Albanian Language Media:

• Opposition parties call for dismissal of ambassador Berishaj (Telegrafi)
• Kusari-Lila: Political parties to be conscientious about situation with Serbia (KP)
• Unions to hold one-hour strike and protest; do not rule out general strike (media)
• UK urges the West to send weapons to Western Balkans (Koha)
• EUCOM pledges support for KSF command (RTK)
• Media close to Vucic slam Putin over his statement on Kosovo (Telegrafi)
• COVID-19: 19 new cases (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Brnabic: No harm from Open Balkan, only benefits (Tanjug)
• Brnabic: Violence in Kosovo cause for concern (Tanjug, TV Pink)
• Analysts on Putin’s statement about Kosovo (Kosovo-online)
• Vulin: Russia could have changed its stance on Kosovo thus far, but it had not (Kosovo-online)
• Donfried on Serbia, Belgrade-Pristina dialogue (RTS, Politika)
• Szunyog meets Jevtic (Kosovo-online)
• Odalovic: Search on location near Stavalj to continue on May 10 (Radio KIM)

Opinion:

• Pressured by the West Over Russia, Serbia May Look To China (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Albania’s Pioneering LGBT Activist: ‘We Should Not Be Second-Class Citizens’ (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media  

Opposition parties call for dismissal of ambassador Berishaj (Telegrafi)

Representatives of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), the biggest opposition parties in Kosovo, have repeated calls for Kosovo’s ambassador to Croatia, Martin Berishaj, to be dismissed after media reports that he was involved in a financial scandal.

PDK MP, Blerta Deliu-Kodra, said in today’s session of the Assembly that Kosovo cannot risk its partnership with Croatia. “At a time when Kosovo has a real chance of becoming a member of the Council of Europe, Kosovo is involved in a major affair. Ambassador Berishaj must be dismissed. The Government and the President’s Office are neither judges nor prosecutors. After this scandal, Mr. Berishaj will not be able to perform his duties. Other diplomats were dismissed only for expressing their positions on social networks. The PDK insists that Berishaj should be sacked as soon as possible,” she said.

LDK MP, Besian Mustafa, said Berishaj must return to Kosovo and report to law enforcement authorities. “Today, Kosovo’s ambassador is at the epicentre of a media and political scandal in Slovenia. The same person was close to the Vetevendosje Movement. The judiciary decides who is guilty and who is innocent,” he argued.

Kusari-Lila: Political parties to be conscientious about situation with Serbia (Kosovapress)

Mimoza Kusari-Lila, head of the Vetevendosje Movement parliamentary group, said political parties in Kosovo should be conscientious about what she said were Serbia’s attempts to exert influence in Kosovo.

“At a situation where we cannot control the circumstances created by others it is necessary to control our behaviour to circumstances imposed externally. In the military front, Kosovo has the Security Force which is being strengthened on a daily basis and though not a member of NATO, the Alliance’s troops are here through KFOR,” she said at the Kosovo Assembly session today.

Kusari-Lila said that there have been attempts to exercise influence on Kosovo and that it is of immense importance for “political parties in the country to be aware of this situation and whether they are ready to work for the interests of our country.” 

Unions to hold one-hour strike and protest; do not rule out general strike (media)

The Union of Independent Unions of Kosovo (BSPK) have decided to hold a one-hour strike for all workers in Kosovo on May 12 and a protest on May 20. “The BSPK has decided that although a tunnel of social dialogue has been opened with our institutions, on May 12, we have decided to hold a one-hour strike for all workers in Kosovo and a protest on May 20,” BSPK leader Atdhe Hykolli told reporters in Prishtina today.

Union of Education, Science and Culture (SBASHK) leader Rrahman Jasharaj said that if after the one-hour strike and the protest, the demands of the unions are not met, they would go on a general strike. “The unions will go on a general strike and paralyse the educational system and other systems. We are making room for dialogue and we will see what happens after the one-hour strike on May 12 and the protest on May 20 which I believe will be massive,” Jasharaj said.

UK urges the West to send weapons to Western Balkans (Koha)

United Kingdom Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, said that the West should send weapons to other countries threatened by Russia, Koha reports quoting the BBC.

