• COVID-19: 220 new cases, eight deaths (media)
• PM accuses police and inspectors of failing to implement measures (media)
• Mustafa: Support Hoti and institutions in political dialogue (media)
• Government under the scrutiny of coalition partners (Radio Free Europe)
• Assembly President condemns murder of woman in Kamenica (media)
• Minister: Merited punishment for man who killed wife in Kamenica (media)
• Fazliu: Kosovo more divided than ever over dialogue team (Prishtina Insight)
• Albanian residents of the north warn with protests (KTV)
• Vucic: If Kosovo acts, we will continue derecognition campaign (media)

COVID-19: 220 new cases, eight deaths (media)

Kosovo’s Ministry of Health said in a statement on Sunday that 220 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the last 24 hours. Eight people have died from the virus during this period. The highest number of new cases is from the municipality of Prishtina (81). 121 patients have recovered from the virus in the last 24 hours. There are currently 3,600 active coronavirus cases in Kosovo. The total number of deaths from the virus is 188.

Gazeta Express reports that 38 people have succumbed to the virus last week. Koha quotes infectologists at Prishtina Hospital as saying that they are considering using convalescent plasma to treat patients with COVID – 19. Indeksonline quotes a spokesman of the Ministry of Health as saying that the most affected age group from the coronavirus is 30 – 39 (21 percent).

PM Hoti accuses police and inspectors of failing to implement measures (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister, Avdullah Hoti, accused on Saturday the police and inspectorate of failing to implement the government’s measures and decisions against the further spread of COVID – 19. He argued that the police violated the government’s decision when it allowed protests to be held. He also said that in the last couple of days there were sports activities and protests in downtown Prishtina without any permission and that nothing was done to stop them.

“The inspectorate and police must do their job and enforce both the law and the government’s decision to keep the distance and wear masks. We are concerned with the failure to respect the measures in some cases and with the failure to the inspectorate and police to intervene in some cases … The chain of command must be held responsible for failing to respect the government’s decision,” he said.

Hoti said that there are currently 570 patients hospitalised in Prishtina hospital and in regional hospitals and that there are only 700 beds available. He also said that if recommended by health experts he is willing to undertake more extreme measures.

Mustafa: Support Hoti and institutions in political dialogue (media)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) leader Isa Mustafa called on Sunday for support for Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and state institutions in the political dialogue with Serbia.

Mustafa said he had a telephone conversation with Kosovo’s newly appointed state coordinator for dialogue, Skender Hyseni. “I expressed my support and the support of the LDK that there is no separate agreement outside the comprehensive agreement that will result in mutual recognition. The dialogue is fully political, and it results with an inter-state political agreement on mutual recognition,” he said.

“In this process, we must strongly support Prime Minister Hoti, the Government, the President and all state mechanisms that push forward this political dialogue. The responsibility falls on the ruling coalition and the ownership of the dialogue belongs to the majority in parliament and to no individual political party,” Mustafa added.

Government under the scrutiny of coalition partners (Radio Free Europe)

Coalition partners in the Kosovo Government are telling Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti that he cannot make decisions without consulting them. Less than two months after the formation of the new government, Hoti is getting the first dose of criticism from his coalition partners, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and NISMA. Both partners are not agreeing with Hoti’s approach in resuming the political dialogue with Serbia.

AAK MPs said on Sunday that they support the dialogue with Serbia but that the talks in Brussels never produced anything good for Kosovo if the United States of America were not involved in the process.

AAK MP Time Kadrijaj told the news website that Kosovo must not slip back into a technical dialogue, because she argues that this would favor Serbia. She also said that Prime Minister Hoti cannot make decisions without consulting the coalition partners.

“We are partners in the coalition, and we must be consulted on every course of action. Nothing can happen if we don’t have prior consultations. Mr. Haradinaj opposed him; our MPs have done the same. It is clear to Hoti that he cannot continue the practice of going to dialogue without consulting partners of the coalition, even the opposition,” she said.

