Albanian Language Media:

• COVID-19: 932 new cases, 20 deaths (media)
• Kurti appeals to citizens to get vaccinated against COVID-19 (media)
• Kosovo leaders: Fate of the forcibly disappeared, top priority in relations with Serbia (media)
• ICRC: 23 years on, 1,630 people still missing in Kosovo (media)
• UNMIK calls on Pristina and Belgrade to redouble efforts for clarifying the fate of missing persons (Koha)
• EULEX and Kosovo Police develop database to facilitate investigation of war crimes and enforced disappearances (RFE/RTK)
• Kosovo receives U.S. donation of military vehicles (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Tanin reminds of the importance of clarifying the fate of missing persons (RTK2, Radio Mitrovica North, Kosovo Online)
• Gabriel Escobar the new State Department’s envoy for the Western Balkans (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)
• Vucic at the Bled Forum; Rama, Zaev and Kurti at the panel on EU enlargement (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)
• ”Serbian list withdrawing from the elections is unrealistic scenario” (Danas) 
• The trial for the murder of Oliver Ivanovic continued today (Kosovo Online)
• Petkovic: And today, we ask when it will be possible to search nine locations in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)
• Rakic: Society’s moral obligation to uncover the truth about missing (Kosovo Online)
• In Gracanica six Covid-19 cases during the weekend (RTK2)

International:

• Afghans Evacuated From Kabul In U.S. Airlift Arrive In Kosovo (RFE)

Albanian Language Media  

COVID-19: 932 new cases, 20 deaths (media)

Kosovo recorded 932 new cases with COVID-19 and 20 deaths from the virus in the last 24 hours. 962 persons recovered from the virus during this time. 

There are 26,525 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo. 

Kurti appeals to citizens to get vaccinated against COVID-19 (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti said that the number of inspectors will be six times higher as of today, with 85 of them joining efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19. He also announced additional vaccines expected to reach Kosovo today.

In a video clip issued today, Kurti said that the number of hospital beds has also increased to over 1,600 and that the central system for oxygen therapy has been expanded to also include regional hospitals while 53,200 additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are expected to arrive in Kosovo today. 

“Therefore, dear citizen, get vaccinated, wear the mask, keep the distance and hygiene. We will make it together,” he said.

Kosovo leaders: Fate of the forcibly disappeared, top priority in relations with Serbia (media)

On the International Day of the Disappeared, Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti and President Vjosa Osmani laid flowers at the memorial for the missing persons in Pristina. Kurti reiterated calls for opening of Serbia’s archives which he said would provide answers to the whereabouts of the disappeared persons.

Osmani said that the fate of the disappeared persons takes on an even more tragic dimension because Serbia is not distancing itself from the past. She underlined that no other issue is of a more priority in relations with Serbia than that of the fate of the missing.

“On this day there is more anxiety than grief, as 1,632 people from Kosovo remain missing, [and] we have not yet shed light to their fate. As President Osmani said, in our relations with Serbia the issue of the forcibly disappeared is the main issue and we attempt to have a secure and stable future if we do not address the issues of the past, if we do not address and clarify the past. Serbia refuses to face the past. I make calls in various roundtables organized in the international arena for Serbia to be first asked to open the archives,” Kurti is quoted in Koha.

ICRC: 23 years on, 1,630 people still missing in Kosovo (media)

More than 23 years since the armed conflict in Kosovo ended, the families of as many as 1,630 missing persons are still waiting for answers about the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones, said the International Committee of the Red Cross in a statement to the media. It added that the families of the missing persons are left in limbo, stuck in the past, unable to either grieve or plan or look at the future and that the COVID-19 pandemic has only added to the burden they had to carry for a long time now.

“The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has, as always, stood by the families of missing persons by providing them with psychosocial and other support, in an attempt to alleviate their suffering. Yet it is the support and empathy of society as a whole, authorities and their communities in particular, that is critically important to help them deal with the pain.”

