Albanian Language Media:

• German Ambassador symbolically calls for formation of new government (Kallxo)
• “Formation of Assembly not dependant on LVV – LDK agreement” (RFE)
• YIHR Kosovo and YIHR Serbia condemn Vucic’s denial rhetoric (media)
• No decision on President’s post a week after Kurti-Mustafa meeting (G Express)
• Veseli leaves for The Hague: Proud to have been part of KLA (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

• Dacic: Pristina’s attitude not optimistic for continuation of dialogue (RTS)
• Criminal charges filed against Vucic over Racak statement (KoSSev)
• Vucic: I am happy over criminal charges filed by Pristina (KoSSev)
• Dacic: Many realize that the decision to recognize Kosovo was premature (Blic) 
• Djuric reacts to EU statement on Racak, Todosijevic case (Radio KIM)
• Office for KiM: Djuric with representatives from Kosovo in the margins of the Tirana roundtable (KoSSev)
• Petkovic: Djuric’s participation in Tirana used for internal reckoning (Radio Mitrovica sever)
• Office of Association of Journalists of Kosovo burglarized in Pristina (Radio KIM)
• Hungary sends reinforcement to KFOR (Balkan Security Network)

International:

• Serbian President Accused of Spreading Hate by Denying Massacre (Balkan Insight)
• Kosovo to boycott Nobel awards over Peter Handke (DW)
• On China’s Digital Silk Road, Serbia Has Special Place (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Will women representation in new government be measured with percentage? (RFE)
• UK offers support for determining the fate of missing persons (KP/Koha)
• Happy with being badly educated, poor and isolated (Prishtina Insight)
• Kosovo Officials Forget Promise to Rescue Captive Lion (Balkan Insight)

 

 

Albanian Language Media

 

German Ambassador symbolically calls for formation of new government (Kallxo)

The German Ambassador to Kosovo, Christian Heldt, has made a symbolic call for the formation of the new ruling coalition in Kosovo, the news website reports. Heldt wrote in a Twitter post: “sun breaking through fog and clouds. Good omen on this Monday morning to successfully round up coalition talks. #Kosovo needs the new government, we all want to get back to work. Have a great start for this decisive week.”

“Formation of Assembly not dependant on LVV – LDK agreement” (RFE)

The news website reports that while the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) have yet to reach an agreement for a ruling coalition, legal experts in Pristina argue that the formation of the new Assembly can be initiated at any moment.

Arsim Bajrami, professor of constitutional law at Pristina University, told Radio Free Europe that the new Assembly can be formed even without an agreement for forming the new government. “There is no constitutional obstacle to initiate the process of forming the new Assembly of Kosovo. The Constitution of Kosovo provides that there is a 30-day deadline during which the new Assembly must be formed, and this meeting can be called closed the moment that the Assembly appoints the Assembly President and the Presidency of the Assembly. After this constitutional moment, the procedure of forming the government begins,” Bajrami said.

Bajrami said that the President of the Republic of Kosovo convenes the first session of the Assembly, and in the event he/she cannot do so, the MPs can convene the constitutive session of the Assembly. “The Assembly can be formed and the fact that there is no coalition agreement yet is no obstacle to this. The Constitution has foreseen the period during which this agreement [on a ruling coalition] must be reached; 15 days after the formation of the Assembly,” he added.

Mazllum Baraliu, professor of constitutional law, has a different opinion. He told RFE that the constitutive session of the Assembly cannot be called without an agreement on the new ruling coalition. “The new institutions cannot be formed without a coalition agreement and readiness to have 61 votes in the Assembly for the new government,” he argued. “So first the Assembly must be formed, the President of the Assembly must be elected and other structures too, the MPs need to swear in, and then comes the formation of the government based on Article 95 of the Constitution.”

