• Kurti participates at the World Economic Forum panel on Western Balkans (media)
• Meta meets Osmani: Coordination in the fight against trafficking required (RTK)
• Kosovo reacts to conclusion of excavations in Serbia (media)
• Kosovo's Defence Minister Mehaj meets U.S. Ambassador Hovenier (Telegrafi)
• Serbia-Kosovo Reconciliation Festival Opens Despite Rightist Fury (BIRN)
• Florian Qehaja, Kosovo's new ambassador to North Macedonia (media)
• PDK appoints a "Minister" of Defence in the "Shadow Government" (media)
• KOSTT seeks court's assistance for electricity not paid for by north's consumers (Kallxo)
• Protest for allowing the withdrawal of the Pension Trust funds (media)
• Judge Faces Fresh Disciplinary Proceedings After BIRN Investigation (BIRN)
• COVID-19: 8 new cases (media)

 

 

Kurti participates at the World Economic Forum panel on Western Balkans (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti took part in a discussion panel on the Western Balkans in the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

A press release issued by the Government of Kosovo said that the discussion, chaired by President of the World Economic Forum Borge Brende, included Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic, Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazovic, Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria Alexander Schallenberg,  President of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zoran Tegeltija, European Union Special Representative for Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak, and Odile Francoise Renaud-Basso from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

“This session, which provided opportunities for multilateral dialogue on the Western Balkans, aims to help foster regional co-operation and build new international partnerships,” the Government said.

Meta meets Osmani: Coordination in the fight against trafficking required (RTK)

In the framework of the "Balkan Freedom Forum", the President of Albania Ilir Meta held a meeting on Wednesday with the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani.

Meta and Osmani shared the same assessment that the institutions of both Kosovo and Albania, especially the law enforcement ones, should increase their capacities and be better coordinated in the joint fight against trafficking in human beings, as well as any other type of trafficking that threatens national security. "It is very necessary to exchange experiences for effective legal protection, for all victims of trafficking, offering them more access and unconditional assistance," Meta said.

Osmani participated on Wednesday in the international conference in Tirana, on the topic: Current trends in trafficking in human beings in the Western Balkans. "Together with U.S. senators and congressmen, representatives of international and non-governmental organizations dealing with the fight against trafficking in human beings, we discussed the current trend in the state, regional and international context," Osmani wrote on her Facebook account.

Read Osmani's remarks at the conference here: https://bit.ly/3NyQ1xV

Kosovo reacts to conclusion of excavations in Serbia (media)

Kosovo Government's Commission on Missing Persons confirmed that Serbian authorities have halted excavations near the Staval mine in Serbia and expressed dissatisfaction with what it said was the Serbian side's failure to share information about the possible whereabouts of missing persons.

"The failure to provide additional information requested by the Commission of the Republic of Kosovo, not only demonstrates the non-cooperation of Serbian institutions but also the unwillingness and lack of serious and sincere commitment of the Serbian side to shed light on the fate of the missing during the 1998-99 war in Kosovo. The excavations that started on May 10 did not result in the uncovering of a mass grave therefore due to the specifics of the terrain and such locations used by the Serbian military and police forces during the war to dispose of the bodies in their attempt to hide the traces of the crime remains, it is crucial to provide additional information, in particular from the archives of Serbian institutions," the Kosovo Commission said in a statement.

Veljko Odalovic from the Serbian Government's Commission on Missing Persons yesterday said that excavations in Staval, Serbia that commenced on 10 May in search of a possible mass grave have concluded without any human remains uncovered.

Kosovo's Defence Minister Mehaj meets U.S. Ambassador Hovenier (Telegrafi)

Armend Mehaj, Defence Minister of Kosovo, met yesterday the U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier. They discussed deepening of cooperation in the field of security and defence in the service of regional peace, stability and security, a statement issued by the Ministry of Defence said.

