Albanian Language Media:

• COVID-19: 55 new cases, two deaths (media)
• Kurti: Agreement to pass KSF mission in the North to KFOR, harmful (RTK)
• Gervalla: Ambassadors’ withdrawals, a step towards reform (Media)
• Lekaj: AAK will not be part of the dialogue (Reporteri)
• Simultaneous training - American soldiers in Kosovo, Russian ones in Serbia (Koha)
• Finance Minister: We identified suspicious transfers (media)
• Kurti: Kosovo and Montenegro are united by Euro-Atlantic orientation (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Four more case of Covid-19 registered in Serbian areas (Radio KIM)
• Antonijevic: More than 13,000 people from Kosovo Serb areas have been revaccinated (KoSSev)
• Varhelyi: The common market will accelerate the integration of the Western Balkans into the EU (RTS)
• Russia approves Torlak vaccine (media)
• Diocese of Raska-Prizren, Quint, and EU remind: Five years later, decision to return 24ha of land to V. Decani has yet to be implemented (KoSSev)
• Association “Ali Hadri” threatens with radical actions against return of land to Decani Monastery (Kosovo-online)
• New members of the CEC elected, including Gordana Laban Zuvic (Kontakt plus radio, KiM radio)
• The will of politicians affects the economy (KiM radio)
• Ministry of Culture: Pristina’s request yet another ‘misuse of culture’ (RTS)

International:

• Mass Sacking of Kosovo Ambassadors Condemned by Opposition (Balkan Insight)
• Castaldo: Western Balkans, the beating heart of the EU (balcanicaucaso.org)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Knowledge of the language connects people (RTK2)
• Kosovo Museum to Preserve Childhood Memories of Wartime (Balkan Insight)

   

Albanian Language Media  

  COVID-19: 55 new cases, two deaths (media)

Kosovo has recorded 55 new cases of COVID-19 and two deaths in the last 24 hours. At the same time, 331 recoveries have been confirmed over the same time period.

There are 3,940 active cases of coronavirus in Kosovo.

Kurti: Agreement to pass KSF mission in the North to KFOR, harmful (RTK)

Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that the agreement of former President Hashim Thaci with NATO, that the responsibility for the KSF missions in the north to be transferred to KFOR, was a harmful agreement

Kurti said he could not settle this deal with just one meeting.

"The agreement in question, which was an exchange of letters that you mentioned, has been and continues to be detrimental to the interests of the citizens of Kosovo. I continue to stand by what I said in 2020. I have not accused the NATO Secretary General of exchanging letters and he cannot be held accountable. I have accused the former head of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo who signed such a letter. A problem that has its roots eight years ago, cannot be addressed and fixed by a single meeting. Then I referred the case to the prosecution and it remains with the prosecution. Relations between Kosovo and NATO will continue to deepen," Kurti said.

Gervalla: Ambassadors’ withdrawals, a step towards reform (Media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Donika Gervalla, said on Thursday that the recent dismissals of ambassadors appointed on political grounds are only a step in the deep reform that will be done to the diplomatic service of Kosovo.

"The dismissal and withdrawal of politically appointed ambassadors was done in the spirit of the approved government program, which provides for the reform of the diplomatic service of the Republic of Kosovo and compliance with the Law on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Law on Foreign Service of Kosovo," she said through a statement published on the social network Facebook.

According to Gervalla, this decision creates the necessary space for fulfilling the legal obligation that at least 50 percent of the appointments of ambassadors and heads of missions be made by members of Kosovo's foreign service.

"This is just a step in the deep reform of Kosovo's diplomatic service. It will be followed by other decisions at the structural level of the ministry and will be supported by the new legislation, which will restructure the diplomatic service according to international standards," she said.

Lekaj: AAK will not be part of the dialogue (Reporteri)

The MP from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Pal Lekaj, has criticized the Prime Minister Albin Kurti and his Government, saying that for nearly 60 working days he has not managed to do any work.

