Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: Funds of parties whose source is not known are elements of corruption (Telegrafi)
• “Electricity situation expected to become more dire in next three days” (Klan Kosova)
• Mehaj on 3rd anniversary of the Army: We have strong reasons to be proud (Koha)
• Tromp: Kosovo has done nothing against Serbia’s lies (Radio Free Europe)
• COVID-19: Eight new cases, one death (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Covid-19: 25 new cases, one death registered in Serbian areas (Kosovo-online)
• Varhelyi: Rule of law and normalization with Kosovo remain key to EU accession (NMagazin, Beta)
• EU opens cluster 4 in accession talks with Serbia (N1)
• Radojevic: Priority is to preserve peace and stable political and security situation (Radio kontakt plus)
• Kosovo FM, Serbian Police minister in ‘war of words’ (N1)
• Tadic: The United States and Merkel, because of Kosovo, allowed the breakdown of democracy in the entire region (KoSSev, N1)
• British Foreign Secretary reinforces support for Western Balkans stability at talks in London (UK Government, media)

Opinion:

• The Holy Land (KoSSev)

International:

• 'Hope dies last': Kosovo families haunted by war missing (AFP)
• Kosovo urged to keep up its guard against radicalisation (BIRN)
• Balkan brain drain could be costing the region its future (Euractive)

Humanitarian/Development:

• President Osmani pledges to support all marginalised groups (Kosovapress)
• Kosovo Santas run to help country’s protest (Prishtina Insight)

 

 

Albanian Language Media  

 

Kurti: Funds of parties whose source is not known are elements of corruption (Telegrafi)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that funds of political parties whose sources and amounts are not known constitute elements of corruption. “We need to understand that funds used for election campaigns but also in the political parties, whose source and amounts are not known, constitute elements of corruption and they affect both the electorate and our democracy,” Kurti said during a public discussion on the draft law for the funding of political parties.

Kurti argued that when corporations give millions to political parties, they do so as an investment expecting to win back more funds through tenders. “When a corporation gives millions to a politician, they don’t do that because they have sympathy for the politician, but because when that politician comes to power, they [the corporations] want to win way more than what they invested through tenders and state licenses. So, for the corporations, the funds for political parties are an investment,” he said.

Kurti also said he hopes there will be a broad-based political consensus for the draft law. “We hope we will have a broad-based consensus for these principles because this is for the common good and we cannot allow the election results and governments to be determined by the corporations,” he added.

“Electricity situation expected to become more dire in next three days” (Klan Kosova)

Kosovo’s Minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanolli, said today that the electricity situation is expected to become more dire in the next three days as one of the blocks of Kosova B power plant will not operate due to maintenance work. “We had a relatively good situation so far being that since early November we relied mainly on the generating capacities of KEK and they were sufficient to cover the domestic needs. But one block of Kosova B must be stopped because of maintenance work. The situation with electricity in the next three days is expected to become more dire,” Rizvanolli said in today’s meeting with the Assembly Committee for Economy.

Rizvanolli also said that she has held meetings with her counterparts from Albania and North Macedonia to see venues of cooperation and assistance. 

“One of the main challenges faced by countries not only in the region but in the world is the energy crisis which comes as a result of increased gas prices. The crisis has hit countries in the region for several months now and most countries are more affected than us.”

Mehaj on 3rd anniversary of the Army: We have strong reasons to be proud (Koha)

The news website reports that on the third anniversary of the foundation of the Army of Kosovo, Defense Minister Armend Mehaj said there are strong reasons to feel proud with all the achievements of the Kosovo Security Force. Mehaj said they will continue the path of implementing the vision for a fully operational, professional, multiethnic armed force that is interactable with the forces of allied countries.

Tromp: Kosovo has done nothing against Serbia’s lies (Radio Free Europe)

“The inadequate response of all those against whom Serbia is lying, including Kosovo, is astonishing,” Nevenka Tromp, a lecturer on Eastern European Studies at the University of Amsterdam and researcher at the UNICTY for 12 years, said in an interview with the news website today.

Tromp, who promoted her book “Prosecuting Slobodan Milosevic: The Unfinished Trial” in Prishtina on Monday, said that the unfinished court proceedings against Milosevic, because of his death in 2006, has left his ideology unclear as to whether the wars occurred because of the pathology of his personality and the evolution of his criminal consciousness.

