Albanian Language Media:

• Osmani: Implementation of Constitution accelerates Kosovo’s integration process (RTK)
• Kurti: Dedicated to preserving the legacy of liberation war (media)
• Hovenier: Proud to support people of Kosovo on Constitution vision (media)
• Krasniqi: In these three years, we mostly needed to protect Constitution from government (Koha)
• EU calls on Serbian List to reconsider its decision not to participate in April 21 elections (Reporteri)
• German Embassy: Boycott is not in interest of citizens in the north (Koha)
• Removal of visas for holders of Serbian passports, voted (RTK)
• Lajcak meets Polish official, discuss Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (Reporteri)

Serbian Language Media: 

• Macron: The future of Serbia being written now (Danas, Beta, X)
• Starovic: Facts are clear why Serbs decided to boycott referendum (Blic, social media)
• European Parliament Committee supported lifting visas for Serbian Coordination Directorate passport holders (Kosovo Online)
• Momirovic writes to ministers of trade, warns of Serbian goods import ban in Kosovo (Tanjug)
• Macron: Reached agreements should be implemented, Pristina needs to make progress in establishing Community of Serb-majority Municipalities (Kosovo Online)
• Fazliu: Kosovo Prosecutor’s Office conducting an extensive investigation in the Banjska case, the publication of evidence may harm the case (Beta, N1, KiM radio)
• Opposition People’s Party calls for unity on Srebrenica resolution (N1)
• Varhelyi: Serbia making progress on EU path, Cluster 3 ready for opening (N1)
• Kosovo: Zana Avdiu in the fight against domestic violence, sexism, macho culture, patriarchy…(en.vijesti.me, N1, DW, KoSSev)
• Masralli: The EU encourages Serbs to participate in the census and Srpska list to reconsider the decision to boycott the vote (Kosovo Online)
• Andric Rakic: We will see another boycott of future local elections in the north (Kosovo online, X)

Opinion:

• Marinkovic to Demostat: Possible postponement of Kosovo’s admission to the Council of Europe (Kosovo Online)

Albanian Language Media  

Osmani: Implementation of Constitution accelerates Kosovo’s integration process (RTK)

Today marks 16 years since the adoption of the Constitution of Kosovo. Its approval was a historical moment that marked the beginning of a new era for Kosovo. The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, on Constitution Day, said that our Constitution is a guide, therefore its uncompromising implementation helps and accelerates integration process towards the big Euro-Atlantic family.

“Today, on the day of the adoption of the Constitution, which is the supreme norm that defines the identity and values of our democratic society, we reaffirm our institutional commitment to the implementation and affirmation of these values,” she said.

Kurti: Dedicated to preserving the legacy of liberation war (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, visited Kacanik today to honor the memory of the men and women killed by Milosevic’s regime.

“On this date, we honor 28 martyrs and 32 civilian victims, martyrs killed in Rakoc and Lagje e Re. With the commitment to preserve the legacy of the liberation war, honoring the sacrifices of the people of Kosovo for freedom, we work resolutely for a Kosovo of peace, justice and progress. Glory to all martyrs of our nation”, Kurti wrote on Facebook.

The head of the government wrote that Nebih Livoreka was 105 years old when he was killed in Rakoc of Kacanik. “He was among the 32 civilians who were killed that day. In the battle with the enemy forces of Serbia that had attacked the Albanian population, 28 KLA martyrs died heroically. On the morning of April 9, 1999, Kaçanik woke up surrounded by large forces of the Serbian army and police, who were attacking the civilian population, shelling from all sides,” he said.

The soldiers of the Kosovo Liberation Army came to their defense, facing the Serbian armed forces.

Hovenier: Proud to support people of Kosovo on Constitution vision (media)

The U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, on the 16th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of Kosovo, stated that the U.S. is proud of its support to the people of Kosovo.

