• President Osmani: Serbia is abusing with the dialogue (Radio Free Europe)
• Brussels wants negotiations on statute of Association/Community (Koha)
• Prime Minister Kurti invited to Peace Forum in France (media)
• Parties trade blame over lack of invitation to democracy summit (Exit News)
• Joseph: Kosovo is much more democratic than Serbia (media)
• Kurti: Special attention to women empowerment in recovery package (Klan)
• Historians want annulment of decisions made in Milosevic’s time (Kallxo)
• Kosovo veterans’ leaders denounce war crimes court as ‘biased’ (BIRN)
• With €630 per month in Kosovo, doctors heading to the EU (RFE)
• Kosovo chief prosecutor, EULEX chief discuss furthering cooperation (media)
• Judge suspended after BIRN reporting on lenient rape sentence (BIRN)
• COVID-19: 8 new cases, no deaths (media)
• Janjic: Serbia pays Grenell US$ 100,000 a month for lobbying (media)
• North Macedonia’s battle over new majority unsettles Albanian parties (BIRN)

President Osmani: Serbia is abusing with the dialogue (Radio Free Europe)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said on Monday that Serbia is not interested in reaching a legally-binding agreement with Kosovo focused on mutual recognition. During a panel organised by the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute in Washington, Osmani said that Serbia is delaying the agreement in an effort to keep the Balkans unstable. “Serbia sees countries that are not in the EU as provisional and as something that it can destroy. This means that there will be more attempts for instability,” she said.

Osmani further argued that Serbia is abusing with the EU-facilitated dialogue with Kosovo by telling countries that are far from the Balkans not to recognise Kosovo’s statehood. According to Osmani, Serbia still has the mindset of its former Slobodan Milosevic and that Russia is using the Serbian Government as means to destabilise the Balkans and the European Union. “A peaceful Balkans means a peaceful Europe. Russia does not want this,” she said.

Osmani said the relations between Kosovo and the United States of America were never stronger and that authorities in Kosovo are making sure to act in line with US policies.

Osmani also argued that the formation of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities with executive competencies would cause problems not only for Kosovo but for its allies too. “Its formation would not only be a prelude to the creation of a Republika Srpska but it would also go against the investments for stability that our partners have made for years. This would cause headaches to our partners too. You will have to face this instability too. The instability in Bosnia is the best lesson. Who worked for Kosovo’s independence, would not want this to happen,” she said.

Brussels wants negotiations on statute of Association/Community (Koha)

At the peak of statements by Kosovo Government officials against the formation of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities, EU officials in Brussels are calling for negotiations to set the foundations of this mechanism. Although they refuse to comment on the positions of Prime Minister Albin Kurti and other officials about the Association, EU officials say they are waiting for talks on the draft statute of the Association.

EU spokesperson Peter Stano told Koha on Monday: “In general, we do not comment on statements by others. The European Union, in its role as facilitator, has repeatedly called for the implementation of all previous agreements. As for the Association/Community of Serb municipalities, allow me to remind you that Kosovo has taken over an international obligation through Brussels Agreement to create the Association/Community of Serb municipalities.”

Stano said that it is up to Belgrade and Prishtina, with facilitation by the EU, to negotiate the statute of the Association. “If constitutional and legal amendments are needed to form the Association/Community, then it is up to the parties to agree within the EU facilitated dialogue,” he said.

“Kosovo has agreed with the establishment of the Association/Union of the Serb municipalities. This agreement was reached in good faith by all the parties involved. It has never been retracted. The Agreement of 2013 was ratified by the Assembly of Kosovo by two thirds of votes. Thus, Kosovo took over an international obligation to implement this agreement.”

Prime Minister Kurti invited to Peace Forum in France (media)

Most news websites report that 30 heads of states and governments, including US Vice President Kamala Harris, have been invited to attend the Peace Forum in Paris, France, on Thursday and Friday. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic are invited to the forum.

Parties trade blame over lack of invitation to democracy summit (Exit News)

The majority and opposition in Kosovo have blamed each-other for the US President Joe Biden’s decision not to invite the country to the Summit for Democracy next month.

Last week, Politico published a list of 100 countries invited by the Biden administration to the first Summit for Democracy on December 9-10, 2021, which will take place on an online platform.

Leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector will get together to set an agenda for tackling threats to democracy around the world.

The list does not include the Western Balkan countries of Kosovo, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The lack of invitation sparked public accusation by the opposition against the government and the president’s office, blaming the new majority in Kosovo for alleged deterioration of relations with the United States.

Former prime minister Avdullah Hoti of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) said the current government of Albin Kurti cannot be tolerated for its alleged cold relations with the US administration, as confirmed by the non-invitation.

Abelard Tahiri of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) also blamed prime minister Albin Kurti and President Vjosa Osmani for having allegedly disrupted the tradition of excellent reaction with the US.

