embassy in Prishtina said in a Twitter post today that “pregnant and recently pregnant mothers are more likely to get severely ill with #COVID19.  Protect yourself & your baby by getting vaccinated.”

Women in politics lack support from parties and society (Radio Free Europe)

Since 1999, only one municipality in Kosovo has been led by a woman. In 2013, Mimoza Kusari-Lila won the race to head the municipality of Gjakova. Since then, political parties have run mostly men and no woman has managed to win a race to lead a municipality. In the last two local elections, in 2017 and 2013, political parties had run only 17 women for mayors from a total of 450 candidates.

According to a report by the Kosovo Democratic Institute, the representation of women in the last two local elections was extremely low and so was the number of women as heads of lists for municipal assemblies. “From a total of 400 lists submitted to the Central Election Commission, in the last two local elections (2017 and 2013) less than 1 percent of them (38 in total) had women as heads of lists,” the report noted.

Will political parties run with women candidates?

The information office of the Vetevendosje Movement said that in the coming days it will confirm the names of candidates for mayors and then announce them for the public.

To date, only the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has publicly announced that it has two women candidates for local elections. Hyrie Dobrunaj will run for mayor of Decan municipality, and Sibel Halimi will run for mayor of Ferizaj municipality.

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) deputy leader, Vlora Citaku, told the news website that the new leadership of the party is committed to giving women and youth more room in decision-making. “We are discussing with many women that have grown together with the PDK, but also with other ladies that are joining the PDK, to give them the merited space and for them to run for mayors, heads of lists and certainly in the lists for municipal assemblies,” she said.

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) officials said they have talked with many women but according to Time Kadriaj, an MP from this party, have refused to take on greater responsibilities. “We made several proposals but in the majority of cases which we are not making public, they hesitated to assume more responsibilities,” Kadriaj said.

Mimoza Kusari-Lila, former Mayor of Gjakova and now an MP, said the absence of women in decision-making is not only a political problem but a societal problem as well. Kusari-Lila, the only woman to have held the post of mayor, argued that in addition to the political parties, the society as a whole must engage for greater involvement of women in decision-making.

Kusari-Lila said that many women do not find enough space in political parties despite the fact that they are professionally skilled, but she also says that there are women in politics that hesitate to run for mayors.

Government adopts €15 million agreement to distribute vaccines (media)

The Kosovo government adopted today a draft law for approval at the Assembly for a €15 million international agreement for the distribution of anti COVID vaccines. Minister of Finance, Labour and Transfers, Hekuran Murati, said the agreement has passed all phases foreseen in the law for the ratification of international agreements and called on government ministers to support the bill. “The agreement totals at €15 million. The funds are aimed at supporting the distribution of anti COVID-19 vaccines and some of the funds will also be used for essential medications,” he said. 

Serbian Language Media

Trajkovic: Only Serbian health care system functions in Kosovo (Danas)

“After meeting with the Serb minority in northern Kosovo it was clear we must integrate education and health systems, police….and we need an institutional framework for that. Some sort of association or community would be needed. I spoke with some representatives of the Serb minority in Mitrovica North…Tensions are growing and we must take all that seriously and we must make more efforts, we from the European Union but also the Kosovo Government. They must try harder to reach out to these people, not only to the Serbian List, but to all of them, so these people would feel integrated”, European Parliament Rapporteur for Kosovo, Viola von-Cramon told Belgrade-based N1 TV, Danas daily reports.

Health care and education systems, along with provisional municipal bodies, are the only remaining institutions of the Serbian state in Kosovo and Metohija following the signing of the Brussels agreement by Belgrade and Pristina.  Those criticizing the Brussels agreement and coming from the ranks of Serbian politicians have warned repeatedly that integration of the health care and education systems in Kosovo would have unforeseeable consequences and jeopardize survival of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.

Von-Cramon didn’t say who she spoke to in the north of Kosovo about eventual integration of the health care and education systems in the Kosovo system.

Interlocutors told Danas daily she could officially agree with that only with the Serbian List representatives, although one should not exclude the possibility that those were the Serbs from non-governmental organizations. They hold no accountability for the statements they make during the meetings with international officials, who then refer to them without mentioning the names of their interlocutors, which became a common practice, the daily added.

“So far, none of the participants in the political life in Kosovo and Metohija has participated in it by any action, without it being known. It is difficult to say whether the Serbian List has gone that far, it is more likely that these were representatives of various NGOs. In any case, I think that Viola von Cramon’s statement on the integration of health and education was a political trick by which she tries to achieve some other goals. This is a tactic used by the current Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti as well. He sets impossible goals and launches the story of a “Great Albania” every time he wants to dilute important things. That is how all the processes in the negotiations in Brussels work. (…)”, TV Mir from Leposavic owner Nenad Radosavljevic told Danas.

He added there is no way to integrate Serbian health and education systems in the Kosovo system, given that they were part of the Seriban system also during the times Kosovo had the status of autonomous province and had its own courts and police.