The Head of Mission of the ICRC in Kosovo, Mr. Agim Gashi, said: “The families of missing persons have been waiting for news on the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones for too many years now. As in the past, this year as well, we call on society at large and the authorities to think again what else they can do to console the families of missing persons in a situation aggravated by the pandemic.”

On a positive note, Mr. Gashi acknowledged the tangible progress achieved in recovering new gravesites over the past year and commended the authorities for their ongoing work, announcing that the whereabouts of 13 people were traced this year. “It is crucial to utilize the contributions provided by all the parties and stakeholders involved in the process, to achieve better results,” Mr. Gashi said.

The ICRC said that families of missing people have the Right to Know what has happened to their loved ones, and the States are obliged to provide them with answers and support. “As always, the ICRC stands ready to support the authorities in fulfilling their responsibilities in this regard and urges them to put the exclusively humanitarian issue of missing persons at the forefront.”

“On the other hand, it is high time for anybody who may have information that could lead to the clarification or resolution of any case of a missing person to come forward. Time does not heal the agony of families of missing people, only answers do.”

UNMIK calls on Pristina and Belgrade to redouble efforts for clarifying the fate of missing persons (Koha)

On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of UNMIK, Zahir Tanin, stresses the importance of clarifying the fate of the missing and expresses UNMIK’s continued commitment to fully support this process along with the rights of their family members to the truth.

While SRSG Tanin welcomes progress achieved earlier this year with the exhumation and identification of several missing persons under the auspices of the Working Group on Missing Persons, he expresses concern that the process appears to have stalled in the past few months due to a political impasse. In this regard, he calls on Pristina and Belgrade to refrain from politicizing this critical humanitarian and human rights issue.

SRSG Tanin recalls that the Working Group on Missing Persons, which is chaired by the International Committee of the Red Cross and has the UN’s full support, has been an essential mechanism in enlightening the fate of missing persons since its establishment in 2004. He therefore urges both parties to redouble their efforts within the framework of the Working Group to search for the missing.

 “As resolving the fate of the 1,630 persons who are still missing is a central component to dealing with the past and advancing inter-community reconciliation and trust building in Kosovo, UNMIK will continue to support all actors and the families of missing persons in this process,” SRSG Tanin said.

EULEX and Kosovo Police develop database to facilitate investigation of war crimes and enforced disappearances (RFE/RTK)

The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) and the Kosovo Police developed a database to facilitate investigation of war crimes and enforced disappearances.

In a press release, EULEX said that this “tool will enable investigators to organize vast amounts of data, investigate complex and interconnected war crimes cases, and successfully prepare them for prosecution.”

“The database assists in building a case from a central crime element. It can be a place, a person or an object. The database will help to manage a large amount of data, such as witness statements, forensic evidence, and detailed information on the dates and the places where crimes were committed, helping investigators to identify suspects and link them to specific events,” said Roland Burgsteiner, EULEX’s War Crimes Analyst, who helped to develop the database. 

He added that the database is in full use and already includes around 400 war crimes cases, which were scanned and uploaded after EULEX handed over these cases to the Kosovo Police in 2018.

Kosovo receives U.S. donation of military vehicles (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti and President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani took part in the handover ceremony of 55 armoured vehicles in Pristina today and underlined the importance of the United States support. 

Kurti said the U.S. plays an important and irreplaceable role in the development of the Kosovo Army. He said Kosovo remains committed to working closely with its allies and partners to contribute to sustainable peace and stability in the region and beyond. “Our country is welcoming Afghan refugees, providing military support for peace in the Middle East, and for regional countries in responding to natural disasters,” Kurti said at the ceremony as reported by Telegrafi. 

Osmani meanwhile said: “Today is a special day for the people of Kosovo because the strategic partner, the USA, is donating to the Kosovo Security Force 55 military vehicles carrying a huge worth which will help our force to further strengthen its capacities and deepen interaction of our army with ally armies.” Osmani added, Klan Kosova reports, that as the supreme commander of the Kosovo Security Force, she was happy to be witnessing the building of Kosovo army’s operational capacities in line with international standards and aligning oneself with its allies in securing peace.  “I hope the next stage of capacity building will also include helicopters,” she noted.