"The main message is that as an Alliance we will appreciate every good job, but we will be very vocal and active when there are failures and nepotism, bad jobs for the country, and we expect that in the coming days (as in 60 days of governing, Prime Minister Kurti has not done anything,) maybe he will start to think something positive about Kosovo," Lekaj said.

Lekaj also spoke about the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue and Kurti's visit to Brussels, warning that the latter will be under their observation for at all times in order to prevent any kind of autonomy and fragmentation of Kosovo.

Lekaj hinted that AAK will not be part of the dialogue with Serbia even if Prime Minister Kurti invites them.

"As an Alliance, we are respectful of the decisions of the state, the Constitution of the country has made an assessment that the responsibility for dialogue belongs to the Prime Minister, and I am saying that the Alliance in all likelihood will not be part of the dialogue," he said.

"As for Kurti, we got used to his phrases, he says something else in front of the citizens and something else in the campaigns. When he was in opposition, he did not support the dialogue, and as it is known, two citizens fell to oppose the dialogue. He also cheated on the dialogue, as he said that it is somewhere in the seventh point of priorities, but it turns out that it is the first. God forbid that Kurti does not take wrong steps and does not influence the position of being prime minister and the arrogance of the numbers that he can decide for Kosovo. As AAK, we will be the guardian for 24 hours for the dialogue and other issues for Kosovo and we will not allow us to enter the turbulent waters that may have a negative impact on the status of Kosovo," he added.

Lekaj further spoke about what they expect from the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue. 

"We have the independence of our state, AAK does not accept any other compromise except for Kosovo to be recognized within the existing borders and to have mutual recognition legally and internationally acceptable, but in no way will we enter the partition of Kosovo, autonomy or district which is being discussed in the background with these "Non-Paper" documents. We must be careful, because if the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities with executive powers happens, it divides Kosovo and makes it dysfunctional. We must not go to dialogue and discuss these issues, we must go to dialogue equally as two countries, we must precede the talks about missing persons and the damage that Serbia has done to Kosovo," Lekaj told Reporteri.

Simultaneous training - American soldiers in Kosovo, Russian ones in Serbia (Koha)

From May 17 to May 29, Kosovo will be the arena for joint training of U.S. and Kosovo Army forces. Exercise "Defender - Europe 2021", according to the announcement of the Kosovo Security Force, is being held in Babaj of Boka, in the Municipality of Gjakova.

As a "counterweight" to the exercises of the American forces, an exercise between the forces of the special units of Russia and Serbia has started today in Serbia.

According to "b92.net", the opening ceremony of this exercise highlighted "the joint combat activity for the development of cooperation between Serbian and Russian forces in the fight against terrorism."

Otherwise, "Defender Europe 2021", the largest U.S. exercise after World War II, includes 16 exercises in Europe, including Kosovo. The KSF is involved with 330 members in this exercise.

"This exercise aims to build operational readiness and interoperability between all allies and partners. The involvement of the KSF in this exercise has great significance, the participation of the KSF in this exercise raises the skills of our staff in performing tasks. Participation in this exercise demonstrates the country's ability to serve as a strategic security partner in the region and beyond," said weeks ago, the KSF commander, Lieutenant General Rrahman Rama.

Earlier, such an exercise was held in Albania, where the KSF also participated.

Finance Minister: We identified suspicious transfers (media)

The Minister of Finance, Labor and Transfers, Hekuran Murati, stated today that about 1 million euros which are suspected to be related to the financing of terrorism, have been frozen.

Murati made this statement at a press conference, adding that the frozen money is suspected to be related to money laundering.

"We have identified some suspicious transfers, which were identified during the draw that we requested, on May 11. There are other cases of double and irregular payment. We will pursue the wrongdoers to the end. In the capacity of the chairman of the Board of the Financial Intelligence Unit, a sum of about 1 million euros has been frozen, which is suspected to be related to money laundering and terrorist financing," Murati said.