Happy Constitution Day, Kosovo! Kosovans enshrined in their constitution their determination to “build a future of Kosovo as a free, democratic and peace-loving country that will be a homeland to all of its citizens. We are proud of our support as we partner with the people of Kosovo to achieve the vision laid out in Kosovo’s constitution,” Hovenier wrote on X.

Krasniqi: In these three years, we mostly needed to protect Constitution from government (Koha)

The leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Memli Krasniqi, has said that during these three years, the Constitution of Kosovo mostly needed to be protected from the government of Kosovo.

“Unfortunately, in the last three years we have needed to protect our Constitution mostly from the Government of Kosovo – which has a legal, institutional and national obligation to protect it”, Krasniqi wrote on Facebook.

While congratulating the Constitution Day, Krasniqi said that it is a symbol of unity. “Today, tomorrow and every other day of our lives, let us respect and protect the foundations of our rights and freedoms at all costs. The Constitution, more than words on paper, is a symbol of unity, justice and the power of democracy… The commitment to follow the principles of our Constitution, to build a fair, safe and equal state for all, has been, is and it remains our permanent commitment!”, Krasniqi wrote.

EU calls on Serbian List to reconsider its decision not to participate in April 21 elections (Reporteri)

The European Union has called on the Serbian List to reconsider the decision not to participate in the elections scheduled for April 21 in the four northern municipalities of Kosovo. In a response to the news page Reporteri.net, the European Union has expressed regret that the Serbian List has decided not to participate in these elections.

“The EU expresses its regret that Lista Srpska has decided not to participate in the elections scheduled for April 21 in the four northern municipalities. This follows their previous boycott of the April 2023 local elections in northern Kosovo.

Although the April 2023 local elections were held in accordance with Kosovo’s legal framework, they did not provide a long-term political solution as the boycott by Kosovo Serbs resulted in a very low overall turnout.

We took into account the concerns expressed by Kosovo Serbs regarding the process that enables new local elections. However, we call on the Serbian List to reconsider the decision not to participate, as democracy is about participation, and the Kosovo Serb electorate to exercise their rights and express their political opinion at the ballot box.”, says the EU’s response to Reporteri.net.

Further, the European Union said that it is crucial that Kosovo Serbs participate unconditionally in these elections in northern Kosovo, as this would ensure fully representative local government there and help de-escalate the situation.

Since the Serbs left the institutions of Kosovo in 2022, the EU emphasizes that it has engaged with the partners for Kosovo and Serbia to enable their return to these institutions.

German Embassy: Boycott is not in interest of citizens in the north (Koha)

The German Embassy in Kosovo has assessed that the boycott of the voting process for the dismissal of the mayors in the north is not in the interest of the citizens.

“If the citizens in the northern municipalities were to follow the call for a boycott, it would damage the democratic nature of the process and prolong the current situation, in which the incumbent mayors do not reflect the vast majority of the electorate. This cannot be in the interest of local citizens”, said Christian Bottcher, media and communication officer at the Embassy.

The German Embassy has called on all citizens in the northern municipalities to exercise their democratic right to vote on April 21.

“This is not about voting for a party or a person, but to express their will whether or not they want another mayor. We also continue to call on all political actors to encourage citizens to vote. Being able to vote and exercise your right is the essence of democracy. Germany and other countries have fully supported the requests to create a procedure for the dismissal of mayors. But now it is up to the citizens to use the existing procedure”, Bottcher emphasized.

Removal of visas for holders of Serbian passports, voted (RTK)

The Committee for Civil Liberties, Justice and Internal Affairs has voted in favor of lifting the visa regime for Kosovo citizens who only possess passports issued by Serbian authorities. 34 MEPs voted for this decision, 7 were against and 12 abstained.

The rapporteur for visas in the European Parliament, the MEP Matjazh Nemec has described that the removal of visas for the Serb residents of Kosovo is an important step to prevent discrimination against these citizens, who, according to him, risk being treated differently from other residents of the Western Balkans.

