Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: We met all EU requests to lift restrictive measures (RFE)
• Kosovo and MCC launch largest energy program in Kosovo (media)
• Tahiri: Assembly must meet and discuss date of new elections (EO)
• Kusari-Lila: State Department report has errors and inaccuracies (Koha)
• Kurti meets deputy mayors of Mitrovica North, Zvecan and Leposavic (media)
• Tuppurainen: Careful with Association not to be Vucic’s instrument (Express)
• Tahiri argues Association should not be given to join Council of Europe (media)
• Balje: I will not vote for same sex marriages (media)

Serbian Language Media: 

• Vucevic says Serbia has its red lines, no recognition of Kosovo (Tanjug)
• Belgrade supports Lajcak’s process for establishing CSM (Kosovo Online)
• Albanian Top Channel citing a 1943 census claims Orthodox Kosovo Albanians were “exterminated”, “converted to Serbs” and their “churches taken over” by Serbia (KoSSev)
• Three persons arrested over attack on Serb in Bosniak Mahala sent to house arrest (KoSSev)
• Pristina banned Milorad Arlov from visiting Kosovo for Easter (Kosovo Online)
• 25^th anniversary of siblings Marija and Nikola death in Luzane bus attack commemorated in Gracanica (Radio KIM, KoSSev, RTS, media)
• 25 years since bombing of MUP building in Mitrovica North (KoSSev, media)
• Radio KIM: Kurti at ceremony of already handed over keys of apartments in Suvi Do, near Lipljan (media)
• Surveillance cameras installed near Tzar Lazar Monument in Mitrovica North (Kosovo Online)

International:

• UK warned to pay more attention to risks of conflict in the Balkans (The Standard)
• Forgetting Covid: Kosovo Sleepwalks Towards the Next Pandemic (BIRN)
• Ukrainian Photo Exhibit In Kosovo Offers Hope For The Future (RFE)

Albanian Language Media  

Kurti: We met all EU requests to lift restrictive measures (RFE)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that Kosovo has met all the requests of the European Union to lift its restrictive measures against Kosovo. The measures were introduced a year ago after the escalation of the security situation in the north of Kosovo.

“The measures, that are in force against Kosovo, go against the efforts of the region for a faster integration in the European Union, especially with the Growth Plan and its objective. Meanwhile, we are continuing our efforts to create more opportunities within the dialogue of reforms with the EU. In this context, we have met all the conditions of the EU to lift the restrictive measures and these measures need to be lifted,” Kurti said in today’s meeting of the ministerial council for European integration.

In late April, several diplomatic sources told Radio Free Europe that the majority of member states are in favor of lifting all measures against Kosovo, while a smaller number of states want them to be lifted gradually.

During the ministerial meeting, Kurti also talked about Kosovo’s aspirations to become an EU member state, saying that Pristina is ready to get the status of a candidate country and to start membership negotiations. “We believe that EU membership should be based on meritocracy. As the most advanced democracy in the region, we are willing to reply to thousands of technical questions from the European Commission. Compared to the region, Kosovo is not only ready for candidate status, but also to start negotiations and chapters for membership. Membership in the European Union is a strategic choice. We have made our choice, and that is why the European Reforms Agenda of our government was treated very seriously since the beginning of our mandate,” Kurti argued.

Kosovo and MCC launch largest energy program in Kosovo (media)

The Kosovo Government and the United States Government Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) launched the MCC-Kosovo Compact program on Tuesday, focused on providing modern clean energy solutions to improve the reliability of electricity in our country.

A press release issued by the government notes that the government’s efforts for a transition towards a more sustainable, inclusive, reliable and affordable energy future are supported by the MCC-Kosovo Compact. The compact also encourages more equal participation of women in the country’s energy sector as it is implemented over the next five years. About 2 million people are expected to benefit from the MCC grant.

“The Kosovo Compact Program is the biggest investment in our country in the energy sector. The Government’s substantial contribution of $34.7 million serves as a testament to our Government’s commitment to both this program and the transformation of our energy sector. We share with MCC its core values: a results-oriented approach with transparency, accountability, and country-centric ownership. This is what explains our excellent cooperation since the beginning of our mandate,” Prime Minister Albin Kurti said at the ceremony.

The MCC-Kosovo compact aims to introduce an advanced energy storage system, laying the foundations for reliable, renewable energy sources to be integrated into Kosovo’s grid, and reducing the need for coal-fired power as well as imports costly energy.

