• COVID-19: Seven new cases, one death (media)
• Half of NATO troops in Kosovo already fully vaccinated (Koha)
• Kurti on unification of Albanians: Our goals remain unchanged (media)
• Kurti's chief of staff comments on Orthodox Church liturgy (media)
• Ceku: Interfaith harmony is a quality that distinguishes Kosovar society (media)
• Von Cramon: Association to be part of the final agreement package (KP)
• Quint had asked Hoti to explain delays in discussing Association (Koha)
• COMKFOR, Quint ambassadors discuss security situation in Kosovo (media)
• KLA veterans react to picture of Serbian flag at Koshare, police refute news (media)
• Police: Buses with passengers from Serbia did not submit request to visit Kosovo (media)
• CEC ready for local elections estimated to cost €7.5 million (media)
• LDK's Veliu rejects decision to remove him from party branch's top post (media)
• Biden’s Balkans Test Has Arrived (Foreign Policy)

COVID-19: Seven new cases, one death (media)

Kosovo has recorded seven new cases of COVID-19 and one death in the last 24-hour period. 103 recoveries were also confirmed during this time.

There are currently 434 active cases of coronavirus in Kosovo.

Kosovo health officials said that so far around 99,000 persons have received the Covid vaccines and that the mass vaccination process is expected to begin on 15 June.

Half of NATO troops in Kosovo already fully vaccinated (Koha)

Koha reported that half of KFOR troops have already received both doses of the vaccine against COVID-19. At the same time, KFOR did not reveal what type of vaccine the soldiers received.

"KFOR troops have been vaccinated in line with their national provisions. KFOR has secured logistical support for distribution of vaccines to its troops. So far, almost half of KFOR contingents have concluded the vaccination process; the other half has received the first dose and we will begin making the necessary preparations for delivering the second dose in the coming weeks," KFOR spokesperson Antonio Minutella said in a reply.

Kurti on unification of Albanians: Our goals remain unchanged (media)

On the 16th anniversary of the establishment of the Vetevendosje Movement, its leader and Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti said that the national unification of Albanians remains part of their programme.

"Our governing alternative is the same and our goals remains the same, but we employ increasingly more ways, increasingly more mechanisms and instruments to achieve the same goal, to make steps towards approximation with the Republic of Albania and help Albanians elsewhere in the Balkans to become factors as much as possible and as soon as possible," Kurti is quoted by Klan Kosova.

Meanwhile, in commemorating the anniversary of NATO troops entering Kosovo, Kurti wrote on Twitter: "22 yrs ago, after 78 days of air bombing of Serbia's military targets and its capital Belgrade, NATO ground troops entered Kosova marking the day of liberation and peace. Serbia committed genocide in Kosova and expelled or deported over one million people."

Kurti's chief of staff comments on Orthodox Church liturgy (media)

Luan Dalipi, chief of staff to Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti, commented on Twitter on the move by the Serbian Orthodox Church to hold a liturgy at the unfinished church building within the University of Prishtina campus calling it a provocation and thanking the citizens of Kosovo for maintaining calm and showing maturity.

In a series of consecutive posts, Dalipi said Kosovo is proud of its religious tolerance and that the intention of the government in Belgrade is to provoke by having the Orthodox Church hold a liturgy inside the UP campus at an unfinished building which "was built by force during the Milosevic regime and genocidal campaign, and after all Albanian students and lecturers were expelled from UP."

"While democratic nations engage in vigorous debate & serious soul-searching about the monuments that glorify repression, Serbia uses relics of her dark past in an attempt to destabilize the country that it brutally occupied and oppressed for a century, culminating in genocide. We urge the Serbian govt to confront its past, rather than trying to advance its political agendas under the cloak of faith. Our message to them is to stop crying wolf, to cease stirring trouble & instead focus on opening a new chapter of peace by recognizing Ksv's statehood," Dalipi wrote.

