• COVID - 19: 158 new cases, 13 deaths (media)
• President Thaci decrees three laws, including law against COVID-19 (media)
• Raka: Situation may deteriorate in September (media)
• Leaders of ruling coalition to meet on Monday (media)
• Haradinaj explains why he wants the post of Kosovo President (media)
• Selmanaj: New President could come from the PDK (T7)
• Beqiri: If coalition doesn’t function properly, we go to elections (TV21)
• U.S. Ambassador encourages minority representation in KSF and KP (media)
• Specialist Chambers have four days to confirm first indictments (Koha)
• EU, UK warn of consequences if Specialist Chambers' mandate is changed (Koha)

Kosovo Media Highlights

COVID-19: 158 new cases, 13 deaths (media)

Kosovo’s National Institute for Public Health announced that 158 new cases of COVID-19 and 13 deaths have been recorded over the last 24-hour period. Meanwhile, 245 recoveries were confirmed over the same time period.

The highest number of new infections is in Prishtina (38).

The number of active cases in Kosovo currently stands at 4,018.

Several news websites report that seven doctors and three medical nurses have so far succumbed to the coronavirus. A moment of silence was held, and hundreds of candles were lit in front of the Kosovo University Clinical Center in Prishtina on Thursday evening honoring the healthcare staff members that lost their lives fighting the pandemic.

President Thaci decrees three laws, including law against COVID-19 (media)

All news websites reported on Thursday evening that Kosovo President Hashim Thaci decreed three laws, including the law on the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. “I decreed three very important laws today that will help overcome the current situation and the revival of our economy,” Thaci said.

Raka: Situation may deteriorate in September (media)

Lul Raka, chair of the Advisory Board for the Fight against COVID-19, warned on Thursday that the situation with COVID-19 in Kosovo could deteriorate in September. “The number of infected cases could be twice as high. If the seasonal flu will be severe, together with the virus, the situation will deteriorate,” he said.

Raka also said that the potential of the virus spreading further will be greater in September with lower temperatures and people staying indoors. “Now the bars are outside but in autumn and winter people will stay indoors and the threat will grow bigger,” he added.

Leaders of ruling coalition to meet on Monday (media)

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leader Ramush Haradinaj said on Thursday that the meeting between leaders of the ruling coalition, which was initially scheduled for Thursday, will be held on Monday.

Haradinaj, LDK leader Isa Mustafa and NISMA leader Fatmir Limaj will discuss the dialogue with Serbia on the eve of the meeting between the two delegations at the White House in Washington on September 2.

Haradinaj explains why he wants the post of Kosovo President (media)

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leader and former Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, said in an interview with Kanal 10 on Thursday that he has discussed his candidacy for Kosovo President with leaders of the ruling coalition and with the heads of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK). “I also met with PDK leaders and with Mr. Thaci who is still close to this party,” he said.

Haradinaj said his candidacy for the post of President is an offer to remain part of the ruling coalition. “Anytime that the LDK and PDK discuss for a ruling coalition, the AAK becomes unnecessary, therefore, my candidacy for President is an offer to remain in government,” he added.

Asked to comment on Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti’s recent remarks that he did not discuss bus lines but mutual recognition with Serbia in the EU-brokered talks in Brussels, Haradinaj said: “Of course you did not discuss about buses because you are not the director of the bus station … I know what my Prime Minister discussed in Brussels with Mr. Borrell and the others. But I don’t know what he discussed with President Vucic”.

Haradinaj also said that Prime Minister Hoti must say before the meeting with the Serbian delegation at the White House on September 2 that he is going there for an agreement on mutual recognition.

Selmanaj: New President could come from the PDK (T7)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and senior member of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Driton Selmanaj, said in an interview with T7 that the new President of Kosovo could come from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).

“We cannot rule out the possibility of the new President coming from the PDK,” he said. “In politics, all options are possible, but the LDK is currently not discussing this issue. If we don’t manage to elect the President, we will go to elections”.

Beqiri: If coalition doesn’t function properly, we go to elections (TV21)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) deputy leader, Ismet Beqiri, was asked to comment on Thursday on AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj’s remarks that if the LDK doesn’t support his candidacy for Kosovo President, his party the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, which is a junior partner in the ruling coalition, will bring down the Hoti-led government. “I think the best solution is to meet and talk and clarify eventual uncertainties. The lack of eye-to-eye meetings between our leader Isa Mustafa and Ramush Haradinaj could have led to this dissatisfaction. But so far, we haven’t seen any major dissatisfactions,” Beqiri said.

“We should not rush in this process [election of President] because Mr. Thaci is still serving his mandate. We need to see how things will develop. Meanwhile, partners of the ruling coalition have not discussed the issue of the President. If things don’t function properly, then the option is clear: we go to elections,” Beqiri added.

U.S. Ambassador encourages minority representation in KSF and KP (media)

The United States Ambassador to Kosovo, Philip S. Kosnett, applauded on Thursday efforts to encourage the representation of members of minority communities in the Kosovo Security Force and Kosovo Police.

“We applaud efforts to encourage minority representation in the KSF and KP.  The experience of America and many other countries is that a society is stronger, and trust among communities can grow, when uniformed services mirror the population they serve and protect.” Kosnett tweeted.

Specialist Chambers have four days to confirm first indictments (Koha)

The TV station reported on Thursday that the Specialist Chambers have four days left to decide whether or not they will confirm the first indictments presented by the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office back in February. A spokesman for the Specialist Chambers told KTV that the process of reviewing the indictments remains confidential until they are confirmed, and the decisions are made public.

KTV recalls that two months after it presented the first indictments, the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office filed another proposed indictment, involving Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) leader Kadri Veseli. A decision on this indictment is expected to be announced in October.

EU, UK warn of consequences if Specialist Chambers' mandate is changed (Koha)

European Union and the United Kingdom have called for an end to attempts at changing the mandate of the Specialist Chambers based in The Hague saying such a move would undermine the rule of law in Kosovo.

"In 2015 Kosovo took on a clear commitment with the EU and the rest of the international community to set up Specialist Chambers. For the EU, this demonstrated Kosovo's full commitment to the rule of law. Any attempt at invalidating or changing the mandate of the Specialist Chambers would seriously damage such an engagement and would risk the joint EU-Kosovo work on the rule of law," the EU said in a response to the paper.

Similarly, the British Embassy in Pristina said that changing the mandate of the court would damage Kosovo in the international stage: "Any attempt to change the structure of the Kosovo's Specialist Chambers would carry repercussions to Kosovo's international credibility and standing."

Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans' Associations however remain adamant in the demand to change the mandate of the Specialist Chambers submitted to the Assembly on 14 August. "EU is playing a dangerous game with us. It is pushing us away and defending the aggressor," said Chairman Hysni Gucati. "Despite international pressure, we will never cease to demand justice for our people. Any initiative we undertake is aimed at revealing the truth, exposing who has committed crime and genocide in Kosovo," he added.