• Osmani: We won’t give Serbia instrument to violate Kosovo (media)
• Kurti informs Radman on Croatian model he proposed for Association (media)
• Varhelyi: Management team’s proposal, starting point for discussions (RFE)
• USAID Director: Biden strongly supports normalisation of relations (Koha)
• Abbott: Time for Kosovo to present draft statute for Association (media)
• Osmani: Kosovo is an embodiment of European values (Euronews)
• Families of missing demand investigations, no faith in agreements (Euronews)
• Head of municipal assembly resigns, to prevent swearing in of mayor (media)
• Domi: As a society, we must work to give more space to communities (Koha)

Osmani: We won’t give Serbia instrument to violate Kosovo (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in an interview with the BBC on Tuesday that the agreement for the missing persons is one of the greatest achievements in the dialogue process between Kosovo and Serbia.

“I believe that the agreement on missing persons is one of the greatest achievements of the dialogue process, as it is one of those agreements that directly affects the lives of our people. More than 1600 families in Kosovo are still doing everything to discover the whereabouts of their loved ones who were forcibly disappeared during the war by the Milosevic regime. Of course we believe they are in mass graves in Serbia, but we needed Serbia to cooperate. Now implementation is key. I hope that Serbia implements these obligations derived from that Declaration,” Osmani said.

As for the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, Osmani said that Kosovo does not escape its obligations, but it will not give Serbia an instrument with which it could undermine the functionality of the state of Kosovo.

“There were almost 40 agreements signed in Brussels in the past between Kosovo and Serbia. The issue of the Association was only one of the agreements. It is important to note that most of these agreements have not been implemented by Serbia, including the obligation to recognize Kosovo’s documents. Continuing to insist on implementing only one agreement out of 40 does not help the process, but hurts it. All agreements must be enforced. Kosovo is not escaping the obligation. We are ready to give everything, based on the best European standards, to accommodate the rights of Serbs. But let’s not give Serbia an instrument through which it will constantly reject, undermine and violate the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty and functionality of the state of Kosovo,” she said.

Asked about the extraordinary elections that were held in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo on April 23, Osmani said that the boycott of these elections by the Serbs in the north was not voluntary. She said that Serbs in those areas are under constant attack by criminal structures supported by the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic.

“We must fight the criminal gangs, make sure that our citizens in the north, regardless of ethnicity, exercise the right to vote and any other right. What happened was illegal foreign interference in the elections of another country,” Osmani said.

She noted that it is in everyone’s interest to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

“We must learn from history that the normalization of relations can only be achieved with mutual recognition. But, it appears to be known that Serbia is influenced by Russia, we must understand based on the lessons learned from Russia in Ukraine, that pleasing the autocrats is not the way forward,” she said.

Kurti informs Radman on Croatian model he proposed for Association (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti hosted the Foreign Minister of Croatia, Gordan Grliq Radman, in a meeting where, among other things, they talked about the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

“The meeting also discussed the dialogue process mediated by the European Union and the Basic Agreement between Kosovo and Serbia and its Implementation Plan, according to the agreement in Brussels and Ohrid. The Prime Minister informed Minister Radman that in the last high-level meeting, which was held last week, he presented his vision for the implementation of Article 7 of the Basic Agreement, based on the Croatian model of treatment of Serbian national minorities. Regarding it, he said, being a member country of the EU and NATO, Kosovo sees Croatia as a success story and a model that should be followed in terms of economic and democratic achievements, but also in terms of respect of the rights of minorities,” it is stated in the announcement of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Radman said that Croatia will continue to support Kosovo’s membership in international organizations, including the EU.

Varhelyi: Management team’s proposal, starting point for discussions (RFE)

European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Affairs, Oliver Varhelyi, said on Tuesday that the draft proposal of the Management Team should be the starting point in the discussions for the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities.

In the debate on Kosovo, held on Tuesday in the European Parliament, Varhelyi said that the creation of the Association is an obligation arising from the dialogue agreements.

“All the obligations from the dialogue must be implemented, without delay and without conditions, including the one from the agreements of 2013 and 2015 for the creation of the Association of municipalities with a Serb majority. As the Special Representative for dialogue [Miroslav Lajcak] has underlined, the draft proposal presented at the last meeting by the Management Team is the starting point for further discussions on the establishment of the Association,” he said.

Varhelyi also said that the European Commission welcomes the decision to liberalize visas for Kosovo. “The government of Kosovo has taken a clear position regarding the Russian aggression against Ukraine and we welcome this. Kosovo must improve the legal framework for the continuation of the fight against organized crime and corruption, including the confiscation of illegally created assets”.

According to him, the judiciary is still not efficient enough and there is unnecessary political interference.

Among other things, Varhelyi has expressed readiness to continue helping Kosovo in the energy sector.

