Albanian Language Media:

• COMKFOR: No indications of threats; ready to react against threats (Telegrafi)
• Clark: I hope Kosovo will be invited to join NATO soon (Gazeta Express)
• Tahiri: With Kurti-led government, everyone toward emigration (Indeksonline)
• Some Serb judges go to work at Mitrovica court, others continue boycott (media)
• “Kosovo, a success story in administering vaccines against COVID-19” (Klan Kosova)
• COVID-19: 30 new cases, no deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Dacic: Serbia ready to host Kiev-Moscow negotiations (RTS)
• Ukrainian Ambassador on Belgrade’s offer to host negotiations (Tanjug)
• Arsenijevic: Neutral registration points for transporting voters from Kosovo should be formed (Radio kontakt plus) 
• Opposition ‘United for Serbia’s Victory’ calls on people to vote on Sunday (N1)
• Vucic on April 3 presidential elections (N1)
• Kosovo Supreme Court upheld verdict of 12 years in prison to Zoran Djokic (Kosovo-online)
• MIA on allegations relating to murder of Oliver Ivanovic (RTS)

Opinion:

• Serbia’s Vucic Should Learn from Russia’s Ukraine Debacle (BIRN)
• More on “Kurti’s doctrine”: much ado about elections and semantics as destiny (KoSSev)

International:

• BIRN Fact-Check: Does Kosovo Still Rely on Goods from Serbia? (BIRN)
• Kosovo Charges Ex-Fighter with Wartime Massacre of Villagers (BIRN)
• North Macedonia census reveals over 29% of population is Albanian (euronews.al)

Humanitarian/Development:

• “Withdrawal of savings, a competency of the Kosovo Assembly” (Telegrafi)
• Authorities look into suspicions of orchestrated rise in oil prices (Koha)
• Fuel prices in Kosovo increased again (Radio KIM)

Albanian Language Media  

COMKFOR: No indications of threats; ready to react against threats (Telegrafi)

COMKFOR Major General Ferenc Kajari said in an interview with the news website today that there are no indications of threats to the security situation in Kosovo. “KFOR is ready to react against any security threats,” he said.

Asked if there is an increase in the number of KFOR troops following the Russian aggression in Ukraine, Kajari said: “the presence of KFOR has not changed. Our mission continues to operate in close coordination with the Kosovo Police and the EU rule of law mission (EULEX) … We are in regular contact with a wide range of interlocutors, including representatives of Kosovo institutions and the general staff of the armed forces of Serbia”.

Kajari said there is excellent cooperation between KFOR and Kosovo institutions. “We regularly discuss issues related to security and we coordinate our actions to maintain security in Kosovo,” he said.

Kajari also said that the engagement of NATO in Kosovo has not changed and that KFOR remains committed to its mission which is to contribute to a safe and secure environment in Kosovo and to have broad stability in the Western Balkans. “NATO/FOR continuously monitors the situation in Kosovo and the Western Balkans and we can assure all citizens that there is no reason for concern. There are no indications of threats. KFOR is ready to react against any security threat,” he added.

Clark: I hope Kosovo will be invited to join NATO soon (Gazeta Express)

Retired US General and former NATO SACEUR, Wesley Clark, said in an interview with the news website that the decision to initiate the air raids against Serbia with the aim of stopping the genocide against the civilian population in Kosovo was one of the crucial moments in the liberation of Kosovo. “NATO had made it clear to Milosevic and taken actions to confirm this, that if he would restart the ethnic cleansing, he would be faced with a bombing campaign. The decision to start the campaign was taken by the President of the United States of America and by the heads of governments of NATO. I prepared the concept plans and consulted during the decision-making process,” he said.

Clark said Kosovo has made exceptional progress and is on the path of becoming a model of freedom and democracy in the region. “I am very happy that the United States was able to help the people of Kosovo get started on this journey. Now Kosovo needs more investments, smart policies, and abilities to manage the affairs of state and to build the foundations of security and economy in a troubled region,” he said.

Asked if there is a real threat of the conflict in Ukraine spilling over in the Balkans, Clark said: “it is clear that Russia is interested in destabilising the Balkans, but this has not happened yet. The European Union has strengthened its presence in Bosnia and Dodik has been warned and put under sanctions. Serbia is trying to divorce from the old ideas of pan-Slavism and imperialism and to join the modern world. We hope this will happen. NATO is ready to safeguard stability in the region. I hope Kosovo will be invited to join NATO soon.”

