Albanian Language Media:

• Osmani: American people pledge $32 million for Kosovo (media)
• Lajcak discusses Balkans security with France’s secretary of state (Klan)
• Rizvanolli: Kosovo not depended on Gazprom; Government focused on energy efficiency projects (Klan)
• Nagavci: We have discontinued payment of 32 Serb officials (Kosovapress)
• AAK presses Government to pass law on salaries (media)
• COVID-19: 32 new cases, two deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• “180 incidents against Serbian community recorded during pandemic” (Radio KIM)
• Office for KiM on Zoran Djokic’s case: No right to fair trial (Radio KIM, media)
• Brnabic on ban to hold Serbian elections in Kosovo (Kosovo-online)
• Dacic: Kurti respects neither Brussels agreement nor international community (Kosovo-online)
• EU Ambassador says sanctions on Serbia not considered (N1)
• Vucic stepping down as party leader after new government formed (N1)

International:

• Kosovo Opposition Party Criticises PM Kurti Over Serbs’ Vote (Balkan Insight)
• Belgrade Slams War Crimes Conviction of Serb in Kosovo (Balkan Insight)
• Bound by a Sense of Victimhood, Serbia Sticks With Russia (NYT)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Serbia donates 35 tons of food to Lesotho (Tanjug)

Albanian Language Media  

Osmani: American people pledge $32 million for Kosovo (media)

President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani announced that she signed an agreement today with the head of USAID in Kosovo, Zeinah Salahi, in the presence of the U.S. ambassador, Jeffrey Hovenier, as part of the Development Objective Grant Agreement of almost  $32 million.

“This way, the total grant has reached the amount of over $73.4 million,” Osmani said on Facebook. She added: “The continuous support of the United States in Kosovo is evidence of the commitment of the American government and people to strengthen the wellbeing of the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo through effective and accountable institutions. Kosovo is blessed with its allies!”

Lajcak discusses Balkans security with France’s secretary of state (Klan)

The Secretary of State for European affairs in the French government, Clement Beaune, met the EU Special Representative for Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak.

In a Twitter post, Beaune said the two discussed the situation in the Western Balkans, “a key issue for the security and stability of our Europe.”

Rizvanolli: Kosovo not depended on Gazprom; Government focused on energy efficiency projects (Klan)

Kosovo’s Minister of Economy Artane Rizvanolli said Kosovo does not depend on the Russian gas company, Gazprom. “We have no gas network at all,” she said in commenting on AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj’s allegations that the Government of Kosovo is serving the interests of Russia, namely the Gazprom company.

In an interview with Klan, Rizvanolli said there are no plans to nationalise the Kosovo Electricity Distribution Company (KEDS). “We do not have the luxury or the interest to deal with whether there were problems in the way KEDS was privatised, whether the distribution as an important asset for national security of the country with strategic interest should have been privatised,” she said, adding that as an economist by occupation her answer to this would be ‘no’ but that: “These are something in the past, we are facing an unprecedented energy crisis and all our focus and of the government and all the sectoral actors is to ensure the regular supply of electricity and minimise the effect on tariffs,” Rizvanolli said.

The Energy crisis, the Minister said, is expected to continue but with regards to criticism from the opposition on the way the crisis is handled, Rizvanolli said there should be no illusions in thinking things can change overnight. Government, she noted, is working on a number of projects worth tens of millions of euros, aimed at energy efficiency.

Rizvanolli commented on the statement by PDK leader Memli Krasniqi saying that “Kosovo has [wheat] reserves for three more days”. She said such statements, even if true, constitute a threat to national security. “It is legally prohibited to share information about state reserves, about national security issues. I doubt that Memli Krasniqi has this information about wheat reserves. If Memli Krasniqi has indeed the information that Kosovo has wheat reserves for only three days, and if it is accurate, I am surprised at how he shared this because this is considered a threat to national security.”

Nagavci: We have discontinued payment of 32 Serb officials (Kosovapress)

Minister of Education, Science and Technology of Kosovo, Arberie Nagavci, said at the Assembly today that the ministry has already ceased payment of 32 officials of the Serb community who the auditor’s report concluded did not show up for work.

“The payment of 32 officials of the Serbian community as former civil protection officials in the amount of €135,760 euros, as I believe you are aware, has been discontinued and all have reported to the MEST and have said that throughout these years no one has ever contacted them and asked for any task or responsibility from them. This is also one of the recommendations that will be fully implemented and there will be no such situations of misuse of the budget,” Nagavci said.

AAK presses Government to pass law on salaries (media)

The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) has called on the Government of Kosovo to move ahead and process the draft law on salaries.

“Where is the work process on finalisation of this law? Was this a promise to deceive civil servants, was it an irregularity on your part, or are you not able to draft the law,” asked AAK’s parliamentary group head Besnik Tahiri. He said the Government promised to have the law enter into force this month. 

