UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, September 7, 2021

COVID-19: 28 deaths, 489 new cases (media)
Over half a million vaccine doses, donated by U.S., reach Kosovo (media)
PM Kurti and Secretary Blinken discuss hosting of Afghan refugees (media)
More than 1,200 Afghan Refugees Already Landed in Albania and Kosovo (Exit News)
Technical dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia to resume today (media)
Imposing Justice Will Not Bring Reconciliation in Kosovo (BIRN)
Osmani, Radoniqi discuss impact of pandemic on electoral process (media)
Konjufca supports postponement of local elections (T7/media)

COVID-19: 28 deaths, 489 new cases (media)

28 deaths from COVID-19 and 489 new infections were recorded in Kosovo in the last 24 hours. 859 persons recovered from the virus during this time.

There are 25,290 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Over half a million vaccine doses, donated by U.S., reach Kosovo (media)

503,100 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Pristina yesterday, donated by the United States through the COVAX initiative.

"Today, the United States donated an additional 503,100 lifesaving, safe, and highly effective Pfizer vaccine doses to Kosovo. Including the August 20 first tranche, the United States has delivered over 538,200 doses to protect Kosovans," the U.S. Embassy in Kosovo wrote.

The U.S. State Department meanwhile said that the donation will allow Kosovo to protect its citizens faster against more infectious COVID-19 strains like Delta. "A healthy, independent, resilient Kosovo is a stronger partner for the United States," it said on Facebook.

President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani said that the 503,000 vaccines donated by the USA represent 503,000 additional chances to protect and save lives from the virus. "There is no reason not to get vaccinated! Young people, old people, teachers, pregnant women, men and women, vaccination saves lives! YOU have to get vaccinated as well to save yourself, your loved ones, our economy and our future! Thank you President Biden, and the American people for being with us again, as always," Osmani wrote on social media.

Kosovo's Ministry of Health announced that apart from the U.S. donation, 53,820 additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine were delivered to the Kosovo healthcare authorities as part of the bilateral agreement between Kosovo and the vaccine manufacturer. The Ministry said the new delivery will enable the vaccination process to be further empowered.

PM Kurti and Secretary Blinken discuss hosting of Afghan refugees (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti had a telephone conversation yesterday with the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and discussed the hosting of Afghan citizens.

In a Twitter post Kurti said Blinken expressed the appreciation of President Joe Biden for the support and cooperation of Kosovo. "Kosova is honored to offer a safe & secure environment for Afghan citizens during their transition. Our alliance w/ the US is unwavering, & our friendship is growing stronger," Kurti wrote.

Blinken at the same time tweeted: "In my call today with Kosovo Prime Minister @albinkurti, I thanked the government and people of Kosovo for hosting at-risk Afghans. Kosovo citizens, many once refugees themselves, have again demonstrated their willingness and capacity to contribute to global peace and security."

More than 1,200 Afghan Refugees Already Landed in Albania and Kosovo (Exit News)

683 Afghan refugees are currently in Kosovo according to Kosovo Minister of Interior Xhelal Svecla.

Talking to Radio Free Europe, Svecla said that the refugees are being housed in the city of Ferizaj and at Bondsteel, an American military camp.

He confirmed that more refugees are expected this week and Kosovo will provide shelter to 2,000 Afghans who have collaborated with the US and NATO.

Afghan refugees arriving in Kosovo are granted a one-year residence permit.

Meanwhile, 650 Afghan refugees have reached Albania to date, and they are being hosted in Tirana, Durres, and Lezhe.

The Albanian government will grant temporary protection to Afghan citizens who have sought shelter in Albania following the recent Taliban occupation.

As per the law, the individual with the status of temporary protection cannot be deported, returned, or extradited outside the territory of Albania.

Prime Minister Edi Rama has said Albania would be willing to host up to 3,000 Afghan refugees if necessary, although the final numbers of refugees that will arrive in Albania has yet to be confirmed.

Technical dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia to resume today (media)

A new round of the technical dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is expected to take place in Brussels during 7 and 8 September.

Kosovo's delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi, will present Kosovo's position and demands on the issue of enforced disappearances, energy agreement and that on vehicle license plates, Kosovapress reports quoting the Kosovo Government spokesperson Perparim Kryeziu. While the two last issues will be presented to the EU facilitators during the bilateral meeting, the missing persons will be discussed at the trilateral meeting where the Serbian side will be headed by Petar Petkovic, director of the Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo.

EU foreign policy spokesperson, Peter Stano, said that the meetings will focus on 'current issues' and the 'road ahead in continuation of the dialogue'. He also said that the EU expects the parties to implement all agreements reached so far, including that relating to official visits. "Parties have agreed on clear modalities for reviewing and carrying out official visits and this agreement should not be politicised. Visits from both sides should be done in a way to help the process of normalisation of relations and contribute to the overall work in the framework of the dialogue," Stano is quoted by the Radio Free Europe.

Imposing Justice Will Not Bring Reconciliation in Kosovo (BIRN)

The pursuit of justice for crimes committed during the 1998-99 war requires the consent and involvement of the people of Kosovo to ensure that it has legitimacy and any chance of achieving reconciliation and facilitating progress.

As Western power internationally has declined since 2008, a new disposition amongst Kosovo’s erstwhile allies has evolved in tandem with their reappraisal of foreign policy priorities; one of the most obvious manifestations of this has been their determination to limit Russia’s increasing influence in the Balkan region.

To this end, Western powers have sought to encourage Serbia into their sphere of influence.

This has meant that Serbia’s preferences have been prioritised, and Western states have essentially turned a blind eye to the increasingly authoritarian nature of the Serbian government.

This concerted effort to appease Belgrade has come at Kosovo’s expense; Kosovo has been pressurised into acceding to a range of compromises which have undermined its sovereignty.

These include the agreement to establish a Serb-majority municipalities association of 2013, the creation of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in 2015, and the September 2020 Washington agreement. In particular – and of greatest relevance to the subject of our edited collection – at Serbia’s behest, the issue of addressing the crimes committed by Serbian forces in Kosovo in the 1990s has been essentially removed from the diplomatic agenda.

The EU – and indeed the US – has hosted dozens of summits between Serbia and Kosovo since 2008, but the focus has shifted markedly away from dealing with Serbia’s past misdeeds, to ‘normalisation’ and future cooperation.

This has happened despite the fact that there are thousands of people from Kosovo still registered as disappeared and Serbia has failed to atone for the thousands of rapes, murders and tortures committed by its personnel during the systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing it waged in Kosovo, as is noted in many of the chapters in our new collection of analyses, Kosovo and Transitional Justice.

Indeed, in recent years Serbia’s president and prime minster have publicly denied that certain massacres took place, with President Aleksandar Vucic even declaring in 2018 that Slobodan Milosevic was a “great Serbian leader who undoubtedly had the best intentions”.

As noted by many of our contributors, those who survived Serbia’s brutality in the 1990s, watching as their Western allies stay silent in the face of Serbian leaders repeatedly refusing to acknowledge their suffering, cannot but have evoked both anger and disillusionment.

It is precisely within this prevailing societal context in Kosovo that the Kosovo Specialist Chambers is now operating; it can hardly be a surprise that the Kosovo Albanian community has not greeted it with open arms.

At the time of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers’ creation, a joint statement by the US and EU noted: “By dealing with its past and ensuring justice for the victims, Kosovo can achieve reconciliation and build a better future.”

Whether the Kosovo Specialist Chambers will indeed serve as a panacea remains to be seen; but all the contributors to our book suggest otherwise.