Albanian Language Media:

• Osmani: Kosovo needs a stable government (media)

• Kallas: Tensions in Balkans on the rise, we must continue enlargement (media)

• Gervalla meets Kallas: Support for Kosovo is support for united Europe (media)

• Osmani: New recognitions, a pace that will not stop (media)

• AARC calls on Govt to eliminate all tariffs on goods imported from U.S. (media)

• Grenell says funds for the Specialist Court should be stopped (media)

• Rasic on new govt, “Serbia’s blackmail against Kosovo Serbs” (Indeksonline)

• First male survivor of sexual violence in Kosovo war speaks out (Koha)

   

Serbian Language Media: 

• Brnabic: Proposal for new government arrived, Assembly session tomorrow (RTS, TV Pink, Blic, media)
• EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg – Western Balkans among topics (RTS)
• The verification of MPs in Pristina, the SL to take over Serbian mandates (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)

• Students from Belgrade and colleagues from Kosovo visited Gracanica; Protest in N.Mitrovica tomorrow (KiM radio, medijacentar.info)

   

Opinion:

• Serbia’s Student Plenums: A blueprint for renewing democracy (Balkan Insight)

   

International Media:

• War Crimes trial of former Kosovo President hits milestone as prosecution rests case (RFE)

Albanian Language Media 

Osmani: Kosovo needs a stable government (media)

Most media cover an interview that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani gave to RTV21 highlighting her remarks that Kosovo needs a stable government. She said Kosovo’s partners have asked her if the new government will be formed by May when the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is expected to discuss Kosovo’s membership bid. “Yesterday I had several discussions with our partners specifically with regards to the voting at the Committee of Ministers in May and many of them were asking if the new government will be formed by that time,” she said.

Osmani said she hopes that the new government will be formed soon, and that Kosovo needs a stable government. “Kosovo needs a stable government. As to how broad it will be it depends on the parties. The parties need to decide and as President I cannot interfere in the process. It is important to have a government voted at the Assembly, a government that respects the Constitution and a government that puts the interest of the Republic and its people above everything else,” she said.

Kallas: Tensions in Balkans on the rise, we must continue enlargement (Koha)

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, said today that tensions in the Western Balkans are on the rise and she called for the enlargement process to move forward. “We see the tensions rising and we definitely need to move with the enlargement process because this is something that is really tangible. And we really need success stories here,” she said before the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council.

Gervalla meets Kallas: Support for Kosovo is support for united Europe (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Donika Gervalla met today with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, and stressed the key role that the European Union plays not only in maintaining stability, but also to provide vision and justice for all European citizens.

Gervalla said Kosovo should be “treated as an equal and respected partner in all European integration processes, including accelerating the road to membership in the European Union and other international organisations”.

Gervalla also argued that support for Kosovo could not remain at the declaration level, but must be translated into concrete steps, closing the process for membership in the Council of Europe, advancing the application for EU membership and removing unfair measures that undermine the spirit of the partnership. She said the European future of the Western Balkans cannot be complete without Kosovo. "Support for the Republic of Kosovo is a support for a more democratic, more equal and more united Europe”.

Osmani: New recognitions, a pace that will not stop (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in an interview with the Radio Television of Kosovo on Sunday that the latest recognitions of Kosovo, from Kenya and Sudan, are a very good momentum and that they come from two countries that have an exceptional impact on the African continent and beyond. 

Asked to comment on discussions about the merits for the new recognitions, Osmani said: “no serious person would discuss the issue of individual merits, as this is a merit of the people of Kosovo and its long sacrifice for freedom. This [the recognitions] is a process that is fully in line with international law and confirmed by the International Court of Justice. It is a result of many people, many institutions, years of work, but also a result of the outstanding support we have received from our allies”. 

Asked about her future with one year left in her mandate, Osmani said: “what should be discussed is the future of Kosovo and not that of individuals. I have always worked and continue to work for Kosovo to have a bright and positive future for all its people. No one should be concerned about my individual future. I will continue to give a positive contribution for my country for a long time and that is what is important”.

