Albanian Language Media:

• Thaci sends official request for PM candidate to Mustafa (media)
• Isa Mustafa refuses to be PM candidate (Ekonomia Online)
• Hoti as PM candidate: We will fight pandemic, govt will lead the dialogue (media)
• Bislimi: If Thaci violates Constitution, he will be dismissed (Indeksonline)
• UNICEF, USAID deliver hygiene packages to families in need (media)
• Civil society associations urge citizens to pay tribute to missing persons (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic: "If anyone thinks it's time for someone to physically take away Valac and Gazivode, I beg them not to" (B92, Tanjug)
• Serb National Forum: What happened with “we will not give Gazivode away”? (KoSSev)
• Three new cases of Covid-19 infection in north, four persons have recovered (Kosovo-online)
• Vucic: ''We’re paying for a lot of things in KiM, not because all perform their duties, but we want to strengthen the healthcare system there'' (KoSSev)
• Kurti accepts Rasic's resignation (RTK2)
• “Movement ban to be harmonized with working hours of institutions” (Radio KIM)
• Harassment of journalists and lawyer, their vehicles photographed (Radio KIM)
• Journalists’ associations request police to determine who harassed journalists in Kuzmin (Radio KIM)
• 21st anniversary of the NATO bombing of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS, B92, N1)
• 22 years ago first massive kidnappings of Serbs in Kosovo started (Kosovo-online)
• Cadez, Palmer discuss regional economic integration after pandemic (Beta, N1)
• Vucic announces curfew for weekend from Friday to Monday (B92)

Opinion:

• Let Bill Clinton's failed Kosovo strategy wither amid the COVID-19 pandemic (The Washington Times)
• Trump’s Political Survival Will Shape the Western Balkans (Balkan Insight)

International: 

• Kosovo Closer to Getting new LDK-AAK Government (Balkan Insight)
• Thaci offers govt mandate to ‘whoever can command majority’ (Prishtina Insight)
• Kosovo, political crisis in times of coronavirus (Osservatorio)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Pandemic measures further complicate problems with human rights in the Western Balkans (EWB)
• Pandemic-Era Online Schooling Exposes Big Balkan Disparities (Balkan Insight)

   

Albanian Language Media

  Thaci sends official request for PM candidate to Mustafa (media)

The Office of the President confirmed that President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci met on Wednesday afternoon with the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Isa Mustafa, who told the President that he has ensured the required majority at the Assembly to vote the new government.

After Mustafa’s confirmation, the President submitted to him a letter where he requested the proposal of the potential candidate who would form a stable and inclusive government.

“In accordance with the constitutional mandate and in compliance with the Judgment of the Constitutional Court, in case no. K0103 / 14, in order to avoid early elections, to maintain the stability of the country and in accordance with the urgency to give the country a new government with legitimacy by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, after consulting with all parliamentary political parties and consent of the majority of them to form the new government, after lack of the name of the candidate to form the government by the Vetevendosje Movement, despite five requests from the President of the country, as well as in accordance with the prevailing criteria for the formation of the new government, after yesterday afternoon's meeting where the leader of LDK, Mustafa has confirmed that he has ensured a sufficient majority in the Assembly, President Thaçi has requested through a letter the name of the potential PM candidate for the formation of the government of Kosovo," reads a  response from the Office of the President.

The media meanwhile report that LDK has endorsed Avdullah Hoti as its candidate for the new prime minister of Kosovo.

Isa Mustafa refuses to be PM candidate (Ekonomia Online)

The President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci is expected to send today a letter to the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) in which he will request the name of the Prime Minister candidate to the new government.

The LDK leadership has gathered today to decide on the candidate, however, according to ekonomia online news portal, the leader of this political party Isa Mustafa, has refused the proposal for him to lead with the new government.

They are currently discussing other possible candidates, and after the decision, the leadership will send the name to the General Council of the party, in order for them to vote the candidate that would become the Prime Minister of the coalition between LDK, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Social-Democratic Initiative (NISMA).

The names that are currently being discussed for this position are those of Avdullah Hoti, Lutfi Haziri and Kujtim Shala. 

Hoti as PM candidate: We will fight pandemic, govt will lead the dialogue (media)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) deputy leader Avdullah Hoti has been endorsed by his party today as a candidate for Prime Minister, most news websites report. In his first address to the media as PM candidate, Hoti said the top priority of a new government will be the fight against COVID – 19 and its impact on the economy.