YIHR Kosovo and YIHR Serbia condemn Vucic’s denial rhetoric (media)

Several news outlets report that Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR Kosovo) and Youth Initiative for Human Rights - Serbia (YIHR Serbia) strongly condemn the statement of President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic about the denial of the massacre in Recak. The full statement reads:

“On January 15, 1999 Serbian forces killed 44 civilians in the Recak/Račak village. The OSCE Verification Mission, US Ambassador William Walker, called it “a crime against humanity”. Recak/Račak massacre was also part of the indictment of Slobodan Milosevic before the ICTY, but no final verdict was made due to his death while in detention. Mr. Vucic declared that “it was all fabricated by that global fraudster, scammer and swindler, Walker”. This is an unacceptable statement! Such denial rhetoric violates the dignity of victims and their families, while it is against the values of peace, reconciliation and justice. We call on President Vucic to apologize and to stop denying war crimes committed in Kosovo and in the region by the Milosevic regime. We also call on all political leaders in Serbia and Serbian political leaders in Kosovo to distance themselves from extremist statements and to invite people to recognize, respect and commit in brining justice for all victims, survivors of sexual violence and missing people from the war in Kosovo. We, as young people from Kosovo and Serbia, will always stand against the denial of war crimes. We are determined to continue opposing nationalistic narratives and we will persistently continue working towards building peace and reconciliation between Kosovo and Serbia.”

No decision on President’s post a week after Kurti-Mustafa meeting (G Express)

Sources from the Vetevendosje Movement and Democratic League of Kosovo informed the news portal that no meeting between the leaders of the two political parties Albin Kurti and Isa Mustafa is foreseen for today in order to form the ruling coalition.

The last meeting between these two leaders which was expected to finalise the agreement was held a week ago.

However, plans changed after Isa Mustafa presented an additional condition to Albin Kurti:

After requesting to lead with the Interior Ministry, which was an election promise of LVV, Mustafa also demanded agreement on the future President of Kosovo that would proceed Hashim Thaci.

This condition was the reason the promised agreement could not be reached last Monday, despite the promises that it would be signed 72 hours after certification of election results.

This ‘Disagreement” was preceded by accusations from distance between the members of the two political parties. They made it obvious that neither LVV nor LDK gave up their conditions. LDK continues to insist on the post of the President and LVV does not want to bargain on this matter for the time being.

As a consequence, no meeting between the two leaders is foreseen for today. LDK members even said that it belongs to LVV to call the next meeting. It is known so far that Kurti has written to Mustafa and that both entities attempt to continue cooperation.

According to this news portal LDK chose the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Education, Agriculture, Ministry of Defense and that of Spatial Planning.

LVV on the other hand chose Ministry for Foreign Affairs, that of Finance, Economic Development, Health and Justice.

The portal further adds that it is not known if this distribution will remain the same after the next meeting of the leaders of the two political parties.

13 days have passed since certification of early election results.

While LVV and LDK are attempting to form the ruling coalition, it remains for President Hashim Thaci to call the constitutive session.

Veseli leaves for Hague: Proud to have been part of KLA (RTK)

Kadri Veseli, leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) travelled today to The Hague, where he will be interviewed by the Specialist Chambers.

“I am travelling to Hague now, invited for an interview by the Specialist Chambers. The Special Court is a challenge versus macabre Serbian crimes, but at the same time it is an international momentum to reconfirm the purity of the war of our people, the war of our army,” he said.

Veseli said every freedom fighter is proud to have had the chance to serve his fatherland.

“I am also very proud and thank God for this. I want to say that I do not change that part of my proud life for anything. KLA army is history of our population for freedom and independence,” he said.

Veseli’s interview was initially foreseen for 4 December, however his office informed that the interview was postponed for 10 December due to technical reasons.

 

 

Serbian Language Media

 

Dacic: Pristina’s attitude not optimistic for continuation of dialogue (RTS)

Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic said that Pristina’s attitude, including the criminal charges against the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister candidate Albin Kurti’s statement that he does not want Vucic at the negotiation table, indicates that Pristina cares neither about dialogue nor compromise, RTS reports.  

“If they continue this way, we are not optimistic when it comes to the continuation of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue,” Dacic said. He added, that despite Serbia's constructive approach, judging Pristina’s acts one may conclude it is “about political madness” and unilateral acts which demonstrate that Pristina is the biggest factor of instability.

Dacic also noted Serbia will continue its policy to revoke recognitions of Kosovo, since a high number of countries realize such decisions were premature.