“This technical decision is not an attempt to resolve the dispute between Serbia and Kosovo, but a pragmatic solution to ensure equal treatment”, said Nemec.

The next step will be the vote in the plenary session of the European Parliament, between April 22 and 25.

Lajcak meets Polish official, discuss Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (Reporteri)

The EU for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, has said that he is grateful to Poland for the support offered to the countries of the Western Balkans.

“Had an excellent meeting with Poland’s Undersecretary of State Marek Prawda in Warsaw. Gave an overview of the latest developments in the region and an update on the state of play in the Dialogue. Grateful for Poland’s interest in the Western Balkans and support to our European efforts,” Lajcak wrote on X.

Serbian Language Media 

Macron: The future of Serbia being written now (Danas, Beta, X)

French President Emmanuel Macron announced this morning on the X social network that France is committed to the European future of Serbia and that the future of Serbia is being written now. 

“France is committed to the European future of Serbia, the future that is being written now,” Macron wrote in French and Serbian (Cyrillic).

Macron also published a photo with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, with whom he spoke last night in Paris, reported Danas.

Starovic: Facts are clear why Serbs decided to boycott referendum (Blic, social media)

State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense Nemanja Starovic pointed out in a X post last night that when it comes to the decision of the Serbs in the north of Kosovo to boycott the referendum on the recall of Albanian mayors, one should be aware of clear facts that can be easily verified, reported Blic daily. 

As he explained, in the mayoral elections, held last year, less than 3.5 percent of voters voted, and that Pristina was seeking a turnout of more than 50 percent of registered voters in the vote for replacement, which set an impossible goal to achieve.

Starovic recalled in the X post that Serbs left local institutions in November 2022 after the illegal dismissal of the regional police commander and after waiting 10 years for Pristina to establish the Association/Community of Serbian Municipalities.

He stated that in April 2023, Albanians elected mayors and local councilors with less than 3.5 percent voter turnout in the elections and pointed out that Pristina did not meet the demands of the Quint countries to remove illegitimate mayors from municipal seats, which led to the conflict in May 2023. 

Starovic pointed out that in the meantime, Pristina sent a militarized, uninational Albanian special police to the north of Kosovo, which intimidates the local Serbs on a daily basis, and that since June 2023, it has banned all goods produced in central Serbia in Kosovo, not respecting either the CEFTA agreement or its SAA with the European Commission.

Read the full Starovic’s post on X at: https://tinyurl.com/pj8udjuj

European Parliament Committee supported lifting visas for Serbian Coordination Directorate passport holders (Kosovo Online)

With 34 votes for, seven against and 12 abstentions, the European Parliament Committee for Civic Freedoms, Judiciary and Internal Affairs adopted the draft report on visa liberalization for Serbian Coordination Directorate passport holders, Kosovo Online portal reported citing visa rapporteur Matjaz Nemec’s cabinet.

The next step on visa liberalization for those passport holders should take place at the  last session of the European Parliament in this composition, which commences on April 22.

In a recent interview with Kosovo Online Nemec stressed that no one, including Pristina and Belgrade, should use this issue for political purposes.

“We are talking primarily about human rights of an important group of people that could and is still discriminated against. This is a help for a small group of people, because we must have in mind that as of January 1, no other group of people from the Western Balkans is discriminated against in relation to visa liberalization. Except Serbs from Kosovo, and we wanted to avoid anyone being discriminated against in the region”, Nemec said back then.  

Momirovic writes to ministers of trade, warns of Serbian goods import ban in Kosovo (Tanjug)

Serbian Minister of Trade, Tomislav Momirovic sent letters to the ministers of trade of all EU member states, Great Britain, US and CEFTA warning that the ban on importing Serbian goods in Kosovo is still in place, Tanjug news agency reported.

He also said, that “this criminal policy has been expanded recently by yet another type of economic aggression, a ban on the use of dinar in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija”.