Kurti: Kosovo and Montenegro are united by Euro-Atlantic orientation (media)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, together with the Deputy Prime Minister Emilija Redzepi, received in a meeting the representatives of the Montenegrin community in Kosovo, on the occasion of May 20, the Day of the Montenegrins of Kosovo and on the eve of the Independence Day of Montenegro.

The meeting was attended by Lazar Radulovic, President of the Montenegrin Association "Lovcen" in Kosovo, Seid Hadjic and Alen Mujeviic from the Directorate for Diaspora of the Republic of Montenegro, Biserka Urgurjevic from the Association of Montenegrins in Podgorica, and the acting Ambassador of Montenegro in Kosovo, Nikolle Lulgjuraj.

In this friendly meeting, Prime Minister Kurti congratulated on the Day of the Montenegrins of Kosovo, also May 21, the Independence Day of Montenegro, saying that Kosovo and Montenegro have supported each other's independence from Serbia and the two countries are united by Euro-Atlantic orientation.

“We want the Albanians in Montenegro and the Montenegrins in Kosovo to enjoy all their collective cultural and political rights, as a sound basis for good relations between our two neighboring countries, for a better future,” Kurti said.

The participants highly appreciated the importance of this meeting and the marking of this day, both for the affirmation of the position of the Montenegrin community in Kosovo, as well as for building the trust and neighborly relations between the two countries and peoples, informs a press release issued by the Office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo.

   

Serbian Language Media

  Four more case of Covid-19 registered in Serbian areas (Radio KIM)

Four new cases of Covid-19 were registered in the Serb-populated areas in Kosovo, Crisis Committee of Mitrovica North announced today, Radio KIM reports.

A total of 48 samples have been tested. New cases were registered as follows: one each in Mitrovica North, Zvecan, Pec and Gracanica.

At the same time 24 persons have completed a two-week isolation period.

Currently there are 90 active cases.

A total of 147 persons have died in the Serb-populated areas in Kosovo since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Antonijevic: More than 13,000 people from Kosovo Serb areas have been revaccinated (KoSSev)

The epidemiological situation in the Kosovo Serb communities has significantly improved compared to February, when North Mitrovica Hospital Center was filled to capacity – Aleksandar Antonijevic, an epidemiologist at the Public Health Institute in North Mitrovica, said in an interview with KoSSev.

Compliance with the COVID-19 guidelines is at an appropriate level, but the immunization of the population also improved the epidemiological situation, Antonijevic added.

According to data from last week, there are more than 15,000 people from Kosovo Serb areas who have received the first dose at one of three vaccination centres, while more than 13,000 have been revaccinated.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3oAqjgZ Varhelyi: The common market will accelerate the integration of the Western Balkans into the EU (RTS)

The common regional market in the Western Balkans will not only contribute to the removal of obstacles to the regional economy but will also accelerate the region's integration into the EU, said European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi, reported Radio Television of Serbia.  

Addressing the Vienna Economic Forum, Varhelyi said that the common regional market based on EU standards, which was being established, has a huge potential.

"It is about an important measure that will facilitate trade, but also the free movement of citizens, goods, services, mutual recognition of certificates, diplomas. All this contributes to increasing the attractiveness of the region for investors and will also accelerate the region's integration into the EU," Varhelyi stressed.

"We are looking at ways to integrate the Western Balkans more and more into the common European market. In certain sectors, we would like the Western Balkans to participate even before the countries become members," the European Commissioner emphasized.

Varhelyi said that there was no need to explain the importance of the Western Balkans to the economic community in Austria and Central Europe.

He pointed out that the integration of the entire region into the Union was in the interest of the EU.

According to him, the clear goal of the European Commission was to accelerate the integration process.

Varhelyi pointed out that the Western Balkans and the EU are already deeply economically connected and, as he added, even integrated.