“The Compact will serve as a cornerstone of Kosovo’s transition to green energy, increasing the country’s energy security and driving its socio-economic transformation,” said MCC Vice President for the Compact Operations Department, Cameron Alford. “MCC is proud to partner with the Government of Kosovo to officially begin the implementation phase of the compact to ensure a sustainable, brighter and more equal energy future for all Kosovars,” he said.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/dQRZ0

Tahiri: Assembly must meet and discuss date of new elections (EO)

Head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group, Abelard Tahiri, said in today’s session of the Kosovo Assembly, that one third of the government are under investigations over corruption affairs. “This whole situation in our country is a result of this government with a high level of corruption and proves once again what the PDK has constantly asked for. This Assembly must meet and discuss the date of elections. There has never been a government with such strong resistance to the establishment of an inquiry committee for corruption affairs … So I call on you to reach a consensus as soon as possible, dissolve this Assembly and send [Kosovo] to elections. Let us give the country a government that will lift us from the sanctions,” Tahiri said.

Kusari-Lila: State Department report has errors and inaccuracies (Koha)

Head of the Vetevendosje parliamentary group, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, said in today’s session of the Kosovo Assembly that the latest State Department report on Kosovo has errors and inaccuracies. Responding to a statement by PDK MP Abelard Tahiri who said that one third of the government ministers are under investigations for corruption, Kusari-Lila said: “based on the large number of criminal charges this is not about indictment because there are none. Two fines were issued in relation to delays in the declaration of wealth. The State Department report does not make a qualitative distinction of actors for which the Association of Journalists said they attacked the reporters. The reports continuously refer to low punishments or failures by the judiciary. This is why the vetting process should be a priority. Unfortunately, the report has errors and inaccuracies. There are inaccuracies about the number of women in leading positions”.

Kurti meets deputy mayors of Mitrovica North, Zvecan and Leposavic (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, accompanied by Communities and Returns Minister Nenad Rasic and Local Government Minister Elbert Krasniqi met on Wednesday in Pristina with the deputy mayor of Mitrovica North Katarina Adancic, deputy mayor of Zvecan Natasa Tomanic and deputy mayor of Leposavic Marina Bogojevic. The meeting, which came after the visit and many meetings in Berlin regarding Kosovo’s membership at the Council of Europe, Kurti discussed with the deputy mayors about the need for municipal services that can be carried out in coordinated fashion with regards to the free association between municipalities. A press release issued by the government notes that the deputy mayors said they view Kosovo’s membership at the Council of Europe as an important step for strengthening their municipalities and that they will voice this position in meetings with diplomatic representatives of the QUINT countries.

Tuppurainen: Careful with Association not to be Vucic’s instrument (Express)

Finnish MP Tytti Tuppurainen, during her visit to Kosovo, said that the Association of Serb-majority municipalities should not be a structure that could be used to destabilize Kosovo. “The Association has its bases, but at the same time one needs to be careful not to create a structure that could give Serbia and its president Vucic an instrument to destabilize Kosovo from within,” she is quoted as saying.

Tuppurainen said that during her visit she saw an inspiring example that “Kosovars are building their young nation based on democracy, the rule of law and human rights, and are applying for membership in Euro-Atlantic structures”.

Tahiri argues Association should not be given to join Council of Europe (media)

Kosovo’s former chief negotiator in the EU-facilitated talks with Serbia, Edita Tahiri, argued in a Facebook post that Kosovo should not agree to the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in exchange for becoming a member of the Council of Europe. “The Association was given in the Vienna talks for the recognition of independence by the Ahtisaari Plan and it happened; the association in the Brussels Dialogue was given for mutual recognition and it happened as a ‘de facto’ recognition through Chapter 35 which conditions Serbia’s joining the EU with the normalization of relations with Kosovo, and it was made official with the decision of the EU Council of Ministers several days ago … But if the association is given to join the Council of Europe, then what will Kosovo give for a ‘de jure’ recognition by Serbia?” Tahiri wrote.

Balje: I will not vote for same sex marriages (media)

Member of the Kosovo Assembly, Duda Balje, said in a debate on TV Dukagjini on Wednesday that Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s recent statement that he will try to secure a majority for the Assembly to adopt the Civil Code, which also includes same sex marriages, is provocative. Balje argued that she will not vote in favor of the Civil Code if the article on same sex marriages is not removed from the document. “When we are talking about the Civil Code, we are talking about them [in reference to the LGBT community]. This is the most important law in the country. It is perfect, but I think that point two is problematic. We told the government that they should make a special law for the LGBT, remove it from the Civil Code, make a special law, and we will vote in favor of the Civil Code … I have nothing against them [the LGBT community],” Balje was quoted as saying

Serbian Language Media

Vucevic says Serbia has its red lines, no recognition of Kosovo (Tanjug)

Serbian PM designate Milos Vucevic said on Wednesday evening Serbia had its “red lines” and that there could be neither a de jure nor a de facto recognition of Kosovo, Tanjug news agency reported.