In a letter Momirovic said that all those people tolerating these acts of Pristina authorities must be aware “that they are becoming accomplices in a major crime against the Serbian population, in deliberately causing humanitarian disaster because Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija depend upon basic food products delivered from central Serbia”. 

Macron: Reached agreements should be implemented, Pristina needs to make progress in establishing Community of Serb-majority Municipalities (Kosovo Online)

The agreements reached in Brussels and Ohrid need to be implemented, and Pristina must progress in establishing the Community of Serb Municipalities, in line with its aspirations to join the Council of Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron said last night, Kosovo Online portal reported.

In a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that France will do everything to ensure the implementation of the agreements reached. He stressed that each side must contribute to this path and welcomed the “gesture made on both sides”.

“Now, we must go further. I know you are ready for this, and you have reiterated this during our last meeting in Brussels. We need to overcome the tensions that arose after the decision regarding the transfer of funds. It is necessary for the elections in the north to be held as soon as possible and for new genuinely democratically legitimate mayors to be elected. Pristina needs to progress in forming the CSM, in accordance with its aspirations for membership in the Council of Europe”, he said.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/pvIY3

Fazliu: Kosovo Prosecutor’s Office conducting an extensive investigation in the Banjska case, the publication of evidence may harm the case (Beta, N1, KiM radio)

The prosecutor in the Kosovo prosecutor’s office, Shqipdon Fazliu, said that the special prosecution in the “Banjska” case is conducting an extensive and comprehensive investigation. Fazliu told the Pristina television station KTV that “numerous analyses, expert reports” were ordered, which, as he stated, “need time to be worked out and accepted.”

“The prosecutor of the case is fully aware of the importance of the case, not only this but every case, it is fortunate that, especially in the area of confiscation of property, we have a prosecutor handling the case,” he said. He added that the defendants are suspected “of serious crimes against the constitutional order and security of Kosovo, terrorist acts and the other”.

He also underlined that as far as the indictment is concerned, it should be understood that there are many defendants, that it involves numerous reports, analyzes and various expert reports. He added that it is a complicated case and that it takes time to follow the steps established in the Kosovo Criminal Procedure Code. He said the release of much of the evidence could harm the investigation.

He assessed that there are many cases that reach the media and then, as he pointed out, verdicts are given outside the court proceedings about what their final epilogue should be.

“I would say that this is not the only case. Unfortunately, in Kosovo, many cases reach the media, and sometimes investigations are damaged,” he said.

“It would be good if gradually, over time, we all become aware, including the judicial institutions, but also the media and others, to publish what does not harm the investigations,” he emphasized.

He added that he believes that the primary interest of everyone, including the media and citizens, is to investigate the case in the best possible way and to make a final and meritorious verdict based on the evidence. He also said that such a case, after the trial, can be subjected to an analysis that can be done by the media, but as he stated, not to intervene in the initial phase, to publish details that can sometimes reach them and can harm the investigation.

Opposition People’s Party calls for unity on Srebrenica resolution (N1)

The opposition People’s Party (NS) on Tuesday called for state and national unity prior to the presentation of a resolution on Srebrenica to the UN General Assembly, N1 reported.

The party said in a statement that the resolution presents danger to the Serb nation, Serbia, the Republika Srpska and future generations. “If adopted the resolution would permanently and unjustly place the seal of genocide on the entire Serb nation”, it said and called for the mobilization of all diplomatic capacities to prevent the adoption of the resolution.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in an interview last week that he gladly accepted an offer of help in regard to the Srebrenica resolution from former NS leader and former UN General Assembly President Vuk Jeremic.

According to the NS, the text of the resolution was drafted in an “extremely perfidious way to damage the interests of the Serb nation in the long run without being obvious”.

Varhelyi: Serbia making progress on EU path, Cluster 3 ready for opening (N1)

European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said the criteria for Serbia are very clear and that good neighborly relations are part of the conditions for the European Union (EU) path for each and every candidate country.