Tahiri: With Kurti-led government, everyone toward emigration (Indeksonline)

Abelard Tahiri, head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group, said today that there is an alarming number of Kosovo citizens trying to get visas to leave Kosovo and that this is a clear indicator of the great disappointment with the Kurti-led government. Tahiri argued that in the last four months, 199,783 citizens or around 11 percent of the people of Kosovo have tried to leave the country by waiting for visas in front of foreign embassies. “These are real people, they live in real time … and they see no hope on the horizon except for emigrating, because their hopes were stolen by a government that has no abilities, ideas, plans or commitment to develop Kosovo,” he argued.

Some Serb judges go to work at Mitrovica court, others continue boycott (media)

A small number of Serb judges have gone to work at the Mitrovica Basic Court today, while other judges are continuing to boycott work after the court president, Liljana Stevanovic, was suspended on March 25, Betimi per Drejtesi reports. Citing unnamed sources, the news website also reports that the Serb judges that have gone to work today are working on urgent cases.

“Kosovo, a success story in administering vaccines against COVID-19” (Klan Kosova)

Kosovo is a success story in administering vaccines against COVID-19, Faik Hoti, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health said in an interview with the TV station today. Hoti said there were many difficulties during the process especially in prioritising the first people that had to be vaccinated and in combating conspiracy theories.

Asked if the vaccination process will end as 70 percent of the population over 18 have been vaccinated with one dose, Hoti said it is difficult to decide about this, “because some countries are now recommending even a fourth dose”.

COVID-19: 30 new cases, no deaths (media)

30 new cases with COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 31 persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 592 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Serbian Language Media

Dacic: Serbia ready to host Kiev-Moscow negotiations (RTS)

Leader of Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and outgoing Serbian Assembly Speaker Ivica Dacic said that Serbia at any moment was ready to be a mediator in the dialogue of Russia and Ukraine at the high level, if the two sides wish so, RTS reports.

Dacic told Russian newspaper Izvestia that Serbia was ready to offer its good diplomatic services at any moment.

“My friend, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov in a conversation with Serbian journalists declared positively about this possibility and I am pleased because of that. Serbia is ready to offer its good diplomatic services and friendly attitude to both sides if they wish to use it”, Dacic said.

He noted that Serbia, despite pressure from the West and having an EU candidate status, will not join sanctions on Russia, because as he said, it was about the state interests of Belgrade.

“The fact we are an EU candidate state doesn’t oblige us to coordinate every decision with that of the EU. In particular if we believe something like that can be detrimental to our country, and sanctions against Russia would be exactly that”, Dacic said, adding that sanctions on any state can’t be a path to reach any political settlement.

“My country was under sanctions during the nineties and we know it well that such pressure doesn’t function. This is about our important state interests, it is about Russia, our friendly and brotherly state and people, with whom we have particularly developed economic, cultural and any other cooperation”, Dacic concluded.

Euronews in Serbian recalled that Belgrade already hosted negotiations on Ukraine, back in 2017, when representatives of Russia and US secretly discussed implementation of the Minsk Agreement and that two meetings were held there.  

Ukrainian Ambassador on Belgrade’s offer to host negotiations (Tanjug)

Ukrainian Ambassador to Serbia, Oleksander Aleksandrovich expressed gratitude for the proposal of Serbia that Belgrade could host negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, Tanjug news agency reports.

“We are grateful for the proposal. Serbia is an important international partner to us, Belgrade is a great city and Serbian people are hospitable. However, with due respect, the essence of negotiations is the main issue, regardless where negotiations take place. We will see after negotiations in Turkey, how things will further evolve”, Aleksndrovich said. 

Arsenijevic: Neutral registration points for transporting voters from Kosovo should be formed (Radio kontakt plus) 

Although he perceives a failure to hold the upcoming Serbian parliamentary and presidential elections in Kosovo as a violation of peoples’ rights, leader of Civic Initiative Serbian Survival, Aleksandar Arsenijevic in Mitrovica North, called on voters yesterday to vote according to their conscience.

He also appealed to the institutions which function under the Serbian system to form “neutral points” in all Serbian communities in Kosovo and Metohija so that people who want to vote can apply for transportation to the polling stations located outside of Kosovo where they are supposed to cast their ballots.

“We demand that neutral points are established in all Serbian communities, so that all people are equal, and not to have the transport organised only for those who have committed themselves or who are supposed to vote for the ruling party, because at the moment they are the only ones who have that structure which enables them to transport voters”, Arsenijevic said.

 He also appealed to Pristina to refrain from any “actions of Kosovo police special units in Serbian areas”.

“During the referendum, on the outskirts of Serbian communities, we had an increased presence of the special unit of Kosovo police, and the tensions were high. Some sort of an escalation of the conflict could have easily taken place”, he added.

In this regard, he also appealed to KFOR to increase its presence in Serbian areas in Kosovo and Metohija.