Former prime minister Ramush Haradinaj of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) said the lack of an invitation to the summit must raise the alarm regarding the state of Kosovo’s international relations under the Kurti government, whom he accused of experimenting in relations with the US, at the benefit of his political party and at the detriment of the US role in Kosovo.

Skender Hyseni blamed Kurti and President Vjosa Osmani for their “scandalous appearances” in international forums where they allegedly portrayed Kosovo as a country with high rates of crime and corruption.

The US Embassy in Kosovo said that not all US partners could be accommodated in the summit but didn’t explain why Kosovo was not invited.

Osmani’s office rebuked suggestions that the president’s relations with the international community and the US in particular had deteriorated. The president’s chief of staff Blerim Vela stressed that she has met over 30 presidents since April, and communicated with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

No official statement was issued by the government but Kurti’s advisor Jeton Zulfaj blamed it on the former government. He speculated that the Biden administration’s decision relied on Kosovo’s low score in Freedom House’s “Nations in Transit” report for 2020, which allegedly resulted from the toppling of the first Kurti government during the Trump administration, and the unconstitutional installation of the Hoti government.

Among countries from the wider region that were not invited were also Turkey and Belarus. The list also excludes Hungary, an European Union member state that has raised concerns in the union regarding its deteriorating democracy.

However, Poland, another EU member state with a declining democracy was invited to the summit, as was the Philippines, despite its less-than-commendable respect for democratic principles.

“This was not about endorsing, ‘You’re a democracy, you are not a democracy.’ That is not the process we went through,” an official from the Biden administration told Reuters, adding that invites were sent to countries with different experiences of democracy in order to ensure regional diversity and broad participation.

Joseph: Kosovo is much more democratic than Serbia (media)

Edward P. Joseph, a professor at John Hopkins University in Washington, said in an interview with Radio Free Europe on Monday that there can be no comparisons or parallels between Kosovo, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Commenting on a lack of invitation for Kosovo to attend the Democracy Summit organised by US President Joe Biden, Joseph said that he does not know the reason, but that Kosovo is much more democratic than Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were also not invited to the summit.

“Kosovo is a very young state, but it is also one of the strongest democracies in the Balkans, with a multi-party system, free media and a government that fights corruption and organised crime. These actions are unlike the trends in the region. In Serbia there is an autocratic trend. Kosovo cannot be compared with the dysfunctionality in Bosnia either,” he said.

Joseph also said that Kosovo has met the required standard for democracy and that it has a strong orientation toward the European Union, the United States and NATO.

Kurti: Special attention to women empowerment in recovery package (Klan)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Monday that the Economic Recovery Package will pay special attention to the empowerment of women in the economy and society. “Women are much less involved in entrepreneurship compared to men. But those that are, let’s say 11 percent, probably count more challenges than around 90 percent of men in entrepreneurship,” Kurti said in his address at the Women Entrepreneurship Forum which marked the opening of the Entrepreneurship Week organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo. “As women and girls make up half of the population in our country, we cannot claim all-inclusive growth without involving them in the labour market and without their participation in decision-making processes. This is why in the Economic Recovery Package special attention has been paid to the empowerment of women in the economy and society.

Historians want annulment of decisions made in Milosevic’s time (Kallxo)

The League of Kosovo Historians, the branch in Decan, made an official request on Monday to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Parliament Speaker Glauk Konjufca to adopt a law which would annul all discriminatory laws that Serbia made against Kosovo in the 1989 – 1999 period. The historians said that the reason for their request is the decision of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo which in their view legalizes a decision that was made during the time of Slobodan Milosevic for properties surrounding the Decani Monastery.

Kosovo veterans’ leaders denounce war crimes court as ‘biased’ (BIRN)

The leader of the KLA War Veterans’ Association, Hysni Gucati, and his deputy Nasim Haradinaj insisted on Monday that they are innocent of obstruction of justice and witness intimidation, and denounced the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, which was set up to prosecute crimes committed during the Kosovo war.

“As a proud citizen of the Republic of Kosovo, I declare today that I am being subjected to a [trial] process by a biased and selective prosecution,” Haradinaj told the court in The Hague.

“We haven’t committed any sin… It is my legitimate right to protect the values of my people and the Republic of Kosovo. I am obliged to protect the rights and freedoms of my people for a better life like every nation on our continent,” Gucati said.

Gucati and Haradinaj were arrested in September after they received allegedly leaked case file documents from the Kosovo Specialist Chambers which contained confidential information about protected witnesses in the Hague-based court’s cases against KLA ex-guerrillas, and urged media to publish extracts from them.

The indictment alleges that between September 7 and 25, 2020, “on the occasion of three press conferences and other broadcasted events, as well as through… social media statements, Mr. Gucati and Mr. Haradinaj revealed, without authorisation” lawfully protected information.