Tromp said that today Serbian authorities, including President Aleksandar Vucic and Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin, continuously deny the truth about the massacre in Recak, and also about Vukovar, Dubrovnik, Sarajevo and Srebrenica, in order to reduce Serbia’s responsibility. 

COVID-19: Eight new cases, one death (media)

Eight new cases of COVID-19 and one death have been recorded in Kosovo in the last 24 hours. 16 persons recovered during this time.

There are 314 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.

 

 

 

Serbian Language Media

 

Covid-19: 25 new cases, one death registered in Serbian areas (Kosovo-online)

Out of 119 tested samples in the Serb-populated areas in Kosovo, 25 were positive for Covid-19, Crisis Committee of Mitrovica North announced, Kosovo-online portal reports.

Also, one person passed away.

New cases were registered as follows: seven each in Mitrovica North and Leposavic, five in Zubin Potok, two each in Gracanica and Strpce and one in Zvecan.

Deceased person was from Zubin Potok,

Currently there are 383 active cases of Covid-19, in the Serbian areas in Kosovo.

A total of 189 persons died in the Serb-populated areas due to Covid-19 complications since the outbreak of the pandemic. 

Varhelyi: Rule of law and normalization with Kosovo remain key to EU accession (NMagazin, Beta)

European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said today that the rule of law and normalization of relations with Kosovo remain key to Serbia's EU accession talks and stressed the importance of Serbia continuing to achieve good results on the ground in those areas, reported portal NMagazin. 

Speaking at a press conference after the Intergovernmental Conference, at which Serbia opened Cluster Four in accession negotiations with the EU, Varhelyi said that the European Commission would continue to do everything it could to speed up the accession process of Serbia and the entire region.

The Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, said that today was a turning point in the process of European integration for Serbia, adding that the opening of Cluster Four was "a great and important step and a great success'', and congratulated ''the citizens, government and President of Serbia''.

Brnabic reminded that the new methodology of EU enlargement means political management of the process of European integration, and added that it "obviously gave results, especially in the area of the rule of law''.

Brnabic expressed the expectation that Serbia will open Cluster Three next year and prepare for the opening of Cluster Five, adding that further focus will be on reforms in the field of rule of law and environmental protection, and that dialogue with Pristina and regional stability remain priorities for Serbia, as well the economy and gradual alignment with the EU's common foreign and security policy, reported the portal.

EU opens cluster 4 in accession talks with Serbia (N1)

After the two-year pause, the European Union opened a cluster in accession negotiation with Serbia at the intergovernmental conference in Brussels on Tuesday, N1 reported.

Cluster, in line with a new accession methodology, includes four chapters – Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity, chapters – Transport Policy, Energy, Trans-European Networks and Environment and Climate Change. 

Last time, in December 2019, Brussel opened chapter 4 – Freedom of Movement with Belgrade.

Until 2012 when the negotiations started, out of 35 chapters, Serbia opened 18 and closed two chapters.

The intergovernmental conference on Tuesday was chaired by the State Secretary of the Presidency of the European Union of Slovenia, Gasper Dovzan with the presence of high-ranking officials of the member states and institutions of the Union.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic took part in the meeting.

See at: https://cutt.ly/KYLiMfV

Radojevic: Priority is to preserve peace and stable political and security situation (Radio kontakt plus)

Mitrovica North mayor Milan Radojevic in an interview with Radio kontakt plus said his priorities, after taking the office are preservation of peace and a stable political and security situation, so that they can focus on the projects they are planning.

“Namely, in September we had protests at the Jarinje and Brnjak crossings, on October 13 we again had an incursion of special units into North Mitrovica, which really showed Pristina’s relation towards Serbs in general. Only a few days after that incursion, the citizens showed in the elections what they think about Pristina and the incursion of those special units, but also about the policy of Serbian List in general, so that was the support for Serbian List’s policy. In this regard, the priority will be to preserve the peace and a stable political and security situation, because when we have a stable political and security situation, then we can talk about investments. I think that Mr. Goran Rakic did this extremely well, because thanks to the fact that this stable situation was created in North Mitrovica, we were able to focus on infrastructure, capital projects and investments in health and education, so it is certainly something that should be continued in the future”, Radojevic pointed out.