“No one has ever signed that, the president has never said it has been accepted, but that the French-German plan is acceptable as a starting foundation for further discussions but that there are red lines for Serbia – that Kosovo and Metohija cannot be recognised neither de jure or de facto as an independent state. There is no recognition whatsoever of ‘Kosovo’s’ independence”, Vucevic said in the Serbian Parliament.

Vucevic made those remarks responding to accusations by opposition New Democratic Party of Serbia leader Milos Jovanovic, who said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had carried out a coup d’etat and accepted the French-German plan.

Belgrade supports Lajcak’s process for establishing CSM (Kosovo Online)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director, Petar Petkovic together with Serbian Ambassador to Washington and incoming foreign minister Marko Djuric spoke today with Quint representatives and ambassadors, as well as with EU Delegation representative about necessity of establishing Community of Serbian Municipalities (CSM), the recent round of dialogue, and political-security situation in Kosovo, Kosovo Online portal reported.

As it was said in a statement Petkovic conveyed a clear message of Belgrade about the necessity to establish CSM which is overdue for 11 years, adding that Belgrade highly appreciates and supports efforts that EU Special Envoy Miroslav Lajcak invested in launching the process of CSM establishment.

Serbian officials reiterated the position of Belgrade that the draft CSM statute prepared by the EU relating to the authorities and structures of CSM, as it was agreed by agreements from 2013 and 2015, can be a good ground to continue talks and agreement on the final CSM statute, the statement added.

They explained once more the entire process of CSM establishing and the role of Management Team, representative body of Serbs from Kosovo, which had been formally confirmed by Belgrade, EU and Pristina, and which is responsible to prepare draft statute that was presented to the high-level dialogue on May 2 (last year). Petkovic also recalled that the Belgrade delegation had several constructive meetings on the draft CSM statute last year with EU experts, but that unfortunately those talks stopped the moment Albin Kurti made a unilateral decision to abolish dinar in payment transactions in Kosovo.

Albanian Top Channel citing a 1943 census claims Orthodox Kosovo Albanians were “exterminated”, “converted to Serbs” and their “churches taken over” by Serbia (KoSSev)

“The old churches in Kosovo have been mentioned often, which used to belong to native Albanians, and later, by deforming history, the Serbian church has taken them over” – so begins the Albanian documentary film “The Truth that Serbia Hides about Kosovo”, KoSSev portal reports.

The film’s presenter, Marin Mema, who claims to be an investigative journalist and former football player, begins and ends in Prizren, visiting Serb-majority areas in central Kosovo along the way, claiming that until merely a hundred years ago, these sites were supposedly Albanian-majority places.

The conclusion of the film refers positively to the first five years of the 1940s as the sole era of good politics that corrected injustices towards Albanians. From 1941 to 1943, fascist Italy, in cooperation with local political factors in Albania, created an expanded Albanian state that included parts of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, i.e. today’s Montenegro, western Macedonia, Kosovo and, part of Metohija. This country was officially known as the “Kingdom of Albania”. The entity existed under the auspices of the Axis powers. To clarify the historical context, this invention from World War II is often referred to as “Greater or ethnic Albania”, i.e. the puppet state of fascist Italy from that time, KoSSev portal added.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/bkmB4

Three persons arrested over attack on Serb in Bosniak Mahala sent to house arrest (KoSSev)

Three out of four persons arrested over the last weekend attack on a Serb in the Bosniak Mahala settlement in Mitrovica North, following 48-hour detention, were sent to one-month house arrest, KoSSev portal said.

According to the police three persons attacked a Serb man and caused him slight bodily injuries. He was medically treated following the assault. Soon after, police identified and arrested first three Albanians, and then one more of the same ethnicity in relation to this incident.

Pristina banned Milorad Arlov from visiting Kosovo for Easter (Kosovo Online)

Pristina authorities did not allow the Chairman of humanitarian organization Committee for Helping Kosovo and Metohija, Milorad Arlov, from Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska (B&H) to visit Kosovo on the occasion of Orthodox Easter, Kosovo Online portal reported.