“We must ensure that, alongside Ukraine, the Western Balkans and countries like Moldova and Georgia have the resilience and the capabilities to maintain their sovereignty and freedom,” Truss said, adding that the West should do more to deter future Russian aggression.

EUCOM pledges support for KSF command (RTK)

Kosovo Security Force Commander, Lieutenant General Bashkim Jashari, received today a delegation from the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) led by Chief Master Sergeant Phillip Easton.

A statement issued by the KSF says LTG Jashari thanked the delegation for the continuous support and the joint plans for further development. Chief Easton on his part pledged the support of his command to the KSF in increasing capacities in all fields, particularly in that of non-commissioned officers. 

Media close to Vucic slam Putin over his statement on Kosovo (Telegrafi) 

“Putin recognises Kosovo”, “Because of his war, Putin forgets about Serbs and Kosovo”, “Celebrations in Prishtina, Zagreb and Sarajevo over Putin’s statement”, “Putin is playing with Kosovo” and “Putin stabs Serbia on the back” are some of the headlines in pro-regime media in Serbia about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest statement on Kosovo. In a meeting with UN Secretary-General Guterres, Putin mentioned the independence of Kosovo trying to justify the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014 and the intervention in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

Bosnian political commentator Jasmin Mujanovic wrote on Twitter that “Pro-regime media in Serbia – who’ve spent much of the last decade having a borderline erotic relationship w/ the Kremlin – are apoplectic w/ rage over Moscow’s “betrayal” of Serbia, claiming he’s about to recognize Kosovo in exchange for a settlement w/ Ukraine. Bizarre.”

Media in Croatia too reported that tabloids close to Vucic have slammed Putin.

COVID-19: 19 new cases (media) 

19 new cases with COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 16 persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 415 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Serbian Language Media

Brnabic: No harm from Open Balkan, only benefits (Tanjug)

Serbia registered a 2.5 bln euro trade volume with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Republika Srpska in 2021, Serbian PM Ana Brnabic said at the 2022 Jahorina Economic Forum on Wednesday, Tanjug news agency reports.

She said a project to build an airport in Trebinje (Herzegovina) and other projects of similar significance and scope were something that had not existed before and offered opportunities for additional projects and cooperation.

“If the entire Western Balkans were to join the Open Balkan, GDP of the region would rise by 7 pct, which is incredible. I do not understand why some partners in the Western Balkans do not want to get involved in this project, but I expect them to join as early as the end of this year or at the beginning of next year, once the benefits of cooperation between Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania become evident”, Brnabic said.

She said she expected pressure from citizens in the region on their local politicians to become so high that they would decide to join the initiative. There is no harm from the Open Balkan, but only benefits, she said.

Addressing the panel, Republika Srpska President Zeljka Cvijanovic and Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic also supported an accession to the Open Balkan by the BiH.

Brnabic: Violence in Kosovo cause for concern (Tanjug, TV Pink)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Wednesday she had told US officials that Belgrade was concerned over Pristina’s escalation of violence in Kosovo and Metohija, Tanjug news agency reports.

Brnabic met with US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried on Tuesday.

“Yesterday, too, we said clearly that we are extremely concerned over the escalation of violence in Kosovo and Metohija and that it is reflected in everything – in the fact that the number of attacks on Kosovo and Metohija Serbs and their property rose by over 30 pct in 2021 and that the Visoki Decani Monastery has been included in the list of the most endangered cultural and religious monuments, and it all culminated in the Serbs being denied their fundamental human rights by Albin Kurti”, Brnabic told TV Pink. She also said Pristina banned Serbs in Kosovo from voting in a Serbian referendum on constitutional amendments and then also in the April 3 Serbian elections.

“Along with constant provocations, we are concerned over all that and we ask our partners in the EU and the US to take this seriously and help us preserve peace in the Western Balkans”, she added.

Analysts on Putin’s statement about Kosovo (Kosovo-online)

Foreign policy commentator and once long-term journalist and editor of Belgrade-based daily Politika, the oldest daily in this part of Europe, Bosko Jaksic said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had Kosovo precedent in mind long time before conflict in Ukraine started, Kosovo-online portal reports.