Serbian Language Media

Tanin reminds of the importance of clarifying the fate of missing persons (RTK2, Radio Mitrovica North, Kosovo Online)

On the occasion of the International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and UNMIK Chief Zahir Tanin stressed the importance of clarifying the fate of the missing and expressed UNMIK’s continued commitment of fully supporting this process, said the statement, reported RTK2.

SRSG Tanin welcomed the progress made earlier this year under the auspices of the Working Group on Missing Persons regarding the exhumation and identification of several missing persons, but at the same time expresses concern because the process seems to have stalled in the past few months due to political impasse. The SRSG therefore calls on Pristina and Belgrade to refrain from politicizing this critical humanitarian and human rights issue.

Tanin recalls that the Working Group on Missing Persons, chaired by the International Committee of the Red Cross and fully supported by the UN, is the most important mechanism in clarifying the fate of the missing since its establishment in 2004, and therefore calls on both sides to redouble their efforts in search of the missing.

“As determining the fate of 1,630 people who have not yet been found is a central component in dealing with the past and further progress in reconciliation between communities and confidence building in Kosovo, UNMIK will continue to support all actors and families of missing persons in this process,” Tanin said, RTK2 cited.

Gabriel Escobar the new State Department’s envoy for the Western Balkans (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)

Career diplomat Gabriel Escobar, the US Deputy Ambassador to Serbia, confirmed to agency Tanjug that he will take over a new duty from September 7 – the function of the State Department’s envoy for the Western Balkans.

Escobar will replace Matthew Palmer in that position.

“The appointment is official, and I will take office on September 7,” Escobar told Tanjug.

In his new position, Escobar will oversee resolving of numerous issues in the Western Balkans, as well as the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

He is considered an excellent connoisseur of the Balkans, and they say that he is an impartial diplomat.

For two years, from August 2019, Escobar was the US Deputy Ambassador to Belgrade, until the arrival of Anthony Godfrey, he was the charge d’affaires, that is, he headed the US diplomatic mission in Serbia.

He previously served in Baghdad.

Vucic at the Bled Forum; Rama, Zaev and Kurti at the panel on EU enlargement (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)

The main topic of this year’s 16th Bled Strategic Forum (BSF), which will be held on Wednesday, September 1, will be the future of Europe, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will discuss this topic with the leaders of the European Union, reports Tanjug.

Vucic will participate in a panel dedicated to the future of Europe and its resilience to challenges, with the President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, the Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic Andrej Babis, Slovakia Eduard Heger, Slovenia Janez Jansa, Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Hungary Viktor Orban and Croatia Andrej Plenkovic.

Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, EU Council President Charles Michel and European Commissioner for Demography and Democracy Dubravka Suica will also take part in the panel.

The President of Serbia stated on Saturday that he would have numerous talks at the Forum in Bled, and that, as the only politician from the region, he would participate in the panel in the European format.

Vucic announced that he would meet with the President of the EU Council, Charles Michel, as well as the hosts, and he also believes that he will meet the EU envoy for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajcak. 

He added that he would meet with many European leaders, including the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Layen, with whom, he said, he would additionally agree on her visit to Serbia.

“It is important to meet with the head of the EU Council. I believe that we will be able to talk about raising the level of harmonization with the EU from 46 to 62 percent. It will also be an opportunity to see how they view the future of Serbia’s EU accession,” Vucic said. 

The forum will also discuss the chances provided by the recovery from the coronary virus pandemic for the economy, as well as the issue of the enlargement of the European Union

The panel dedicated to the enlargement of the Union, which will be opened by the President of Slovenia Borut Pahor, will be attended by the President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, the Prime Minister of Slovenia Janez Jansa, members of the Presidency of BiH, Prime Ministers of Montenegro Zdravko Krivokapic, Albania Edi Rama, Northern Macedonia Zoran Zaev, Poland Mateusz Morawiecki, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, as well as the new High Representative of the international community in BiH, Christian Schmidt.