It also claims that they identified “details of certain (potential) witnesses”.

The Specialist Chambers were set up to try former KLA guerrillas for crimes allegedly committed during and just after the Kosovo war from 1998 to 2000. They are part of Kosovo’s judicial system but located in the Netherlands and staffed by internationals.

The so-called ‘special court’, widely resented by Kosovo Albanians who see it as an insult to the KLA’s war for liberation from Serbian rule, was set up under pressure from Kosovo’s Western allies.

Those awaiting trial for wartime crimes include Kosovo’s recently-resigned President Hashim Thaci and former Democratic Party of Kosovo leader Kadri Veseli alongside two other guerrillas turned politicians, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi. They have all pleaded not guilty.

The trial of former KLA commander Salih Mustafa is already underway. Mustafa is charged with the arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and murder of civilian prisoners. He has pleaded not guilty.

With €630 per month in Kosovo, doctors heading to the EU (RFE)

Islam Krasniqi, an anesthesiologist, thinks every day about leaving Kosovo for a better future in one of the countries of the European Union. Krasniqi, who has been working at the Kosovo University Clinical Center for 22 years, says that a low salary and insufficient training of healthcare workers are among the main reasons that make him think about leaving Kosovo or moving to the private sector. “I think about going abroad every day, every day we hope for the better but there is no hope on the horizon. It’s a shame. There are opportunities here too, my students and specialists have quit their jobs before and during the pandemic, and they are paid ten times more in the private sector, let alone in other countries,” Krasniqi said in an interview with the news website.

Gazmend Spahiu, acting head of the Anesthesiology Clinic at the University Clinical Center, told RFE that seven specialists quit their jobs this year. He said that other anesthesiologists too have shown interest to work in an EU country.

Tevide Imeri, a healthcare worker at the General Hospital in Ferizaj, too complained about the low salaries in the public healthcare system. “It may sound bad, but the salary of a specialist is the same as the salary of a driver of a deputy minister. This is the problem. We are called heroes but in reality, they have not come to the aid of healthcare workers,” Imeri said.

Healthcare workers claim that if urgent measures are not taken, Kosovo could very soon face a shortage of doctors.

Kosovo chief prosecutor, EULEX chief discuss furthering cooperation (media)

Kosovo’s chief state prosecutor, Aleksander Lumezi, met on Monday with the head of the EU Rule of Law Mission (EULEX), Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, to discuss the process of legislative changes, institutional reforms, efforts in the rule of law area in Kosovo and other issues of mutual interest. A press release issued by the chief prosecutor’s office notes that Lumezi informed Wigemark about efforts to fight corruption, organised crime, terrorism and other criminal acts.

Wigemark highlighted the need for additional capacities for the investigation of cases of corruption and terrorism as well as the need for inter-institutional cooperation between the prosecution and the police. “Both interlocutors said the meeting was very useful and productive and expressed their readiness to further institutional cooperation in the future,” the press release notes.

Judge suspended after BIRN reporting on lenient rape sentence (BIRN)

BIRN reports on the Peja Court’s mild verdict in the case of a raped teenage girl highlighted glaring violations and prompted Judicial Council to Suspend Judge

A verdict issued by the Peja Court in July this year, sentencing the accused to only eight months in prison for raping a teen, which BIRN recently published, drew angry reactions in Kosovo.

Now, following the BIRN report regarding the eight-month jail sentence imposed for raping a minor in Gjakova, the Kosovo Judicial Council KJC has suspended the judge of the case. This was announced through a notification from the KJC. The suspension of Judge Florije Zatriqi will be valid until another decision of the Judicial Council.

“The investigative panel for the disciplinary case No. AD/KGJK/10/2021/GJTHPE-AD/GJTHPE/15/21 has been established and it has been decided to suspend Judge FZ, until another decision of the Kosovo Judicial Council,” the KJC said.

BIRN had called for disciplinary proceedings against the judge.

A 15-year-old girl from Gjakova was raped while leaving the town hospital in 2012. She was seized by two people, armed with knives, who took her to an uninhabited house where they raped her until the early hours of the next morning.

Nine years later, the Basic Court in Peja sentenced the accused, named as P.K., to only eight months and eight days in prison. The prosecutor did not appeal, agreeing with the sentence, which was in contradiction with legislation in Kosovo.

A second instance verdict in 2014 deemed the low sentence imposed by the Court of Peja unreasonable and asked the same court to decide again on the case.

Three months after the Basic Court verdict, BIRN released data that prompted civil society to demand a criminal investigation. Meanwhile, the justice system also reacted, demanding disciplinary responsibility against the judge and prosecutor of the case.

Shortly after BIRN reported the verdict, reactions came from civil society and human rights activists who sent several requests to the Kosovo Judicial Council and the Prosecutorial Council.

