Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti presents governing programme (media)
• Kurti presents composition of LVV-LDK government (media)
• Kurti: Change caused by people’s will, will be institutionalised today (Koha)
• Veseli to Kurti: You neither recognise Kosovo nor think of living in it (Koha)
• Selmanaj: AAK will not vote in favor of Kurti government (Telegrafi)

Serbian Language Media:

• Brnabic: Cooperation with Pristina government depends on it (Tanjug, RTS)
• Botsan-Kharchenko: Urge for quick solution of Kosovo issue is highly concerning (Blic, B92)
• Odalovic: Experience of Serbs in Kosovo made them be cautious (RTS)
• Returnees’ safety: Interethnic incidents or crimes against property (Radio Gorazdevac, KoSSev)
• Serbian elections on April 26, President Vucic’s chief of staff confirms (Prva TV, N1)
• Injured Serb in stable condition, police looking for suspects (Radio kontakt plus)

Opinion: 

• The West’s Declining Relevance has Cast the Balkans Adrift (Balkan Insight)
• My Europe: Trump's Balkan deal sends shivers through southeastern Europe (DW)

International:

• Kosovo parties reach long-awaited deal to form government (AlJazeera)
• Kosovo parties form new coalition government long after snap elections (Deutsche Welle)
• Kosovo parties sign long-awaited deal to form government (Reuters)
• US Jails Former Kosovo Consulate Driver for Arms Trafficking (Balkan Insight)
• Hague Prosecutors ‘Quiz Kosovo War Criminal about KLA Leaders’ (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

• ‘Une jam vete grua’ puts trans reality center stage (Prishtina Insight)

   

Albanian Language Media

  Kurti presents governing programme (media)

Leader of the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) Albin Kurti and candidate for prime minister presented before the Assembly members today the governing programme which has been agreed with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).

In his remarks, Kurti said that the new government of Kosovo will be that of saving the public money and that to this end, the cabinet will have 15 ministries, instead of the current 21. 

"We have a governing programme that addresses each field and affects each citizen."

Kurti said independent agencies and enterprises will be 'depoliticised', announced that the Privatisation Agency of Kosovo will cease to function and that a development fund will be set up. 

"We will take measures to help employment of the youth and women in particular, we will establish a development fund, we will fulfil the fourth grant for municipalities for capital investments, more access to funds, more soft loans, more protection and access to markets," he said. 

Kurti further noted that the government he plans to lead will also introduce a three-month compulsory military service and address war crimes. 

He said the new government will also focus on EU integration. "Our foreign policy will be guided by principles embodied in the Constitution and international standards in the field of diplomacy."

On dialogue with Serbia, Kurti said that it will focus on bilateral relation and good neighbourly relations and will also tackle "missing persons, war reparations and occupation and the occupation and the succession of former Yugoslavia as well as mutual recognition." 

"We will bring full trade, economic and political reciprocity with Serbia. I am ready to lead talks," Kurti said adding that the negotiating team would be inclusive in the political, ethnic, social, and professional aspects. 

"I am who I am because I am with others. Recently I marked 23 years of political activity and today I am before you with full 23 years as part of the opposition... Those who loved me as an opposition member I believe should also love me as a government member. Those who did not like me as an opposition member have the chance to end my career."

Kurti presents composition of LVV-LDK government (media)

The leader of the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) and candidate for prime minister, Albin Kurti, presented before MPs the composition of the government which is expected to be voted in today's session of the Assembly. 

First Deputy Prime Minister - Avdullah Hoti  Second Deputy Prime Minister – Haki Abazi  Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Glauk Konjufca  Ministry of European Integration – Blerim Reka  Ministry of Justice – Albulena Haxhiu  Ministry of Education – Hykmete Bajrami  Ministry of Finance – Besnik Bislimi  Ministry of Internal Affairs – Agim Veliu  Ministry of Economy – Rozeta Hajdari Ministry of Defence – Anton Quni Ministry of Infrastructure – Lumir Abdixhiku Ministry of Health – Arben Vitia Ministry of Agriculture – Besian Mustafa Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports – Vlora Dumoshi Ministry of Local Government Administration – Emilia Rexhepi Ministry of Returns – Dalibor Jevtic Ministry of Regional Development - Ivan Milojevic  Kurti: Change caused by people’s will, will be institutionalised today (Koha)

Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) leader Albin Kurti said today before the Assembly session that will vote on his government, that “the change for which the people voted on October 6 will be institutionalised today”.