There were also disagreements last week over Hoti’s appointment of Skender Hyseni as Kosovo’s state coordinator for the dialogue with Serbia.

NISMA secretary general Bilall Sherifi said their disagreements with Prime Minister Hoti revolve only on how he has started the dialogue with Serbia. "NISMA is concerned that if there are talks on separate topics, the process can last indefinitely and it can slip into a technical dialogue,” he argued.

Ramush Tahiri, political commentator, said the Hoti-led government is fragile and that compromises that were made during the division of government ministries are now coming to the surface. “This government seems not to be stable … If a very important partner, like the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, does not agree with the Prime Minister about something, the Prime Minister must not keep opposing the coalition partners. The solution is either new elections or the Democratic Party of Kosovo [PDK] becoming part of the coalition,” he said.

Assembly President condemns murder of woman in Kamenica (media)

Kosovo Assembly President Vjosa Osmani condemned the murder of a woman in Kamenica by her husband on Saturday. “The period of the pandemic unfortunately led to an increase in the number of cases of domestic violence. Homes and houses where we were supposed to feel safer during the pandemic, for an ever-increasing number of women, have turned into spaces of nightmare. Women are not safe at work and on the streets, but many of them are not even safe at home. There is no excuse for violence, it must not be tolerated and it must be condemned,” Osmani said.

Minister: Merited punishment for man who killed wife in Kamenica (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Selim Selimi, called for a merited punishment for a man who killed his wife in Kamenica on Saturday. “I call on the judicial institutions to deliver a merited punishment for this tragic case. I also call on law enforcement institutions to always treat as priority the cases of domestic violence,” Selimi said. “Domestic violence and the mistreatment of women are unacceptable, and a violation of basic human rights and they should never be tolerated”.

Fazliu: Kosovo more divided than ever over dialogue team (Prishtina Insight)

“Dissatisfaction with the delegation representing Kosovo in the Brussels negotiations with Serbia hit new heights this week, with even parties in government objecting to the appointment of Skender Hyseni as State Coordinator for the Dialogue,” Eraldin Fazliu writes in an op-ed in Prishtina Insight.

Just hours before Skender Hyseni, the newly appointed State Coordinator for the Dialogue, met his Serbian counterpart in Brussels on Thursday, leaders of Kosovo’s governing parties were publicly decrying the country’s representatives in the talks.

In a televised interview on Wednesday night, Ramush Haradinaj, the leader of Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, expressed his discontent over the absence of representatives from his party in the country’s delegation to the dialogue. He also revealed that Hyseni’s appointment was not discussed between the parties making up the coalition government, and questioned Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti’s attempts at building political consensus.

“If [Hoti] does not trust the Alliance [for the Future of Kosovo], who he is in coalition with, then why should the opposition trust him?” Haradinaj asked rhetorically, adding that a unilateral approach to governance could not continue.

The AAK leader’s fury over the lack of coordination surrounding Hyseni’s appointment was soon echoed by Fatmir Limaj, the leader of NISMA, another member of the coalition government. Limaj stated that he was not informed about the creation of the position of state coordinator or the nominee, and condemned the unilateral appointment of Hyseni.

Signs of discord between the governing parties on the dialogue had already appeared earlier in the week, when Hoti invited the leaders of all the political parties represented in the Kosovo Assembly to a meeting to discuss the new phase of the Brussels talks. Tuesday’s meeting was boycotted by opposition party leaders, but Haradinaj and Limaj also failed to attend, sending party officials in their place.

The one person welcoming the State Coordinator to his new position was President Hashim Thaci, who declared Hyseni’s appointment a product of “inter-institutional coordination.” This suggests that even though Hoti reportedly ignored his coalition partners in hiring Hyseni, the president may well have been part of the consultation process.

Thaci added that he is convinced that Hyseni “will manage to build the necessary political consensus between the government and the opposition for the benefit of the Republic of Kosovo.” Meanwhile, both Thaci and Hoti have emphasised the importance of Hyseni’s role, claiming that as State Coordinator for the Dialogue he will negotiate and draft the “final political agreement between Kosovo and Serbia.”