Mehaj expressed deep appreciation for the United States' continued support for Kosovo in building and advancing the Ministry of Defence and the Kosovo Security Force. "Mehaj in addition reaffirmed the fact that the U.S. support is vital in development of skills and operational capacities with ally forces of partner countries and members of NATO."

Hovenier on his part is said to have pledged that the U.S. would continue the partnership with the Ministry of Defence and the KSF.

Serbia-Kosovo Reconciliation Festival Opens Despite Rightist Fury (BIRN)

The Mirëdita, Dobar Dan festival, which means “good day” in Albanian and Serbian and promotes reconciliation between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians, opened Wednesday in Belgrade with a photo exhibition, “All our tears”, which pays homage to victims of war in Yugoslavia, particularly ethnic Serbs, Albanians and Macedonians.

“The festival starts with this because war victims are a stumbling stone in our relations. In order to understand each other better, we need to know what happened. This exhibition intends to give space to the voice of victims because it is a zero point of every dialogue,” Sofija Todorovic, the programme director of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, one of the organizers, said.

She emphasized that the exhibition was created in cooperation with associations of families of missing and killed people from Serbia and Kosovo, as well as families of killed civilians and internally displaced persons from North Macedonia.

The stories represent several aspects of the wars in the former Yugoslavia – family photos of missing persons, crime scenes, mass graves, internally displaced persons and memorials, but also the long-lasting consequences of the conflict that are still felt today, showing the tragedy and complexity of the war.

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

Florian Qehaja, Kosovo's new ambassador to North Macedonia (media)

Florian Qehaja has been nominated the new Kosovo Ambassador to North Macedonia. He took over his duty in Skopje on Wednesday.

On the same day, Ambassador Qehaja was expected to submit copies of his credentials to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani.

PDK appoints a "Minister" of Defence in the "Shadow Government" (media)

The leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Memli Krasniqi, presented on Wednesday Besa Kabashi-Ramaj as the Coordinator of the Department for Defence and National Security within the Cabinet for Good Governance.

Through a presentation video, Krasniqi expressed his happiness that an expert on national security and defense, such as Besa Kabashi-Ramaj, will lead one of the most important departments of the Cabinet for Good Governance in PDK. She is also a member of the PDK leadership.

KOSTT seeks court's assistance for electricity not paid for by north's consumers (Kallxo)

Kosovo's transmission system operator company (KOSTT) has addressed the Basic Court in Pristina arguing that it cannot implement a part of its operating license agreement due to losses incurred by non-payment of electricity in the north of Kosovo.

KOSTT said it would comment on the issue no further as the matter is now with the courts.

Protest for allowing the withdrawal of the Pension Trust funds (media)

A protest calling for the withdrawal of a percentage of the assets of the Pension Trust will be held today in Pristina.

Through a post by a group of citizens on Facebook, it was announced that at 12:00 hours, they will protest peacefully in front of the Assembly of Kosovo, to demand from MPs to vote amendment of the Law on Pension Fund.

Judge Faces Fresh Disciplinary Proceedings After BIRN Investigation (BIRN)

Only weeks after returning to work, Kaçanik judge Riza Livoreka faces more disciplinary proceedings at the hands of the Kosovo Judicial Council, KJC, after BIRN requested such action concerning points that remained unaddressed in its earlier proceedings, which took place a month ago.

The request was approved by the President of the Court of Ferizaj, Musafë Tahiri.

The KJC in April cut Livoreka’s salary by 40 per cent for ten months after it found him guilty of holding an “ex-parte” meeting with one party in a court case without the presence of the other party, and of improper action.

BIRN had requested that he be investigated for a total of six disciplinary violations.

After analyzing the KJC’s decision, the Legal Office of BIRN repeated the disciplinary request and requested a professional investigation.

The KJC suspended Livoreka 24 hours after BIRN’s Kallxo Pernime show revealed footage in January of the judge illegally negotiating a deal between the parties involved in a trial, outside the court.

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

COVID-19: 8 new cases (media)

Eight new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Kosovo in the last 24 hours. There are 138 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.