Economic connection between the countries of the Western Balkans and the EU

He reminded that last year, 68% of the region's trade was with the EU, as well as that the EU was a source of more than 60% of foreign direct investments in the Western Balkans.

Thus, the region connected to the EU was going through the same problems and faced the same challenges, such as the pandemic, which led to the recession.

In order to overcome the crisis, he reminded, the EU adopted an investment plan for the recovery of the Western Balkans, modeled on its own strategy to stimulate growth.

He pointed out that it envisaged significant investments in traffic infrastructure, with the goal of removing all obstacles for transport along European corridors.

He especially pointed out the decision of Serbia to accelerate the part of the railway corridor together with the EU, which, he added, underlined the attractiveness of Brussels' offer.

Varhelyi welcomed the fact that the Western Balkans have been abolishing roaming charges, assessing that it was a great achievement, which shows that the region can achieve important results for the benefit of its citizens.

He said that now they were working on reducing roaming charges between the Western Balkans and the EU.

He also pointed out that the EU, in parallel with investments, was working with governments in the region in order to advance in the rule of law, because that was crucial for investors to be offered a stable and predictable climate.

Russia approves Torlak vaccine (media)

The Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Russia has confirmed the quality of the vaccine produced in Torlak.

The institute has approved the production of the Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus in the future in this Serbian institute.

Serbia will thus become the first country in Europe to produce the Sputnik V vaccine, it was announced at a meeting held today in Moscow by the Minister in the Government of Serbia and President of the Joint Committee for Cooperation with Russia Nenad Popovic and Director of the Gamaleya Institute Alexander Gintsburg.

Minister Popović reiterated that the validation series of the vaccine from Torlak were sent to the Gamaleya Institute for testing last month.

"The Gamaleya Institute has confirmed that the vaccines produced in Torlak meet the prescribed quality standards. Today, we received that confirmation from our Russian partners, and we received approval to move on with production", said Popovic. "This is great news for Serbia. Our country will once again become a power in the production of vaccines, and today it is as if you have the most powerful weapon with which you protect the safety of your citizens," said Popovic.

He pointed out that in the next two weeks, he expects a significant amount of the substance to arrive in Serbia from Russia for the production of both components of the Sputnik V vaccine.

"Very soon, Serbia will have enough vaccines to fully cover its internal needs, and we will talk with President Vucic about where vaccines should be sent outside Serbia, in order to provide assistance to our partners in the region and Europe in the fight against coronavirus," Popović said.

See at: https://bit.ly/3bHBI9H Diocese of Raska-Prizren, Quint, and EU remind: Five years later, decision to return 24ha of land to V. Decani has yet to be implemented (KoSSev)

Five years have passed since the Kosovo Constitutional Court, which followed a 16-year-long court proceeding confirmed the decision of the Supreme Court of Kosovo to return 24 hectares of land to the monastery of Visoki Decani, KoSSev portal reports.

The decision, however, has not been implemented to date, i.e. the land has not been registered in the cadastre. The ambassadors of the Quinta and EU countries, as well as the Diocese of Raska and Prizren, have once again urged Kosovo authorities to implement this decision, while Pristina remains silent.

The head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Ambassador Tomas Szunyog, was the first to remind of the delayed implementation of the Constitutional Court’s decision.

 “I regret that 5 years since the Constitutional Court ruled on the land dispute in Decani, the ruling is still not being implemented. Kosovo can move forward only by upholding the rule of law as a fundamental democratic principle”, Szunyog wrote on Twitter.

Visoki Decani Monastery also reacted.

“Our Church expects the international community to protect our rights as Bishop Teodosije has recently said”, reads the monastery’s comment on Szunyog’s tweet.

Diocese of Raska-Prizren: Kosovo institutions do not respect their own court decisions and laws

“Although it is a ‘res judicata’ decision (without any possibility of appeal) which Kosovo institutions are obliged to implement according to the law, it is now 5 years since the decision has not been implemented”, the Diocese of Raska and Prizren said in a statement issued last night.