“The new government is being created in specific circumstances. The first challenge of the government will be to manage the pandemic; the second challenge will be the economic revival after the pandemic. At the same tie, we will also address the issue of the dialogue,” Hoti said. “I believe that the ruling of the Constitutional Court on the law on dialogue has set the framework of the process. The dialogue will be led by the government of Kosovo. I believe we will reach consensus within but also outside the coalition.”

Asked on reciprocity measures against Serbia, Hoti said such steps can be successful only if they are taken in coordination with international partners. 

Bislimi: If Thaci violates Constitution, he will be dismissed (Indeksonline)

Kosovo caretaker Minister of Finance and Vetevendosje deputy leader, Besnik Bislimi, said today that President Hashim Thaci should be very careful in the steps he takes to form a new government without going to new elections, “because gone is the time when you could violate the Constitution and not face the consequences”.

“The President cannot violate the constitution by giving power to Isa Mustafa or to someone else. The burden and the responsibility will fall on the President,” he said.

Bislimi argued that the other political parties don’t want to recognise the will of the people from the October 2019 general elections. “A small group of people don’t want to recognise the people’s will. With their decision, if they violate the constitution, the message is clear: ‘you can do whatever you want in the elections, we will snatch away the governance on the table because we control the constitution’. This must not be allowed to happen,” he said.

Bislimi also said “gone is the time when someone could violate the constitution and get away without facing the consequences. The constitution is being used to violate the people’s trust. They argue that Kurti too violated the constitution with the measures for restricted movement. Everyone needs to understand the context; we took those measures to save people’s lives.” 

UNICEF, USAID deliver hygiene packages to families in need (media)

UNICEF in collaboration with USAID has delivered today 5,950 hygiene packages, 240 family medicine center hygiene packages, and 1,200 baby hygiene kits to families in need across Kosovo. 

The U.S. Ambassador Philip Kosnett said that the partnership is necessary in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. "I am impressed with the work of health institutions, NGO’s and other agencies. With the distribution of these hygiene kits for families and children we will protect from the virus the families most”, Kosnett is quoted in a statement issued by UNICEF.

The head of the UNICEF Office in Kosovo Murat Sahin meanwhile said that the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected the lives of children and young people and thanked USAID for the support. "From delivering life-saving health supplies including personal protection equipment, hygiene packages and innovative learning solutions, UNICEF is working to slow the spread of COVID-19 and minimize its impact on children and young people,” he said.

Civil society associations urge citizens to pay tribute to missing persons (media)

A group of civil society organizations have made a call to the citizens of Kosovo to turn off the lights in their homes for two minutes on 27 April at 20.00hrs as a way to mark the National Day of Missing Persons.

“With two minutes of darkness in our families, we will empathize with the pain and darkness in which the relatives of 1,644 missing people are living for 20 years now,” the invitation signed by Integra, Missing Persons Resource Center, Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Humanitarian Law Center, and the ForumZFD - Kosovo Program reads. 

The civil society associations stated that for 20 years, family members have been waiting for clarification on the fate of their loved ones. "For 20 years, they have been anxiously awaiting for the truth, but also seeking justice for the crimes committed against their family members. For 20 years, their family members and Kosovo society have been facing institutional negligence in clarifying the issue of missing people."

   

Serbian Language Media

  Vucic: "If anyone thinks it's time for someone to physically take away Valac and Gazivode, I beg them not to" (B92, Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke about the situation in Kosovo and announced that he will speak with European representatives tomorrow, B92 portal reports. 

The UN Security Council is holding a session tomorrow to present the UNMIK report on Kosovo, and when asked what the position of the major powers was, especially America, Vucic said that he deliberately did not want to speak to ENTSO and many others.

"We are dealing with it and we will deal with it publicly. Tomorrow I will talk to the European representatives. If anyone thinks that it is time for someone to physically occupy Valac and Gazivode, I beg them not to," the president of Serbia said and added that it was shown that when in Kosovo the Western powers need a decision to be made all would be done, without contract law and international agreements binding for them.

"That is why they do not ask about the Community of Serbian Municipalities, but to place under their control the transmission systems in Kosovo - they were doing it and they did it at all costs. But well, this is a lesson for us, and we have known this for years," he said. 

"We will continue to protect our people, and we will tell them in person what we think of their decisions."