“I also appeal to KFOR to increase its presence and patrols on the outskirts of Serbian municipalities in the next 20 days, because the initial trigger for a possible escalation of the conflict may be the entry of special units of Kosovo police into Serbian areas. I believe that KFOR should take a neutral position and do its job in accordance with its mandate”, Arsenijevic noted.

Opposition ‘United for Serbia’s Victory’ calls on people to vote on Sunday (N1)

The opposition ‘United for Serbia’s Victory’ coalition candidates walked through the centre of Belgrade on Tuesday under the slogan ‘Victory Walk,’ calling on people to turn out and vote in Sunday’s presidential, early elections and the capital’s elections, N1 reports.

“We should preserve the spirit of optimism and goodwill until Sunday when we can turn our destiny in another direction; on Sunday, we have the opportunity to stop this once and for all. We need everyone who thinks differently from the (ruling) Serbian Progressive Party (SNS)… to go to the polls and vote“, the coalition’s candidate for Belgrade mayor Vladeta Jankovic said.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Lqae7T

Vucic on April 3 presidential elections (N1)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday he should not mention names but announced that some car companies could come to Serbia in the next three months, adding he would be sad if he didn’t get 60 percent of votes for the second term in the first round of the presidential elections on April 3, N1 reports.

“In the next three months, if the situation in Ukraine calms down, some of the largest companies in the world automobile industry could start investing in Serbia“, Vucic told a pre-election rally of his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the northern town of Subotica, calling on people to vote for the SNS list on April 3. He added that by bringing those companies into Serbia, the country would solve “all problems for the future“.

Kosovo Supreme Court upheld verdict of 12 years in prison to Zoran Djokic (Kosovo-online)

Kosovo Supreme Court dismissed a request for protection of legality filed by defence lawyer of Zoran Djokic convicted for war crimes and upheld the verdict sentencing Djokic to 12 years in prison, Kosovo-online portal reports.

The court termed the request for protection of legality against the decisions of the Basic Court and Appellate Court in Pristina as “ungrounded”.

Djokic was sentenced in February 2021 to 12 years in prison “for committing a crime against the civilian population in the Soliter and Kristal settlements in Pec, in April and March in 1999 along with a criminal group”.

MIA on allegations relating to murder of Oliver Ivanovic (RTS)

Investigative network KRIK published the testimony of B.B. relating to the murder of the leader of Civic Initiative Freedom, Democracy, Justice (SDP) Oliver Ivanovic in Mitrovica North, RTS reports.

In an interview with KRIK, B.B. names alleged perpetrator and organizer of the murder, claiming a late friend revealed those information to him.

The Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs in reaction to the interview said that no new facts were presented, nor were the claims substantiated with material evidence. It also said given that B.B. refers to the statements of persons who are no longer alive, they proposed him to undergo polygraph, which as the statement said, B.B. refused to do so.

In a reaction to MIA statement, KRIK journalist said that B.B. didn’t refuse the polygraph but wanted to do it some other day, and not on a day when he was interviewed by the police.

Aleksandar Ivanovic nephew of late Ivanovic said the latest information presented in the media have seriously distressed the family and that details B.B. presented in the interview must be checked. He added that the perpetrator and organizer of the murder must be held accountable in line with the law. Meanwhile, Ivanovic’s close associate Ksenija Bozovic said she expects reactions of prosecutions in Belgrade and Pristina.

Opinion

Serbia’s Vucic Should Learn from Russia’s Ukraine Debacle (BIRN)

Opinion by Jeffrey H. Fischer

Serbia would do well to learn from Russia’s military failings in Ukraine and embrace the offer of Western support.

One thing is clear from Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine: Russia has spectacularly failed to achieve any of its strategic objectives in a war that it believed (as did much of the world) would be over in a matter of days.

There are many reasons for this and most have been heavily discussed by the media and military pundits. One key reason that has been overlooked, however, is the immense value of the US National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program, SPP.

For nearly 30 years, Ukraine has been the beneficiary of an SPP with the California National Guard, which helped the Ukrainian military abandon the Russian warfare doctrine of Centralised Command / Centralised Execution.

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

More on “Kurti’s doctrine”: much ado about elections and semantics as destiny (KoSSev)

By Dragutin Nenezic

A few weeks ago, I wrote a text for this portal about something I called “Kurti’s Doctrine“, and I hoped that I would not have to write about it again. However, I could not resist commenting briefly on the interview that Kurti’s deputy and head of the negotiating team, Besnik Bislimi, gave for this portal on March 17th, given that it shows the potential destructiveness of “Kurti’s doctrine“, as well as the impotence of Belgrade’s current Kosovo policy.