They recalled that they, immediately after the Court decision, requested from Decani Municipality and the Cadastre the implementation of the decision and inscription of the land in the Cadastre but this request was “flatly refused.”

In June 2019 the Constitutional Court wrote to the Monastery after the Visoki Decani Monastery had complained due to non-implementation of the Court decision. The Constitutional Court said that its decisions are obligatory for all parties, persons and institutions in Kosovo – the Diocese added, noting that at the end of the letter the Constitutional Court said that it would take all within its responsibilities to honor the Constitution and the laws.

“Regrettably, although the Monastery had in the meantime addressed the Central Cadastre in Pristina, the Court decision has remained unimplemented.”

See at: https://bit.ly/3v3hMWo Association “Ali Hadri” threatens with radical actions against return of land to Decani Monastery (Kosovo-online)

The Decani branch of the Association of Kosovo Historians “Ali Hadri” said today that the decision to return land to Visoki Decani Monastery “was scandalous and made based on the Serbian laws implemented in nineties”, Kosovo-online portal reports citing Pristina-based Ekonomija online.

President of the branch in Decani Skadar Imeraj said the request of this association was that such a decision is not implemented.

“This is a decision by which the laws of Serbia from the nineties are being implemented. The situation is fragile now. The Monastery requests Cadastre Agency to implement this decision, but we insist that it is not implemented. Any eventual implementation of the decision would lead to deterioration of the situation. We call upon Quinta ambassadors not to request implementation of the decision”, he said, Kosovo-online portal reports.  

He explained radicalization of the actions would mean organization of protest that would oppose implementation of this decision.

The Constitutional Court after lengthy proceedings in 2016 made a decision to return 24 hectares of land to the Visoki Decani Monastery, something that Decani Municipality refuses to implement to date.

The State Department, Italy, France, Great Britain, Germany and Head of the EU Office in Pristina Tomas Szunyog joined demands to implement the court decision, the portal recalled. 

New members of the CEC elected, including Gordana Laban Zuvic (Kontakt plus radio, KiM radio)

New members of the Central Election Commission, elected based on proposals from political parties and communities represented in the Kosovo Assembly, took the oath of office yesterday before Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, reported Kontakt plus radio. 

The new members of the CEC are: Sami Kurteshi (Self-Determination Movement), Alim Rama (Self-Determination Movement), Arianit Elshani (DPK), Florian Dushi (LDK), Ibrahim Selmonaj (Alliance for the Future of Kosovo), Gordana Laban Zuvic (Serbian List), Rifat Krasniqi (KDTP) and Fazli Stolaj (IRDK).

A statement from the president's office said they had sworn to "perform their duty honestly, faithfully, impartially, professionally and conscientiously".

The will of politicians affects the economy (KiM radio)

The will of politicians also affects the economic cooperation between Serbia and Kosovo, said the advisor to the president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Nenad Djurdjevic, the founder of the Riinvest Institute in Kosovo Muhamet Mustafa and the entrepreneur from Kosovo and director of RTV Kim Isak Vorgucic in the show Sporazoom (Agreement).

Speaking on the show "Sporazoom", the advisor to the President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Nenad Djurdjevic pointed out the good cooperation between the Chambers of Commerce of Serbia and Kosovo and pointed out that there was great interest of businessmen from Serbia and Kosovo in cooperation and that it never stopped, but that it depended on the current political circumstances.

"It is very important that through this activity of ours, many channels and communications of cooperation were legalized, so that many transactions were put into legal flow and could be measured and legalized. What is also very important is that we all together showed our governments through our own example that through goodwill, respect for interlocutors, understanding the needs of the other side, much can be achieved and done for the economy, and for the citizens of Serbia and Kosovo," said Djurdjevic.