AARC calls on Govt to eliminate all tariffs on goods imported from U.S. (media)

The Albanian American Relations Council (AARC) called on the Kosovo government on Sunday to “eliminate all tariffs on goods imported from the United States. This step would stand as a powerful and symbolic expression of gratitude and continued partnership between our two nations”.

“The United States has been a vital and unwavering ally to the people of Kosovo—from its leadership in securing Kosovo’s freedom and independence to its ongoing support for democratic institutions, economic development, and international recognition. Our shared values of liberty, cooperation, and progress form the cornerstone of this enduring relationship. By removing tariffs on U.S. goods, Kosovo would reaffirm its commitment to this alliance and take a proactive step toward deeper economic integration and trust. It would also send a clear and positive message to the global community: that Kosovo honors its friends and recognizes the immense value of its partnership with the United States. The current government did not impose them - they were imposed by the U.N. Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) - but it should remove them. Incredibly, Kosovo has zero tariffs on Serbia - a country that overtly professes its territorial ambitions and continues to destabilize Kosovo and the region - while continuing to maintain a 10% tariff on U.S. goods! This is more than an economic decision—it is a gesture of unity, gratitude, and long-term vision. Join us and the Albanian American Relations Council in calling on Kosovo’s leaders to take this important step and continue building a future rooted in mutual respect and friendship,” the statement notes.

Grenell says funds for the Specialist Court should be stopped (media)

Several news websites cover a post on X by U.S. Presidential envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, who called for the funding of the Specialist Chambers of Kosovo to be stopped. “Defund this court! It’s all politics. Billions have been spent and wasted,” Grenell wrote. He had shared a post by journalist Fitim Ceku who wrote that “the chief prosecutor of the special court in The Hague, Kimberly West, liked the post insulting President Donald Trump. In addition to the chief Prosecutor, it can be seen that the post insulting President Trump is also liked by the other prosecutor of the Special Court in The Hague, Silvia D'Ascoli. So it is clear that in The Hague, in the case of Thaci, there is an anti-Trump spirit, and the persecution of President Thaci is happening because Thaci is pro-Trump”.

Rasic on govt formation, “Serbia’s blackmail against Kosovo Serbs” (Indeksonline)

Nenad Rasic, Kosovo Serb political representative, registered today as a member of the Kosovo Assembly, and talked to the media about the formation of the new government of Kosovo and what he called Belgrade’s blackmail against the Kosovo Serbs. “The blackmail has been happening since 2013, it is nothing new, they have been blackmailing for 12 years now. It is still happening against the policies that me and my associates represent. Oftentimes they stop me at the border, I must wait up to four hours, and I also must take part in informative meetings. So this is not new to me. I don’t expect the regime in Belgrade or the ruling party in Serbia to change their ways of mistreating us politicians and every Serb citizen living in Kosovo. All the people that travelled from Kosovo to attend the protest in Serbia two days ago, were blackmailed. I can guarantee that people here for 13 years have been mistreated by the grey eminence of politics orchestrated by Belgrade,” he argued.

First male survivor of sexual violence in Kosovo war speaks out (Koha)

Ramadan Nishori, a Kosovo Albanian, has publicly shared today the sexual abuse he suffered during the war in Kosovo, in September 1998, as a 22-year-old, at a police station in Drenas. “I want people today to see me as a person that suffered through a lot but who never broke down. I don’t want people to see me with pity for the violence I have suffered, but with respect as a person that has fought hard to survive,” Nishori said on the occasion of the Day of Survivors of Sexual Violence in war. “Two police officers in uniform came and sent me to a toilet room, and the worst that can happen to someone happened to me here. I never imagined it could happen to me. One of them raped me, and while the other was getting ready to do the same, an Albanian heard me screaming and got me out of there,” he explained.

Nishori said that the rapists threatened him not to tell anyone about what had happened. He was arrested by Serbian forces and released only in March 2001 with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Nishori said that in 2005 he had approached for the first time the premises of the Kosovar Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (KRCT) but that he lacked the strength to go inside. “I went there a dozen times, but I could not find the courage to go inside. Then one evening I saw an interview of Vasfije Krasniqi [the first survivor of sexual violence during the Kosovo war to tell her story in public] who is a living hero … I texted her on Messenger immediately. I want to thank her greatly for immediately replying to my message. The next day I went there [to the Center]”.