Criminal charges filed against Vucic over Racak statement (KoSSev)

Lawyer Tom Gashi, the former legal counsel of the families of victims in the Racak case, has filed criminal charges at the Special Prosecutor’s Office in Pristina against Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic over the statement he made earlier that “Racak was fabricated,” KoSSev portal reports.

The criminal charges read that the Serbian President “intentionally incited and publicly spread hatred, disruption and intolerance between ethnic groups – Serbs and Albanians living in Kosovo by denying the Racak massacre“ and by providing support to the former minister, and new Srpska Lista MP, Ivan Todosijevic, who was convicted recently over a similar statement.

According to the criminal complaint, by making this statement, Vucic committed the crime of inciting national, racial, religious hatred, unrest or intolerance, KoSSev portal reported.

See at: https://bit.ly/2rjheAl

Vucic: I am happy over criminal charges filed by Pristina (KoSSev)

Criminal charges that Pristina filed against the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic over his statement that Racak was a fabricated case, according to KoSSev, made the latter happy because he now has the topic to talk about at any place.

Vucic added that he can “talk about Racak for hours” starting from the report of KLA command in the village of Laniste saying that doctors have left to help the KLA members in Racak, which proves it was not about civilians, up to the fact that the trail chamber of the court in the Hague asked not to produce the evidence in the cases of Racak, Padaliste and Dubrava “as it was clear to them they would get nothing as prosecuting party there”.

Vucic also commented on the statement of Willian Walker, former head of the OSCE verification mission in Kosovo who said it was not the first time that Belgrade officials call him names and invent what happened in Racak, voicing his belief “that massacre in Racak was carried out by the security forces from Belgrade.”

“I am neither surprised over his statements to create “Great Albania.” I am not surprised by his stances that it is a crown of his career, that “Great Albania” should finally be created and that would be the best solution to all our problems,” Vucic said.

Dacic: Many realize that the decision to recognize Kosovo was premature (Blic) 

Serbia will continue its policy of withdrawing recognition of Kosovo, because many countries recognize that such a decision was premature, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Sunday, Belgrade based daily Blic reported. 

- These countries have similar problems as Serbia, in terms of their territorial integrity and sovereignty, and they say that they will support a compromise solution to be reached, and during that time they will withdraw or suspend earlier decisions - Dacic said at a media conference in Belgrade after a session of the Main Board of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). 

According to him, these countries are facing enormous pressure, citing the example that the next day after Nauru withdrawn the recognition, the President of Nauru was summoned by the US ambassador to Australia, who was interested in the process.

He said he was grateful to President Vucic for giving the instruction to work on the withdrawal of recognition, because it was of great national and national interest, reported Blic. 

He recalled that so far 17 countries have withdrawn or suspended the decision to recognize the so-called Kosovo.

- For someone to vote in the UN, there must be at least 97 votes, in ideal conditions for everyone to be present. Serbia must ensure that Kosovo does not have this. Our guarantee that this topic will not be on the agenda of the Assembly is Russia and the veto of the UN Security Council, but in any case, we must work to reduce the number of countries that recognize Kosovo and to drop it below 97 - Dacic emphasized.

The current situation, Dacic said, was that 95 countries do not recognize and 93 recognize the so-called Kosovo, while five countries are in the status of uncertainty, that it was not known whether to vote in favour or against.

- We will continue with this, and the criticisms that come to our account due to the policy of withdrawal of recognition are unfounded and have nothing to do and should not be linked to the eventual abolition of fees, because the fees are anti-civilization and unilateral act - Dacic emphasized.

He said that Belgrade have been conducting a dialogue with Pristina in conditions where, as he said, everybody has been working that more countries recognize Kosovo. 

- While we are being asked to stop, major countries are calling on other countries to recognize Kosovo, and Pristina is working on new countries that will recognize them. The Islamic Conference calls on all Islamic countries to recognize Kosovo, and we are asked to stop with it, so we are not that stupid. President Vucic has made it clear that this is possible only if everyone stops working on it, but it cannot happen at this point - Dacic concluded.

Djuric reacts to EU statement on Racak, Todosijevic case (Radio KIM)

Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Marko Djuric speaking at a press conference on Saturday posed a public question to the EU on “how do they allow banning freedom of speech to the Serbs only, given that a new apartheid is being conducted against the Serbian people in Kosovo,” Radio KIM reports.