According to the founder and former president of the Riinvest Institute, Professor Muhammad Mustafa, economic cooperation between Kosovo and Serbia was quite poor and comes down primarily to trade, which takes place with obstacles on both sides that last a long time.

"If we analyze the scope, structure and intensity of trade and overall economic cooperation, we see that it reflects political relations, difficulties in normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia. Negotiations began in 2011 and are still ongoing, some agreements have been reached, to some extent are implemented, and there are difficulties with the implementation. All this affects the rather poor economic cooperation. As for trade, we see that, after the tax, imports from Serbia are gradually increasing, while Kosovo's exports to Serbia are still very small," Mustafa said. 

The biggest problems of businessmen from Kosovo, when it comes to the export of food products to Serbia, are the declaration and analysis of products, pointed out the owner of the craft brewery "Pivdzan" in Gracanica and the director of RTV Kim Isak Vorgucic.

"If it is a food product, drinks, in our case, the obstacles are primarily in the form of declaring goods, mostly Albanian companies see it as a problem because it is usually declared as the Republic of Kosovo, and goods with such a declaration cannot pass in Serbia, and that is one of the main problems, and then the analysis, which is 20 euros in Pristina per type of product, with which it can be exported to the European Union but cannot to Serbia; it requires a special analysis at the Vrsac institute which costs six times more. This is too much for a small producer, the goods stay at the terminal for about a month," pointed out Vorgucic. 

Commenting on speculations about the possibility of reintroducing taxes on goods from Serbia, Mustafa pointed out that after giving up taxes and reciprocity, Serbia was expected to respond positively in removing obstacles to trade, which did not happen. On the other hand, Nenad Djurdjevic believes that the introduction of taxes only aggravated the position of Kosovo in the negotiation process and that it led to an increase in prices and business uncertainty.

"I don't see why Serbia would hinder Kosovo in exports, which can never reach the exports that Serbia can have or has in Kosovo. It is much greater damage for Serbia not to relax it, than it is for Kosovo if it introduces taxes," said Vorgucic.

The situation with the coronavirus virus will have consequences for the economy, the guests of the "Sporazoom" agree. 

The show also presented the results of a survey in which the question: "Are you / your family affected by the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic?",

66.7% of respondents answered affirmatively, while 33.3% pointed out that they did not feel the economic consequences of the pandemic.

Ministry of Culture: Pristina’s request yet another ‘misuse of culture’ (RTS)

Regarding the request of the Pristina institutions for “return of artifacts”, Serbian Ministry of Culture said it was obviously about “yet another misuse of culture for the sake of promoting unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and Metohija and fabrication of a false legitimacy of alleged institutions”, RTS reports.  

The Ministry also said while “endangerment of the cultural heritage in Kosovo and Metohija from an organized destruction is being clearly recognized on international scene (…) requests of provisional institutions in Pristina primarily serve to divert attention from endangerment of the (Serbian) cultural heritage and to create a mirage of a care about cultural heritage”, the Ministry said in a statement.  

The Ministry also added that “numerous falsification and distortions were included in the request, such as alleged agreements between institutions, inapplicability of the UNESCO Convention to which Pristina refers to and which is mentioned only to misuse the name of this organization up to distortions in case of reference to Ahtisaari's plan”.

     

International

  Mass Sacking of Kosovo Ambassadors Condemned by Opposition (Balkan Insight)

The dismissal of 12 ambassadors who were political appointees of the former government has drawn condemnation from the opposition – which accused the government of effectively 'suspending' Kosovo's foreign diplomacy.

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani has dismissed 12 ambassadors acting on a proposal by the Foreign Ministry to recall all the country’s politically appointed ambassadors.

“President Osmani has acted in accordance with the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the President’s office told BIRN.