The Continental Europe Regional Group approved the accession of the Kosovo Electricity Distribution Network (KOST) into the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO) on April 21, and Kosovo officials said that by the voting and signing a new agreement to follow, KOSTT gained energy independence.

Late last year, representatives of Kosovo and Albania's electricity distribution networks - KOSTT and OST, signed a contract in Tirana to establish a common energy system. 

In doing so, the Kosovo system, it was said in Pristina, ended its dependence on the Serbian power grid.

The agreement was signed in December with the approval of ENTSO, with the announcement that it will enter into force in April this year.

Serb National Forum: What happened with “we will not give Gazivode away”? (KoSSev)

KoSSev portal published a reaction of the Serbian National Forum (SNF) based in Gracanica regarding the announcement of European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO) on Monday that Kosovo transmission system operator KOSTT will operate independently.                                                                          

“In this way, Kosovo, together with Albania, has become a single energy area, which means that Serbia has lost its energy sovereignty throughout the territory of AP Kosovo. According to Pristina officials, this is just an implementation of the 2013 energy agreement,” the SNF said in a statement. 

SNF recalled they remember well “that the president of the Serbian Progressive Party (Aleksandar Vucic), from various functions he performed, vigorously promised that he would not allow it, with the famous statement - I won’t give Gazivode away, and SNF is asking the President Vucic now - What was that all about?” 

Serbian National Forum wondered if this vote was unanimous, does it mean that Serbia has stopped lobbying in its own favour? They also stated, given that “the state of Serbia has already handed over to Kosovo the essential levers of sovereignty, what else will it do to strengthen Kosovo independence and surrender those remnants of the sovereignty?”

The SNF concluded the statement by asking if after the cessation of lobbying Serbia would also agree to Kosovo membership in the UN?

Three new cases of Covid-19 infection in north, four persons have recovered (Kosovo-online)

Three new cases of Covid-19 infection were registered in northern Kosovo today, while four patients have fully recovered, Kosovo-online portal reports.

Out of new cases, two were registered in Mitrovica North and one in Zvecan. Two fully recovered patients are from Zubin Potok and one from Leposavic and Mitrovica North respectively.

Epidemiologist Aleksandar Antonijevic said 42 new samples were sent this morning to the institute in Kraljevo for testing, adding the results are expected this evening. 

Vucic: ''We’re paying for a lot of things in KiM, not because all perform their duties, but we want to strengthen the healthcare system there'' (KoSSev)

''We pay a lot of money in Kosovo and Metohija to support a part of the people and not because everyone does all their duties, as you know. We will continue to do so in the future,'' President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic told reporters today at the opening of the Karaburma Military Medical Center in Belgrade, reports portal KoSSev. 

Vucic commented Marko Djuric's announcement on the urgent hiring of 75 doctors and 200 nurses in Kosovo and said: 

''We want to strengthen our healthcare system. We particularly want to strengthen our health care system in Kosovska Mitrovica and Gracanica. In Gracanica to cover central Kosovo, Kosovska Mitrovica to cover the north of Kosovo and Metohija, but we will do it in all other Serb communities - from Pasjane to villages in Metohija -we’ll see what we can do there, primarily regarding outpatient facilities and payment of physicians.''

Kurti accepts Rasic's resignation (RTK2)

The Acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, accepted today the resignation of Nenad Rasic as his political advisor and head of the Office for Community Affairs, reports RTK2.

Kurti thanked Rasic for his correctness and professionalism at the press conference.

"I appreciated him and will continue to appreciate him for his honesty, professionalism and determination. I am convinced that he has also contributed to Kosovo and its citizens." 

Kurti pointed out that he believed in his innocence.

“Movement ban to be harmonized with working hours of institutions” (Radio KIM)

Non-governmental organization Aktiv from Mitrovica North sent yesterday a letter to the Kosovo Ministry of Health and the Ombudsman Institution regarding the problems citizens face in having access to the institutions due to restricted movement in Kosovo, Radio KIM reports.

Aktiv proposed to respective institutions that “the system of digits rotation be adapted in a manner that enables all persons to visit during one week post offices, banks, municipalities and other institutions during their working hours”. 

Harassment of journalists and lawyer, their vehicles photographed (Radio KIM)

While preparing a story on drilling the holes on private properties owned by residents of Kuzmin village, workers of the Turkish company “Bindi” with headquarters in Albania, took photos of the RTV KIM journalists’ crew, registration plates of their vehicle, as well as of a vehicle belonging to a lawyer Jovana Filipovic who was also present, Radio KIM reports. The Kosovo police intervened as well. 