In his meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Putin, referring to Kosovo, said the precedent was already created, and that Donetsk and Luhansk regions became independent in analogy with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision on Kosovo.

“President Putin, obviously prior to the invasion of Russia on Ukraine and prior to recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk republics, had Kosovo in mind. Now the West and Russia find themselves in the same position. On one side, the West accuses Russia of encouraging separatism in Ukraine, while on the other hand, Moscow responds that the West encouraged separatism once Kosovo declared independence. This revealed the most painful truth, and it is that major powers were absolutely ready to use unequal standards (…)”, Jaksic opined.

He also said Putin’s reference to Kosovo will have “consequences in the Republic of Srpska (B&H), where rhetoric of Milorad Dodik on self-determination will only strengthen”.

Political analyst Dragomir Andjelovic opined that Putin’s statement was fully in line with the ICJ decision, that Serbia addressed.

“Whether we posed the question in a good way or not, that is another topic. However, the decision was clear – the declaration made by Pristina did not run contrary to international law. Therefore, it is a universal decision, which may now apply in other cases too. Russians are referring to it, which does not mean that they recognize Kosovo. They only refer to the same model when it comes to Donetsk and Luhansk. It also creates an opportunity for us to refer to that decision in a certain moment, for example in northern Kosovo, where Serbian bodies could make the very same declaration. At a certain moment, the Republic of Srpska may do the same (…)”, Andjelkovic said.

Unlike Jaksic and Andjelkovic, former diplomat Srecko Djukic opined that Putin with his statement that self-determination and independence of Donetsk and Luhansk were based on Kosovo precedent “factually stated that he recognized independence of Kosovo”.  

Vulin: Russia could have changed its stance on Kosovo thus far, but it had not (Kosovo-online)

Leader of Socialist Movement and Minister of Internal Affairs, Alesandar Vulin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin in his statement on Kosovo used the very same argument and vocabulary the West was using to explain bombing of Serbia, Kosovo-online portal reports.

Vulin added Russia could have changed its stance on Kosovo thus far, but it had not, and that he is pleased with the support Serbia receives from Russia on numerous issues.

Vulin also said he was not happy that Putin mentioned International Court of Justice decision, but was pleased with Putin’s statements and steps undertaken over the previous decade to help Serbia preserve Kosovo and Metohija, as well as used veto power at UN SC to prevent UK resolution to declare “Serbs first genocidal people in the history”, support offered to the Serbian army, customs privileges and favorable gas prices.

Donfried on Serbia, Belgrade-Pristina dialogue (RTS, Politika)

The highest US State Department official for Europe and Eurasia, Karen Donfried told Politika daily her country supports Serbia in its further alignment with EU and US, adding that Serbia should decide on its own how it will act in terms of sanctions on Russia, RTS reports.

She added that the accession of Serbia to the EU was of particular importance, and same was the voting of Serbia to suspend membership of Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.

Talking about the Serbian economy, Donfried concluded that the EU states were behind the highest number of new investments and economic progress of Serbia. She noted that accession of Serbia to the EU is a foreign policy interest of Serbia, adding that the US supports that process.

Asked if she was pleased over what she heard from President Aleksandar Vucic during their meeting in Belgrade earlier, she positively assessed Vucic’s stance, adding he was very clear on where he sees the future of Serbia and that is in the EU.

She touched upon the statement of US Ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill who said the US wishes to suppress Russian and Chinese interest in Serbia, saying that her country believes every state has a sovereign right to decide on its foreign and security policy, being it membership to the EU or NATO. She added “Serbia should also think about who supports it and who would not like it to succeed”. 

Talking about the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue she said it was very important for the two sides to cooperate and resolve their issues. She repeated US stance about the dialogue on comprehensive agreement that would result in normalisation of relations and “be focused on mutual recognitions”.  

Szunyog meets Jevtic (Kosovo-online)

Head of the European Union Office in Pristina, Tomas Szunyog met Strpce mayor Dalibor Jevtic and discussed with him municipal cooperation with the central level government, rule of law and social housing program financed by the EU in amount of 5.65 million euros, Kosovo-online portal reports.