Arlov’s request to visit Kosovo for religious purposes on Easter, from May 4 to May 6 had been rejected, and the response was provided by the Pristina liaison officer in Belgrade, Jetish Jashari. The response said that “the visit was not in line with conditions of the Brussels agreement on official visits” which Pristina and Belgrade agreed upon on November 14, 2014.

Arlov said in a statement that he sees no reason why Pristina refers to the Brussels agreement from November 14, 2014 in relation to his visit, given that he is not the president of any government’s institution, but rather a resident of Republic Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina and has also valid Serbian documents. He underlined that over almost four years the reasons as to why he is banned from visiting Kosovo had not been explained to him.

“I appeal on international organizations, KFOR, EULEX, UNMIK and embassies to impact police in Pristina to revoke unjustified made ban to enter Kosovo and Metohija, which is ongoing for almost four full years and thus show democracy and allow the most basic human and democratic right, freedom of movement”, Arlov added.

25^th anniversary of siblings Marija and Nikola death in Luzane bus attack commemorated in Gracanica (Radio KIM, KoSSev, RTS, media)

A memorial service was held to the brother and sister, Nikola (17) and Marija Petrovic (14) from Gracanica and their grandmother Smiljana, who died in a NATO attack on a Nis-Express bus on Luzane bridge near Podujevo in 1999, Radio KIM reported.

The memorial service was served by SOC priest Darko Marinkovic in presence of their parents, Dragisa and Zorica, relatives, friends, school peers, representatives of institutions and political parties. Gathered people then paid the tribute in front of a memorial plaque dedicated to Nikola and Marija in the yard of Primary School King Milutin in Gracanica. The parents said they expect justice for the crime committed against them, but do not believe they would receive it.

On the site of the bus attack, a few years ago Kosovo authorities installed the memorial plaque, however it included only the names of killed Albanians, with three dots added. “They say there were 13 Serbs (who died in the attack) whose names should have been inscribed, but did not. What should I do, it is on them, in their hands, we can’t do anything”, Dragisa Petrovic said.

The Nis-Express bus enroute from Nis to Pristina was hit with a missile at Luzane bridge on May 1, 1999. 44 passengers died.  At 13.50 NATO planes struck the bridge at Luzane once again, and in this attack a medical technician, part of the medical team who arrived at the spot to assist those wounded, perished, Radio KIM reported.

25 years since bombing of MUP building in Mitrovica North (KoSSev, media)

On this date, 25 years ago at 8.45 hrs, a Ministry of Internal Affairs building (MUP) in Mitrovica North was hit with two missiles, KoSSev portal reported. Chief of Management Affairs Service, Milomir Aksentijevic, police officer Nenad Vitkovic and civilian Hasiba Meshekrani lost their lives. Meshekrani was in her apartment when the attack occurred. More than 10 MUP members and 25 civilians sustained slight and serious injuries. The KoSsev portal also said that due to strong explosions windows in vast parts of the city were shattered and a nearby children’s playground covered with concrete blocks. Shrapnels could be seen in the entire quarter of the city where the MUP building was located, and several objects, including private premises were damaged. The building in which Hasibe Meshekrani lived suffered the biggest damages. The building was later renovated.

No one was held responsible for this crime, KoSSev said, recalling that NATO spokesperson during the bombing campaign, Jamie Shea referred to civilian victims as “collateral damage”.

Radio KIM: Kurti at ceremony of already handed over keys of apartments in Suvi Do, near Lipljan (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, accompanied by Minister of Communities and Returns Nenad Rasic and Head of the EU Office Tomas Szunyog visited tenants of the newly reconstructed buildings in the village of Suvi Do near Lipljan, Radio KIM reported.

A solemn ceremony of already handed over keys was organized, Radio KIM further reported, adding Kurti handed over the keys to the tenants which have received those keys on April 16 already. Two weeks ago, Gracanica mayor Ljiljana Subaric handed over the keys of 34 apartments in the buildings in Suvi Do village. The tenants previously lived in a so-called container settlement in Padaliste, in Gracanica.

Although the construction of the apartments was financed by the European Union, in cooperation with the Ministry for Communities and Returns, Danish Refugee Council and UNHCR, representatives of mentioned domestic and international institutions did not take part in a ceremony organized by Gracanica mayor Subaric, apart from some representatives of Danish Refugee Council.

Radio KIM furhter said the Kosovo Prime Minister handed over three keys to the tenants of already populated buildings, one of them being handed over to Danica Krstovic, whom Radio KIM recorded on April 16, while she was moving into her new apartment.

The Minister for Communities and Returns said this is only a small part of a strategic action that the Ministry will carry out in the future. He also said the Ministry announced the call for economic development and sustainability in the amount of one million euros.