After receiving a call from Kuzmin residents, RTV KIM media crew along with RTS (Serbian public broadcaster) cameraman arrived at the village to record a TV story on drilling the holes on private properties in a search for coal. After interviewing displeased residents, the journalists went to the spot to check what was happening there. After the workers on the spot observed cameras, they called their superiors who came quickly and said the recording is prohibited, RTV KIM reports.

“At one moment workers became upset and they called their superiors, and it was a Turkish company. Then they came and told us we cannot record, asked us to delete what we have recorded. One of the workers photographed our official vehicle, our registration plates and the plates of the vehicle belonging to a lawyer Jovana Filipovic. Then we called the police that came to the spot and took statements from us and representative of the company. A problem was created for nothing. We came to do our job, they did their job. Why it all went this way, if everything is legal, I simply do not understand,” Zorica Vorgucic, RTV KIM journalist said.

She added that one of the workers, while leaving the area, showed a symbol of “Albanian eagle” to the journalists.

“We came to see what was happening, what kind of holes they were drilling. We had a problem because the workers operating machines were very unpleasant towards us, they photographed private vehicles, my vehicle and the vehicle belonging to the journalists,” Jovana Filipovic said.

Vorgucic and Filipovic filed a criminal suit against “Bindi” workers for unlawful photographing.

Pursuit for coal

Turkish company “Bindi” engaged by Kosovo Energy Company (KEK) conducts drilling in the area of Kuzmin village in a pursuit for coal reserves. Until now 130 holes, 200 meters deep, have been drilled, and additional 60 were planned, some of which would be in the village itself.

The representative of the company did not want to speak before cameras, but said unofficially the coal was found already and was sent for analysis, after which it would be determined if it could be used for power plants in Obilic. He did not wish to provide additional details.

On the other hand, Kuzmin residents said the works are taking place two months already, and recently extended to the parcels they cultivate and are privately owned. The residents claim they got only verbal promise from Kosovo Polje municipality they will be financially compensated. However, as they said, there is not a single document supporting this promise.

Nebojsa Stojkovic said his five land parcels with the crops were destroyed.

“They were drilling already. When I went there I found a lot of damage. They moved through the wheat field, there are holes, I do not know how many. They do not want to respond to the questions, why and how they are drilling. Simple, they do not want to say. They gave me a phone number, I called someone who spoke nicely, asked me not to impede their work and they would pay, but nothing came out of it,” Stojkovic said, adding that the residents want to know what this is all about.

Another resident from the village, Stefan Stojkovic said the works are carried out at nights, adding the noise made by heavy machinery distresses the residents.

According to Filipovic there is a clear procedure that needs to be followed in order to carry out the works like this one.

“In order for someone to do this sort of project, there must be a decision from the municipality or Kosovo Government, and it must be delivered to the citizens. Then citizens could file complaints regarding this decision, and only after that a final decision would be made, that would clearly say which parcel would be expropriated or which parcel the works would be carried out on, and what the compensation would be. All this citizens need to know prior to the works, and we do not have it,” she said, Radio KIM reports. 

Journalists’ associations request police to determine who harassed journalists in Kuzmin (Radio KIM)

The Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) and its branch in Kosovo (DNKiM) protested today over obstruction of the work of RTV KIM crew and RTS cameraman while on assignment in the village of Kuzmin, near Kosovo Polje.

The journalists’ associations have requested Kosovo police to determine who impeded the work of the journalists and harassed them, so they can initiate proceedings against these persons before the prosecution.

They also underlined that no one has the right to impede journalists while on professional assignment, in particular to record the registration plates of their official vehicles without permission.   

21st anniversary of the NATO bombing of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS, B92, N1)

Twenty-one years ago, on the night of April 22-23, NATO bombed the RTS building, killing 16 journalists.

The name of this year's commemoration, which took place symbolically at two hours and six minutes, is "Remembering the Innocent."

Miroslav Medic spoke on behalf of the families of the killed RTS workers. For the first time in the history of warfare, a media outlet that was previously declared a legitimate military target was hit. The RTS building was bombed during a news broadcast, at 2 hours and 6 minutes, after midnight on April 23, 1999.

On behalf of the victims' families, Miroslav Medic, the brother of the killed Sinisa Medic, said that 16 RTS workers "were brutally murdered in their workplaces without the right to protect themselves and to take shelter at least during an air emergency".