Ceku: Interfaith harmony is a quality that distinguishes Kosovar society (media)

Kosovo's Minister of Culture, Hajrulla Ceku, said that the institution of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo enjoys all the constitutional, legal and institutional guarantees that ensure full respect of their rights, as well as a high level of safety. "Interfaith harmony is a quality which distinguishes Kosovar society. We cultivate special respect towards our places of worship and have provided innumerable historical evidence of their active protection," Ceku said in a Facebook post.

He also noted that Kosovo taxpayers have paid 6.9 million EUR, while the EU added another 2.9M EUR for the restoration of around 50 Orthodox sites and facilities damaged in March 2004 riots and that the courts have tried dozens of perpetrators with jail sentences ranging from 21 months to 16 years for their role in the riots.

Ceku said there is a special cultural heritage unit within the Kosovo Police whose role is to safeguard Orthodox sites and that according to the police and KFOR, the last serious incident near an Orthodox Church occurred in 2007. "According to Kosovo Police, out of 57 incidents at religious sites during 2020, only eight occurred at Orthodox churches, while 45 at Muslim sites. Most of the 57 incidents were cases of theft, while none were classified as religiously motivated."

“Ahtisaari Plan’s annex on cultural heritage sets 15 major obligations in six articles. Kosovo fulfilled all of its duties. There is only one obligation involving Serbia, but has never been implemented: the return of the looted artifacts to Kosovo,” Ceku said, adding that Serbia has meanwhile not accepted responsibility or apologized for its forces destroying hundreds of cultural heritage sites during 1998-99 war.

Ceku continued: “Organizing political liturgies makes you a political Church. As such, instead of bringing people together, you incite conflict. The Eternal God commands us to seek peace. Following 'political gods' instructions is a recipe for disaster, the SOC should have learned its lesson from the 1990s. There is an ongoing property dispute case for the unfinished structure built on the University of Prishtina campus during Milosevic's genocidal reign. The political liturgy of the SOC is a direct pressure on the court, attack on judicial independence and breach of rule of law.”

Von Cramon: Association to be part of the final agreement package (KP)

European Parliament rapporteur for Kosovo, Viola von Cramon, spoke to Kosovapress about the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia which she said should end in mutual recognition and on which parties should show constructiveness.

Von Cramon argued that if Kosovo is granted visa liberalisations, the citizens will easier agree to compromises that may emerge from the final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia. She further said that discussion on border changes is "toxic". “There cannot be any debate about that.”

On the issue of the Association of the Serb-majority municipalities, von Cramon said that the Kosovo side has fulfilled many of its obligations from the Ahtisaari plan while not everything has been fulfilled by the Serbian side. "Before we start speaking of this Association, which is part of the plan, I think we should also very carefully look through all the other issues which both sides have agreed on and as I said it is part of the overall package in the end." She noted that whatever the competencies of this Association will be, "it should be nothing like the Republika Srpska in Bosnia."

Quint had asked Hoti to explain delays in discussing Association (Koha)

The report of Kosovo's former coordinator in dialogue with Serbia, Skender Hyseni, showed that then Prime Minister of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti was asked by the Quint members to explain delays in discussing the issue of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities.

Hoti had gathered Quint ambassadors to a meeting shortly after and is said to have reconfirmed the position that he was ready to discuss the statute of the Association but asked the ambassadors to support him in leaving the issue to be tackled at a later stage of the dialogue, "in the hope that the political spectrum would reach consensus on this matter."

The 26-page report submitted by Hyseni, and published by the current Government of Kosovo, says the 17 September meeting between the delegations from Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels was extremely tense. "Serbian side put at the table completely unaceptable and irrational proposals which even made [EU envoy] Lajcak lose control. The reaction of the Kosovo delegation to Serb proposals was fierce but grounded on facts and arguments, both historic and substantial. The meeting ended without any agreement except the committment from both sides to send our proposals to Lajcak's office," Hyseni said in the report.

COMKFOR, Quint ambassadors discuss security situation in Kosovo (media)

KFOR Commander, Major General Franco Federici, met over the weekend the representative of the EU Office and the ambassadors of France, Italy, United Kingdom, and the United States.

