• COVID – 19: 11 deaths, 688 new cases (media)
• Mustafa: Let’s find an independent candidate for Kosovo President (RTV21)
• Hoti: We will soon start consultations on post of Kosovo President (media)
• Vetevendosje calls for elections: Government must be dismissed ASAP (media)
• Haziri: If we don’t agree on President post, we go to new elections (Gazeta Blic)
• Hoxhaj: Biden asked us to vote in favor of Specialist Chambers (Telegrafi)
• Bajrami: A vaccine against bad governance (Koha)
• Kosovo Foreign Minister warns of Russian – Serbian hybrid threats (media)
• Zeka: SPO told Azem Syla not to leave Kosovo this week (media)
• “Mortal remains found in Serbia are of Kosovo Albanians” (media)
• Janjic: Kosovo, Serbia will reach agreement late next year (media)

COVID – 19: 11 deaths, 688 new cases (media)

Kosovo’s National Institute for Public Health said in a statement on Monday that 688 new cases of COVID - 19 and 11 deaths from the virus have been recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. The highest number of new cases is from the municipality of Prishtina (303). 236 patients have recovered from the virus during this time. There are 12,111 active cases of coronavirus in Kosovo.

Mustafa: Let’s find an independent candidate for Kosovo President (RTV21)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) leader Isa Mustafa said in an interview with RTV21 on Monday that political parties must cooperate in finding a solution to the post of Kosovo President and that the country should not go to new parliamentary elections over this issue.

According to Mustafa, talks for the post of President were held even before Thaci went to The Hague. “We discussed this issue even before President Thaci and PDK leader Veseli went to The Hague. We tried to find a solution that would include a broader communication and discussion about the post of President so that this issue would not send us to new elections,” he said. “We communicated but we did not meet directly to discuss because we believed that the PDK too needs some time to deal with this issue because it is not easy for them to have their leader go to The Hague and they will surely need time to consolidate”.

Asked if he will the LDK’s candidate for President of Kosovo, Mustafa said his party has not discussed the issue yet. “We should have an independent candidate for the President of the country. Let’s find a candidate that will have the support of the majority of political parties,” he added.

Hoti: We will soon start consultations on post of Kosovo President (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister, Avdullah Hoti, said on Monday that consultations will soon begin between the political parties on the post of Kosovo President. “We will very soon start working on this issue. Changes have just happened because of the confirmed indictments. I believe that in a few days we will start consultations with the political parties to resolve this issue … The constitutional path is clear. I will insist that all constitutional steps are followed and for the public interest to be placed above the political interest,” Hoti told a press conference in Prishtina.

Vetevendosje calls for elections: Government must be dismissed ASAP (media)

The Vetevendosje Movement (VV), the biggest political party in Kosovo led by Albin Kurti, said on Monday that Kosovo needs to go to new parliamentary elections arguing that the current government led by LDK’s Avdullah Hoti is illegitimate. VV said in a Facebook post: “Elections in the United States are another indicator why new elections must be held in Kosovo. Grenell’s government, the government of an illegitimate prime minister must be dismissed as soon as possible. The country needs a new government with full legitimacy to overcome the current crisis. The country needs a Kurti-led government”.

Haziri: If we don’t agree on President post, we go to new elections (Gazeta Blic)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) deputy leader Lutfi Haziri said in an interview with Gazeta Blic that there are ongoing negotiations for the election of the new President of Kosovo. He said that if an agreement is not reached on a new President, Kosovo will go to new parliamentary elections.

“First, it should be said that the minority government is still in power because of the agreement between the partners: LDK, AAK, NISMA and the minorities. Meanwhile, there is room for partners of the ruling coalition to coordinate with the opposition too for the post of President. If this doesn’t happen then another alternative must be found either a new President is elected or there will be new parliamentary elections,” he said.

Haziri said he doesn’t seriously consider statement by opposition representatives that they will very soon bring down the Hoti-led government, because in his opinion they lack the required votes. “They don’t have the votes,” he said.