Head of the EU Office in Pristina, Tomas Szunyog said the project supported 56 families from non-majority communities, adding the project is a joint financial initiative of the EU and the Ministry of Communities and Returns, noting that it would not have been possible without support of Gracanica municipality.

Although the Danish Refugee Council organized an event to handover the keys of apartments to the tenants in Suvi Do, Gracanica mayor Ljiljana Subaric did it alone. She did not take part in a ceremony organized on Tuesday, Radio KIM added.

Surveillance cameras installed near Tzar Lazar Monument in Mitrovica North (Kosovo Online)

Kosovo police continued installing surveillance cameras in Mitrovica North, initiated a few days ago, by placing cameras today near the Tzar Lazar Monument in the city center, Kosovo Online portal reported. It is also expected that cameras will be placed at Sutjeska Street today as well.

The installment of surveillance cameras started on April 26, because of, as police said “security and safety of citizens”. Serbian List demanded cameras to be removed citing privacy rights concerns and lack of consultations, Serbian media reported back then.

International 

UK warned to pay more attention to risks of conflict in the Balkans (The Standard)

The UK must pay more attention to the Balkans amid risks of destabilisation in the European region, the chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee has warned.

Conservative MP Alicia Kearns will lead a Commons debate on the south-eastern region of Europe on Thursday, warning it could become the site of a “third global, major conflict”, alongside Ukraine and Gaza, if preventative action is not taken.

“The Balkans matters and if we ignore it, we will end up with a fire on our doorstep,” she told the PA news agency.

Ms Kearns added: “It matters not only for European security, because it is essentially our extended backyard and if there is crisis in the Balkans we will feel it here, it will impact on all of us; and we can’t afford a third global, major conflict, and that is exactly what it would be.”

Ms Kearns pointed to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Serbia in recent days among the developments which suggest tensions around the region could rise.

A new pro-Russian government has come to power in Serbia, which some fear could lead to clashes with the West.

Discussions at the UN about officially marking the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia and Herzegovina have also recently proved a point of contention, with Russia and Serbia seeking to oppose a resolution on the matter.

Read more at: https://rb.gy/mgnack

Forgetting Covid: Kosovo Sleepwalks Towards the Next Pandemic (BIRN)

Governments fighting Covid often compared it to war but Arbnora Fazliu, who experienced both, believes Covid was worse. “In the war, we had the enemy,” she said. “But in the hospital, we were among our kin. It is terrible to lack mercy for your compatriots.” The Fazliu family is originally from Mitrovica, a flashpoint city in northern Kosovo whose population is divided along ethnic lines – part Albanian, part Serb. During the war in the late 1990s that delivered Kosovo’s Albanian-majority population from Serb control, the family fled its home.

Most of its members ended up in neighbouring Albania, among the hundreds of thousands Kosovars who sought refuge there. Eleven years old at the time, Arbnora was constantly worried about her two brothers, who had been left behind to an unknown fate in Kosovo. As it turned out, one brother was in prison while the other was sheltering with relatives, and the siblings would be happily reunited when the family returned to Kosovo in 1999.

In July 2020, roughly four months after Italy recorded Europe’s first wave of Covid-19 deaths, Arbnora’s father, Xhafer, was admitted to hospital in Kosovo’s capital, Pristina. Xhafer had contracted the virus but the family were not overly worried. The 70-year-old mainly needed oxygen therapy and was expected to be discharged after a short stay. Most European countries at the time were trying to check the spread of the virus by barring all visitors from hospitals, but Kosovo had gone the other way. The infectious diseases ward at Pristina’s University Clinical Centre had enlisted patients’ relatives to help its overwhelmed doctors and nurses.

Read more at: https://rb.gy/hfv7w4

Ukrainian Photo Exhibit In Kosovo Offers Hope For The Future (RFE)

For American photojournalist Brendan Hoffman, the parallels between what happened during the Kosovo War and what is happening in Ukraine serve as an inflection point in his work.

“It was important for me to learn about the parallels, what this country went through 25 years ago and what is happening now in Ukraine. To see Kosovo as an independent, peaceful state, gives me a lot of hope for the future for Ukraine,” he said.

One of Hoffman’s photographs is featured in Ukraine: A War Crime, a new exhibition that features the works of 93 international photojournalists that capture the chaotic first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The exhibition and book of the same name, organized by FotoEvidence and funded by Open Society Foundations — Western Balkans, are presently on display in Pristina’s Grand Hotel and will subsequently visit Skopje, Belgrade, and Sofia.

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