"They were killed by NATO countries, which declared the RTS building a legitimate military objective against all previously known rules and customs of war, even though they knew it contained only civilians who did their jobs," Medic said, as RTS reports.

Miroslav Medic also said that "that morning, the ominous aircrafts killed 16 people at work, without clear warning and from a safe distance, showing no remorse."

"For the first time in the history of warfare, one media house was bombed, even though it was known that between 150 and 160 people work in it every night. They killed one makeup artist, one video mixer of a master technician, a technician in exchange units, an electrician, security personnel, a mechanics engineer, cameramen, equipment installers, equipment designers and directors", Medic said.

"Why? What did these people do to them? Who did they endanger? Did they threaten anyone? These were ordinary people who only did their daily business professionally," said the brother of the deceased Sinisa Medic.

"Why was none of the leaders of the 19 NATO nations who had committed aggression on our country without the approval of the UN Security Council held responsible for the crime? Why did none of the state authorities then do anything to prevent this tragedy? Why did no one at the Federal Ministry of Defense react to the failure of the then Director-General Dragoljub Milanovic to comply with the Federal Government's order No. 37, under which he was obliged to move people and equipment to an alternative place of work in case of the state of war?", Miroslav Medic inquired.

"Why did those who had to do it and who were obliged to do so, did nothing to protect people, even though there was an announcement that television was a possible target? Was it in someone's interest to increase the number of dead? Why almost no one helped families obtain evidence and shed light on all the circumstances that preceded this crime?", Medic wondered.

"21 years in front of the monument 'Why?', we are seeking answers to these same questions. We are seeking the truth. The victims and this monument stay as a reminder that such a crime will never be repeated and forgotten for future generations," Miroslav Medic concluded.

https://bit.ly/2S45M5I 22 years ago first massive kidnappings of Serbs in Kosovo started (Kosovo-online)

“First organized, massive kidnapping of Serb civilians in Kosovo and Metohija by the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army started on 22 and 23 April 1998. Already in May and June, miners at Belacevac were kidnapped, and a month after people in Orahovac and Velika Hoca,” Association of Kosmet Victims’ Families said in a statement, Kosovo-online portal reports.

The Association recalled that the first kidnapping in which seven Kosovo Serbs were kidnapped and killed took place near Decane, in the villages of Gornji Ratis and Dasinovac. 

Cadez, Palmer discuss regional economic integration after pandemic (Beta, N1)

Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) President Marko Cadez and US special envoy for Kosovo Matthew Palmer said that stronger regional economic integration and cooperation is crucial to economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic, a press release said on Wednesday.

It added that they also agreed on the need to form a common Western Balkans area and the wider inclusion of the region in the legal and economic system of the European Union following the pandemic.  

Cadez and Palmer said in their telephone conversation that a special fund needs to be set up to support stronger regional cooperation. “The problems our economies are facing in this health crisis have shown the importance of setting up a common regional economic area based on free movement of people, goods, services and capital,” he is quoted as saying.  

Media reports said that Serbian goods, such as biscuits, cooking oil and hygiene products, have found their way back into retail outlets across Kosovo, a year after they were removed following the introduction of 100 percent tariffs.

https://bit.ly/2Vwlgla Vucic announces curfew for weekend from Friday to Monday (B92)

This weekend's curfew will last from 5 pm on Friday until 5 am on Monday, B92 said it learnt unofficially. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic made a similar announcement.

The final decision on the curfew would be known today.

In addition, the curfew will last slightly longer for May Day holidays - unofficially, according to B92, it would last from 6 pm on Thursday until Monday at 5 am.

A decision has not yet been made, but in the opinion of the experts, it would be the best solution in order not to jeopardize optimistic forecasts regarding the coronavirus pandemic in Serbia.

Earlier, Dr Predrag Kon confirmed that the curfew could be in effect for May 1st and Saint George Day on May 6, and a similar announcement was made by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

"There is no relaxation for us and it should not be, I know many will be angry now, but doctors are in favor of extending the ban on movement for at least two more weeks, especially on weekends,” Vucic said.

See at: https://bit.ly/2Yafur9    

Opinion

  Let Bill Clinton's failed Kosovo strategy wither amid the COVID-19 pandemic (The Washington Times) By: J. Michael Waller

Like a political cult’s fantasy park, a 10-foot statue of a waving Bill Clinton leers over Bill Clinton Boulevard not far from the Hillary clothing boutique. A metal bust of President Clinton’s former secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, lurks in the park nearby. Out of town, near an American military base, a 20-mile stretch of road is named after Joe Biden’s late son. A congressman from the Bronx, Eliot Engel, not only got his own boulevard but earned his face on a postage stamp.