“We have made all necessary preparations for today’s session. Our goal is to elect a new government that will work well and according to the program and with a very good cabinet. I want to thank first and foremost the people that made this day possible. The capital political change they brought about on October 6, we want to turn it into a change of governance. Let us institutionalise the change caused by the will of the people,” Kurti told reporters before going to the Kosovo Assembly.

Veseli to Kurti: You neither recognise Kosovo nor think of living in it (Koha)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Kadri Veseli said that the Vetevendosje leader who aspires to become the future prime minister neither recognises Kosovo as his home country nor does he think of living in it.

"The first truth is how we are leaving Kosovo today which you, Albin Kurti, neither recognise nor think of living in it. The second truth, unfortunately, shows that you are here today on the ruins of a dark story about the state and statehood of Kosovo. You have protested against everything good that happened to Kosovo. You attacked the best police officers and institutions of Kosovo," Veseli said. 

"The Democratic Party of Kosovo will demand accountability on the most sensitive issues in Kosovo, since the post war. We will open and discuss here all agreements reached in dialogue to determine whether there is treason there or not. If you go to dialogue without Serbia apologising, without the remains of every Albanian being returned, as you have promised, will this make you a traitor or not? We will talk about the tax on Serbia. Will you lift it or not? We will talk about all enrichments in Kosovo, privatisation and tenders. We will talk about crimes of Yugoslav communists against Albanians in Kosovo. We will also talk about the killing of Astrit Dehari, whose name you used to abuse and accuse every political opponent, including those with whom you are in coalition. We will also talk about KLA, and SHIK. We will talk about terrorist crimes of 'Eye of the People', about individuals, families and institutions. We will talk about all that needs to be talked about, above all about political killings, the tragedy of which were often times abused with in times of campaigns," Veseli said. 

He said that the coalition between the LVV and LDK will not take any decision that will benefit Kosovo. 

Selmanaj: AAK will not vote in favor of Kurti government (Telegrafi)

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) MP Rasim Selmanaj said today that his party’s MPs will not vote in favor of the Kurti government, the news website reports. Selmanaj said the Vetevendosje Movement and Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) have lost four months arguing over posts. 

“The parliamentary group of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo is in the opposition and we will vote against this government. I also want to say that Kosovo has lost four months without the new institutions … I think this has left a bad taste despite their earlier promises that they wont argue over posts,” Selmanaj said.

   

Serbian Language Media

  Brnabic: Cooperation with Pristina government depends on it (Tanjug, RTS)

“Attitude of Belgrade towards new provisional institutions in Pristina would depend upon implementation of the Brussels agreement, stance on illegal tariffs and relation towards the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija,” Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said, adding she is ready to talk to Albin Kurti, Tanjug news agency reports.

“I am ready to talk to everybody in order to improve the position of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija or elsewhere, including Kurti”, Brnabic said.

She underlined that Belgrade has always been ready for the talks and cooperation, including the talks about the most difficult topics.

“It depends upon them, how it will look like,” she added.

Serbian Prime Minister also expressed satisfaction over the fact that “due to the unity of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, Serbian List will have ten MPs in the Kosovo Assembly.”

Botsan-Kharchenko: Urge for quick solution of Kosovo issue is highly concerning (Blic, B92)

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko told Belgrade-based daily Blic that he does not believe there is a quick solution to the Kosovo issue.

"Unless it is about imposing one that is not acceptable to Belgrade, like recognizing Kosovo independence," Botsan-Kharchenko added.

"The urge for a quick solution is worrying. It resembles the restoration of well-known timeframes that caused previous talks on Kosovo to fail. I refer to the Ahtisaari's talks and the trilateral talks," Botsan-Kharchenko said, when asked how he regards the US efforts to resolve the issue of Belgrade-Pristina relations in the short term.

He stressed that Russia was always in favor of continuing the talks and that "if we had more time, there would be tangible progress and compromise".

Botsan-Kharchenko reiterated that it is necessary to urgently fulfill Belgrade's request to abolish Pristina's tariffs on goods from central Serbia.

Botsan-Kharchenko further said that Vucic's position is "completely in line with the international law,'' when he says that no equation can be drawn between the tariffs' revocation and US is demanding that Serbia in this case must stop lobbying against Kosovo independence.

