UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, February 18, 2022

Kurti: The constitutional decision on Association should be respected (RTK)
Opposition parties criticise Kurti's speech at Assembly (media)
Kurti to travel to Germany, will take part in Munich Security Conference (media)
Kosovo Celebrates Independence Anniversary Amid Soul-Searching (BIRN)
Osmani and Kurti pour out words of hope on 14th Independence anniversary (euronews.al)
Serbia establishes local election commissions in Kosovo cities (Koha)
Kosovo Cautioned Over “Dangerous” Verbal Attacks on Media (BIRN)
COVID-19: 411 new cases, five deaths (media)

Kurti: The constitutional decision on Association should be respected (RTK)

Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in the "Prime" show on RTK, that the facilitators of the talks between Kosovo and Serbia, (or mediators as the Prime Minister prefers to call them), sometimes in terms of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities refer to the past, but still accept and respect the judgment of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo.

"As far as the Association is concerned, mediators sometimes refer to the past, but still accept it and have respect for the decision of the Constitutional Court," he said.

Speaking about the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, the Prime Minister said that it is not a useless dialogue.

"I am interested in reaching an agreement as soon as possible, but Serbia does not want that. It does not want to change its constitution," Kurti told RTK.

He said that mutual recognition should not remain at the end of the talks but at the center of the talks and this is now being supported by partners, international friends.

According to him, thanks to good, joint work in the fight against corruption and crime, Kosovo has risen to 17 places in the fight against corruption in the Transparency International index.

"At the international level, we have deepened cooperation and coordination with our partners, allies, and friends, strengthening security for citizens, affirming state sovereignty, and protecting the territorial integrity of our Republic," he said.

On the issue regarding the property near the Decan Monastery, Kurti said that the decisions taken during the Milosevic's regime should not have been accepted as democratic actions. "We have our usual reservations on the decisions of Milosevic's regime which, in my opinion, have strangely been recognised by the Constitutional Court which treated the case without it going through the ordinary stages," he said, adding that dialogue is needed on the Decan Monastery "in order to tackle their concerns." "We don't want to dominate them, undermine them, but at the same time I believe we have to ultimately encounter their understanding that Milosevic's decisions cannot live on in our century."

Opposition parties criticise Kurti's speech at Assembly (media)

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) have criticised the address of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti at the Assembly on the occasion of the independence declaration anniversary.

LDK said Kurti's speech was 'divisive' and 'offensive'. "Such a speech cannot be delivered on the occasion of Independence Day. It seems that Kurti continues not to experience February 17 as a celebration and moment of national unity of Kosovo. Even on this great day, as 14 years ago, he chose to divide the people of Kosovo," LDK said.

Abelard Tahiri, head of the PDK parliamentary group, said Kurti in his speech criticised the media as well as opposition MPs. "When we invite him to discuss these issues he does not find the time to be present in parliamentary debates. He does not find the time to be present at the extraordinary sessions while today, on the anniversary of the declaration of independence, he speaks many untruths. It is sad, unfortunate the way the Prime Minister of Kosovo treats the state of Kosovo," Tahiri said.

Koha reports that the opposition walked out of the Assembly session as Kurti delivered his speech, where he praised the work of the Kosovo Government.

Kurti to travel to Germany, will take part in Munich Security Conference (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti will be travelling to Germany today to take part in the annual Munich Security Conference.

Kurti will be accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Donika Gervalla and will stay in Germany for three days. He will also have bilateral meetings while there.

Kosovo Celebrates Independence Anniversary Amid Soul-Searching (BIRN)

With Prishtina’s main square decorated in blue-and-yellow flags, Kosovo Security Force troops paraded under the eyes of gathered citizens as they marked the 14th anniversary of the country’s independence from Serbia.

Speaking before the crowd assembled at the city’s Zahir Pajaziti Square, President Vjosa Osmani recalled the 2008 declaration of independence as Kosovo’s greatest-ever achievement.

“Kosovo’s independence is our greatest achievement, this is our national project. Institutions with all mechanisms guarantee that the violation of territorial and constitutional integrity will not be allowed,” Osmani said.

“Let us remember that the creation of the state of Kosovo has been the dream of dozens of generations, which our generation was lucky to live,” she added.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti meanwhile dedicated a part of his speech to the fight against corruption.

“If corruption threatens us every day, we will fight it every hour. Kosovo is everyone’s issue, in order to progress, it needs all of us,” Kurti said. He also said Kosovo’s journey to independence had been long and arduous.

Kosovo celebrates the 14th anniversary of its statehood with much still undone. It is now the only country in the region that still does not have a visa-free agreement with the European Union.

Although the European Commission in 2018 confirmed that Kosovo had met all the criteria for the abolition of the visa regime, and the European Parliament voted in favour of this, implementation remains in the hands of the member states. Often promised over the years, visa liberalization remains an unfulfilled wish.

Stalled dialogue with Serbia

Another area of disappointment is relations with Serbia. Political developments in Kosovo over the years have been characterized by a failure to make progress in the EU-mediated dialogue on normalization of relations with Serbia. Launched in 2011 it is now a decade old.