Bajrami: A vaccine against bad governance (Koha)

Koha editor-in-chief Agron Bajrami in an opinion piece slams Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti for failing so far to deliver on promises he made in his address to the Kosovo Assembly when he was elected to office. Bajrami notes that what is most important today is the pandemic and the consequences, health and economic, that we suffer. “Hoti can say ‘I am not to blame for the pandemic’. The whole region, all of Europe, is seeing a rise in cases. And he could be right. But the people should not care about this as they expect the government to deliver on its pledges and results and the governance it promised. And one of the pledges was: we will bring the pandemic under control, it is our priority. We will build an emergency recovery package for the businesses, it is our priority. But the results are: catastrophic. Not only because the rise in numbers, but because there is an insecurity in governance, the likes of which we have never seen before, from anyone else. A lack of determination and assuming responsibility for decisions and the county. A tendency to blame everyone else for every failure – the people, the opposition, civil society, the media and even the partners of the coalition. Everything just not to see the truth in the eyes: the Hoti government has failed. And the only salvation is the vaccine … not only for COVID!” Bajrami writes.

Hoxhaj: Biden asked us to vote in favor of Specialist Chambers (Telegrafi)

Enver Hoxhaj, acting leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), said in a debate on Dukagjini TV on Monday evening that then U.S. Vice President Joe Biden sent a letter to Kosovo leaders saying that the Assembly should vote in favor of the formation of the Specialist Chambers.

“Vice President Biden at the time sent a letter to Kosovo saying that the Court should be voted. If you want, we can publish the letter tomorrow. Biden sent the letter to President Jahjaga and Prime Minister Thaci,” Hoxhaj said. “We had the same requests from the Europeans too.”

Hoxhaj further argued that “the process of the formation of the Specialist Chambers did not depend on Kosovo. The process was carried out by the international community even before 2015.”

Kosovo Foreign Minister warns of Russian – Serbian hybrid threats (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Meliza Haradinaj – Stublla, posted on Twitter on Monday that “Kosovo values freedom of expression as a fundamental right and is strongly committed on countering continuous hybrid threats of disinformation and fake news, fuelled by freedom foes Russia & Serbia, who do not want to see a prosperous and stable Western Balkans. #DefendMediaFreedom”.

At the first ministerial meeting of the Media Freedom Coalition, Haradinaj – Stublla also said that false and misleading information sponsored by Russia and Serbia, mainly about the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia and also developments in the Western Balkans, are aimed at undermining ethnic cohesion and that they go against efforts by the United States and the European Union to reach a final agreement between the two countries.

Zeka: SPO told Azem Syla not to leave Kosovo this week (media)

Milaim Zeka, reporter and former member of the Kosovo Assembly, told Kanal10 on Monday evening that according to his information the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office in The Hague has told Azem Syla, a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, not to leave Kosovo this week.

“I have said this based on my information and these are credible. I have information that prosecutors of the SPO have told Azem Syla not to leave Kosovo this week,” he said.

According to Zeka, the Specialist Chambers are also expected to confirm an indictment against Adem Grabovci given his role in the former Kosovo Liberation Army.

Azem Syla’s defense attorney, Besnik Berisha, reacted to Zeka’s claims saying they are absolutely untrue and that his client was never given such instructions by the Specialist Chambers. Berisha said Syla has never talked to the prosecutors and that the whole communication was done through him as his attorney. Sejdi Hoxha, an MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) too reacted against Zeka’s statement saying it is not true and that families must not be disturbed with such claims.

“Mortal remains found in Serbia are of Kosovo Albanians” (media)

Kosovo Forensics Institute chief Arsim Gerxhaliu said on Monday evening that the mortal remains found in two locations in Serbia are of Kosovo Albanians. He told Klan Kosova from the site that the search team was there for three weeks but that they found the remains today. “The remains are of Albanians from Kosovo and now the whole process must be conducted in terms of the number and identification. Samples will then be taken and sent to the International Committee for Missing Persons and after the analysis the law provides for the transport and return to the country of origin. The process will last but tomorrow we will have more accurate information,” he said.

Janjic: Kosovo, Serbia will reach agreement late next year (media)

Political commentator Dusan Janjic told Dukagjini TV on Monday that he expects Kosovo and Serbia to reach an agreement late next year but that this would not include Serbia’s recognition of Kosovo’s statehood.

“I think the parties will reach an agreement late next year, similar to the agreement in Washington, whereby President Vucic would accept the reality in Kosovo but would not fully recognise Kosovo’s independence,” he said.

Janjic argued that there are two problems that are preventing progress in the dialogue. “First, is the lack of preparations by Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak and his team and the European Union. It is wrong to start with the idea that we will not agree on anything until we agree on everything. These agreements can be made with a trade person in a store, but not between two countries. I think we need to wait for Biden to assume office so that Brussels can cooperate closely with Washington in pushing forward the process of dialogue,” he said.