Albanian Language Media:

• COVID-19: 1,128 new cases, three deaths (media)
• Vaccination of children and teachers, condition to return to schools (RFE)
• Rohde: Implementing court decision on Decan Monastery, long overdue (Express)
• Several political parties to announce joint list for Mitrovica North (Klan Kosova)
• Kosovo Assembly adopted only seven laws in the spring session (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

• “Crime in Gorazdevac must not be forgotten” (Radio KIM)
• “KLA” graffiti in Gracanica; 18 yrs on, no one responsible for killing two Serb kids (N1)
• Rakic, Petkovic on crime in Gorazdevac (Kosovo-online)
• British Embassy welcomes court decision on Dragica Gasic’s flat, condemns attacks against her (Radio KIM)
• Flags of “Greater Albania“ displayed on south and north sides of Ibar River (KoSSev)
• EU on ‘Open Balkan’: We welcome commitment of leaders to regional cooperation (Kosovo-online)
• Serbian police chopper crews continue battling fires in Greece (N1, RTS)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Half of young Serbians want to leave country (FoNet, N1)

Albanian Language Media  

COVID-19: 1,128 new cases, three deaths (media)

1,128 new cases of COVID-19 and three deaths from the virus were recorded in Kosovo in the last 24 hours. 46 persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 5,493 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo. 19,248 vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours. To date, 559,007 vaccines have been administered in Kosovo. 

Vaccination of children and teachers, condition to return to schools (RFE)

The Kosovo Parents’ Council called on the Kosovo government today to take a decision to vaccinate adolescent children to ensure that they can attend school classes in September. The request comes after a recent spike in COVID-19 cases, especially among children. In the last three days, over 300 people aged 10 to 19 have been infected with the virus. According to the Agency of Statistics, Kosovo has over 300,000 students that attend primary and secondary education.

Ymret Reshitaj, president of the Kosovo Parents’ Council, told the news website today that the vaccination of children and especially teaching staff against COVID-19 is a condition for their return to schools and normal classes. “We call on Kosovo institutions to secure vaccines for children under 18 too and to start vaccinating them. Parents have always protected the interests of children; therefore, we expect the Kosovo government to undertake concrete steps in this respect,” he said.

Rohde: Implementing court decision on Decan Monastery, long overdue (Express)

German Ambassador to Pristina, Jorn Rohde, said the implementation of the Constitutional Court’s decision, confirming the Decan Monastery’s right to the 24 hectares of land, is long overdue.

Rohde retweeting an interview of the chief of OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Michael Davenport, said that he fully supports his statements calling on Kosovo authorities to implement the Court’s decision related to Decan Monastery.

“Full support for Davenport statement – Implementation of the CC’s decision is long overdue,” Ambassador Rohde wrote on Twitter.

Davenport in a recent interview to KTV said the Court’s decision should be implemented although the situation around the monastery is complicated. Kosovo authorities are not implementing a judgment issued in May 2016 saying that land in the dispute belonged to the Serbian Orthodox Church monastery and not to two private companies.

Several political parties to announce joint list for Mitrovica North (Klan Kosova)

The Vetevendosje Movement (VV), Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) and VAKAT are expected to announce a joint list for Mitrovica North for the upcoming October local elections. Erden Atic, former VV candidate for mayor of Mitrovica North, said the agreement will be announced at 16:00 today. He said civil society representatives are also expected to be part of the election list.

Kosovo Assembly adopted only seven laws in the spring session (RTK)

Only seven laws have been approved by the Assembly of Kosovo during the spring session.

This number was considered low by the Democratic Institute of Kosovo (KDI) in the publication of findings from the monitoring of the work of the legislature.

KDI researcher, Agnesa Haxhiu in a press conference said that the Assembly has marked a slight increase in the number of plenary sessions.

The absence of MPs in plenary sessions is also considered concerning.

Serbian Language Media

“Crime in Gorazdevac must not be forgotten” (Radio KIM)

On the eighteenth anniversary of the crime on Bistrica River in which  two Serb boys were killed and four youngsters wounded, a memorial service was held in Gorazdevac village, Radio KIM reports. 

The memorial service took place in a Church of Assumption of the Most Holy Mother of God in the village. Father Petar from Visoki Decani Monastery, Nenad Naspalic, parish priest of Gorazdevac, and father Dragan Radovanovic, parish priest of Pec, served the memorial service, in attendance of local officials and assistant director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Jelena Stojkovic.

Ivan Jovovic and Panta Dakic died in the attack, while Bogdan Bukumiric, Marko Bogicevic, Djordje Ugrenovic and Dragana Srbljak were wounded. 

