Albanian Language Media:

• COVID-19: 1,853 new cases, one death (media)
• KPI recommends suspension of three border police officers (RTK)
• Scandalous: Cameras did not work when Milan Radoicic escaped from border crossing (Kallxo)
• Status conference on cases of Thaci, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi to take place today (media)
• LVV MPs withdraw from travel expenses (media)
• PSD: Dardan Molliqaj was illegally deprived from freedom (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic travels to China for working visit (Tanjug)
• US, EU envoys: All agreed between Belgrade and Pristina must be implemented (N1)
• Escobar meets Serbia’s opposition; US says doesn’t support political parties (Beta, N1)
• Brnabic: Serbia expects formation of ZSO (N1)
• US Embassy: Kosovo Serbs should be allowed to vote in Serbian elections (FoNet, N1)
• Mihajlovic, Besiri on the visit of Lajcak and Escobar (KoSSev, N1)
• Varhelyi: EU ready to work on energy transition in Western Balkans (N1)
• Raska-Prizren Eparchy once again expresses deep concern due to frequent cases of burglaries of its churches in Kosovo (Eparchy website, media)
• Petkovic, Serbian List on Radojicic’s arrest attempt (Kosovo-online)
• Businessmen with Lajcak on the problems of placing goods on the Kosovo’s market (Kontakt plus radio)
• Mijacic: Goal of Escobar and Lajcak is to prepare negotiations with Pristina after elections (Radio kontakt plus)

Opinion:

• Serbia can never reverse Kosovo’s Independence (Tirana Times)

International:

• Wanted Kosovo Serb Businessman Escapes Arrest on Border (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Nagavci reacts after autistic student was dismissed from school (RTK)

Albanian Language Media  

COVID-19: 1,853 new cases, one death (media)

1,853 new cases of COVID-19 and one death have been recorded in Kosovo in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said in its daily report. 1,639 persons recovered during this time.

There are 31,084 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.

KPI recommends suspension of three border police officers (RTK)

The Kosovo Police Inspectorate (KPI) respectively the investigators of the KPI Investigation Department have recommended to the Kosovo Police the suspension of three police officers (a captain, a sergeant and a police officer – all employees at the border crossing point in “Brnjak” to the Director Regional Border “North”).

KPI last night was informed by the Kosovo Police about an incident which occurred at the border crossing point in “Brnjak” in the North Regional Border Directorate where during the border crossing procedures a suspect (with initials MR) appeared and the same had resulted as a wanted person.

The wanted person is suspected to have driven his car back and returned to Serbia, while his documents were left to the police officers of the border crossing point.

KPI investigators in consultation with the Basic Prosecution in Ferizaj have started an investigation procedure against three police officers on suspicion that they have committed the criminal offense “Abuse of official position or authority.”

KPI investigators in full coordination with the State Prosecutor’s Office, will continue to undertake other investigative actions towards full clarification of all circumstances related to this case.

Scandalous: Cameras did not work when Milan Radoicic escaped from border crossing (Kallxo)

Milan Radoicic escaped to the Brnjak border crossing last night. His escape was not recorded as the cameras placed at several different points on the border in Brnjak did not work. The prosecutor of the Basic Prosecution in Ferizaj, Rasim Maloku, has also ordered an investigation into this case. The latter a few days ago put Radoicic on the “stop list” for the “Brezovica” case.

KALLXO.com reported that Milan Radoicic had fled from Kosovo police at the Brnjak border crossing at the time he had attempted to enter Kosovo. After handing over the documents to the Border Police officers, Radoicic was ordered to park the car as it was realized that he was on the “Stop list”.

Sources of KALLXO.com said that Radojicic at this time had fled to the territory of Serbia, leaving the documents with the Kosovo border officials.

Status conference on the case of Thaci, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi to take place today (media)

The tenth status conference on the progress of the cases against Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi, will be held today in The Hague.