Radojevic added he was more than satisfied with the results achieved in the local elections held on October 17, and he perceives the number of votes won - slightly less than 11,000 as great strength and support, but also a huge obligation.

He also spoke about parking problems in the town, regular meetings with the residents and lack of employment opportunities. Speaking about minority communities in the municipality, Radojevic said the cooperation was at an enviable level, adding that the door of his office and other municipal officials are always opened for them.

He noted that in February the municipality earmarked significant funds for the reconstruction of the houses damaged by the floods, and if he recalls it well most of the money went to the affected Albanian families.  

Radojevic also highlighted the issue of the lack of funds because the budget is decreasing from one year to another and the issue of cooperation with the central authorities in Pristina which he described as “not so good”.

“For example, this year we did not have a single signed memorandum with any ministry in Pristina, except with the one led by Minister Goran Rakic. He helped us a lot. He met not only the needs of the municipality, but also the citizens. One of the biggest problems is the budget, but certainly the lack of adequate and professional communication between the central government and the municipality itself, which puts the whole situation at risk. The citizens had their say in the elections. Therefore, we expect Pristina and the central authorities to accept these results and lend a hand for cooperation, not only with the municipality of North Mitrovica, but also with all municipalities in the north, which, to be honest, has not happened so far”, he said.

Radojevic also emphasized in order for North Mitrovica municipality along with other Serb-majority municipalities to function smoothly, “it is necessary to implement all the agreements signed in Brussels, especially the one on the Community of Serbian Municipalities (CSM)”.

“(…) I have repeatedly said that the establishment of CSM absolutely does not endanger anyone, but only guarantees that municipalities can make decisions independently in terms of investing in health, education, when it comes to urban planning - long-term and short-term (...) it only helps the citizens, but also Pristina for the further development of all municipalities”, he said.

Kosovo FM, Serbian Police minister in ‘war of words’ (N1)

Kosovo Foreign Minister Donika Gervala accused Serbia of launching a campaign to destabilize the Western Balkans on Monday, prompting Serbian Internal Affairs Minister Aleksandar Vulin to respond with counter-accusations, N1 reports.

Speaking at the meeting of Western Balkan Foreign Ministers with UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Gervala said that Kosovo is faced with threats from Serbia, adding that Belgrade deployed armored vehicles, troops and combat aircraft along the border several weeks earlier (following Pristina’s decision to forbid cars with Serbian license plates into Kosovo and police raids in the Serb-populated north).

She claimed that Serbia was making threats against other countries in the region in what she called “a systematic escalation of rhetoric”. Gervala cited the example of Serbian Internal Affairs Minister Aleksandar Vulin’s denial of the Racak massacre which led to the 1999 NATO air campaign. Vulin recently told the crew of a film about the events in Racak that the claims of “a massacre of civilians by Serbian security forces was a lie”.

N1 also reported that Gervala said Serb nationalists were threatening war with Kosovo, causing divisions in Bosnia-Herzegovina and trying to destabilize other countries, adding these were not isolated events but part of a systematic campaign launched by Russia and Serbia. “Just two weeks ago two Russian diplomats forced us to declare them persona non grata as a threat to our national security”, she said.

Vulin responded to the accusations saying that Pristina was failing to implement the Brussels Agreement. “The systematic destabilization of the region was launched with the announcements of the creation of “Greater Albania”, the arrests of Serbs and deployment of (Kosovo police special forces) ROSU units in the north of Kosovo. The stability of the region has especially been violated by Pristina’s refusal to abide by the Brussels Agreement and form the Community of Serb Municipalities”, an Internal Affairs Ministry press release quoted Vulin as saying. He repeated his denial of a massacre of 45 Albanian civilians in the village of Racak which, the N1 said, the Hague Tribunal confirmed.

See at: https://cutt.ly/CYLpCw5

Tadic: The United States and Merkel, because of Kosovo, allowed the breakdown of democracy in the entire region (KoSSev, N1)

The President of the Social Democratic Party and former President of Serbia Boris Tadic told N1, after his visit to Washington, that a turn in the policy of the United States towards Serbia in relation to the Trump administration can be expected, reported portal KoSSev.