The panel will also include European Council President Charles Michel and Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi.

BSF Secretary General Petar Grk said today that about 170 panelists from around the world will discuss various aspects of Europe’s future and that this is a priority.

He emphasized that since the prime ministers of all Western Balkan countries and all three members of the BiH presidency will attend, the BSF will be a preparation for the informal summit of the EU and the Western Balkans, which Slovenia will host in early October.

”Serbian list withdrawing the from the elections is unrealistic scenario” (Danas) 

“I do not think that the Serbian List will not go to the polls because of the verdict, I do not think that there will be a suspension of negotiations, but in any case this creates tensions on the ground and tensions in public discourse,” said Igor Novakovic, director of research at the ISAC Fund, for daily Danas.

This will consequently spill over into the political discourse, said Novakovic, answering the question whether the confirmation of the verdict of two years in prison for the mayor of Zvecan and SL MP Ivan Todosijevic, because of statement on Racak, could lead to non-appearance of the Belgrade delegation in the new round of dialogue at the technical level with the representatives of Pristina in the first half of September.

According to Novakovic, the non-appearance of the Serbian List in the upcoming local elections in Kosovo would create great instability on the ground, because in most Serbian municipalities there was an announcement of the candidacy of united Albanian lists, meaning that those lists could take the administration in those municipalities, while Serbs would remain in temporary parallel institutions. He believes that this would probably create security challenges, especially in the north of Kosovo.

“Is such a scenario realistic? I don’t think so. But, in any case, Belgrade has a good argument in the time to come, I mean the continuation of negotiations,” states Novakovic.

He recalled that and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, said that Serbia remained committed to the negotiations.

The editor of the KoSSev portal, Tatjana Lazarevic, also did not believe that the verdict against Todosijevic would reflect on the very possibility of going to the talks in Brussels. According to her, first the Supreme Court decision is expected, and the second, she believed that the Serbian side has already sent a clear message with a one-day “strike” of judges as a “demonstration exercise” about the consequences, about which the director of the Office for KiM, Petar Petkovic, spoken about. 

“Also, Vucic clearly emphasizes his determination to go to Brussels, no matter how he describes the atmosphere here, that is, how he describes the circumstances on the ground. He is in a much more comfortable position than Kurti in that respect, and Vucic behaves more comfortably there because he has a much greater room for maneuver – to show constructiveness by going there, and in return he does not lose by going. Therefore, the consequences of the decision on Todosijevic primarily concern the mechanisms of control over the work of the judiciary and the police, then it is about going to Brussels, or participating in the elections,” Lazarevic concluded.

The trial for the murder of Oliver Ivanovic continued today (Kosovo Online)

The trial of the accused in the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, the leader of the CI “Freedom, Democracy, Justice”, continued today in the Department for Serious Crimes of the Basic Court in Pristina.

At the beginning of the hearing, the judge demanded that the injured parties give an introductory speech. Oliver Ivanovic’s ex-wife, Marina Ivanovic, was not present in the courtroom, and her son Nikola was present instead, as the injured party. He said the Ivanovic family expected truth and justice two years after the murder.

“We deserve the truth and justice, we want it to be realized and the guilty to be punished,” said Nikola Ivanovic.

After leaving the courtroom, Nikola Ivanovic stated in a short statement to the media that it is absurd that still there are no those who ordered and executed murder in the courtroom.

The hearing of witnesses is in progress.

Petkovic: And today, we ask when it will be possible to search nine locations in Kosovo (Kosovo Online)

The state of Serbia and the Serbian people still remember, on the International Day of the Missing, with deep respect and due reverence, all those whose fate remained unknown after the tragic events in the former Yugoslavia, says the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, reported Kosovo Online. 

In the statement, Petkovic stated that, as a state, thanks to President Aleksandar Vucic, “we have restored the culture of remembrance, so that innocent Serbian victims are never forgotten”.