Specialist Chambers Status conference is expected to be held at 2:30 p.m.

On November 9, in their first appearances, Jakup Krasniqi and Hashim Thaci pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

The same was stated by Veseli in his appearance on November 10, as well as Selimi on November 11.

The indictment against Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi was confirmed on October 26, 2020.

LVV MPs withdraw from travel expenses (media)

After numerous comments in media and social-media about the amount of two-month travel expenses of the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) MP Artan Abrashi, the head of the LVV parliamentary group Mimoza Kusari-Lila, said today that the Vetvendosje MPs will withdraw from the compensation of travel expenses.

Kusari-Lila also said that they will ask the Presidency of the Assembly to review the decision on compensation of MPs.

“Through this announcement we want to inform the public opinion, that the MPs of Vetevendosje Movement, as a parliamentary majority, will voluntarily withdraw from the compensation of travel expenses and at the same time call on other MPs to apply the same standard. We will also ask the Presidency of the Assembly to review the decision on the compensation of MPs. We remain committed to increasing the performance of the work of MPs, accountability and responsibility to the citizens of the Republic,” Kusari-Lila wrote.

PSD: Dardan Molliqaj was illegally deprived from freedom (media)

The Social Democratic Party (PSD) has published the ruling of the Basic Court in Prishtina, regarding the case of Dardan Molliqaj, who was arrested before entering a television studio.

According to them, this ruling proves that “the police made the spectacular arrest in the premises of T7 television in the absence of an arrest warrant.”

The PSD warns that the same ruling will be appealed to the Court of Appeals.

“The prosecution has received a criminal report for this offense one day after his arrest. The Court also found that the summonses of the Police were not submitted in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure. We will denounce all this orchestrated and unauthorized activity by law, to many organizations dealing with human rights. Furthermore, we will address these violations through all the legal possibilities we have at our disposal,” it is said in the PSD reaction.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic travels to China for working visit (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has left for a working visit to China.

During the February 3-5 visit, Vucic will attend the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the press office of the Serbian president announced on Thursday, reported Tanjug agency yesterday.

US, EU envoys: All agreed between Belgrade and Pristina must be implemented (N1)

The Special Representative of the European Union, Miroslav Lajcak, and the American envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, told reporters on Thursday they said in both Belgrade and Pristina that everything agreed should be fulfilled.

“Everything that has been agreed must be implemented and will be implemented, and that is part of the process that should take place parallel with the negotiations on the legally binding agreement,” Lajcak said.

Escobar added that the US position was that the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM) should be discussed.

“We do not have a vision of how this should be realised, it is on both sides to discuss in a dialogue supported by the EU, but we will support every agreement – politically, financially and technically,” Escobar told reporters in Belgrade.

Asked about the voting of Serbia’s citizens on Kosovo’s territory on April 3, Escobar said that all people in the region should vote openly, freely and easily in elections in which they had the right to vote.

Pristina banned the local Serbs from voting in Serbia’s January 16 referendum on Kosovo’s territory. Some signals from Pristina suggest that it may ban the vote in Serbia’s elections due on April 3 as well.

Lajcak added that it was up to the two sides to reach a consensus on modalities.

He said a lot had been done, and that he was optimistic before the next round of dialogue between Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

“Both Pristina and Belgrade have confirmed, and it is clear what the outcome will be, and it is clear to everyone, there is no doubt,” Lajcak said.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/34ByZ0Z

Escobar meets Serbia’s opposition; US says doesn’t support political parties (Beta, N1)

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs responsible for the South Central European portfolio Gabriel Escobar met on Thursday Serbia’s opposition politicians, and the US embassy in Belgrade tweeted that Washington did not support political parties but the development of democracy in the country.

“The US does not support political parties in Serbia, but a sound development of its democracy. All players in its political life have an important role in the process and make the state stronger,” the embassy tweeted in Serbian.