Feride Rushiti, director of the KRCT, said today “when we say ‘my voice is my power’ we are acknowledging and appreciating the courage to speak out. We are also giving a voice to all those that have not been able to speak out. This is not only a step of one survivor, but a step forward for our society toward empathy, justice and truth”.

Serbian Language Media

Brnabic: Proposal for new government arrived, Assembly session tomorrow (RTS, TV Pink, Blic, media)

Speaker of the Serbian Parliament Ana Brnabic stated today that the Parliament has received a proposal for a new government and that the session will begin tomorrow at 10 am, reported RTS. 

Ana Brnabic stated for Pink TV that Sinisa Mali will remain the Minister of Finance, and that Dejan Vuk Stankovic will be the Minister of Education.

''It will be forwarded to all MPs in a few minutes,'' Brnabic said.

The Speaker of the Parliament emphasized that the new Government will include more than 50 percent new ministers.

Prime Minister candidate Djuro Macut submitted today to the Serbian Parliament a proposal for the composition of the Serbian Government, including biographies of the proposed members of the Government. 

Sinisa Mali, for the Minister of Finance; Ivica Dacic for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior; Adrijana Mesarovic, for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy; prof. Dr. Dragan Glamocic, for the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management; Sara Pavkov, for the Minister of Environmental Protection; Dejan Vuk Stankovic, for the Minister of Education;  Aleksandra Sofronijevic, for the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure; Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, for the Minister of Mining and Energy; Jagoda Lazarevic, for the Minister of Internal and Foreign Trade; Nenad Vujic, for the Minister of Justice; Snezana Paunovic, for the Minister of State Administration and Local Self-Government; Demo Berisa, for the Minister of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue; Bratislav Gasic for Minister of Defense; Marko Djuric for Minister of Foreign Affairs; Nemanja Starovic for Minister of European Integration; Dejan Vuk Stankovic for Minister of Education; Zlatibor Loncar, for the Minister of Health; Milica Djurdjvic Stamenkovski, for the Minister of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs; Jelena Zaric Kovacevic, for the Minister of Family Care and Demography; Zoran Gajic, for the Minister of Sports; Nikola Selakovic, for the Minister of Culture; Milan Krkobabic, for the Minister for the Care of the Village; Bela Balint, for the Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovation; Husein Memic, for the Minister of Tourism and Youth; Boris Bratina, for the Minister of Information and Telecommunications; Darko Glisic, for the Minister of Public Investments; Novica Toncev, for minister without portfolio; Djordje Milicevic, for minister without portfolio; Usame Zukorlic, for minister without portfolio; Nenad Popovic, for minister without portfolio; Tatjana Macura, for minister without portfolio.

EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg – Western Balkans among topics (RTS)

The EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, which will discuss, among other things, the Western Balkans, begins today in Luxembourg. Ahead of the meeting, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas stressed that the EU enlargement process must accelerate for the Western Balkans, as tensions are rising, reported RTS.

The meeting of EU foreign ministers, chaired by the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, will also discuss Russia and Ukraine war, the situation in the Middle East, including the latest developments in Syria, the EU’s relations with Africa and other current issues, with a focus on relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The WB is on the agenda during the working lunch of EU ministers, who, as announced by the EU Council, will exchange views on the EU's relations with partners in the region, focusing on how to further enhance security and defence cooperation in addressing political challenges and how to promote regional stability and security.

Kallas will brief EU ministers on the latest developments in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, as well as on her recent visit to Montenegro, Albania and BiH. 

The discussion is expected to focus on various aspects of the relationship, in particular regional stability and security, developments in BiH and Serbia, and cooperation with key actors in the region.

Serbian Foreign Minister in technical mandate Marko Djuric met with Kaja Kallas in Luxembourg last night.

He said that membership in the EU was Serbia's strategic commitment, emphasizing that Serbia was very committed to its European path and that, as a credible partner, it wanted to contribute to the peace, stability, and prosperity of Europe.