Father of Panta Dakic, Milisav Dakic said he is powerless to do anything in shedding the light on this case, since, as he said, no one wants to accept working on this case.

“It has been 18 years, and justice has not been served yet. What will happen next we do not know, same things happen, provocations. As long as I live, I expect perpetrators to be found and to look for them, but I am powerless to do anything. No one wants to accept working on this case. The lawyers say they can’t do anything, EULEX undertakes no action (…)”, Dakic said.

Djordje Ugrenovic, who was wounded in the attack said he has no hope that perpetrators would be found.

“Currently, we have no hope that perpetrators will be found, the case is closed, no one has desire to do something regarding this issue, everything came down to the gathering on August 13 and paying a tribute to Panta and Ivan. Gorazdevac will always remember this crime, as will journalists. Thank you for reporting on this every year and for always being by our side”, Djordje said.

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Assistant Director Jelena Stojkovic said the attack against Serb youngsters on the Bistrica River is a symbol of a great suffering of the Serbian people. She added despite promises the international community did nothing to resolve this case. 

“KLA” graffiti in Kosovo; 18 yrs on, no one responsible for killing two Serb kids (N1)

The graffiti reading “UÇK”, the Albanian abbreviation for the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) were noticed in the northern Gracanica district on Friday, where the 14-century Serbian Orthodox Monastery is situated, N1 reports.

On the same day, the Serbs commemorated the killing of two and wounding of several other children in Gorazdevac, a village in western Kosovo, on August 13, 2003. Children were playing in the local river when they were gunned down from the nearby bushes.

Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija described the graffiti as provocation and intimidation of the Kosovo Serbs on the 18th anniversary of the killing that had never been resolved and which no one was held responsible for.

The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, EULEX, closed the fruitless investigation in 2010, while promises were made to “overturn every stone to find the perpetrators” 17 years ago when the crime took place.

However, the EULEX prosecutors later said they exhausted all means and failed to identify the perpetrators but were ready to reopen the investigation if there was new evidence. 

Rakic, Petkovic on crime in Gorazdevac (Kosovo-online)

“Almost two decades of sorrow and pain with the same questions we ask every year, who and why shot at childhood on August 13, 2003 on the Bistrica River in Gorazdevac and then interrupted all the dreams of boys Ivan Jovovic and Pantelija Dakic, who were supposed to yet start living, and gravely wounded another four Serbian children? Today, it is not the time for big words. Today, but also all these years, we have been expressing pain and sympathizing with the pain of the families of the killed boys”, Serbian List President Goran Rakic wrote on Facebook.

He added that for the umpteenth time, justice is sought for all those who were shot with dozens of bullets on August 13, 18 years ago. “We are raising our voice again so that everyone can hear that there is no justice for the killed Serbian children, even if the time for waiting for justice was over long ago”.

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic said the “crime in Gorzdevac is one of the four biggest crimes against Serbs since 1999 and the arrival of international missions in Kosovo and Metohija, in addition to the murder of reapers in Staro Gracko, the murder of the Stolic family in Obilic and passengers of the Nis-Express bus near Podujevo”.

“Today, when we mark this sad anniversary, we say that, as long as there is a single Serb, both in Kosovo and Metohija, and in the rest of our country, the crime in Goraždevac must not and will not be forgotten”, he added in a statement.

Petkovic pointed out that, despite the promise of the then UNMIK chief of police that he would “turn over every stone in order to find the killers”, the attackers on Serbian children have not been found to this day. He stated that the EULEX prosecutor made a scandalous decision on December 25, 2010 and officially suspended the investigation in this procedure.

“The failure of the international judiciary to shed light on crimes against the Serbian population is a permanent stain on the face of those whose basic task and duty was to establish the rule of law in post-war Kosovo and Metohija”, he added.

British Embassy welcomes court decision on Dragica Gasic’s flat, condemns attacks against her (Radio KIM)

Decision of the Basic Court in Djakovica enabling returnee woman stay in her apartment sends a strong signal that Kosovo respects the rights of anyone wishing to return to their place of origin, British Embassy in Pristina said, a day after the court dismissed request of Djakovica municipality related to Dragica Gasic’s right to the apartment, Radio KIM reports.

The Embassy also mentioned the number of returnees as a result, as they said, of their cooperation with the Kosovo Government.

“We are proud of working with the government to return 250 families of all ethnicities across Kosovo, since 2010,” British Embassy wrote on Twitter.

At the same time this was the first international reaction following the news that Basic Court in Djakovica dismissed request Djakovica municipality submitted beginning of July asking the court to annul decision of the Kosovo Property Verification and Comparison Agency, that in June released the flat in which first Serbian returnee in Djakovica had returned. The court also allowed her to renovate the flat, something she was banned from doing earlier.