"I received that as a confirmation, which can be seen from certain appointments," Tadic said on "Iza vesti" (Behind the news) Show, referring to his visit to Washington, where he met with Amanda Sloat, special assistant to President Joseph Biden and director for Europe at the Council for National Security Karen Donfried, and Undersecretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Tadic said that he had very open talks with them about the collapse of democracy in Serbia, the scale of organized crime, Belgrade's bad relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and northern Macedonia, as well as unnecessary armament, that is superfluous and very dangerous according to him. 

"Each topic was very specific, and I received very specific answers, and I was very satisfied with that after a long time," said the former president of Serbia.

Speaking about US sanctions against Zvonko Veselinovic and Milan Radoicic, Tadic said that Veselinovic was criminally active during his term and was arrested then and added that he was released during the term of this government.

"We had enough information that he was involved in criminal activities, why after a decade we have a sentence about the connection with the Serbian authorities," Tadic said, adding that the answer was that Americans investigate long and thoroughly, but once they finish the investigation, the case is closed and surely enforceable before the courts.

Asked whether US sanctions would affect Serbia's political leadership, Tadic said that Veselinovic and Radoicic were "undoubtedly political figures and they stand behind the Serbian List in Kosovo, and that they met with Albanian politicians from Kosovo on yachts, while in Serbia they attended the Main Board of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party," cited portal KoSSev.

He added that he told his interlocutors in Washington that if they want to fight organized crime, then they must be fully committed to it, and not to break democracy in the entire region just because they expect Aleksandar Vucic to deliver everything they want on Kosovo.

"You cannot break democracy in the entire region because of one point in the Balkans - Kosovo," Tadic said, accusing previous administrations in Washington of punishing democratic forces in Serbia and creating an atmosphere for change of government, expecting only to bring about Kosovo's independence. 

"And they made a huge strategic mistake, they had Angela Merkel as their ally," the former president reminded, but he also admitted that today's opposition in Serbia bears part of the responsibility, because, as he said, it did not develop a front for defending democracy, reported portal KoSSev.

British Foreign Secretary reinforces support for Western Balkans stability at talks in London (UK Government, media)

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss hosted on December 13, foreign ministers from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, in London, media reported.

The UK previously hosted the Western Balkans Summit in 2018 where the leaders made commitments in a series of Joint Declarations on Regional Cooperation and Good Neighbourly Relations, War Crimes, and Missing Persons in the territory of the former Yugoslavia and Anti-Corruption.

“The talks come as tensions in the region have reached a peak. The international High Representative has warned that Bosnia and Herzegovina is currently facing the greatest existential threat in its post-war period, and that there is a real prospect of further division and conflict. Along with international partners, the UK is working to tackle any threats to stability after 26 years of hard-won progress in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, reads the UK Government statement after the meeting.

It also added that the current situation in the Western Balkans was also discussed at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting which took place over the weekend in Liverpool. Following the meeting with Western Balkans ministers the Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that: “The UK is committed to the Western Balkans and to the defence and promotion of freedom and democracy in the region. As I bring together the Foreign Ministers of the 6 countries in the region to London, as well as representatives from the European Union and the United States, tensions are high and the international community must act to protect hard-won peace. Boosting economic ties with the region is a vital way to create jobs and wealth, ensure stability and support freedom”.

Truss met each of the 6 Foreign Ministers. Representatives from the US and the EU were also in attendance.

The statement further added that the UK has maintained a long-standing focus on reconciliation work and transitional justice in the Western Balkans, including: “Being one of the key donors to the construction and setting up of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, providing political, financial and logistical support to the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, and funding the work of the International Commission for Missing Persons

The UK supports the Western Balkans’ aspirations for Euro-Atlantic integration. Reconciliation and good neighbourly relations remain central to achieving this aim and to maintaining stability in the region. The talks will also seek to reaffirm the UK’s commitment to the Berlin Process and encourage the role of civil society to foster peace and stability in the region.

The UK has urged political leaders in the region to reject hate speech, to condemn any glorification of the perpetrators of genocide and war crimes, and to respect the verdicts of international and domestic courts”.