"There are no links between these two issues. Independent, sovereign countries withdraw recognition of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, understanding that Kosovo is not a state, that this violation of international law has consequences not only for the region but also for the harsh international situation, and for themselves, and this process is in line with UN SC Resolution 1244," the Ambassador underlined.

He added that Moscow will join the talks on Belgrade's invitation, but that "the deal is out of the question without Russia and the Security Council's approval."

"And as long as there is no compromise, UN SC Resolution 1244 is in effect. Dayton, for example, is the result of talks. Long, intense and quiet. That is why I say that it is not realistic to come up with a speedy solution for Kosovo," the Russian Ambassador said.

Asked that critical allegations could be heard that Russia did not want a solution in order to maintain its influence within the region through Serbia, Botsan-Kharchenko replied that this was not true and emphasized that "a resumption of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina" has always been in his country's interest.

He concluded that the entire talks had to be restored on the basis of UN SC Resolution 1244.

See at: https://bit.ly/3b2WA9n Odalovic: Experience of Serbs in Kosovo made them be cautious (RTS)

Serbian List will not support government of Albin Kurti, however, it will take part in the work of Kosovo institutions. Bad experience with the previous Kosovo governments which have not fulfilled the promises given to the Serbs, made them to do so, Serbian Foreign Affairs Ministry Secretary General Veljko Odalovic told RTS.

Serbs and Serbian List took part in election in good faith and intent, Odalovic added, noting once more they will not support the new Pristina government.

“Assurances and promises that the position of the Serbs will improve have been made during the previous government and what had been agreed in Brussels to be implemented, however, the Serbs were deceived,” Odalovic said.

That is why the caution Serbs have now is justified, he added.

“Those forming the government today said or promised nothing good and this is what makes Serbian List to be cautious, however, the unity of the Serbs is something that must be respected, because they are unavoidable factor in Kosovo and Metohija,” Odalovic emphasized.  

He added “it is important what the coalition will offer and what messages it will send to Belgrade, Kosovo Serbs and the international community. The question remains what will happen to the tariffs and the position of the Serbs, something that the Serbian side will insist upon. And then there is a question on how Hashim Thaci will function with such a government, and who will represent Kosovo stances in the dialogue,” Odalovic concluded.

Returnees’ safety: Interethnic incidents or crimes against property (Radio Gorazdevac, KoSSev)

Returnees’ households in the municipalities of Pec, Istok, Klina and Gorazdevac were often targeted by burglars in the last couple of months. Several returnees’ homes were burned under suspicious circumstances, while some of them have been stoned and damaged. Police often classify such cases as a crime against property – not as inter-ethnic incidents, KoSSev portal reports.

In January, the household tools of Miomir Ribac from the returnee village of Drsnik near Klina were stolen. He noticed his missing tools in the morning after which he called the police in Klina.

“I wanted to use the angle grinder to cut some steel bars, but there was no grinder. I looked for my welding machine, but it was gone, my cousin’s tools – gone, drill – gone, the extension cable – gone. And I knew that someone had robbed me. I reported it to the police, the police came, filed a report, took some photographs…,” Miomir Ribac told Radio Gorazdevac.

According to US State Department report, in 2018, the return process in some parts of Kosovo was marked by security incidents. At a conference organized by the NGO ‘Center for Minority Communities’ Rights’, a Kosovo Police spokesperson for Pec region, Xhevat Ibraj said that, according to statistics, there were no interethnic incidents in 2019.

“As far as the safety situation is concerned, we can say that the situation is good. We have freedom of movement, as do other minority communities. And most importantly, we have had no multi-ethnic incidents in the last nine months. Crimes against property continue and this is a challenge for the police as well, but they are not ethnically motivated,” Ibraj said.

According to UNHCR, however, inter-ethnic incidents happened in this period. This agency recorded twenty-three cases of violence against Serbs and one incident involving returnees from the Roma community.

Director of Communities and Returns in the Municipality of Klina, Silvija Raskovic said the problem is that cases are not always classified as inter-ethnic.

“You always have ordinary thefts. When a returnee household is a target of theft, then we must characterize it as inter-ethnic. No matter how the police classify it, for us – it is interethnic. The returnee came to his property to harvest, to live, to keep that land, and then these things happen to him. This is not a good thing, not only for him personally, but for the returnee population as a whole, here in Klina municipality,” Silvija Raskovic told Radio Gorazdevac.

Raskovic emphasized that the only solution to eliminate such incidents is to respect the law, which should be equal for all.