Recently the Office for Kosovo and Metohija completely refurbished the flat, following the burglary and stealing of a number of items, including the insulin Dragica was using.

Meanwhile, the news on the living conditions of Dragica Gasic became a topic not only in domestic but also international media reports.   

Flags of “Greater Albania“ displayed on south and north sides of Ibar River (KoSSev)

The flags of “Greater Albania” fly over the bridge connecting South and North Mitrovica in Suvi Do, as well as over the part of the road leading to North Mitrovica. The national flags of Albania are also displayed on the same road section, KoSSev portal reports.

On the flag, the Albanian national symbol – the red and black eagle – stretches over the borders of the non-existent state with the message “autochthonous“ – i.e. the flag of Greater or, as Albanians see it – ethnic Albania, the portal added.

Its borders are not the borders of a recognized sovereign state, but include the territory of several sovereign countries.

Apart from the Republic of Albania and Kosovo, this “Greater Albania” map includes almost half of the territory of Montenegro, including its capital – Podgorica, almost half of Macedonia, including Skopje, the greater part of northwestern Greece, from Preveza, including Corfu and Ioannina, as well as parts of Serbia proper – Presevo, Bujanovac, Medvedja, the Sandzak/ Raska region and Toplica.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3iI8iw9

EU on ‘Open Balkan’: We welcome commitment of leaders to regional cooperation (Kosovo-online)

The European Union welcomes commitment of leaders to regional cooperation within the initiative ‘Open Balkan’ and recalls commitment of the leaders of the Western Balkans to establish a common regional market, EU Spokesperson Ana Pisonero said,Kosovo-online portal reports citing Pristina-based media.

Asked about the EU’s stance on the ‘Open Balkan’ initiative and whether Kosovo should join it, Pisonero said the EU welcomes commitment of the leaders to regional cooperation, an important element of the Western Balkans’ European perspective and integral part of the Association and Stabilization Process.

“We understand the desire for progress. At the same time, a process that encompasses an entire Western Balkans region is of crucial importance. Within this context, it is important for the region to make progress in establishing a common regional market, which is a political obligation undertaken by six regional leaders in a Sofia Summitt last year”, she said.

She added the EU creates economic opportunities and investment plans in the region and it is now on the region to use these opportunities properly. 

Serbian police chopper crews continue battling fires in Greece (N1, RTS)

Three Serbian police helicopter crews are helping Greek firefighters battle forest fires in the Peloponnese, their commander told the Serbian public broadcaster RTS Thursday.

Chopper unit commander Nenad Nedic said that the three helicopter crews were deployed to an area 23 miles southwest of Athens along with a Greek and Spanish crew. He added that the Serbian pilots and crews would stay in Greece for as long as they are needed.

The Serbian helicopters helped battle the forest fires on the island of Evia northeast of Athens over the past few days.

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

Humanitarian/Development 

Half of young Serbians want to leave country (FoNet, N1)

A report by a youth organization showed that half of the population of Serbia under the age of 30 are planning or want to leave the country, N1 reports.

The Alternative Report on Serbian Youth by the KOMS organization said that 25 percent of young people have plans to leave and another 25 percent want to leave but have not planned their move. It said that a majority would move to Western Europe, 12 percent to the US and five percent to Russia.

The report, based on a recent poll, said that 85 percent of young Serbians believe they have no influence on politics but with just 24 percent saying they would not turn out to vote while some 40 percent said they did vote in last year’s elections. About 80 percent said they don’t trust any politician and don’t trust state institutions. Asked to grade institutions and public figures, the highest scores went to the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije and the military and police forces, while President Aleksandar Vucic ranked fourth.

Some 44 percent of the polled said democracy is the best form of governance while 27 percent said they were opposed to democracy and 49 percent said Serbia needs a strong leader.

About a third (39 percent) support Serbia’s membership in the European Union and 33 are opposed with 45 percent saying the country should balance between East and West, 17 percent favoring Russia and China and 13 percent in favor of the EU and US. Asked which side to turn to, 52 percent said to the east and 48 percent said to the West.

The respondents were divided on Kosovo – 21.9 percent want reconciliation between Serbs and Albanians, 18.7 percent want Kosovo taken back in a military operation, 13.8 percent want Serbia to recognize Kosovo with border changes and 7.5 percent don’t want to recognize Kosovo but believe some concessions should be made.

A majority (51 percent) oppose membership in NATO, 23 percent support some cooperation with the Alliance and seven percent want to join.

Most get their news on social networks via mobile phone (98.4 percent) laptop or on TV and about a third said they watch N1 TV and the Serbian public broadcaster RTS.