UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, May 20, 2021

COVID-19: 62 new cases, eight deaths (media)
PM Kurti comments on his recent Brussels trip (media)
Quint calls on Government to uphold 2016 Constitutional Court ruling (media)
FM Gervalla proposes dismissal of all politically appointed ambassadors (media)
Kosovo requests Serbia to return museum artifacts (media)
Vucic: I am ready to meet Kurti (RTK)
The undoing of agreements with Serbia seen as mission impossible (Koha)
Osmani received Director for Europe at UK’s Foreign Ministry (media)
Di Maio: Leaving Western Balkans out of EU, a political myopia (media)
Status conference held in Thaci et al. case at KSC (media)
Serwer: Thaci and others are innocent for now (RTK/Kosovo Online)
Kandic reacts to the Czech president's apology to Serbia (media)
Eight new members of CEC sworn in (media)
Sex Assault Reports Spark Chain Reaction in Kosovo, Albania (BIRN)
US sanctions former Albania leader Berisha over corruption (AP)

COVID-19: 62 new cases, eight deaths (media)

Kosovo has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19 and eight deaths in the last 24 hours. At the same time, 379 recoveries have been confirmed over the same time period.

There are 5,596 active cases of coronavirus in Kosovo.

PM Kurti comments on his recent Brussels trip (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti has commented about the dinner in Brussels with Western Balkans leaders, hosted by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

Kurti said that while in Brussels, he also met EU Special Representative for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, European Parliament rapporteur for Kosovo, Viola von Cramon, and Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama.

"We had a friendly and no protocol meeting with Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, before dinner, to discuss the need and forms of cooperation and interaction between our two countries," Kurti wrote on Facebook.

He added: "This visit was a good opportunity to represent Kosovo and its new reforming government that emerged from plebiscitary victory of 14 February, to discuss the importance that the European Union and Western Balkans have for one another, as well as opportunities to increase assistance, support and cooperation during the pandemic and beyond.

Quint calls on Government to uphold 2016 Constitutional Court ruling (media)

Heads of Mission of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, issued a statement yesterday calling on the Government of Kosovo to uphold the decision of the Constitutional Court on Decani Monastery land.

"On 22 March, a new Government was appointed with a strong mandate of reform and respect for the rule of law. One key test of its resolve will be the implementation of the May 2016 Kosovo Constitutional Court decision on registering the Decani Monastery’s land. Respecting the rule of law is an obligation for all governments. The Heads of Mission of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States strongly encourage the Government of Kosovo to proceed without further delay with the lawful registration in line with the Constitutional Court decision," the statement reads.

FM Gervalla proposes dismissal of all politically appointed ambassadors (media)

Kosovo's Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla has asked to relieve of duty all ambassadors that have been politically appointed to their posts. The proposal has been submitted to President Vjosa Osmani for approval.

The list includes: Beqe Cufaj (Germany), Nait Hasani (Albania), Arber Vllahiu (Czech Republic), Lirim Grejqevci (The Netherlands), Shpend Kallaba (Hungary), Gezim Kasapolli (Croatia), Avni Kastrati (Slovenia), Gjergj Dedaj (North Macedonia), Hajdin Abazi (Australia), Ylber Hysa (Montenegro), Avni Arifi (United Arab Emirates), Amir Ahmeti (Qatar).

Media report that Kosovo will also remain without ambassador to France as Qendrim Gashi is expected to leave the post. Gashi said however that he had asked in December of last year to be released from duty.

Gjergj Dedaj, ambassador to North Macedonia, called the move 'arbitrary' and 'unconstitutional'. He said it was part of politically-motivated retribution.

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj has condemned Gervalla’s move as ‘unprecedented’. "The return of Kosovo's ambassadors prematurely and secretly shows the visionless policies of the current Government and proves the efforts to appropriate Kosovo's institutions to the detriment of the state and its citizens. Change cannot come with efforts to destroy the country and its partnership with other states which took hard work to built."