“Health and education must remain integral part of the Serbian system also now(…)” Radosavljvic said, adding their integration in the Kosovo system was impermissible.

Rada Trajkovic from the Serb European Movement and a doctor who worked “on health network in Kosovo and Metohija after withdrawal of the Serbian police and army in 1999”, told Danas daily that there is no Kosovo health system and that von-Cramon’s announcement would directly jeopardize health care of not only the Serbs, but also of Kosovo Albanians.

She added that “only Serbian primary and secondary health care systems function in Kosovo, and are used by all citizens regardless of their ethnic background and that its preservation was necessary, because, among others, there is no tertiary health protection level in Kosovo”.

“I say it responsibly that there is no Kosovo health care system in Kosovo. It is in disrepair, one could see in a situation that arose due to coronavirus pandemic. There is a small number of vaccinated people in Kosovo and Metohija, and Kosovo is among the poorest countries in the world for which the United States allocated a number of vaccines. During the recent Eid al-Adha celebration, Kosovo hospitals were unable to cope with the crisis that erupted overnight due to diabetes and other health problems. Although reluctant Kosovo Albanians often seek health services in the Serbian health care institutions not only in Kosovo, but also in Nis, Kragujevac, Belgrade”, Trajkovic added.

Her assessment was that possible integration of the health and education system in the Kosovo system would lead to a major destabilization of the Serbs in Kosovo and impact drastically their survival.

“Along with the Church, the health and education systems were of crucial importance for the Serbs to stay and remain in Kosovo after NATO bombardment and the protectorate establishment in 1999 (…)”, Trajkovic said. She added integration of the education system was even impossible as Serbs from Kosovo think they must have a diploma they would be able to get employment with, in the rest of Serbia should the new exodus occur, but also to be able to work if they return to Kosovo. She also opined that integration of the education system is additionally difficult as the gap between the Serbs and Albanians was rather big.

KFOR to hold 10-day exercises in Kosovo (N1, Radio KIM)

The NATO-led KFOR said Wednesday it will hold freedom of movement and safety military exercises in Kosovo from August 30 to September 8, N1 reports. 

The exercises would include case scenarios of mass and unrest control, activities related to freedom movement and security operations, aiming to maintain a high level of preparedness. 

“This is a routine event dubbed ‘OPREH Level II“ ( Operational Rehearsal Level II)”, KFOR said in a statement.

It also added that additional reserve forces from other NATO allies’ members including Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Romania, Turkey and Great Britain would take part in the exercises and should arrive in Kosovo by the end of August. 

Following the closure of exercises these forces would leave Kosovo and return to their respective countries. 

Additional reserve NATO forces may be called upon in an unlikely event should KFOR need assistance in implementing the UN mandate that implies ensuring a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all communities in Kosovo. 

Vucic spoke with Godfrey: Serbian-US relations on rise (Kosovo-online)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke today with the US Ambassador to Serbia, Anthony Godfrey and said relations between the two countries are on rise, Kosovo-online portal reports.

“I had an open and friendly talk with US Ambassador Anthony Godfrey in the most beautiful ambiance of the Belgrade Waterfront”, Vucic wrote on Instagram, adding that Serbian-US relations are on the rise.

“I thank Americans for the support in clustering the countries in the region and economic integration which means progress, both of Serbia but also of all others in our surroundings”, Vucic said. 

Prosecution in Gnjilane launched investigation into attack on Serb in Zebnica village (Radio KIM)

Basic Prosecution in Gnjilane announced yesterday that in cooperation with the Kosovo police they undertook investigative actions in relation to the physical attack against a Serb young man, Nikola Peric in the village of Zebnica, Novo Brdo municipality, Radio KIM reports.

The Basic Prosecution Office said in a statement it “authorized the Kosovo police to take all necessary investigative actions in order to identify the perpetrators of this crime”.

23-year old Nikola Peric was assaulted Monday evening. He was returning home after grazing the cattle, when three Albanians got out of a vehicle and attacked him. He was transferred to Gnjilane hospital with several injuries, Radio KIM added.  

Zebnica residents confirmed to Radio KIM the attackers allegedly came out of BMW vehicles and started beating up the young man. 

Humanitarian/Development 

Foreign tourists can get free vaccine at Belgrade Fair (B92)

Foreign tourists staying in Serbia can get free vaccines at the Belgrade fair, B92 reports. The news was published on the website of the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications; the vaccination will be free of charge and done every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Hall 11 of the Belgrade Fair, from 8.00 am to 3.30 pm.

Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Sinopharm vaccines are currently available to those interested, but as noted by the relevant ministry, selection of vaccines at the time of application completely depends on the available quantities of certain vaccines.

It was stated that foreign citizens cannot apply for vaccination on their own, but only through the catering facilities in which they are accommodated or travel agencies through which they have arranged travel and accommodation in Serbia.

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