COVID-19: 32 new cases, two deaths (media)

32 new cases of COVID-19 and two deaths have been recorded in Kosovo in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said. 31 persons recovered during this time. There are 591 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Serbian Language Media

“180 incidents against Serbian community recorded during pandemic” (Radio KIM)

Non-majority communities across Kosovo experienced numerous difficulties in exercising their basic human rights during the coronavirus pandemic, Rapid Reaction Civic Group established by Mitrovica North-based non-governmental organisation Aktiv concluded, Radio KIM reported.

It said 87 incidents were recorded in the Serbian areas in 2021, mostly against the facilities and properties of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC), while in the first quartal of 2022, 23 incidents were recorded. Absence of respecting the law on use of languages by the institutions was also one of the major problems noted.  

Following two-year activities and monitoring of the situation in non-majority communities in Kosovo, the Group submitted more than 800 reports in twenty two municipalities in Kosovo.

“Lack of respect for bilingualism/language rights, unemployment, endangerment of environment, begging, were some of the problems affecting communities”, the press statement reads.

Incidents in Serbian areas

“Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, security was listed as one of the most important issues for the Serbian community in Kosovo. During a two-year period more than 180 various incidents have been recorded”, the Group further said.

Out of 76 different incidents in the Serbian areas across Kosovo recorded in 2020, most of them include physical assaults, thefts and damages to the property, threats using hate speech, and inflicting damages to the SOC facilities.

In 2021, 87 incidents were recorded, and most of them were committed against the facilities and property of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) in Kosovo, while in the first quartal of 2022, 23 incidents were reported, with one third of them affecting the SOC.

By monitoring the situation in other non-majority communities in Kosovo, the Group also recorded numerous concerns.

“Recurrence of incidents, absence of public reactions by political elites, and passive attitude of the Albanian language media towards those incidents, cause particular concern among the Serbian community”, the statement adds.

The Rapid Reaction Civic Group was established to monitor implementation of the measures by respective institutions in the fight against coronavirus in the areas populated mainly by non-majority communities. As all those communities, in addition to health, faced numerous other challenges, by the time the group started reporting on many other problems they faced, from ecological to security issues.  

Problems of other non-majority communities

Begging, education, return, unemployment, access to personal documents, language rights were some of the problems voiced by members of the Roma community in Kosovo.

The Gorani community members pointed out frequent electricity restrictions, issues of mini hydro-power plants, health protection and language rights.

The Bosniak community pointed out the violations of the use of language, unemployment.

On the other hand, the Group said, the biggest problem of the Albanian community in northern Kosovo included unemployment, cooperation with local institutions, return and incentives.

The Turkish community said language rights and education were the main problems.

During the pandemic, the Group also pointed to numerous weaknesses in the functioning of central institutions, with members of non-majority communities often being denied access to information of public importance in their mother tongue. In such an information vacuum, conspiracy theories, fake news and other media anomalies have spread, which unequivocally represented a potential to impair the public health.

Office for KiM on Zoran Djokic’s case: No right to fair trial (Radio KIM, media)

Decision of Kosovo Supreme Court to dismiss request for protection of legality in the case of Zoran Djokic sentenced to 12 years in prison “is an indicators of anti-Serbian policy and an example that for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija there is no right to fair trial”, Office for Kosovo and Metohija said in a statement, Radio KIM reports.

“Despite the fact that many procedural rights were violated during the trial of Djokic, and that no relevant witness identified him as a perpetrator he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. His defence lawyer presented in detail all violations of the right to fair trial and the right to defence, however, the so-called Supreme Court only copied the reasoning of previous court instances, ignoring those procedural shortcomings “, the Office said in a statement.

It added that Serbs in Kosovo are “dragged into a spiral of disenfranchisement and persecution by Pristina only because they are Serbs”.

The defence lawyer of Zoran Djokic, Ljubomir Pantovic will use the last legal instance at the Constitutional Court, while the Office said “it would inform all relevant international representatives in Kosovo about this verdict”. 

Brnabic on ban to hold Serbian elections in Kosovo (Kosovo-online)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said she expects every day to see a concrete reaction of the international community to the ban on holding Serbian elections in Kosovo and Metohija, Kosovo-online portal reports.

She added the problem is because “the reaction of the European Union is narrowed down to press statements”.

“All what Kurti has been doing since he came to the political scene was to cause unrest, calls for conflicts, trample over basic human rights of people living in Kosovo and Metohija. Even greater problem is that the EU reaction is mild, at the level of statement and because nothing of that would lead to people in Kosovo and Metohija exercising their democratic right to vote”, Brnabic said.

Dacic: Kurti respects neither Brussels agreement nor international community (Kosovo-online)

Leader of Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and outgoing Assembly Speaker Ivica Dacic told Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV) that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti respects neither Brussels agreement nor international community, adding elections could be held in Kosovo, but that would give “a pretext to Pristina police to carry out actions and accuse Belgrade for it”, Kosovo-online portal reports.

“This is not a victory for Pristina at all. Let’s make things clear, we could organise elections without any problems, but they would use it as an alibi for police intervention in northern Kosovo, there could be incidents and someone could accuse Belgrade for it. Our primary interest is to preserve peace. However, this is a blatant example that Kurti absolutely respects neither the Brussels agreement nor the international community. This is also an indicator that the international community doesn’t want to act in a manner to make Pristina fulfil the Brussels agreement”, Dacic said.