However, Hyseni’s allegedly unilateral appointment has already caused ruptures in Kosovo’s coalition government and only deepened internal political divisions when it comes to the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.

The absence of an internal political consensus on the dialogue has been damaging to Kosovo’s international reputation for years now, and has led to a failure to ratify agreements and brought down multiple governments. Continuing with a state coordinator responsible for negotiating a final agreement who lacks political support can only exacerbate this situation and endanger any agreement reached.

The chances of passing an agreement negotiated by Hyseni through the Kosovo Assembly already look remote with such little political support for his appointment. This is not an issue shared with Serbia, where despite waves of protests and cracks in his legitimacy appearing in recent months, President Aleksandar Vucic still wields uncontested political power.

The current approach to the dialogue being employed by Kosovo also seems to lack transparency once again, with the public and affected groups left in the dark about what is happening not only behind closed doors in Brussels, but even within the Kosovo delegation.

Thursday’s meeting in Brussels was expected to include discussions on the fate of persons still missing from the Kosovo war. In the hours preceding it, Thirrjet e Nenave, [Mothers’ Call] an association representing the families of the missing made a public statement criticising the government’s lack of inclusivity within the dialogue delegation, describing family relatives of the missing as “the most affected and ignored category.”

Hyseni’s late appointment also reveals the lack of preparation among the Kosovo delegation going into this meeting. Hoti first announced the position of a ‘State Coordinator for the Dialogue’ on Monday, just three days before the meeting, while Hyseni was only confirmed in the position on Tuesday afternoon.

One of the few notes of consensus among Kosovo political parties was the need for a “well prepared dialogue”, yet during one of the first meetings in 18 months, Kosovo was represented by a man hired for the position less than 48 hours prior.

Disputes over Hyseni also expose the fragile nature of Kosovo’s current government, and demonstrates that the ability to form a government does not automatically translate into the ability to build consensus. While “the need for consensus” is an easily repeatable slogan in opposition, actually reaching one is more difficult while sitting on the throne.

The government’s position is already delicate in terms of numbers in the Kosovo Assembly, commanding a majority of just one vote, leaving it vulnerable to collapse. If the situation deteriorates between the current coalition partners, it will also inevitably impact on the dialogue.

Kosovo has already lost one PR battle, with the US and EU largely blaming successive Kosovo Governments for the 18-month long impasse in the dialogue, as evidenced by attempts to ensure Kosovo drops its tariff on Serbian imports being pursued much more forcefully than attempts to halt Serbia’s de-recognition campaign. Any breakdown in talks this time around due to failings on the Kosovo side will only weaken their negotiating position further.

In the meantime, if Hoti’s unilateral actions in the dialogue continue and if he fails to build consensus – first with his governing partners and then with the opposition – then Kosovo’s endeavours within the Brussels dialogue are doomed to fail.

Albanian residents of the north warn with protests (KTV)

Albanian residents of the northern part of Mitrovica want the government and state institutions to treat the north with priority. They told the TV station on Sunday that since 2013 no one has invested there and that as a result many residents had to leave and that some were forcefully expelled by local Serbs. Representatives of Albanians living in the north said even during the coronavirus pandemic the state institutions showed no interest in reaching out to them. They also warned that if the institutions do not act soon, they will organise hunger strikes and protests.

Vucic: If Kosovo acts, we will continue derecognition campaign (media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday that Kosovo must not underestimate the power of Serbia’s security forces and that it will achieve nothing by increasing tensions.

“If someone thinks that they may achieve any results through provocations, they can forget about it,” Vucic told reporters after visiting a Serbian tank battalion.

Vucic said Serbia will first see if Kosovo will try to join any international organisation, and that if it does, then Serbia will resume its derecognition campaign. “We are waiting to see the first organisation that they try to join or another country that they want to Kosovo’s independence, and we will undertake actions,” he said.