The opposition leaders of the Party of Freedom and Justice, People’s Party, Together for Serbia, Don’t Let Belgrade Drown, and Free Citizens Movement participated in the meeting with Escobar and the US ambassador to Serbia Antony Godfrey.

Earlier, the embassy wrote on its Serbian Twitter account that “during his visit to Belgarde, Gabriel Escobar wants to meet many political players in Serbia. The EU and US cooperate closely in the realisation of Kosovo’s and Serbia’s European future as their common vision, and the progress in the normalisation of mutual relations is an important step”.

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

Brnabic: Serbia expects formation of ZSO (N1)

In her Thursday’s meeting with the US and EU special envoys for the Western Balkans and Belgrade-Pristina talks, Gabriel Escobar and Miroslav Lajcak, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said her country expected the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) as envisaged by the Brussels Agreement and which Pristina had been refusing to implement since 2013, N1 reports.

She thanked both Escobar and Lajcak for helping the two sides in searching for a compromise, her office’s statement said. The press statement issued by the government quoted Lajcak as saying that the EU put a big effort to help resume the dialogue and called on Belgrade to continue to be committed to the process, adding that it was important for the whole region.

The statement also quoted Escobar as saying that the US carefully watched the process under the EU auspices and strongly supported it. He added that he believed that both sides could only solve all open issues through dialogue.

Brnabic told the envoys that Belgrade was unhappy with Pristina’s ban on Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija to vote on Serbian Constitution changes in the January 16 referendum. She pledged with Escobar and Lajcak to do what they could to enable the Serbs living in Kosovo and Metohija to vote in the April 3 elections.

Escobar and Lajcák spent three days in Pristina earlier this week and arrived in Belgrade on Wednesday evening. They met President Aleksandar Vucic and other Serbian top officials.

US Embassy: Kosovo Serbs should be allowed to vote in Serbian elections (FoNet, N1)

The United States Embassy in Belgrade said that it’s important to allow residents in Kosovo and Metohija who have the right to vote to cast ballots in the Serbian elections due on April 3, N1 reports.

The embassy said in a Twitter post that the US supports appropriate measures to make the voting process easier.

The tweet comes after the head of the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic met with the European Union and US envoys for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak and Gabriel Escobar.

Mihajlovic, Besiri on the visit of Lajcak and Escobar (KoSSev, N1)

The joint visit of Miroslav Lajcak and Gabriel Escobar shows that the EU and the United States have a similar position, so their pressure on Belgrade and Pristina will be stronger, believes Naim Leo Besiri from the Institute for European Affairs, while journalist Milivoje Mihajlovic is not optimistic that the results of the dialogue will be reached in 2022, reported KoSSev, citing N1.

“It is completely clear that there is no serious shift in the dialogue until the elections in Serbia are over, which means practically autumn,” said Mihajlovic.

Besiri says that the American envoy Escobar has the opportunity to put serious pressure on Belgrade and Pristina, reminding that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said after talks with two representatives that he was “not afraid of the Community of Serbian Municipalities”, which Kosovo should form.

Also, Escobar may use the data on possible embezzlements as a way to put pressure on the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, believes Besiri.

Mihajlovic says that the pressure will probably also apply to individuals from the Serbian List who found themselves under US sanctions.

He says politicians on both sides are playing a game of procrastination.

“Years go by, people in Kosovo – Serbs and Albanians – have no use from it,” he said, adding that political elites are using the Brussels dialogue to stay in power, not to reach a solution.

Besiri says that he is deeply convinced that Vucic and Kurti do not want the issue to be resolved.

“President Vucic has no reason to resolve the Kosovo issue. Will that help him in the political sense – no, he can only disappear from the political scene. Will he make some profit from that – he definitely won’t. Does he personally have a sense of some public good – not really,” says Besiri.

He emphasises that in the last 10 years, there has been talk about the modalities according to which Serbia will recognize Kosovo, while Mihajlovic points out that the one who recognizes Kosovo is “politically dead” in Serbia.