The President of the Kosovo Supreme Court, Enver Peci, during a debate on KallxoPernime, admitted that public pressure had prompted him to seek action on the case. He said the case judge should face disciplinary penalties.

“I have no right … to initiate disciplinary proceedings, but for the sake of the public … I have asked for such a thing,” he said.

Non-governmental organizations that advocate for women’s rights demanded the dismissal of the case judge and the prosecutor.

BIRN reporting found several procedural violations in the trial of the accused, P.K. They involved the way the hearing was scheduled and how the case was tried by one judge and not, as provided by law, by a panel.

BIRN also queried how the mitigating circumstances were assessed and no aggravating circumstances were found, and how a sentence was imposed in violation of the legislation in force.

The Juvenile Justice Code says that, when the convicted are punishable by more than 10 years of imprisonment, the trial panel should be composed of three judges, not just one. Article 48 of the Code defines when a single judge can decide on a criminal case and when it should be decided by a trial panel.

The legal provisions that Judge Florije Zatriqi invoked when she decided to sentence the accused to eight months in prison do not allow a sentence of less than three years of imprisonment.

Based on the new Criminal Code, Articles 70, 71, she reduced the sentence to eight months, although the crime for which the accused was charged was based on the Provisional Criminal Code. So, two different criminal codes were applied to the same case.

It also turned out that the accused had spent exactly that many days – eight months and eight days – in detention already.

COVID-19: 8 new cases, no deaths (media)

Eight new cases with COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. Six persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 462 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Janjic: Serbia pays Grenell US$ 100,000 a month for lobbying (media)

Dusan Janjic, political commentator from the Forum for Ethnic Relations, said in an interview for Antena M on Monday that Serbia pays former US Presidential Envoy for the Kosovo – Serbia dialogue, Richard Grenell, US$100,000 a month for lobbying. “We even pay Grenell US$100,000 a month, and I don’t know why because his boss is no longer in power,” Janjic said.

“Strangely and regrettably no one has changed anything in terms of lobbying from the time of Slobodan Milosevic to this day. The samples and agencies are the same and we are more focused on policies than on companies. We don’t have serious lobbying.”

Asked by Prishtina-based Gazeta Express to comment on Janjic’s remarks, Grenell said: “Absolutely fake news. Shameful.”

North Macedonia’s battle over new majority unsettles Albanian parties (BIRN)

Ethnic Albanian parties on Monday appeared jittery ahead of a no-confidence vote in Zoran Zaev’s government, some of them clearly uneasy about who they are allying with to topple Zaev's cabinet.

As the political fight to form a new majority escalates ahead of a no-confidence vote, due on Thursday, each MP in North Macedonia’s various ethnic Albanian parties feels a kingmaker.

The main right-wing opposition VMRO DPMNE party on Monday filed a no-confidence motion in the government of Prime Minister Zoran Zaev on Monday, sticking to its promise to do so unless Zaev resigned by the 2.30pm ultimatum it gave him.

But, as each individual MP may tip the vote one way or another, uncertainty over whether a new majority will be formed continues.

Skender Rexhepi, MP from the small opposition “Alternative” party, on Monday raised eyebrows when he announced he had been duped into signing the opposition initiative, not knowing he would be on the same list as another small party, Levica.

“Under no circumstances will I accept to see my signature standing on the same list with the signatures of those who have built their political careers by offending Albanians,” Rexhepi told TV 21, referencing the large ethnic Albanian community.

Levica took a firm stand against the 2001 Ohrid peace accord, which ended an ethnic Albanian insurgency in exchange for greater rights. It also opposed recognition of neighbour Kosovo’s independence and joining NATO, which the country accomplished in 2020.

But Ziadin Sela, MP and head of the Alliance for Albanians, and a staunch opponent of Zaev’s junior ethnic Albanian partner, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, scorned Rexhepi’s claims of ignorance.

“When in trouble, a person tries to find non-grounded justifications and lies. Nobody [on the list of signatures seeking a vote of no confidence] is a child and everyone knows that the list that has been signed was made to topple the government,” said Sela, whose party holds eight of the 120 seats in parliament.

All the Albanian parties that now show support for a new majority say their main motive is to oust the junior ruling DUI of Ali Ahmeti, who has been part of governments for 12 years, and whose DUI remains the biggest ethnic Albanian party in the country.

On Monday, Arben Taravari, Secretary General of the Alliance for Albanians and reconfirmed mayor of the Albanian-majority municipality of Gostivar, predicted that the DUI will be forced into opposition within “two or three weeks”.

“The majority of parties that are part of the [Zaev] cabinet are interested in creating a new majority, especially without the DUI. A new hope will arise, especially among Albanians, in sending this party into opposition,” Taravari said.

Speaker of parliament Talat Xhaferi has called the parliament session on no-confidence vote for 11am Thursday.