“For us, the issue of searching for the missing is neither a political nor a daily political issue, it is not a question of ethnicity but a deeply humane and civilizational issue which solution is a common debt to the past, but also to the future and coexistence we want to build with our neighbors,” said Petkovic.

He believes that it is devastating that even today, “two decades later, the fate of 1,639 people of all nationalities, who disappeared during the conflict in Kosovo and Metohija, is unknown.”

He emphasized that even today, families with pain, but also hope, are waiting for the truth about their suffering and the opportunity to mourn their loved ones in a dignified manner.

That is why, said Petkovic, we will never give up the search for the missing, nor will we stop insisting that the fate of each individual be clarified.

“Unfortunately, we are witnesses that the Pristina side is approaching this issue unilaterally, ignoring Serb victims and Serb suffering, trying to use today’s day to attack official Belgrade instead of answering the question of when it will allow the search for missing Serbs,” said Petkovic.

He stated that, showing a responsible attitude towards this issue, official Belgrade responded to all requests from Pristina and searched a total of 22 locations.

He added that, “however, out of 10 locations in Kosovo and Metohija whose search was requested by Belgrade on the basis of relevant and well-founded knowledge that they can hide the remains of Serbs missing during the conflict in Kosovo and Metohija, only one has been searched so far”.

He specified that it was the location of Bunker near Djakovica, where the remains of the five-member family Sutakovic and two members of the family Petrovic were found.

“That is why we are asking today, as we asked during the previous rounds of dialogue in Brussels – when it will be possible to search the remaining nine locations: Kosare, Lapusnik near Glogovac, Dojnice near Prizren, Javor near Suva Reka, Lugovo near Istok, Budisavci and Baljevac near Klina, Livacko Lake near Gnjilane and Meja near Djakovica,” said Petkovic.

He noted that Pristina continues to refuse to allow mixed commissions to search these sites, as well as to identify the remains that are in the morgue in Pristina.

“In that way, a common future and reconciliation are not being built, which is why we are appealing to the international community, but also to Pristina, to show a constructive approach to resolving the issue of the fate of the missing,” Petkovic concluded.

Rakic: Society’s moral obligation to uncover the truth about missing (Kosovo Online)

Goran Rakic, Minister of Communities and Return and President of the Serbian List, said on the International Day of the Disappeared that every society has a moral obligation towards victims and their families to uncover the truth about the missing. 

“International Day of the Disappeared is another day for us to be reminded that every society has a moral obligation to victims and their families that the truth about the disappeared must be known because the pain of families is too great. Families of the missing must not search endlessly for their loved ones. We must all support these families so that they would persevere in the difficult task of searching for their members and finding out the truth, because truth and justice are the obligations of every society. It is sad that we mark this day with many questions from the families of those that are missing, that have no answer on the whereabouts of their loved ones,” wrote Rakic in a Facebook post, cited Kosovo Online. 

In Gracanica six Covid-19 cases during the weekend (RTK2)

Last weekend, a coronavirus was registered in a total of six people in the municipality of Gracanica, the Crisis Staff announced.

As it is stated, the number of patients with Covid-19 has increased in the whole of Kosovo, which is why new anti-Covid measures are in force as of today.

The police and inspection in Gracanica have been intensively monitoring the observance of measures since this morning, and they are imposing fines on those who do not respect them.

International 

Afghans Evacuated From Kabul In U.S. Airlift Arrive In Kosovo (RFE)

A planeload of Afghans landed in Kosovo on August 29 after fleeing their country following the takeover by the Taliban.

The Afghans arrived at Pristina’s airport on a U.S. Air Force flight and were welcomed by Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani, Prime Minister Albin Kurti, and U.S. Ambassador Philip Kosnett.

Kosovo has agreed to temporarily host about 2,000 at-risk Afghans who worked with U.S.-led international forces while their immigration status to the United States is processed. The Afghans who arrived on August 29 — a group of at least 100 men, women, and children — are the first to be welcomed by Kosovo.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3jpoK4C