UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, August 12, 2022

President Osmani hosted U.S. Ambassador Hovenier (RTK)
German emissary for Western Balkans, meets with the U.S. counterpart (RTK)
EU does not impose a solution for Kosovo and Serbia (media)
Hill: Greater opportunity for progress in dialogue than conflict (RTK)
PDK’s Hoxhaj: Kurti has no principles in dialogue (Nacionale)
Rakic, mayors of northern municipalities meet COMKFOR (Klan Kosova)
Kastrati: An attack on Kosovo would be suicidal for Serbia (Klan Kosova)
Youngsters in Gjakova urge youth not to quit Kosovo (Prishtina Insight)
Kosovo capital hosts European nomadic biennale Manifesta (BIRN)
Sunny Hill Festival-Goers Say ‘Europe, Set us Free’ (Prishtina Insight)
Govt promotes employment of people with disabilities (Albanian Daily News)
Kosovo, Germany ink WWII graves accord (Expatica.com)

President Osmani hosted U.S. Ambassador Hovenier (RTK)

President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani received on Thursday in a regular meeting the U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier. They discussed about the security situation in Kosovo, as well as about foreign policy and defense. They also discussed about the continuation of the coordination between the institutions of Kosovo and the United States of America in addressing priority issues.

German emissary for Western Balkans, meets with the U.S. counterpart (RTK)

Germany's special emissary for the Western Balkans Manuel Sarrazin met in Washington with the U.S. Special Envoy for Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar.

“Great to visit DAS and Special Envoy Escobar in Washington. Germany and USA are sharing common interest on Western Balkans. Together with our EU partners we can jointly assure the path of the region into EU. See you soon!” Sarazin tweeted.

EU does not impose a solution for Kosovo and Serbia (media)

Peter Stano, spokesman for the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, stated that the EU that will not impose solutions that can be reached between Kosovo and Serbia.

“We can facilitate dialogue as long as there is a willingness on both sides to find a compromise. We help the parties to find solutions, but it is up to them to be ready for the necessary compromises,” Stano said recalling that without progress in the dialogue, there will be no progress for the parties on the European road.

“This is what we are doing within the dialogue, this is what we will try to do in the future meetings, including the next high-level meeting on Thursday between President Vucic and Prime Minister Kurti, to move forward all the issues in the dialogue,” Stano said in an online press conference.

“It is important to make progress in the dialogue, because without it, there will be no progress and their strategic objectives, EU membership, will not be fulfilled,” Stano said.

Hill: Greater opportunity for progress in dialogue than conflict (RTK)

United States Ambassador in Belgrade Christopher Hill has stated on Thursday that the representatives of Belgrade and Pristina should do more in resolving the controversial issues, and added that he thinks there are more opportunities for real progress in dialogue than for a new conflict on 1 September.

Answering citizens' questions on social networks about dialogue and the risk of conflict, the American ambassador said that it is clear that Belgrade and Pristina should do more in resolving controversial issues.

"The representatives of Belgrade and Pristina have quite good mediators from the EU and the USA are also very active. I'm looking forward to seeing some progress, and I think we can all push for that and make sure everyone is on task and looking forward," Hill pointed out.

Commenting on the fact that Serbia is the only European country that does not want to impose sanctions on Russia, Hill said that it is clear that Serbia has a different attitude from the US and its European partners.

"I think it's important to focus on the things we agree on and try to move forward together," Hill said.

Meanwhile, when asked why the US supports the integrity of Ukraine, but not Serbia, Hill said that the situation in Ukraine is completely different and incomparable to Kosovo.

During an online communication with citizens, Ambassador Hill received about 400 questions and comments on Twitter and Facebook, and most of them were related to Kosovo, U.S. relations with Serbia, comparison with Ukraine, rule of law, etc.

PDK’s Hoxhaj: Kurti has no principles in dialogue (Nacionale)

Kosovo Assembly Vice President from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Enver Hoxhaj, said in an interview with the news website that Prime Minister Albin Kurti was engaged in a dialogue without principles with Serbia and that he has zero expectations from Kurti’s meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels on August 18.

“At the latest session of the Assembly, I personally asked Prime Minister Kurti what he expects from the August 18 meeting and that he should inform the Assembly and the opposition about the topics he will raise there. We were not informed that day and to this day we still don’t know what Kurti will talk about there. He will deal with problems he has created himself and this will be the outcome of the dialogue with Serbia as long as he leads the government.”

Hoxhaj argued that “Kurti is dialoguing without principles, without a final objective and without platform because he never made his principles public, and he did not present a platform in the Assembly”.

Hoxhaj also said that Kurti should not dialogue on technical issues but for Kosovo’s recognition by Serbia. “If the Americans and Europeans call for dialogue on the main topic – mutual recognition, Kurti instead of dealing with the main topic which is also membership in the United Nations, he deals with populist topics,” he argued.