During this process, many agreements have been signed but few have been implemented.

This year started with international pressure on both countries to return to talks and work towards a final agreement, which still seems out of reach.

In his congratulatory remarks, US State Secretary Antony Blinken urged Kosovo to engage in the EU-facilitated dialogue.

“We look forward to Kosovo rightfully taking its place alongside its neighbours in European and Euro-Atlantic institutions and reiterate our support for the EU-facilitated Dialogue as the way to achieve an agreement on normalized relations centered on mutual recognition,” Blinken said.

The formation of a semi-autonomous Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo is one of the most controversial issues in the EU-facilitated dialogue.

Kosovo agreed years ago to implement it, but governments have since changed their mind and gone cold on the idea.

The formation of the Association was part of a April 2013 agreement between the two sides. But in October 2015, the agreement was sent for interpretation to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo. This ruled in December 2015 that the Association Agreement in its 23 points was not in line with the Constitution. Stalemate continues.

Flow of recognitions has stopped

In 14 years of independence, the republic has been recognized by 117 countries, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The last country to recognize Kosovo was Israel, on February 1, 2021. This followed the Washington agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, signed in the US in September 4, 2020.

This agreement caused a stir because although it brought recognition from Israel, it also stopped Kosovo from applying to join international organizations for a year, according to the terms of a moratorium agreed between the parties.

This stated that Kosovo “will agree to implement a one-year moratorium on its recognition campaign and will refrain from formal or informal requests to any country or international organization to recognize Kosovo (Pristina) as an independent state”.

The agreement was signed by former Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, mediated by former US President Donald Trump.

Kosovo is still not yet recognized by five EU member states: Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain.

Osmani and Kurti pour out words of hope on 14th Independence anniversary (euronews.al)

The Parliament of Kosovo held a special session in celebration of the country’s 14th Independence Day.

President Vjosa Osmani declared that the people of Kosovo fought hard to gain freedom, while also thanking the country’s allies for their part in achieving that.

Osmani vowed to ‘never stop’ until Kosovo becomes the state dreamed by those who fell for the country.

“Institutions act to guarantee that we won’t allow our territorial integrity and judicial order to be undermined”, said Osmani.

“We have a lot in common with Europe, but nothing can divide us. In this path, we need to watch out for our liberty, independence, and democracy”, she added.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that the perspective of the Republic of Kosovo is to join Euro-Atlantic institutions.

He reiterated that the proclamation of independence was the result of the liberation war and of a just cause for self-determination.

“Europe is where we belong, while NATO is a condition for peace for all of us”, Kurti said.

Earlier during the day, President Osmani and PM Kurti attended an official ceremony to celebrate the country’s 14th anniversary.

Kosovo declared independence on 17 February 2008. So far, 117 states recognize Kosovo’s sovereignty.

In its 14 years as a state, Kosovo has joined several international organizations, such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Olympic Committee, UEFA, and FIFA.

Among others, Kosovo aspires to join the United Nations, the European Union, Council of Europe and World Trade Organization.

Serbia establishes local election commissions in Kosovo cities (Koha)

The government of Kosovo has promised that it will no longer allow the organization of Serbian elections in Kosovo. It did the same on January 16, when the organization of the referendum in Serbia was not allowed.

But the Serbian state continues to challenge Kosovo's institutions. On Thursday night, the Republican Election Commission of Serbia decided to establish local election commissions in the cities of Kosovo.

According to the decision announced by the newspaper "Danas", it was decided to establish local commissions in Pristina, Peja, Gora, Mitrovica and Gjilan.

Indeed, after Serbia's referendum was stopped, Serbs in Kosovo and official Belgrade "threatened" that "the government of Kosovo will not have a chance to stop the presidential election expected to be held on April 3."

Kosovo Cautioned Over “Dangerous” Verbal Attacks on Media (BIRN)

A costly editorial error has unleashed a “torrent” of abuse from public officials and online followers of the ruling party against the media in Kosovo.

An editorial oversight at the Kosovo newspaper Gazeta Express has triggered a barrage of what one media law expert said was “very dangerous” criticism of the media by the government and the presidency, potentially hurting the country’s media freedom rating.

On February 4, Gazeta Express published a story about the travel expenses of MPs but failed to remove a note left by the journalist to the editor in a paragraph concerning a claim by President Vjosa Osmani that she was saving taxpayer cash. “You can remove it unless you want to attack Vjosa,” the journalist wrote.

The newspaper deleted the offending note within minutes of publishing the story online, but not before it was republished by private portal Ekonomia Online and public broadcaster Radio Television of Kosovo, RTK. Someone also took a screenshot and the text went viral.

The backlash was swift and strongly-worded; Osmani’s husband, Prindon Sadriu, called the media involved a “joint criminal enterprise”, a term applied to late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic and his co-accused when they were charged by the UN tribunal for the former Yugoslavia with war crimes in Kosovo during the 1998-99 war.