Kosovo requests Serbia to return museum artifacts (media)

Director of Kosovo's National Museum Ajet Leci has written a letter to the National Museum in Belgrade, the Ethnographic Museum and Serbia's Academy of Arts and Science asking them to return Kosovo artifacts that continue to be held in Serbia.

The letter, published as part of a press release issued by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, notes that the 1,247 artifacts, taken at the end of the 90s from Kosovo to be provisionally displayed in Serbia, continue to be unjustly held in respective museums there. Leci proposed the establishment of a working group consisting of museum representatives and experts that would draft a plan and oversee the return of artifacts process.

Leci's request has been endorsed by Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla and Minister of Culture Hajrulla Ceku.

Vucic: I am ready to meet Kurti (RTK)

The President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic said he is ready to meet the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti by mid-June.

"I am waiting to be notified. If it is a day off for me, I will go, but if not then I will ask for the meeting to be scheduled for another day," Vucic said, adding that he is always ready for talks and dialogue.

Vucic made these comments during his two-day visit in Prague, Czech Republic, where he met with senior Czech officials.

The European Union announced that the first meeting between the Prime Minister of Kosovo and the President of Serbia is expected to happen on 22 June, which would also mark resumption of the dialogue.

The undoing of agreements with Serbia seen as mission impossible (Koha)

Koha reports that while the Government of Kosovo has not specified whether it plans to undertake initiatives to undo any of the Brussels agreements reached with Serbia, legal experts consider that the annulment of the 2013 agreements, from which other agreements derive, is impossible.

Former president of the Constitutional Court, Enver Hasani, said that the international agreements ratified by the Assembly have a greater power than ordinary laws and therefore to annul them would be an almost impossible undertaking.

Hasani argued that the 2015 agreement on the Association of Serb-majority municipalities should be 'redefined' as per the ruling of the Constitutional Court but not entirely invalidated.

Osmani received Director for Europe at UK’s Foreign Ministry (media)

The President of the of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani received on Wednesday Mr. Giles Portman, Director for Europe at the UK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development, congratulated him on the task.

He pointed out that the recent political developments in the Kosovo represent a turning point for new developments.

President Osmani expressed gratitude for the United Kingdom's historic support to Kosovo since the war, including its commitment to NATO, as well as its continued support since declaring independence. In this regard, she said, the United Kingdom remains one of the most strategic partners and allies for Kosovo.

“Further, President Osmani stressed that the country's institutions are ready to engage in opening new chapters of cooperation with the United Kingdom and strengthening the existing ones, while emphasizing the areas of rule of law, defense, security, exchanges. trade, education, and the joint commitment to advancing the green agenda. President Osmani expressed readiness for cooperation in this regard, while Portman reiterated that the United Kingdom is a full supporter of the future of the Republic of Kosovo in NATO, which will contribute to stability and security in the region and beyond. He expressed the support of Great Britain in strengthening the international subjectivity of the Republic of Kosovo.

In particular, President Osmani expressed gratitude for the assistance and commitment of the United Kingdom to clarify the fate of those who went missing with violence in the recent war in Kosovo, saying that clarifying their fate and establishing justice are a precondition for lasting peace and success in the dialogue process,” reads a press release issued by the Office of the President.

Di Maio: Leaving Western Balkans out of EU, a political myopia (media)

The Foreign Minister of Italy Luigi Di Maio said in an interview that Albanian news outlets carried that leaving the Western Balkans out of the EU would be an unwarranted political short-sightedness and Italy would be at the forefront of preventing this from happening.

Di Maio defended the ambitious goal of all Balkan countries to join the EU and identified further delays in negotiations with Albania and Northern Macedonia as unacceptable.

"Countries in the region face complex but necessary challenges. Everyone will complete the path according to their abilities, but it is essential that everyone achieves this strategic goal," Di Maio said while commenting on the idea, evoked by the Slovenian President Borut Pahor, for an EU enlargement throughout the Western Balkans at the same time.