“Serbia is making progress on its EU path. If you look at Cluster 3, it is ready for opening. It is also very clear that common foreign and security alignment, with the Russian aggression against Ukraine, became an even more important topic for the member states. So now the member states are looking at the level of compliance even closer,” Varhelyi told the Bulgarian news agency Bgnes.

Kosovo: Zana Avdiu in the fight against domestic violence, sexism, macho culture, patriarchy…(en.vijesti.me, N1, DW, KoSSev)

She became famous after the threats she received because she criticized Granit Xhaka’s behavior at the Switzerland-Serbia match. Zana Avdiu says loudly what many men in Kosovo do not want to hear.

Zana Avdiu knows very well what it means to be hated. While walking the streets of Pristina it is silent and almost unnoticed, but also loud and angry on social media and television. Avdiu is 30 years old, she is an activist and an advocate for women’s rights in Kosovo. Whatever is at stake – domestic violence, sexism, macho culture, patriarchy, the traditional family image of Kosovo society – Zana Avdiu always has her opinion. And she is not afraid to express it publicly, both in TV shows and on Facebook, where she has 32.000 followers.

When a draft law was recently discussed in Kosovo that would allow women access to artificial insemination even without a partner, Avdiu wrote on Facebook: “Women don’t need men to get pregnant.” In the indignant comments that soon piled up under her post, Avdiu was, among other things, declared an “enemy of Kosovo society.” She reported five comments.

Avdiu is aware that she provokes by such statements. But provocation is part of the process, and she says she has learned that. Provocation, debate, and then maybe at some point change will come. That is her hope. She believes that deep-rooted patriarchal patterns of thinking within Kosovo society can only be broken by talking about it. And that’s why she talks.

“Women in Kosovo don’t count”

Zana Avdiu works as a lawyer in the field of economics, and in her free time advocates for women’s rights. For example, she connects women who have experienced violence with the police and humanitarian organizations and publishes this on social networks.

She was only 27 years old when they started inviting her regularly to evening TV shows. Since then, she has been commenting on current political events for TV T7 in the show “Pressing”. She is usually the only woman in the studio among the men.

Read more at:https://tinyurl.com/3nd2u2ku

Massrali: The EU encourages Serbs to participate in the census and Srpska list to reconsider the decision to boycott the vote (Kosovo Online)

The spokeswoman in the EU’s foreign policy service, Nabila Massrali, expressed today the regret of the Union, as she stated, due to the discouraging of Kosovo Serbs when it comes to participation in the census in Kosovo, as well as the decision of the Serbian List not to participate in the vote for the impeachment of mayors in four municipalities in the north of Kosovo, reported Kosovo Online.

Massrali said that the decision of the Kosovo Serb representatives to encourage Serbs not to participate in the census is regrettable, stating that the data collected by the census is important for determining policies, especially for the needs of different population groups.

Also, according to her, the census helps the Government, the business community, and civic organizations to plan policies.

“The EU encourages all citizens of Kosovo to participate in the census and calls on the Kosovo Agency for Statistics and other Kosovo institutions to intensify the information campaign so that all citizens, including members of the non-majority community, are familiar with the rules of the census,” Massrali said.

Expressing regret that the Serbian List decided not to participate in the vote for the impeachment of mayors in four municipalities in the north of Kosovo, which was planned to take place on April 21, Massrali recalled the previous boycott of local elections in the north in April 2023 and stated that it did not give the political results that the Kosovo Serbs wanted.

“We have taken note of the concerns of Kosovo Serbs regarding the process of new elections, but we still call on the Serbian List to reconsider the decision not to participate and not to deny Kosovo Serbs their right to express their political opinion,” said Massrali.

Andric Rakic: We will see another boycott of future local elections in the north (Kosovo online, X)

The program manager of the NGO Social Initiative, Milica Andric Rakic, said that there will probably be a boycott of future local elections in the north of Kosovo after the Serbian List refused to participate in the vote on the impeachment of the mayor, reported Kosovo Online. 