“We would be better off, and the returnees would also have better lives if the laws were equal for everyone. But now they are constantly afraid of their homes being stoned, robbed. They go to Serbia for a day to get some paperwork done or for treatment or for various reasons, and when they return home, they find that their house was robbed. This should be resolved by the (state) top officials – the law should be equal for everyone, whether for an Albanian or a Serb or someone from another ethnic communities, it should not matter at all,” Raskovic underlined.

See at: https://bit.ly/2RPHxs2 Serbian elections on April 26, President Vucic’s chief of staff confirms (Prva TV, N1)

Nikola Selakovic, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s chief of staff told Belgrade-based Prva TV that the parliamentary and local elections in the country would be held on April 26.

Vucic earlier said the elections could be called either on April 19 or 26, but the latter was chosen since the Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter a week before.

"It would be most logical for the elections to be held on April 26, first of all, since the Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter a week before, and the practice is to avoid such important holidays. It happened that elections were called in Serbia on Djurdjevdan in 2012, or on St. John in 2007. However, these are not dates that are of such importance to the entire community, unlike Easter, which is being celebrated by more than 90 percent of Serbian citizens", Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID) CEO Bojan Klacar said recently.

The leading opposition group the Alliance for Serbia (SZS) officially launched the boycott campaign on Saturday.

Vucic’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has submitted a motion to the Serbian Parliament to lower the election threshold from five to three percent, thus enabling smaller parties to enter the Assembly and reduce the effect of the boycott, TV N1 recalled.  

Injured Serb in stable condition, police looking for suspects (Radio kontakt plus)

A Serb man M.M. who was seriously injured in a physical attack on Friday in North Mitrovica, underwent surgery and his health condition is currently stable, Radio kontakt plus reports on Sunday.

Radio kontakt plus received confirmation from the Clinical Hospital Centre (CHC) that the injured person underwent surgery upon admission and is in stable condition at the moment. 

Kosovo police spokesperson for the region North Lt. Branislav Radovic told the radio the police received a report that four unknown individuals of Albanian ethinicty have physically assaulted a Serb M.M. (1986) in North Mitrovica on Knjaza Miloša Street on Friday, aged 18-19.

The attack occurred on Friday around 10p.m., and police received a notification from CHC Kosovska Mitrovica after midnight that a person was admitted to the hospital due to injuries sustained in the fight. The police are intensively searching for the attackers, while the case was characterized as grievous bodily harm. The investigation is ongoing.

   

Opinion

  The West’s Declining Relevance has Cast the Balkans Adrift (Balkan Insight) By: Jasmin Mujanovic

With US foreign policy in chaos and EU influence a busted flush, the Balkan countries face an uncertain decade – outside any discernible ‘international order’, and relying on one-off deals with various actors.

What a difference a month makes in the Western Balkans. The last two weeks of 2019 saw three physical skirmishes in three of the region’s legislatures – in Bosnia’s Republika Srpska entity, Montenegro and Serbia. It was a vulgar and disturbing illustration of the scale of democratic decline in the region.

But January 2020 has also seen two apparent breakthroughs in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue. Chaperoned by the new US presidential envoy Richard Grenell, Belgrade and Prishtina have, we hear, agreed to restore air and rail links.

Both sets of events raise a plethora of questions, not least of which is: are they related and, if so, how?

I would posit that they are indeed related; both are a response to the declining relevance of the EU, and the political West in its entirety, in the Western Balkans.

See at: https://bit.ly/2On4AbQ My Europe: Trump's Balkan deal sends shivers through southeastern Europe (DW)

The EU has failed in the Balkans and now the United States is reengaging with the region. But that's not good news for the countries of the former Yugoslavia, says Norbert Mappes-Niediek.

The Russians are coming! This was what was generally anticipated last autumn, after the European Union relinquished its most important leverage in the Balkans — the prospect of accession — by saying no to accession negotiations with Albania and Northern Macedonia. Who would step in to fill the gap left by the Europeans?

Some were betting on China. After all, the Chinese have shown an interest in the Balkans for years now, as part of their effort to gain an economic and political foothold in Europe. Turkey, the new regional power, was also seen as an insider tip. As it turns out, the Europeans are being replaced by a power hardly anyone had reckoned with: the United States.