 

 

 

Opinion

 

The Holy Land (KoSSev)

By Tatjana Lazarevic

“The criminal North and the Kosovo authorities, with the support of the international community, aspire to establish the rule of law throughout the Republic of Kosovo so that the young state can finally develop unimpeded” – this is the dominant two-decade-long narrative of Albanians and the West, which is used to attempt to normalize relations between Belgrade and Pristina. What is also important for progress and reconciliation is “to free Kosovo Serbs from the malignant influence of Belgrade and for Serbia to apologize for war crimes and pay war reparations”.

The chances of solving the problem in such a narrative are close to zero, unless the few Serbs who remained in Kosovo after 1999, i.e. 2004, 2008, and 2014, are not pushed out. Instead of reconciliation, the tradition of a new exodus will be passed on from one generation to another.

“Shiptar terrorists, drug dealers, and human organ traders who aspire to ethnically cleanse Kosovo and Metohija with the support of the West, and erase every trace of the Serbian cradle in the centuries-old hearth of the few remaining Serbs” – reads the parallel narrative in Serbian tabloids, pro-governmental media, and hybrid guerrilla electronic TV channels that spilled over into homes, schools, celebrations and memorials.

Even with such a forty-year-long official installation we are left with no hope to reach a solution.

Read more at: https://cutt.ly/iYK3ZUY

 

 

 

International

 

'Hope dies last': Kosovo families haunted by war missing (AFP)

More than two decades have passed since war ripped Kosovo apart, but the trauma unleashed by the fighting lingers for Bajram Cerkini and other relatives of those still deemed as missing.

"The war is not over yet in my family," said 82-year-old Cerkini, an ethnic Albanian whose son Reshat is among the missing. "My wife still hears his footsteps and voice at night."

The late 1990s war between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanian guerrillas killed an estimated 13,000 and only ended after NATO intervened.

Thousands more went missing -- many of whom were abducted during bouts of ethnic cleansing and later murdered with their bodies dumped in mass graves, water wells or burnt.

In the years following the war, forensics experts from across the globe descended on Kosovo in a bid to identify remains and return them to their families, as well as to document potential war crimes.

In some cases, just small fragments of bones were recovered and handed over to families.

But not all were found, with 1,625 officially unaccounted for, according to Kosovo authorities.

Vesel Rukolli points to the name of his father on a memorial plaque in the village of Rezalle

The fate of the missing is one of many hot-button issues thwarting on-off talks between Kosovo and Serbia since the former breakaway province declared independence in 2008 -- a move never officially recognised by Belgrade.

Hunt for mass graves

Kosovo officials continue to lambast Serbia for dragging its feet, often accusing its officials of refusing to divulge the locations of more burial sites.

During the war's final moments, as Serb forces withdrew from Kosovo amid NATO bombing raids, mass graves across the breakaway province were hastily unearthed with the remains trucked back to Serbia to conceal evidence of crimes.

Since the war's end, nearly 1,000 bodies of Kosovo Albanians have been exhumed from sites throughout Serbia -- including hundreds from a mass grave at a special police unit's outpost near Belgrade.

"Trying to hide a crime, they committed another one," said Andin Hoti, the chairman of Kosovo's committee for missing persons -- whose own father remains unaccounted for.

Similar issues have continued to dog neighbouring Bosnia where experts are still trying to locate more mass graves near Srebrenica where an estimated 8,000 Muslim men and teenagers were butchered by Serb forces.

"It's getting harder and harder to find mass graves. We are still looking for more than 1,000 people," said Almasa Salihovic, a spokesperson for the Srebrenica Memorial Center.

In Kosovo, where Bajram Cerkin's NGO Voice of Parents is one of several representing families of the missing, the issue resonates beyond the political sphere.

In the capital Pristina, an art exhibition entitled "A grave is better than not knowing" has sought to capture the pain of the unconsoled, with neon-red digital clocks showing the hours and minutes that have passed since families last saw their loved ones.

The families of the missing "do not want to die without burying their dead" said artist Driton Selmani, the creator of the exhibition.

'Maybe tomorrow'

But even when remains are finally unearthed, new trauma is often triggered.

In October, Vesel Rukolli was informed that remains belonging to his father and uncle had been recovered from a grave months earlier in southern Serbia's Kizevak.

The discoveries came five years after some of his uncle's remains had been found in another village in Serbia.