Shortly afterward, on the other side of the administrative line, it became clear that Belgrade’s presidential and parliamentary elections would not be held in Kosovo and Metohija, so in less than a week, Bislimi’s interview confirmed its importance for comprehending both “Kurti’s doctrine“ and the possible outcomes of the Brussels process – while it could be heard in the very same place that its foundation is dead. Finally, just before the text was to be published, Kurti reacted, in a rather unusual way, thus making the best possible introduction to the final version of this text.

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

International 

BIRN Fact-Check: Does Kosovo Still Rely on Goods from Serbia? (BIRN)

On September 24 last year, amid the latest flare-up in tensions between Serbia and its former province, Kosovo, a Kosovo Albanian businessman called Burim Piraj took to Facebook with a call to boycott goods made in Serbia.

The row between the Balkan neighbours was over recognition of vehicle licence plates, yet another manifestation of the frictions caused by the failure of Western efforts to mediate a solution to relations between Serbia and majority-Albanian Kosovo 14 years after the latter declared independence.

Serbia, which lost control over Kosovo following an 11-week NATO air war in 1999, refuses to recognise Kosovo as independent and has actively undermined its international integration, angering Kosovo Albanians.

Since Piraj set up the Facebook group ‘Mos Bli Prodhime Serbe’ [Don’t Buy Serbian Products], more than 55,000 people have signed up.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3JXE2bJ

Kosovo Charges Ex-Fighter with Wartime Massacre of Villagers (BIRN)

An ethnic Albanian who holds Serbian citizenship was charged with committing war crimes during a massacre by Serbian forces in the Kosovo village of Izbica in March 1999, when 147 civilians were killed.

Kosovo’s Special Prosecution said on Tuesday that it has filed an indictment charging a man identified only by the initials M.A. with involvement in committing war crimes against the civilian population of the village of Izbica on March 28, 1999.

“The 12-month investigation proved that the accused M.A., together with so far unidentified individuals of the Serbian police and military forces, participated in the execution of 130 people,” the prosecution said in a statement.

The suspect is an ethnic Albanian who holds Serbian citizenship and is a resident of Belgrade, the prosecution added.

On March 28, 1999, Serbian forces killed a total of 147 Albanian civilians in Izbica. The surviving villagers hastily buried the bodies of their relatives and neighbours, and fled Kosovo for Albania to escape the Serbian offensive, but when they returned after the war ended later that year, the bodies had disappeared.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/373RDjm

North Macedonia census reveals over 29% of population is Albanian (euronews.al)

North Macedonia published Wednesday the official data of the National Census, where it results that ethnic Albanians make up one-third of the country’s population. 29.5% of the general population consists of ethnic Albanians, of which 24.3% are residential citizens. Meanwhile, 22.8% of the population in the capital Skopje is Albanian. The number of the Albanian population in North Macedonia is 619,187.

Humanitarian/Development

“Withdrawal of savings, a competency of the Kosovo Assembly” (Telegrafi)

The head of the Managing Board of the Kosovo Pension Savings Trust, Ruzhdi Morina, said today that the withdrawal of pension savings is a competency of the Kosovo Assembly and that the Trust will support any decision by the Assembly. “We maintain our position that we don’t want to be involved in these initiatives. This is a competency of the Kosovo Assembly. We stand ready to implement any decision made by the Assembly. It is good to discuss these initiatives, but it should be considered as the last resort to come to the aid of the citizens,” Morina said during a report to the Kosovo Assembly’s Committee for Budget.

Authorities look into suspicions of orchestrated rise in oil prices (Koha)

Kosovo’s Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade said today that the authorities have started inspections on the field after an increase in oil prices today. According to the Ministry, there are doubts that the increase has been orchestrated. “There has been an increase in oil prices this morning. Earlier reports about this and synchronisation have created doubts that the price increase was orchestrated. The authorities are running inspections on the field. The Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade encourages the citizens to address their complaints to the consumer protection department anytime that they believe there is misuse in any selling point where they come across this problem,” the Ministry said in a statement. The news website notes that today the price of one litre of oil has reached €1.69, despite the fact that there has been a decrease in oil prices on the international market.

Fuel prices in Kosovo increased again (Radio KIM)

After the period of prices decrease, the fuel price in Kosovo has increased again, so the litre now costs from 1.59 to 1.69 euros, Radio KIM reports.

Ever since the crisis in Ukraine erupted the prices of fuel on the world market increased. In Kosovo it reached the record amount of 1.80 euros per litre.

The association of fuel producers said there will be no stability on the fuel market until the war in Ukraine is over.

On Tuesday, it was announced the prices of fuel on the international market dropped down, because of the progress in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and one should expect new changes of the prices.