“Met w/@jevticdalibor today to discuss municipal co-op w/central-level government, rule of law & EU-funded housing programs and support to business dev. worth € 5,65 million. Štrpce/Shtërpcë Municipality is yet to ensure that all beneficiaries move into EU-funded social housing”, Szunyog wrote on Twitter. 

Odalovic: Search on location near Stavalj to continue on May 10 (Radio KIM)

Serbian Government Missing Persons Commission Chairman, Veljko Odalovic said that a search on location near Stavalj (Serbia proper) will continue on May 10, adding preparations on the ground were underway, Radio KIM reports.

“We have no other concrete request from Pristina that we had not responded to, and we will act responsibly and urgently on any request, because we think those are not the issues that should be postponed because families expect us to act responsibly”, Odalovic told Tanjug news agency.

He made those remarks in response to the criticism voiced by Pristina Missing Persons Commission head, and in regard to the dynamics of searching locations that could possibly contain moral remains of the persons who went missing during the armed conflict in Kosovo.

Odalovic also said that upon receiving information from Pristina on location near Stavalj, they went to the location twice with a delegation from Brussels, adding they asked Pristina to closely point out to the possible location, because the area was large.

He said they guaranteed to the witness he would remain unknown and should only come to the spot and point out closer where location could be, however, as he said, Pristina made no reaction to it.

He also said during continuation of the search near Stavalj, a delegation from Pristina will be present, as per invitation of the Serbian Government Missing Persons Commission, because Belgrade wants the process to be transparent.

He stressed Belgrade expects Pristina to act the same way as Belgrade does, concerning Serbian requests, adding that Serbian requests are pending for years and were not processed yet.

Commenting on the statement of Kosovo Government Missing Persons Commission Head Andin Hoti, that Pristina was waiting for a year to get response from Belgrade regarding satellite images of some locations in Serbia, Odalovic said that satellite images are not under authority of the Serbian Government Commission nor it possesses them.

“NATO has them and NATO should hand them over if they can help. For Kizevak (Rudnica) we received the images that helped us by providing a closer direction and thus we saved several days from what we initially needed to search that location”, Odalovic said.

Odalovic noted Pristina was the least to talk about dynamics of the process, adding that since the last meeting that took place in Belgrade on April 16, last year, it didn’t undertake a single activity to carry out searches on ten locations in Kosovo, that Belgrade identified based on its own sources, but also the sources of international documentations.

He also said that 1.800 cases of missing persons have been resolved thus far, and more than 1.500 of them were Kosovo Albanians, adding that 95 percent of resolved cases happened based on information and documentation provided by Serbia.

Opinion

Pressured by the West Over Russia, Serbia May Look To China (Balkan Insight)

By Makar Menshikov

As Belgrade feels the heat over its warm ties to Moscow, Beijing’s stake in the country is likely to grow.

Serbia is coming under significant pressure over its policy towards Russia due to current events in Ukraine. A country on track to EU accession, with European values enshrined in its constitution and a near-majority supporting EU membership, it has long benefitted from cooperation both with Europe and Russia. This policy is supported by a high share of the population, especially supporters of the current government. But now, as a sharp turn further in the direction of either Russia or the EU looks relatively unlikely, Chinese influence is likely to increase.

Read more at:  https://bit.ly/3EXIJ3q

Humanitarian/Development

Albania’s Pioneering LGBT Activist: ‘We Should Not Be Second-Class Citizens’ (BIRN)

Xheni Karaj, one of the first LGBT activists in Albania and winner of a recent award by Civil Rights Defenders, tells BIRN about the uphill struggle her community still faces in the battle for equality.

When Xheni Karaj started to engage in LGBT activism 13 years ago, she was barely aware what activism was – and the relevant organizations were still at a very grassroots stage.

At 21, she thought she was perhaps the only lesbian in Albania. Her teenage years were marked by a depression that reflected a fear of not fulfilling the projections that both society and family had of her.

A lot has changed since 2009, but a lot remains the same, too, she says.

Last week, the Stockholm-based international human rights organization Civil Rights Defenders awarded her the prestigious prize of civil rights defender for her work to bring change to the community in her country, alongside Uganda’s Frank Mugisha.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3OH3Ons