See at: https://bit.ly/3cFbPoZ Trump’s Political Survival Will Shape the Western Balkans (Balkan Insight)

Donald Trump’s chances of re-election later this year hang on his success in managing the coronavirus outbreak – which in turn will decide whether Washington remains fixated on ‘quick fixes’ in the Balkans.

Unexpected, and with significant consequences, the global COVID-19 pandemic resembles one of Nassim Taleb’s “black swans”. Taleb himself has dismissed the analogy, however. Speaking to Bloomberg last week, he insisted that “the pandemic was preventable” and therefore a “white swan”.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3eMWqVq    

International

  Kosovo Closer to Getting new LDK-AAK Government (Balkan Insight)

Almost a month after Albin Kurti’s administration was toppled in a no-confidence vote, Isa Mustafa and Ramush Haradinaj on Wednesday moved ahead with plans to form a new coalition government.

After the heads of the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, Isa Mustafa, and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, former prime minister Ramush Haradinaj, on Wednesday agreed to work on creating a new coalition government, President Thaci said he would give a mandate to form a government to whatever coalition was able to assemble a majority.

“They have agreed that Kosovo needs a new government with a majority in parliament as soon as possible,” AAK Secretary General Besnik Tahiri said after the LDK-AAK meeting. Outgoing Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s government fell in a no-confidence vote initiated by its LDK partners in March.

See at: https://bit.ly/3bxCZOy Thaci offers govt mandate to ‘whoever can command majority’ (Prishtina Insight)

Following a meeting with party representatives on Wednesday, President Hashim Thaci offered the mandate to form Kosovo’s next government to whichever coalition can form a parliamentary majority.

Kosovo’s next government looks set to be formed without new elections, after President Hashim Thaci declared on Wednesday that he will offer a mandate to whomever can establish a parliamentary majority.

“I will give the mandate to any party or coalition that proves it has a majority in the Assembly,” Thaci said at the conclusion of a meeting between himself and leading figures from every political party represented in the Kosovo Assembly, which was live streamed for the public.

See at: https://bit.ly/2VvPsgf Kosovo, political crisis in times of coronavirus (Osservatorio)

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kosovo is grappling with a political crisis: the struggle between President Hashim Thaçi and no-confidenced premier Albin Kurti. The victim of the clash could be – once again – the country's constitutional structure.

Should Kosovo prepare for holding the new elections after the coronavirus pandemic ends, or should President Thaçi step in and create a new government with the current members of parliament? These are the two major questions concerning public opinion in Kosovo in the middle of a pandemic crisis and after almost a month since the no-confidence vote that brought down the government led by Vetëvendosje's leader Albin Kurti.

See at: https://bit.ly/3avYUEv    

Humanitarian/Development

  Pandemic measures further complicate problems with human rights in the Western Balkans (EWB)

State of emergency has been introduced in all Western Balkan countries except Montenegro in order to fight the epidemic. In Serbia, its leaders are accused of authoritarian tendencies and attacks on media freedom. Montenegro published the identity (names and addresses) of citizens who are in mandatory self-isolation, with similar attempt in Bosnia and Herzegovina, thus violating the right to privacy. The Albanian Parliament has approved the government’s proposal to make changes to the Criminal Code by introducing harsh prison sentences for violators of the COVID-19 measures that go up to 15 years. Therefore, it is necessary to determine whether the governments in the Western Balkan countries are respecting human rights while introducing measures to tackle the pandemic.

See more at:https://bit.ly/3byJuAv Pandemic-Era Online Schooling Exposes Big Balkan Disparities (Balkan Insight)

While those with the resources and the IT know-how have found the switch to e-learning painless, many teachers, parents and children in the Balkans say the experience has been frustrating at best.

In North Macedonia, when schools were closed in early March to curb the spread of COVID-19 and classes went online, one elementary school teacher in the capital, Skopje, had a choice:

Should she use the “useless” 10-year-old computer provided by the school which runs on the free Ubuntu operating system rather than Windows, or her equally old laptop that operates outdated Windows 7 and so is “unfit” for online classes?

See at: https://bit.ly/3eNFMp0