He does not believe that the problem in the relations between Serbs and Albanians can be solved by deciding on the status, but above all by bringing Serbs and Albanians closer, forming the ZSO, with full freedom of movement, which includes visa liberalisation for Kosovo.

If you would solve the issue of Kosovo, other questions would be asked – what the health services are like, the education, how do people live, says Besiri.

“The Kosovo issue is very often used to mask other topics,” he said.

Mihajlovic also points out that resolving the Kosovo issue does not go to the advantage of the underworld, because they need a “hollow administrative line” for smuggling.

“Whenever we come close to a solution, we have a rise in tensions from the underworld,” he said.

Varhelyi: EU ready to work on energy transition in Western Balkans (N1)

Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said on Friday that the European Union is ready to work with the Western Balkans on energy transition.

“We are ready to cooperate in energy transition in the Western Balkans: gas has key role in phasing out coal and the transition to decarbonised economies, Varhelyi wrote in a Twitter post from the eighth ministerial meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Advisory Council in the Azeri capital Baku.

According to the Commissioner, the Southern Gas Corridor has “significant importance for Europe’s energy security, including its potential for extension to new markets such as Western Balkans”.

The Southern Gas Corridor is a European Commission initiative launched in 2008 to secure a natural gas supply route from Azerbaijan to Europe intended to reduce Europe’s dependency on Russian gas.

See at: https://bit.ly/3IU3uOu

Raska-Prizren Eparchy once again expresses deep concern due to frequent cases of burglaries of its churches in Kosovo (Eparchy website, media)

Last night, the Eparchy of Raska and Prizren issued a press communiqué in which it expressed “deep concern over the latest in a series of attacks on religious buildings of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija, in the municipality of Zubin Potok”.

“On February 1, 2022, in Zupce village, the police arrested a Kosovo Albanian from Kosutovo village, who is reasonably suspected of committing a series of robberies and looting of Serbian Orthodox churches in northern Kosovo and Metohija”.

“Only within one month, the Church of Holy Fathers in Zupce was robbed twice, on 26.12. 2021, as well as on 18.01.2022, when a window on the church was broken and a certain amount of money was taken away. The Church of the Ascension of Our Lord in Jagnjenica was also broken into twice, when material damage was caused. During the robbery of the Church of St. John the Baptist and the church hall in Donje Varage on 30.01.2022, the perpetrator desecrated Orthodox icons and took the money he found there”.

“Attacks on Serbian Orthodox churches in Kosovo and Metohija have been taking place in continuity and have become especially frequent in recent months. For the most part, these attacks on churches and private property have an ethnic and religious background because they are directed concretely against the Serb community, whose presence obviously bothers someone. This series of robberies and attacks has caused unrest among the local Serb population, who are seeking stronger protection from law enforcement”, Eparchy concluded.

Petkovic, Serbian List on Radojicic’s arrest attempt (Kosovo-online)

Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic said in relation to the attempted arrest of Serbian List vice president Milan Radojicic at Brnjak crossing point that it was about “a new blow against the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija and an attempt to weaken strength of Serbia ahead of upcoming elections on April 3”, Kosovo-online portal reports.

“Attempts of Pristina authorities to arrest vice president of the Serbian List, Milan Radojicic without any valid evidence and legal grounds represents a new blow against the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija and an attempt to weaken the strength of Serbia in the Province ahead of elections on April 3”, Petkovic wrote on Twitter.

He also added that the practice of Pristina to intimidate and exert additional pressure on Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija by secret indictments continues, however, as he said, it won’t yield results.

Serbian List also reacted by saying that this way Pristina authorities continue persecution of Serb political representatives it can’t control. Serbian List also said that based on information they have the arrest request for Milan Radojicic contained not a single evidence nor mention of any illegal act he undertook, but speaks in general terms about construction permits in Strpce municipality, something that, as they said, Radojicic has nothing to do with.