In recent months, Washington has appointed two special envoys to the region, one in which it had not been interested for a long time. The troubled Balkans has now become a practice ground for Trump's foreign policy. The US president wants to make "deals" all over the world according to his doctrine: In every international conflict, the parties to the quarrel — usually "strong men” in his own image —  should agree on so-called solutions. In doing so, they are not required to take international rules or agreements, international law, or the interests of third parties into account. So far, this strategy has not been successful for Trump anywhere in the world. The White House sees the Balkans as a welcome practice ground. Here, the players are weak, and they have enormous respect for America.

See at: https://bit.ly/3b6CWJL    

International

  Kosovo parties reach long-awaited deal to form government (AlJazeera)

The deal comes one day before a deadline by which Kosovo's parliament must elect a new prime minister.

Kosovo's two biggest parties have reached a deal to create a new government, almost four months after the Balkan country held snap elections following the prime minister's resignation.

Albin Kurti, the 44-year-old leader of the left-wing Vetevendosje (Self Determination) party said on Sunday he would become the prime minister under the deal and work with the centre-right Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and other groups.

See at: http://bit.ly/2OmBWr8 Kosovo parties form new coalition government long after snap elections (Deutsche Welle)

Two of the biggest parties in Kosovo's new parliament, the leftist VV and center-right LDK, have reached a deal. The new coalition will host six groups representing Bosniaks, Serbs, Turks and other ethnic minorities.

Kosovo's two major parties agreed on a long-awaited deal on Sunday to form a new coalition government nearly four months after the country held snap elections when  Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj resigned.

The leftist Vetevendosje (Self Determination "VV") party and the center-right Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) are two of the biggest parties in the country's parliament. 

See at: http://bit.ly/2udVTtm Kosovo parties sign long-awaited deal to form government (Reuters)

Kosovo’s two biggest parties reached a deal on Sunday to create a new government almost four months after the Balkan country held snap elections following the prime minister’s resignation.

Albin Kurti, the 44-year-old leader of the leftist Vetevendosje (Self Determination) party said he would become prime minister under the deal and work with the centre-right Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and other groups.

“We have signed the deal,” Kurti told a joint press conference with LDK leader Isa Mustafa.

Parliament - where the coalition parties together have 77 of the parliament’s 120 seats - will vote on the agreement on Monday, he added.

See at: https://reut.rs/37SNNop US Jails Former Kosovo Consulate Driver for Arms Trafficking (Balkan Insight)

A Brooklyn court has jailed Albert Veliu, a former driver at Kosovo's New York consulate, for nine years for his role in elaborate money laundering and arms trafficking schemes.

A US court in Brooklyn has jailed a former consulate worker and Kosovo Foreign Ministry staffer for nine years for his role in an elaborate money-laundering scheme that resulted in him buying and selling an anti-tank rocket launcher and rifles in Kosovo.

See at: https://bit.ly/2RSRmFW  Hague Prosecutors ‘Quiz Kosovo War Criminal about KLA Leaders’ (Balkan Insight)

Former Kosovo Liberation Army officer Sabit Geci, who has already been convicted of a war crime, claimed he was asked to give evidence to Hague prosecutors against senior ex-KLA figures like Kosovo President Hashim Thaci.

Sabit Geci, a former Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA commander, said he was interviewed on Thursday by the Kosovo Specialist Prosecution, which is probing wartime and post-war crimes.

Geci said he was promised a safe place to live and other benefits if he testified against senior KLA figures who are now prominent politicians, like President Hashim Thaci, former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and former parliamentary speaker Kadri Veseli.

He told Kosovo TV station T7 that he was asked to give evidence “against [former Prime Minister] Ramush Haradinaj, [political party leader] Fatmir Limaj, [President] Hashim Thaci, [former parliamentary speaker] Kadri Veseli, [former Kosovo Security Forces chief] Sylejman Selimi and [former mayor] Sami Lushtaku”.

But he said he did not agree to testify against them despite the offers he was made by the prosecutors.

See at: https://bit.ly/391VwRl    

Humanitarian/Development 

  ‘Une jam vete grua’ puts trans reality center stage (Prishtina Insight)

A new adaptation of ‘I am my own wife’ by director Kushtrim Koliqi explores gender and identity issues in Kosovo through the eyes of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a transgender spy who lived in Communist East Germany.

‘Une jam vete grua’, or ‘I am my own wife’, a play adapted by theater director Kushtrim Koliqi and starring Adrian Morina, completed a second run at the Dodona Theater in Prishtina this week, with plans to now take it to other cities in Kosovo and across Europe and the Balkans.

See at: https://bit.ly/2Sg0EKL