Andric Rakic reacted in this way to the statement of the coordinator of the Working Group of the National Convention on the EU for Chapter 35, Dragisa Mijacic, who commented on the decision of the Serbian List by replying to him on the “X” social network.

“Well put. At this point, I’d say we will sooner see another boycott of the future local elections (even the regular ones in 2025) than political participation of K-Serbs in anything. There’s no jump-starting this level of apathy&disinterest in what is largely seen as a charade,” she posted in her reply on X. 

See the X post at:https://t.ly/1WJV1

Opinion

Marinkovic to Demostat: Possible postponement of Kosovo’s admission to the Council of Europe (Kosovo Online)

Analyst and founder of the Center for Affirmative Social Actions (CASA) from the northern part of Mitrovica, Miodrag Marinkovic told Demostat, when speaking about the possible admission of Kosovo to the CoE, that it is possible that the West will require the authorities in Pristina to send the draft statute of the Association/Community of Serbian Municipalities (A/CSM) to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo by May, reported Kosovo Online. 

He states, no matter how easy it seems that Pristina is in a comfortable situation and that its membership in the CoE is a mere formality, things are not nearly favorable for Kurti’s government.

Marinkovic explains that a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is scheduled for April, where the recommendation of the Committee for Political Affairs and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for the admission of Kosovo to the Council of Europe will be discussed.

“Of course, at that instance, anything but confirmation of the Committee’s recommendation would be a big surprise, because at that level Kosovo has already secured the necessary support for membership, and decision-making roles, at that level, do not have the character of strategic political decisions. The most important and final step is the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which will meet in May, and whose decision will be decisive for membership. Although it is taken by the public as a “done deal”, there are certain indications that the leading Western diplomats will demand clear guarantees from Kosovo that they will work seriously to meet the conditions for membership, more precisely, the condition on the formation of the A/CSM,” specifies Marinkovic.

As he emphasizes, such guarantees are needed “because the credibility of the current Kosovo government and its leader Albin Kurti has been seriously shaken by a series of unilateral moves in the process of normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia”, reported Kosovo online. 

“That is why there are strong voices within the Committee of Ministers to demand concrete steps from Pristina towards the formation of the Community, and these expectations will most likely be presented on the condition that by the May session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the Kosovo government sends the Constitutional Court of Kosovo a proposal for the statute of the A/CSM, drawn up by the EU, for constitutionality assessment. Although at first glance that step is of a procedural nature and politically non-binding, and it seems that the Government in Pristina could very easily fulfill that condition, things are nowhere near that simple,” explains Marinkovic.

Demostat’s interlocutor points out that we should start from the fact that Kurti’s government has no control over the Constitutional Court and that it acts completely independently, so it is not excluded that, guided by legal criteria, the Constitutional Court will give a positive opinion on the statute of the A/CSM proposed by the EU.

“The political weight of a possible positive decision of the Constitutional Court is huge and it can have strong consequences for Kurti’s government. First, even a simulation of cooperation in matters of the interests of Serbs in Kosovo can have negative consequences for his electorate, which was built and nurtured for years on nationalist narratives and antagonism towards the Serbs. In addition, the fact is that a possible positive assessment by the Constitutional Court would defeat Kurti’s main argument against the establishment of the A/CSM that the proposal is unconstitutional. Finally, if the Constitutional Court was to confirm the constitutionality of the EU proposal for the A/CSM statute, that would mean that the proposal is final and that it can no longer be negotiated. This is precisely Kurti’s intention and tactic to make further negotiations meaningless that are guaranteed to the Serbian community by the prerogatives,” believes Marinkovic. 

He points out that indications that the Committee of Ministers will really insist that the Kosovo Government send a request to the Constitutional Court before gaining membership come from credible sources within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and from member countries that traditionally support Kosovo independence.

“In case they persist with those demands, that is, if they get the necessary majority in the Committee of Ministers in May, the decision may be to postpone Kosovo’s admission to the Council of Europe,” concludes Marinkovic.