They underlined Radojicic had no business activities in this municipality, neither winter house nor any other property there, adding that he has never been in Strcpe municipality. 

Businessmen with Lajcak on the problems of placing goods on the Kosovo’s market (Kontakt plus radio)

Kontakt plus radio reported that at the meeting of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, representatives of companies that operate in Kosovo market, and the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, was agreed to send an initiative that could be discussed within the dialogue. 

Representatives of the companies informed Lajcak and mentioned the problems of placing meat and milk on the Kosovo market due to non-harmonised veterinary certificates, the problems caused by Pristina’s anti-dumping measures on blocks and animal feed, as well as the refusal of Kosovo customs services to clear the goods from Serbia with “AAA” conformity mark, stated Serbian Chamber of Commerce. 

The meeting also discussed Pristina’s tax on the import of flour of 0.4 cents per kilogram, as well as the trade in medicines and medical devices from the aspect of commercial placement and humanitarian aid.

The producers also pointed out that the obligation to display flags next to the prices of products on the shelves is superfluous and unacceptable, because product declarations contain origin.

Intensive cooperation has been agreed with the High Representative of the EU to find the best solutions that will ensure the smooth operation of companies – the Chamber stated. 

Lajcak pointed out that good economic cooperation between the two business communities encourages growth and preserves jobs, as well as that both sides must establish equal conditions in business.

“A good example and the results we have had so far in cooperation between the two chambers, such as harmonising the work of institutions to resolve open issues between the two business communities, can be a model in this phase of talks on normalising relations between Belgrade and Pristina,” said Marko Cadez.

According to him, the Open Balkans initiative is a way to solve many open issues and problems of businessmen, including the problems of Belgrade and Pristina.

The meeting was attended by representatives of Coca-Cola / Bambi, Neoplanta / Nelt, DPS Klas, Nektar, Mlekara Sabac, Mladost Leskovac, Metalac, Hemofarm, Farmalogist, and FSH Jabuka.

Mijacic: Goal of Escobar and Lajcak is to prepare negotiations with Pristina after elections (Radio kontakt plus)

Dragisa Mijacic from the National Convention on the European Union took part in N1 tv show “Behind the News” and pointed out that the goal of the visit of EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak and US Envoy to the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar was the preparation for negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina, which should begin immediately after the completion of the election processes in Serbia, Radio kontakt plus reports.

He recalled that Lajcak and Escobar came for an official visit to Belgrade for the first time, as a duo (EU and American representative).

“I think that this visit aimed at preparing negotiations, which will take place after the elections in Serbia. It was necessary to create a climate, both in Belgrade and in Pristina, to voice expectations about the process and start working hard to reach an agreement after the elections in Serbia”, he opined.

According to him the willingness of Vucic and Kurti to meet gives hope that there can be a shift in negotiations and reaching of an agreement, adding that negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina are ongoing for more than 10 years, and he gets an impression the public didn’t know what the process looked like.

“This process looks like one game of cards, where with each new deal different cards are obtained and one new game is being played”, he said, arguing that a new format of negotiations had been obtained since last year after Kurti won the election and participated in the dialogue.

Mijacic stated that Kurti based his entire election campaign and success on opposing the negotiations with Belgrade. “All this time since Kurti came to power, he buys the time, in order to get acquainted with the process, in a way dictated by the European Union”, Mijacic said.

He assessed that in Belgrade, except for civil society organisations, no one was working to prepare the public for reaching an agreement with Pristina.

“You don’t have someone in the Serbian public who talks about why we need an agreement with Pristina. And the situation in Priština is even worse. It is such that they consider any concession to the Serbian side as hostility”, he told N1 television. 

Opinion

Serbia can never reverse Kosovo’s Independence (Tirana Times)

By Alon Ben-Meir, expert on Middle East and West Balkan affairs, international negotiations, and conflict resolution.