His uncle had been murdered in April 1999 after Serbia forces massacred nearly 40 people in the village of Rezalle in Kosovo.

As the Serb forces fled the scene, they used a bulldozer to remove the bodies, dismembering many of their victims.

The fate of the missing, highlighted here in the town of Gracanica, hampers on-off talks between Kosovo and Serbia

Following the later discovery, the family was forced to disinter his uncle's body to run forensics tests before burying him for a second time.

"It was burdensome. Very wearing," Rukolli sighed, as he adjusted a wreath on his uncle's grave.

And while most of those killed and missing from the war are ethnic Albanian, many Serbs are still unaccounted for -- a point Belgrade frequently raises in its war of words with Kosovo officials.

Officials in Pristina insist they are taking the matter seriously, with five undisclosed locations in Kosovo being excavated in the search for Serb victims of the war.

For over 22 years, Svetlana Marinkovic has been waiting for word about her husband's fate after he disappeared just days after the conflict ended.

"Maybe tomorrow we will find out," Marinkovic told AFP from her home in the Serb town of Gracanica.

"The hope dies last."

Kosovo urged to keep up its guard against radicalisation (BIRN)

Kosovo is trying to reintegrate returnees from the Islamic State. But its strategy on religious extremism must evolve too, experts say.

In the backyard of a house in the southern Kosovo city of Prizren, a four-year-old girl sits with a smartphone listening to Ilahi, a form of Islamic song.

The child was born in Syria to Kosovo Albanian parents who had joined the Islamic State. Her father and uncle were killed on the battlefield and the child was brought to Kosovo by her mother, grandmother and aunt in April 2019.

Like dozens of other returnees from Syria, the three women were convicted last year by a court in Kosovo of organising and participating in a terrorist group and given suspended prison sentences.

Read full article at: https://cutt.ly/dYLglGd

Balkan brain drain could be costing the region its future (Euractive)

‘Brain drain’ has become a sad refrain in the Western Balkans, where many youngsters harbour dreams of living and working abroad. But is brain drain real, and what impact is it having?

The phrase refers to the emigration of highly trained or qualified individuals from one country to another. In the Western Balkans, it reflects the way thousands of usually young people move to EU countries to pursue further education or work. 

But Janos Ammann, an economics editor at EURACTIV.com, is not convinced it is necessarily a bad thing.

See more at:https://cutt.ly/DYLptLK

 

 

 

Humanitarian/Development

 

President Osmani pledges to support all marginalised groups (Kosovapress)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said today that she will provide support to all marginalised groups, with a special focus on women. At the meeting of the Consultative Council for Communities, Osmani said that there are many cases of discrimination against members of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. “I encourage you to continue your work in order to protect the rights and interests of the communities. The objective of the Council is to protect the communities. We will work hard to eliminate the problems faced by the marginalised groups. Our agenda includes the empowerment of women, problems related to lack of employment and domestic violence. This will be achieved regardless of ethnic backgrounds. Women from non-majority communities have been hit especially hard by the pandemic. I guarantee we will build state policies to address these issues,” Osmani said.

Kosovo Santas run to help country’s protest (Prishtina Insight)

Hundreds of citizens dressed up as Santa Claus took part in a charity run in Prishtina on Sunday, to raise money for families in need. 

Young and old Kosovars, parents and grandparents, dressed up as Santa Claus in Prishtina’s Nënë Tereza Square and took part in a charity run for the cause of helping others in need.

The mini-marathon, Run Santa Claus, was taking place in the capital for the sixth year running. The funds raised from the run will help families in tough economic situations over the New Year. Funds raised from the sale of the Santa Claus costumes will be used to purchase supplies of food and things for the poor.

Participants wearing Santa Claus costumes take part in a charity run in Pristina, Kosovo, 12 December 2021. 

The fun run organizer, Jusuf Islami, announced on Facebook that with the money collected from this activity, gifts and food will be sent to 700 families in difficult economic conditions.

Islami said the selection of families that will be sent New Year gifts is done responsibly from verified lists supplied by the Red Cross in Kosovo.

Recent World Bank data say that almost one fourth of the Kosovo population live in poverty, and 5 per cent live in “extreme poverty”, defined as living on less than 1.50 euros each a day.