The verification of MPs in Pristina, the SL to take over Serbian mandates (Tanjug, Kosovo Online)

In the Pristina Assembly today, the planned registration of the deputies who won mandates in the last elections on February 9 will take place, and among them are nine deputies from the Serbian List. 

As they have pointed out several times so far, reported Tanjug, it is important that the Serbian mandates remain in Serbian hands in order to protect the interests of the Serbian people only.

Among the deputies are Zlatan Elek, Igor Simic, Slavko Simic, Verica Ceranic, Ljiljana Stevanovic, Branislav Nikolic, Srdjan Popovic, Miljana Nikolic and Stefan Kovacevic.

Students from Belgrade and colleagues from Kosovo visited Gracanica; Protest in N.Mitrovica tomorrow (KiM radio, medijacentar.info)

Students of the University of Belgrade, together with their colleagues from the University of Pristina (relocated in N.Mitrovica), visited the Gracanica monastery this morning. A meeting for tomorrow at 6 pm in North Mitrovica has also been announced.

A group of ten students from the University of Belgrade, at the invitation of their colleagues from Kosovo, came to visit the monasteries in Kosovo and hold a gathering of "16 minutes of silence" in North Mitrovica.

Milena Jevtic from the Faculty of Law of the University of Pristina with temporary headquarters in North Mitrovica stated that for Tuesday, April 15, a gathering of "16 minutes of silence" at 6 p.m., was planned.

"This is one sign that we are equal in this fight and that we are all welcome, so the students came at our invitation. We hope for a larger number of students from Belgrade in the future," she said.

The students who came from Belgrade began their visit to Kosovo with a tour of the Gracanica monastery. They plan to visit Visoki Decani, the Pec Patriarchate, the Monastery of the Holy Archangels near Prizren, the Virgin of Ljeviska, the Church of St. George in Prizren.

"We will show part of the treasures we have in Kosovo and Metohija," Jevtic said.

Students from the University of Belgrade who were in Gracanica today did not want to make a statement to the media, stating that they will speak at tomorrow's meeting in North Mitrovica.

Opinion

Serbia’s Student Plenums: A blueprint for renewing democracy (Balkan Insight)

By Suzana Ignjatovic

Through plenums and public gatherings, people involved in Serbia’s protest movement are trying to reclaim public institutions from the ruling party’s capture and build genuine democracy.

Students in Serbia have been protesting for months over the deaths of 16 people caused by the collapse of an outdoor canopy at a railway station in the northern city of Novi Sad; the students want accountability, but their demands are still unmet.

In that time, the students have organised marches and public performances and blocked bridges up and down the country; their enthusiasm has galvanised an atmosphere of optimism amid the lethargy, hopelessness and fear of a society trapped in a ’moderate autocracy’. 

The movement has also provided a blueprint for renewal of that society – discussion and decision-making sessions known as ‘plenums’, held inside faculty buildings that the students have occupied.

The rules are simple: every student of the faculty has the right to participate, put forward a proposal, take part in discussions, and vote. A decision is passed by a majority vote of those present, usually after many plenary sessions. All important decisions are made in plenums, including on strategy going forward.

Students who oppose the ‘blockaders’ have every right to participate and, if there are enough of them, to outvote those who wish to continue the occupation and protests, even to put an end to the protests. So far, faculty plenums have coordinated their actions within a ‘grand plenum’ at the university level, though recently some faculty plenums have gone public without previous consensus with other faculties. 

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/3w5ah4k7

International

War Crimes trial of former Kosovo President hits milestone as prosecution rests case (RFE)

For more than two years, Kosovo war crimes prosecutors have laid out evidence, questioning scores of witnesses, building their case for why former President Hashim Thaci should be convicted for his role in the killing or detention of scores of people during and after the country's war of independence.

On April 15, the trial hit a significant milestone as the prosecution rested its case, and lawyers for Thaci, and three other officials, began arguing their defense.

The trial is the most consequential to date for the court, formally known as the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office, which is part of an international effort to account for the infighting that gripped the country during and after its war for independence in the late 1990s.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/v8wk7mvn