Rakic, mayors of northern municipalities meet COMKFOR (Klan Kosova)

Serbian List leader Goran Rakic and the mayors of the northern municipalities met on Thursday with COMKFOR Ferenc Kajari. “We are determined as the legitimate representatives of Serbs to work on solutions that will help overcome tensions, but this requires constructiveness from the other side too, and this hasn’t been the case so far, but by making unilateral decisions the situation is becoming even more complicated,” Rakic is quoted as saying in Tanjug.

Rakic and the mayors also asked for guarantees from KFOR that the situation will not escalate. “Maintaining peace and stability is our primary objective, therefore, KFOR must remain a guarantor that the security situation in Kosovo will not escalate as a result of disagreements with Prishtina and the information that after September 1 the decision for the registration of vehicles and issuing entry/exit documents will continue,” they said.

Kastrati: An attack on Kosovo would be suicidal for Serbia (Klan Kosova)

Former commander of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF), Kadri Kastrati, said in an interview with the TV station on Thursday that Prime Minister Kurti’s statements about a possible conflict with Serbia are aimed at shifting the attention away from his inability to implement the projects he promised. “I am surprised that the Prime Minister of Kosovo, on two occasions, gives statements to foreign media saying that Kosovo risks entering a conflict and in a way spreads panic among the people,” he said. “Prime Minister Kurti is seeing that he is plunging into a deep economic crisis, a deep energy crisis, 11 percent of the budget has been spent, so he has to shift the public’s attention away from the government’s inability to implement the projects he promised”.

According to Kastrati, “Russia is interested to shift the world’s attention to the Western Balkans … and through its proxy Serbia to raise tensions in this part of the continent, especially in Bosnia and in Kosovo”. “As a military person, I think that Kosovo is not under threat. NATO said several days ago that if Serbia tries to attack Kosovo it will be a grave mistake. I think an attack [against Kosovo] would be suicidal for Belgrade,” he said.

Youngsters in Gjakova urge youth not to quit Kosovo (Prishtina Insight)

Gjakova has started several activities to mark International Youth Day, which is celebrated on August 12. Young people in the town of Gjakova have called on fellow youngsters not to leave Kosovo for a better future abroad. They have started an activity, called “Tree of Youth”, which aims to empower them and express their aspirations about building a life in Kosovo. Some of the messages on the banners placed on the tree say: “Let the government work and not leave the youth”, “Full of youth, but no work”, and others.

The chairman of the Local Youth Action Council, LYAC, Altin Hafizjaha, told BIRN that it is important to help the young develop the country. “We have received numerous messages where citizens gave comments, criticisms, advice and at the same time boasted about the youth that our country has, about their potential. They showed that the state, institutions and the whole society should stimulate the youth to stay in Kosovo and contribute,” he said.

Youth Week started on Wednesday, and will continue its activities until August 12, International Youth Day. The activity was organized by the LYAC, with its member organization “Activism Roots”, and the Directorate for Youth, Culture and Sports of the Municipality of Gjakova.

Activities planned in the following days include “Youth Cards”, “Young People and Volunteering” and “Youth Night”.

Young Kosovans still have no opportunity to travel freely through different European countries, since Kosovo is the only country in the region that does not have visa liberalization with the EU. Although Kosovo has a young population, the main challenge for the country’s youth is employment.

The data of the Statistics Agency of Kosovo, SAK, for the first quarter of 2021, show that the unemployment rate among the 15-24 age group is 48.6 per cent. Other SAK data show that during 2021 alone, 42,728 people emigrated from Kosovo.

Kosovo capital hosts European nomadic biennale Manifesta (BIRN)

European art festival that centers on bringing public spaces to the people, and changes location every two years, is bringing its mix of art, events and workshops to Kosovo's capital until the end of October.

Until the end of October 2022 Kosovo's capital, Pristina, will host the 14th European Nomadic Biennial, Manifesta, which brings to the most isolated country in Europe "art, performances, events and workshops" from local and international artists.

The main venue of Manifesta is "The Grand Scheme of Things" at the 13-storey Grand Hotel, which was built in 1978 to host former Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz Tito's cadres. Once considered one of the best hotels in the region, it ended up having a dark reputation because in its basement women were raped and ethnic Albanians were killed during the Kosovo war in 1999.

"Here, at this equally captivating and contested site, Manifesta 14 Prishtina is launching an associative inquiry into one of the key questions of the biennial: What role do the arts and art thinking to play in telling stories otherwise, in bringing forth political imagination and engagement, in enacting healing, repair and transformation?" the venue's description reads. Multimedia exhibitions and art installations from local and international artists are held from the first up to the ninth floor.