“If the West can do nothing to Kurti, how then it could do to Serbia? It would be a major precedent to impose sanctions on Serbia, because we do not want to impose sanctions on Russia. I do not think it is in the interest of the West to lose Serbia on its European path”, Dacic said.  

EU Ambassador says sanctions on Serbia not considered (N1)

European Union Ambassador Emanuele Giaufret told N1 that the EU is not considering imposing sanctions on Serbia.

“Serbia is a candidate country. It has taken the same measures as the EU, opened the door to refugees, allowed them access to the job market. A lot of positive steps were taken. We want the Serbian government and Serbian people to be with us in opposing the aggression on Ukraine”, the head of the EU delegation said.

Giaufret said that the EU is aware of Serbia’s delicate position because it is energy dependent on Russia. He said the EU views the Western Balkans as an area that it wants with it. “We want to oppose the Russian aggression… and bring Serbia in as part of the solution. Serbia will have an opportunity to buy gas from other countries. The EU wants to build a strong partnership with Serbia on its way to the Union”, the ambassador said.

Serbia has aligned with a large number of EU declarations, a number of restrictive measures have been taken and we expect every country with EU ambitions to align with EU foreign policy and the measures it has taken”, he said.

Vucic stepping down as party leader after new government formed (N1)

President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday that he would step down as leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) after a new government is formed, N1 reports.

“Ten years at the head of a party is a long period, a period in which the SNS did not lose anywhere which is unbelievable and it’s time for someone else to devote themselves”, Vucic told Belgrade daily Politika, adding that the “election will of the people will be so clear that it can be no clearer”.

He denied claims by political rivals that he asked for understanding because Serbia would not impose sanctions on Russia before the elections, calling the claims lies. “I spoke to German Foreign Minister Annalena Bearbock in the presence of 20 people and she never heard anything like that from me. There are 20 witnesses, 10 German and 10 on our side. What I said exactly was: I am not offering guarantees for sanctions and for peace in the Balkans, as for Serbia, I am offering guarantees”, Vucic said.

International 

Kosovo Opposition Party Criticises PM Kurti Over Serbs’ Vote (Balkan Insight)

The deputy head of the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, said that PM Kurti’s demands before allowing Kosovo Serbs to vote in Kosovo in Serbian elections had damaged the country’s image.

After Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti seemed to dismiss the possibility of Serbs voting in Kosovo for presidential and parliamentary elections in Serbia this Sunday, an opposition party said the move will prove harmful for the country.

Lutfi Haziri, a senior Democratic League of Kosovo LDK official in charge of Kosovo-Serbia issues, said Kurti’s demand for a prior agreement between Kosovo and Serbia based on exchange of letters overturns Kosovo’s long-time approach, based on international mediation in disputes between the countries.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3iSI8Gk

Belgrade Slams War Crimes Conviction of Serb in Kosovo (Balkan Insight)

The Serbian government reacted angrily after Kosovo’s Supreme Court upheld a verdict sentencing Zoran Djokic to 12 years in jail for committing war crimes in the city of Peja/Pec in 1999.

Kosovo’s Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that it has upheld the verdict convicting Serb fighter Zoran Djokic of war crimes against ethnic Albanian civilians in Peja/Pec in March and April 1999.

In February last year, Pristina Basic Court found Djokic guilty and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. The verdict was upheld by the Court of Appeals in November.

The Supreme Court said in a statement that it was upholding the lower courts’ verdicts, which it said “correctly implemented the criminal law”.

The Serbian government’s office for Kosovo strongly criticised the decision, describing it as “another indication of Pristina’s anti-Serb policy and an example of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija having no right to a fair trial”.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3NCK43G

Bound by a Sense of Victimhood, Serbia Sticks With Russia (NYT)

Mindful of the angry and still-unhealed wounds left by NATO’s bombing of Serbia more than 20 years ago, Ukraine’s ambassador appeared on Serbian television after Russia invaded and bombed his country in the hope of rousing sympathy.

Instead of getting time to explain Ukraine’s misery, however, the ambassador, Oleksandr Aleksandrovych, had to sit through rants by pro-Russian Serbian commentators, and long videos of Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, denouncing Ukraine as a nest of Nazis. The show, broadcast by the pro-government Happy TV, lasted three hours, more than half of which featured Mr. Putin.

Angry at the on-air ambush, the ambassador complained to the producer about the pro-Kremlin propaganda exercise, but was told not to take it personally and that Mr. Putin “is good for our ratings.”

Read more at: https://nyti.ms/3qRU7IC

Humanitarian/Development

Serbia donates 35 tons of food to Lesotho (Tanjug)

Serbia has donated 35 tons of food to the southern African state of Lesotho, Tanjug news agency reports.

In a Twitter post, the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 10,000 kg of flour, 10,000 kg of edible oil, 5,000 kg of pasta, 5,000 kg of sugar and 5,000 kg of salt had been delivered to Lesotho.

“Serbia is with the people of Lesotho,” the ministry said in the post.