The ministry proposed the dismissal of every ambassador appointed due to their political affiliations on Wednesday. It then forwarded the proposal to the President, Deputy Foreign Minister Kreshnik Ahmeti announced on Facebook.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3yojFPz Castaldo: Western Balkans, the beating heart of the EU (balcanicaucaso.org)

"The Western Balkans are not and must never be a defeated periphery of the West, but they are and must remain the beating heart of the present and future of the great European family". Interview with Fabio Massimo Castaldo, Vice President of the European Parliament

The enlargement process seems to have come to a standstill: is it just a temporary situation or a definitive stop?

I would rule out a stop or even a temporary setting aside but would rather talk of slowness and imperfections of a historic process that cannot but go on if the European ideal of the EU Founding Fathers is to be truly realised.

Of course, the process of enlargement of the European Union to the Western Balkans has suffered several setbacks in recent years, and even what seemed to be positive turning points have not been able to live up to the promises made and the ambitions expressed. I am thinking mainly of the European Council of October 2019, which raised so many expectations and then ended up in the unshakeable veto of France, Denmark, and the Netherlands on the opening of negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. I believe that this was one of the moments in which the bank, that is the credibility of the European perspective for the Western Balkans, was closest to breaking. 

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

Humanitarian/Development

  Knowing the language connects people (RTK2)

Language experts from Belgrade and Pristina participated together for the first time in thirty years in the development of the first Albanian-Serbian dictionary and multimedia platform "Vocap", which currently contains about 40,000 words and expressions, reported RTK2.

The result of the work of the language experts, with the support of the IOM and the British Embassy, lead to the one of the best dictionaries in Europe thus enabling easier communication and connecting people.

"Language is a tool that unites people and gives them access, as well as intercultural and interethnic understanding, opens doors that were previously closed. That is why this dictionary is a very important thing for all people in Kosovo, for their easier life and understanding," said IOM Mission Chief in Kosovo Anna Rostock.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Emilia Rexhepi, praising the entire project, emphasized that it was very important for all ethnic communities in Kosovo to know the languages of their friends and neighbors, because only that way a better and more beautiful society can be created. 

"Many of our people do not know the Albanian language, and this is a burning problem and an obstacle at the very beginning in communication between people. Despite the Government's obligation to respect and appreciate all languages in Kosovo in public administration and in the field, still there are obstacles and problems that we must solve, "Rexhepi stressed.

The Commissioner for Languages, Slavisa Mladenovic especially emphasized the importance of knowing the language as a means for the progress and development of society, and the example of great interest in the "Vocap" platform confirms that.

"In 2018, the United Nations concluded that language is one of the two most important elements for building trust and an issue without which there is no progress in any sense - from strengthening society, to economic development, as well as interfaith communication," points out Mladenovic.

"Every day since the launch of the project and the platform, 14 new people come to our site every day to join our story. When we started doing a project like this that many believed in, we had no idea that on this day, when we mark the Kosovo Diversity Day, we donate such a capital project like this," said one of the authors of the dictionary, Veljko Samardzic.

At the end of the panel, a printed edition of the Albanian-Serbian dictionary was symbolically handed over to the representatives of the city library in Pristina.

Kosovo Museum to Preserve Childhood Memories of Wartime (Balkan Insight)

Human rights activists in Kosovo are preparing to open a museum focusing on children’s experiences of the 1998-99 war and are asking people to give them personal items and testimonies from their childhood for exhibition.

Ilir Hajdini was only 11 when his family fled the village of Bellopoje in north-east Kosovo after shelling began in April 1999.

About a week beforehand, NATO had launched air strikes intended to make Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic pull his forces out of Kosovo. But Milosevic stepped up his campaign against Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas and ethnic Albanian civilians, sparking a mass exodus of refugees.

Although not even a teenager, Hajdini had secretly learned to drive the family tractor in the yard of his house in Bellopoje while older relatives weren’t around.

It was a skill that proved vital when it turned out that he was the only one among those who were fleeing the shelling who could actually drive it.

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