• Prime Minister Albin Kurti interview with KTV
• Kosovo Serb judge suspended for attending Vucic meeting (BIRN)
• Justice Minister: Judge ridiculed Kosovo judicial system (media)
• Kosovo Serbs can vote in four municipalities in Serbia (media)
• Bislimi to travel to Brussels today to meet Lajcak (Express)
• Croatian President suggests Kosovo to join NATO (media)
• President sets Friday as National Day of Mourning to honor Albright (media)
• COVID-19: 34 new cases, no deaths (media)

Prime Minister Albin Kurti interview with KTV

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in an interview with the TV station on Thursday that the Quint was harsh in its criticism against the Kosovo government for not allowing Serbian elections to be held in Kosovo’s territory. “I need to respect the constitutionality of Kosovo and so do the rest. We are in continuous contact with Brussels. The criticism was harsh, but we need to continue to respect and love our country even more. It is better for me to get criticised, than to allow for the sovereignty of the country to be violated,” he said.

Kurti said he wants peace in Kosovo for all its citizens. “I don’t believe the EU will close its doors. The harsh criticism is difficult, but I believe we will not have problems in the communication with the ministries. So far there is no indication of delays in any of the projects,” he said.

Kurti said there are more frequent meetings of the Kosovo Security Council. “We are holding more frequent meetings of the Security Council, where we make the latest preparations in terms of equipment and in surveilling activities. We will have another meeting on Friday. “In the background of the political and public sphere, we are intensively preparing to avoid any surprises and to have all state institutions and mechanisms in sync,” he said.

According to Kurti, following the invasion of Ukraine, the international community and the people of the Balkans will not allow the recurrence of Ukraine in the Balkans.

Kurti said he has no information that Serb police commanders that attended the meeting with Vucic will be suspended on Friday. “I don’t have any information that this will happen tomorrow. I don’t rule it out, but I don’t have an information,” he said.

Kurti said he has information that Serbs will protest in Mitrovica North. “It is true that since yesterday morning I have the information that there are calls on Serb citizens to take part in protests. There are plans to hold two protests. I call on Kosovo Serb citizens not to take part in protests for the April 3 elections. I feel bad that Serb citizens were not enable to vote,” he said.

Kurti argued that there are 10 Serbian extremist organisations in Kosovo. “There is information that there are 10 Serbian extremist organizations in Kosovo. They are involved in propaganda for national and religious hatred and have a medieval spirit of mystical orthodoxy, they have one foot in Belgrade and the other foot in Moscow. I believe that these organisatons, in addition to ties with the government in Belgrade, they may also have ties with the Russian humanitarian center in Nis,” he said.

Kurti added that Kosovo had increased the number of Security Council meetings in terms of observations and activities so that there are no surprises and that all state institutions and bodies are in sync.

Kosovo Serb judge suspended for attending Vucic meeting (BIRN)

Kosovo’s judicial governing body, the Kosovo Judicial Council, on Thursday suspended the head of Mitrovica Basic Court Liljana Stefanovic and established a panel to investigate her, two days after she and political representatives of the Kosovo Serb community in Kosovo met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade.

In a video message on his Instagram account posted on Thursday evening, Vucic accused Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti of “ordering” the suspension of the judge and warned that “tomorrow the change of all Serb commanders [of Kosovo Police] who were present at the meeting of the National Security Council in Belgrade is being prepared.”

Vucic also said “Kurti decided to attack the Serbs” and accused him of “destroying Brussels agreements”. Vucic added that “according to (Kurti’s) will and the will of his supporters, Brussels agreements no longer exist”.

The suspension came one day after Supreme Court head Enver Peci announced that he was “reviewing the participation of Liljana Stefanovic in the meeting with President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic”.

The meeting was held in connection with the Serbian elections scheduled on April 3, in the wake of Kurti’s refusal to allow polling stations to open in Kosovo, a move that Western embassies have criticised.

As a result, Vucic announced during the meeting that Kosovo Serb voters should cast their ballots in southern Serbia. He underlined that “his last message” was “whatever you do, Serbia will stand by its people”.

The meeting was also attended by several Kosovo Police officers from the Serb-dominated north of Kosovo.

The Kosovo Police Inspectorate told BIRN on Thursday that they had been informed of the participation of Police members in the meeting, and were “reviewing the case”.

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Justice Minister: Judge ridiculed Kosovo judicial system (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, supported the decision of the Kosovo Judicial Council to suspend the head the Mitrovica Basic Court, Liljana Stevanovic, after she attended a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Haxhiu said in a Facebook post that Stevanovic’s action “threatened the integrity of the judicial system”. “The head and the judges of the Mitrovica Basic Court are obliged to act in line with the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and the legislation in force and not to ridicule the institutions … The decision of the Kosovo Judicial Council to suspend the head of the Mitrovica Basic Court is right and in accordance with the law on the disciplinary responsibilities of judges and prosecutors and as such it has our support,” Haxhiu said.

Kosovo Serbs can vote in four municipalities in Serbia (media)

Several news websites report that Serbia’s Republican Commission for Elections decided on Thursday evening that voters from Kosovo can vote in the Serbian parliamentary and presidential elections on April 3 in four municipalities in Serbia, Bujanovac, Rashka, Kursumlija and Tutin. The decision was made after authorities from Kosovo and Serbia failed to reach an agreement on Serbian elections being held in Kosovo territory.

Bislimi to travel to Brussels today to meet Lajcak (Express)

Kosovo’s chief negotiator in the talks with Serbia, Besnik Bislimi, will travel to Brussels today to meet EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak. A spokesman for the Kosovo Government confirmed the meeting. Some media reported that Lajcak will hold a virtual meeting today with the Serbian delegation. A meeting between the Kosovo and Serbia delegations is not expected.

Croatian President suggests Kosovo to join NATO (media)

Croatian President, Zoran Milanovic, said at the NATO Summit in Brussels on Thursday, that Kosovo should integrate and become a full member of NATO. “Four NATO countries still don’t recognise Kosovo. I proposed for Kosovo to be integrated and finally become a full-fledged state,” he said. Milanovic also said that during the summit there was mention of the region and the possible threats of instability due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He said that Serbia and Kosovo were not mentioned in this context.

President sets Friday as National Day of Mourning to honor Albright (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said on Thursday that Friday will be a National Day of Mourning in honor of late U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. “Albright knew the pain of our people because she herself had experienced persecution since childhood, so she remained determined against Milosevic until the end of his genocide in Kosovo. She continued to support Kosovo until her last breath, therefore the people of Kosovo will remember her forever,” Osmani said.

COVID-19: 34 new cases, no deaths (media)

34 new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Kosovo in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said today. 18 persons recovered during this time. There are 666 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.