A statement issued by KFOR said the working lunch was part of periodic consultations between Quint ambassadors and KFOR Commander. "They discussed and exchanged information concerning the security situation in Kosovo and the importance of collaboration amid International Organizations and the Kosovo Force. Further actions and new domains of cooperation have been also discussed," the statement reads.

KLA veterans react to picture of Serbian flag at Koshare, police refute news (media)

The KLA veterans from the Dukagjini region have reacted to pictures shared on social media and by one of Serbia-based news portals showing a Serbian flag put up at what was once the watch tower of KLA troops in the village of Koshare, the scene of one of the fiercest fighting between the KLA and Serbian forces in 1999.

The KLA veterans said this constitutes a provocation for all Albanians: "For the KLA fighters and the families of those who gave their lives for freedom, this is a grave insult by Serbia on the eve of the 22nd anniversary of liberation, notwithstanding the fact that such an act takes place very near the graves of the Heroes of the 138 Agim Ramadani Brigade," the veterans said and called on the Government of Kosovo and security authorities to take appropriate measures against such acts.

Kosovo Police has meanwhile refuted reports that a Serb flag is up at Koshare. KP spokesperson Daut Hoxha said the story that made the rounds on social media and was published by the Serbian news outlet "Blic" is aimed at disinforming the citizens. "Based on current reports from border police units and verifications from the site, such news is not true," Hoxha said and posted a picture from in front of the Koshare watch tower with no Serbian flag appearing there.

Police: Buses with passengers from Serbia did not submit request to visit Kosovo (media)

Serbian media reported that two buses with around 80 passengers from Serbia were not allowed to enter Kosovo through the border crossing point in Jarinje. One of the buses is said to have transported pilgrims who planned to visit religious sites in Kosovo and the other had mountain climbers.

Head of the Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo Petar Petkovic said this was a provocation by authorities in Pristina while the spokesperson for the Kosovo Police Bajram Krasniqi said that relevant institutions did not receive any requests for visits.

CEC ready for local elections estimated to cost €7.5 million (media)

Head of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Valdete Daka, told Kosovapress that they are ready to organise local elections expected to take place this autumn and that the process is estimated will cost €7.5 million, which also includes costs for possible run-off mayoral elections in all municipalities.

Media also report that the principle of those that have been found guilty of a criminal offense by a final court verdict during the last three years will not be eligible to run for upcoming elections.

LDK's Veliu rejects decision to remove him from party branch's top post (media)

Agim Veliu, former deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), took to Facebook to comment on the recent decision of the party to dismiss him from the head of the LDK's branch in Podujeve saying the decision is 'unlawful' and as a result 'invalid'.

Veliu said he was informed of the news of his dismissal from the media and accused the party leader, Lumir Abdixhiku, of "playing a dirty game". "For the LDK branch in Podujeve and for me as its chairman, the 9 June decision of the Central Chairmanship is unlawful and invalid. The chairmanship of the LDK branch will convene in the coming days and carefully analise the situation," Veliu announced.

Biden’s Balkans Test Has Arrived (Foreign Policy)

One set of standards for the Balkans or two? That is a looming question for U.S. President Joe Biden as he meets NATO allies and European Union partners next week in Brussels, writes in an op-ed for Foreign Policy, Edward P. Joseph from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

"At the moment, the United States and EU have a two-tiered system when it comes to democratic standards in the Balkans—a privileged, see-no-evil path for Serbia and a stricter one for Serbia’s EU aspirant neighbors. It’s a dangerous paradox: The region’s most anti-democratic regime, the Serbian government led by President Aleksandar Vucic, gets the most favorable treatment from U.S. and EU officials. Unlike Cold War dictators like Yugoslavia’s Josip Broz Tito whom the West supported, Vucic is a shill for the West’s adversaries Russia and China. Belgrade practices and promotes the illiberal democracy of its main EU ally, Hungary. Serbia’s EU candidacy is largely a charade. While its neighbors struggle for the right to open negotiations with the EU, Belgrade is dilatory, having closed only two of 35 chapters of accession negotiations in its eight-year candidacy. Last year, Serbia opened no new accession chapters at all."

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