It’s time for the Serbian government to wake up to the reality that under any circumstances Kosovo’s independence is irreversible. The sooner the Vucic government accepts this reality, the greater the economic, political, and security benefits both Serbia and Kosovo will enjoy within the European Community

Righting the Wrong

It’s time for Serbia to recognize Kosovo’s independence, not only because it does not have the power and the means by which it can reverse what over 100 countries have recognized, but because Kosovo will make any sacrifice to preserve what it has gained in sweat and blood. President Vucic should put himself in the shoes of Albanian Kosovars and ask:

Why would they ever surrender their independence and freedom to a country that has systematically discriminated, abused, and treated them as second-class citizens not worthy of equality before the law?

Why would they subjugate themselves to the whims of a country that has waged merciless war and rained havoc and destruction on them from which they have yet to recover?

Why would they forfeit their independence to a country that has committed horrifying war crimes—summarily executing more than 10,000 innocent boys and men, raping over 20,000 girls and women, and inflicting untold pain, agony, and shame on their families—from which they still suffer?

Why would they abandon their independence to a country that still refuses to reveal the burial sites of nearly 2,000 missing men, women, and children; a country that lacks the moral courage to admit to committing war crimes which were blatant and clear for everyone else to see?

Why would a people with a different religion, cultural heritage, history, and language agree to subordinate itself to a country with which it has little—values and aspirations—in common?

These painful feelings toward Serbia and the indelible psychological scars the war left on every Kosovar only deepened their rejection of Belgrade. Neither Vucic nor any of his successors will ever be in a position to mitigate these deep-seated impediments unless Serbia recognizes Kosovo’s independence and understands that it cannot change what has become an irreversible reality.

The failure to withdraw recognition

Over the years, successive Serbian governments embarked on a campaign to persuade many countries to withdraw their recognition of Kosovo. This has been a dismal failure. While Serbia’s Foreign Ministry last March claimed that 18 countries had either fully withdrawn recognition or were redefining their positions on Kosovo, several of those derecognitions are disputed, according to Balkan Insight, and those who did are mostly small African and Pacific states who enjoy little or no sway on the international scene, including Suriname, Burundi, and Papua New Guinea. Currently, Kosovo is recognized by 115 countries, the latest of which is Israel.

Read more at: https://www.tiranatimes.com/?p=151959

International

Wanted Kosovo Serb Businessman Escapes Arrest on Border (Balkan Insight)

Police have been asked to explain how a wanted politician and businessman, Milan Radoicic, escaped an arrest warrant on Thursday, after being stopped at a border crossing point.

In a movie-like scene, a powerful Belgrade-backed politician and businessman, Milan Radoicic, escaped arrest on Thursday at the Brnjak crossing point between Kosovo and Serbia.

BIRN learned that Radoicic was traveling in his car from Serbia to Kosovo when he stopped at border. When he realized that he was on a wanted list, he fled back to Serbia, escaping arrest, leaving his documents in the hands of police officers.

Kosovo Police confirmed the incident happened on Thursday around 3.40pm. “While officers were in the process of verification, the suspect turned back to Serbia in his car… The suspect is wanted, based on an arrest warrant issued by the courts,” a police report said.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Go9VYl

Humanitarian/Development

Nagavci reacts after autistic student was dismissed from school (RTK)

An eight-year-old with autism was dismissed today from the primary school “Elena Gjika” in Pristina, therefore the Minister of Education, Arberie Nagavci has reacted regarding this issue.

Nagavci, through a post on Facebook, said that she received this information with concern, while adding that the right to education is a right guaranteed by law and the constitution.

“I received with concern the information about the case of an 8-year-old student with disabilities, who was prevented from attending a school in the Municipality of Prishtina. The education of all children is a right guaranteed by the constitution and legislation in force, based on international instruments. Any action that contradicts our comprehensive policies is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” she said.

Further, the Minister stated that she has authorized MEST officials to find a solution for the girl in question.