UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, March 16, 2022

Kosovo legislators fail to pass resolution on price hike (media)
Serbia Urged to Request Poll Centers for Kosovo Serbs (Exit News)
Kurti: We are working with Quint on solution to Serbian elections (media)
U.S. congressman calls on five EU states to recognise Kosovo (media)
Wigemark: Security situation in Kosovo stable, but could change quickly (Reporteri)
Borrell: EU is concerned about Russia’s interference in the Balkans (euronews.al)
Kosovo receives first refugees from Ukraine (Koha/Klan)
Conference on why inclusive democracy matters opens Week of Women (media)
KIPRED publishes report: Russian Diplomatic Warfae and Media Disinformation (media)
AJK: Journalists to enjoy free legal aid (Kallxo)
A group of 150 Afghan citizens departs Kosovo, bound for U.S. (media)
Kosovo Veterans’ Leader Accuses Hague Court of ‘Selective Justice’ (BIRN)
COVID-19: 22 new cases, no deaths (media)

Kosovo legislators fail to pass resolution on price hike (media)

Kosovo Assembly did not vote on a draft resolution, sponsored by the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), on the price rises due to lack of quorum.

After a lengthy discussion, characterised by exchange of criticism and verbal insults between the ruling and opposition parties, the Assembly session concluded with no concrete outcome. Koha reports that opposition MPs accused the Government of being incapable of managing the situation while the Government said they have taken best possible measures to come to the aid of citizens.

Serbia Urged to Request Poll Centers for Kosovo Serbs (Exit News)

Serbs of Kosovo could vote in Serbian elections on April 3 only if Belgrade presents the government in Prishtina with a request in compliance with the country’s laws and good practices in EU member countries.

“To date, we have not received any request from Serbia to hold elections,” Mimoza Kusari-Lila, the ruling Vetevendosje party’s chief whip told journalists on Monday.

She added that such an official request would be reviewed, and a decision would be taken on whether and in what format to allow Serbian elections in Kosovo.

Serbia has been able to regularly hold elections in Kosovo – a neighboring country it refuses to recognize since Kosovo declared independence in 2008 after a brutal war waged against it in 1998-1999.

Previous governments had allowed poll centers to open in Kosovo’s north where Serbs, while the OSCE took care of collecting ballot boxes after the vote.

In January 2022, the parliament of Kosovo approved a resolution calling on the government to prevent Serbia from ever holding elections in the country.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3tWfclM

Kosovo receives first refugees from Ukraine (Koha/Klan)

Two women and their children, fleeing the war in Ukraine, have been registered as the first country's refugees in Kosovo, the media outlets report. The two women from the town of Vinnytsia, who have a cousin living in Kosovo, said they have been warmly welcomed by the local population.

Conference on why inclusive democracy matters opens Week of Women (media)

Under the auspice of President Vjosa Osmani, a two-day conference began in Pristina to mark the tenth anniversary of the Week of Women, organised by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

President Vjosa Osmani said that women and girls are never just "that other part of society" but rather "the society itself." "In order to defend democracy, we must also champion inclusivity," she said. Prime Minister Albin Kurti meanwhile stressed that the more women participating in the political, social, economic, cultural life, the more the qualitative the democracy of that country is. "There is no democracy without inclusiveness," he said. "When women are excluded, we move away from democracy and near autocracies."

Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier said in his remarks that the full participation of women in public life is fundamental to building and sustaining a vibrant, inclusive democracy. "We celebrate the impressive progress that Kosovo has made to further the number of women political leaders during this 10th anniversary of the Week of Women," he said.

KIPRED publishes report: Russian Diplomatic Warfae and Media Disinformation (media)

The Kosovar Institute for Policy Research and Development (KIPRED) issued a report titled: Kosovo Observer: Russian Diplomatic Warfare and Media Disinformation analysing "public statements and publications of the Russian foreign policy establishment and the features of the news containing disinformation and misinformation targeting Kosovo, published by Russian media in English and Serbian Language."

The report concludes that the news containing disinformation and misinformation of malign character on Kosovo, published between 15 August and 31 October 2021, "were focused mostly on undermining the legality of the statehood and sovereignty of Kosovo, followed by those portraying Serbian Community and Orthodox Church in Kosovo as oppressed and threatened, on undermining the credibility of the Western engagement in the state building of Kosovo and in the Prishtina – Belgrade dialogue, and on the changing of narratives of war and war crimes in the Former Yugoslavia."

See the report: https://bit.ly/3CJmmhc

AJK: Journalists to enjoy free legal aid (Kallxo)

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) announced that representatives of the media - journalists, photo reporters, cameramen, editors - have for the first time been included as beneficiaries of the Law on Free Legal Aid, adopted by the Kosovo Assembly on 25 February 2022.

"This legal change implies that if journalists are sacked, sued for libel, face strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) or are criminally prosecuted, they will be entitled to free legal aid and representation at court by the Agency for Free Legal Aid," AJK said.

A group of 150 Afghan citizens departs Kosovo, bound for U.S. (media)

150 citizens from Afghanistan, temporarily housed at the U.S. army base of Bondsteel, departed Kosovo yesterday, continuing their journey to the United States.

The U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier said that together with Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla they bid farewell to the Afghans. "We are deeply grateful and owe a great deal to Kosovo for providing temporary refuge to these vulnerable Afghans in their time of need. Your generosity not only saved lives, but ensures these Afghans and their families will have opportunities to build new lives in the U.S," he added.

Kosovo Veterans’ Leader Accuses Hague Court of ‘Selective Justice’ (BIRN)

On the second day of closing statements at the trial of Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on Tuesday, Gucati’s defence lawyer Jonathan Rees claimed his client only asked the court to investigate crimes committed by all sides during the Kosovo war and was not trying to obstruct justice, as the indictment alleges.

“The prosecution is focused that Gucati and others want the court to be dissolved via legal remedies, but they are not taking into account the context that Gucati has constantly said during this procedure, he requests the establishment of a court that investigates all crimes,” Rees told the court.

He said that Gucati was raising his concern about “selective justice” – a concern which he said is shared by many others in Kosovo. Both Gucati and Haradinaj believe the Hague court is biased because it was set up to try ethnic Albanian KLA fighters, not Serbs who committed the majority of crimes during the Kosovo war.

“Mr. Gucati expressed his concerns on the court and has in fact objective reasons to support this position or his view… as we have seen from the evidence, many involved here and many members of the press in Kosovo share the same viewpoint,” Rees said.

“Gucati called for justice for all and not justice only for some,” he added.

Gucati and Haradinaj, the leader and deputy leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans’ Organisation, are on trial for alleged obstruction of justice and witness intimidation.