"In Brussels we all share the idea that the EU cannot see the Western Balkans simply as one of its neighboring regions," he added.

"Leaving these countries outside the EU would be a mistake of historical significance, an unjustified political short-sightedness that would favor actors in issues not necessarily of interest to the region's full integration into the European Union," he added.

"In the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue, the status quo does not benefit anyone: on the contrary, it leaves the door open for tensions and mutual accusations which end up having a negative impact on the entire region. That is why we continue to encourage both sides to work in a constructive spirit through dialogue facilitated by the EU in order to reach a final solution."

"Today we have young people in the region who are 'shouting' to enter Europe and we must respond positively to them," he concluded.

Status conference held in Thaci et al. case at KSC (media)

The fifth status conference took place yesterday at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers courtroom at The Hague in the case against former KLA leaders Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, Rexhep Selimi.

The prosecution said they would be ready to submit a preliminary file in the case by September which the defence objected to saying it was too late. The defence further argued that the defendants are being held in detention indefinitely without knowing the specifics of allegations against them.

Serwer: Thaci and others are innocent for now (RTK/Kosovo Online)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti said after the dinner in Brussels that "all war criminals from the Western Balkans should be eliminated from politics," however he did not state exactly whether when he said this, he meant the former KLA leaders, which provoked accusations by some opposition politicians Wednesday.

The U.S. professor and expert on the Balkans Daniel Serwer commented on Kurti's statement. He told "Kosovo Online" that Thaci and others are still innocent.

"War criminals are war criminals, regardless of their ethnicity, but they are all innocent until proven guilty. Former KLA commanders in The Hague, including former President Thaci, are innocent for now," Serwer said.

In the case of Sali Berisha, respectively the decision of Washington to ban the former president of Albania and his family members from entering the United States due to corruption, Serwer said that he did not know anything about this issue but added that "it's a good idea to stop corrupt people from entering the United States."

Kandic reacts to the Czech president's apology to Serbia (media)

Belgrade-based Director of the Humanitarian Law Centre Natasa Kandic reacted after the apology of the Czech President Milos Zeman to the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic for participation of the Czech Republic in the NATO bombings against former Yugoslavia.

Kandic wrote on Twitter that the Czech President still has not heard that the Serbian Army and Police unmercifully killed more than 7,000 Albanian civilians within 78 days.

“The Czech President apologized for the bombing of former Yugoslavia, and “he got rid of his many –years trauma” by apologizing. Several years have passed, and he still has not heard that the unmerciful Serbian Army and Police killed more than 7,000 Albanian civilians within 78 days,” Kandic wrote.

Eight new members of CEC sworn in (media)

Eight new members of the Central Election Commission (CEC) swore the oath in front of the President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani.

The sworn in members are: Sami Kurteshi (LVV), Alim Rama (LVV), Arianit Elshani (PDK), Florian Dushi (LDK), Ibrahim Selmonaj (AAK), Gordana Laban Zuvić (LS), Rifat Krasniç (KDTP), Fazli Stollaj (IRDK).

With regards to appointments of two additional members, Osmani has sought the opinion of the Constitutional Court.

Sex Assault Reports Spark Chain Reaction in Kosovo, Albania (BIRN)

Challenging traditional patriarchal mindsets, woman and girls in Albania and Kosovo are reacting to reports of sexual harassment and assaults by protesting – and by sharing their own stories.

A series of reactions on social networks, and protests against sexual harassment, assault, and abuse of women and girls have started in Albania and Kosovo following recent media reports of the sexual assault and abuse of the young.

Two public protests in Kosovo demanding, among other things, sex education classes in schools, have taken place in the capital, Pristina. Two days after human rights activists organised a protest in the city, high-school students held another protest on Wednesday.

The protests have been accompanied by actions on social media featuring women and girls mainly anonymously sharing personal histories of sexual harassment and assault in schools, at work, and on the street.