USAID Director: Biden strongly supports normalisation of relations (Koha)

Head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, said on Tuesday that the main message of President Joe Biden is that the United States of America strongly supports the process of normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

She added that the entire region is of great importance to the U.S.

“President Biden’s main message is how important the normalization process is and how much we want to support the process and we are encouraged by the progress that has been made so far,” she told reporters at a sports event in Belgrade.

She has added that the path of economic integration, the facilitation of business investments for foreign investors and the increase in the interest of the private sector make the region more stable.

“We recognize the importance of well-being for the people of both countries, and obviously if there will be normalization, it will unlock economic opportunities that will be extremely important for the people of Kosovo and Serbia,” she said.

Abbott: Time for Kosovo to present draft statute for Association (media)

UK Ambassador to Kosovo Nicholas Abbott said on Tuesday that the time has come for Kosovo to officially propose a draft statute for the Association of Serb-majority municipalities.

“This week sees many important visitors in Pristina, including the UK’s Director for the Western Balkans. Kosovo’s allies want to see progress in the normalization of relations with Serbia. So now is the time for Kosovo to formally propose a draft statue for an ASMM, building on the vision set out by the Prime Minister last week, in line with the criteria set out by the EU,” Abbott said.

Osmani: Kosovo is an embodiment of European values (Euronews)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said on Europe Day that Kosovo is fully determined for democracy, peace, and the rule of law. In her message, the president said that Europe Day is a chance to reflect on the values that unite all European nations.

“These fundamental principles have been the important pillar of the EU since its inception and are precisely the principles Kosovo and its nation fought historically to protect. In these definitive times, Europe Day serves as a strong reminder of the importance of solidarity, unity and protecting each-other. Let us all use this moment to reflect on our achievements so far and to reaffirm our willpower for new achievements towards our European integration. Kosovo and its people were, are and will always be the embodiment of these values. And while we get closer to the European Union, our engagement remains unwavering, because our determination for democracy, peace, human rights and rule of law, also remains unwavering,” Osmani said.

Families of missing demand investigations, no faith in agreements (Euronews)

The representatives of the families of the missing persons do not expect much from the agreement reached on May 2 in Brussels regarding this issue. According to them, finding their loved ones cannot be done by politics and that sometimes there have been agreements, but no results.

However, they hope that at least this agreement will unlock the work of finding all those people missing. They criticized both governments, but also the internationals for politicizing this sensitive and painful issue for them. According to them, science and humanity should work with this issue because politics is using it for its own interests.

Bajram Qerkinaj, leader of the Resource Center for the Disappeared, said that the pledges given in the Declaration signed on May 2 by the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, have been agreed earlier by other politicians, while requested that the institutions treat the issue seriously.

“The process should not be blocked and lose its humanitarian aspect. And, taking into account that we are part of political agreements, part of a policy that trades with interests, family members sincerely believe that there will come a point when it will be part of the politicians’ interest to solve these issues in a fair and proper way. This is the only humane approach, the solution to the fate of the missing, the abducted and clarifying who kidnapped them and where are the missing people sought by their family members,” stated Jasmina Zivkovic.

Head of municipal assembly resigns, to prevent swearing in of mayor (media)

Head of the municipal assembly of Zubin Potok, Slavisa Bisevac, from the Civic Initiative for Zubin Potok, resigned his post. Some news websites note that the goal behind the resignation was to democratically prevent the swearing in of the newly elected mayor of Zubin Potok, Izmir Zeqiri.

The Civic Initiative for Zubin Potok said in a statement that they wanted to prevent the new mayor from taking office, by resigning the position of the chair of the municipal assembly. “Thus, we want to prevent the new mayor from taking office in Zubin Potok, where the absolute majority of the population are Serbs,” the statement notes.

Domi: As a society, we must work to give more space to communities (Koha)

UNMIK’s media officer, Besa Domi, said on Tuesday it is very important for communities to have more presence in the media. She has shown how the idea of making a film about early marriages of girls from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities came about.

“As UNMIK we have a wide component, let’s say our biggest office is the one that works on a daily basis with communities, that deals directly and is in the field every day. We wanted to do something more creative, to address a problem that worries the communities themselves the most. It is a phenomenon that does not only affect communities. In the global context, over 765 million people alive today were married before the age of 18. In Kosovo, it happens in all of Kosovo, more or less, in the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities,” Domi told KTV’s Konfront.

Domi has said that UNMIK follows the agenda of the United Nations for the safety of women, among other things. “I don’t need to point out that one of the elements of very evil violence against women is the phenomenon of early marriages,” Domi said.

She mentioned the case of Sadete in Mitrovica, who she says is a leader of her community and an example. “Every day she works for the empowerment and education of all women not only in her community but also beyond. Her story is reflected in the film,” said Domi.

“As an Albanian majority community, we have the obligation to give more space to the members of the communities,” she said.