“We can conclude that a lynch is conducted against Ivan Todosijevic, sentenced to two years in prison, just because he said Racak was a fabricated story in order to carry out illegal aggression against Yugoslavia,” Djuric said.

He added that such decision of Pristina’s authorities brings back to the past both Serbs and Albanians, assessing that “a hunt is conducted against Ivan Todosijevc foremost in terms of freedom of expression and opinion, while the EU instead of voicing its stance on this issue, joins the hunt.” Djuric said.

“I do hope that the international community will take the side of justice. The story about Racak and three villages have been removed from the process against Slobodan Milosevic in the Hague Tribunal. I underline there is no single verdict on Racak case,” Djuric told journalists, Radio KIM reports.

Office for KiM: Djuric with representatives from Kosovo in the margins of the Tirana roundtable (KoSSev)

Vice-President of the main board of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and the Head of the Office for KiM Marko Djuric will be attending a roundtable on regional co-operation in Tirana from the 7th to 9th December, the Kosovo Office confirmed for KoSSev portal last night. 

The confirmation arrived after photos were released last night of an alleged meeting between Djuric and senior officials and deputies of the Self-Determination, LDK and AAK parties in Tirana, at a restaurant called ''floor 15''.

''During his stay in Tirana, in the margins of the conference, Djuric will hold numerous meetings with representatives of political parties from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo, participants of this regional gathering, including representatives of the ruling and opposition parties from the Republic of Serbia,'' the Kosovo Office said in a written reply to KoSSev, after the news of the meeting was published by the Kosovo media last night.

See more at:https://bit.ly/38kaK4H

Petkovic: Djuric’s participation in Tirana used for internal reckoning (Radio Mitrovica sever)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Assistant Director Petar Petkovic said on Sunday Marko Djuric was attending a roundtable on regional co-operation until December 9 in Tirana, and part of the opposition and Priatina based politicians were using his stay in Albania for a political spin, Radio Mitrovica sever reports.

“Regional security and cooperation are being discussed there. It is normal for someone to take a picture of him being near a representative of Vetevendosje. This is the news that is being used in Pristina for their internal political reckoning,” Petkovic said. 

He added this news was published by certain Kosovo media, while the news was also welcomed by one part of the opposition in Serbia. 

“This is about propaganda and attacks which were coming from Pristina and a part of the Serbian opposition. Their target is Aleksandar Vucic. Vucic is being targeted in Pristina, but also in Belgrade” Petkovic said.

Office of Association of Journalists of Kosovo burglarized in Pristina (Radio KIM)

Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) and its branch in Kosovo condemned the burglary of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo premises located in a public enterprise building in the centre of Pristina. The associations requested Kosovo police to find the perpetrators and determine the motives of this criminal act, Radio KIM reports.

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo said earlier their offices have been broken into, while camera, TV set and a laptop got stolen. It also said the case was reported to the police.

President of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo Gentijana Begoli wrote on social media that surveillance cameras on a neighbouring premise have been blocked from 1.00 to 5.00 a.m. and that is why she thinks the offices were burglarized during this time.

Kosovo police spokesperson for Pristina region Flora Ahmeti confirmed that the case has been reported to the police.

OSCE Mission in Kosovo also reacted and wrote on Twitter that “the Mission is concerned by the news that offices of Association of Journalists of #Kosovo have been broken into & that their equipment has been stolen. We join the Association’s call for a swift investigation. Journalists should not be obstructed in their work.”  

Hungary sends reinforcement to KFOR (Balkan Security Network)

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced at a recent meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels that his country would significantly increase its military presence in Kosovo and Afghanistan, reported portal Balkan Security Network.

"The security of the Western Balkans region is crucial for Hungary and Europe," Szijjártó said, specifying that 100 more would be deployed to KFOR and 70 more to Central Asia.

With this decision, Budapest consolidates its position in NATO and shows that it considers the security of the region one of its foreign policy priorities. The portal comments that it could be interpreted as a message of support for Serbia, which calls on NATO not to reduce KFOR forces, as it considers them a key guarantee of the security of the Serb population.

This view was also confirmed in the new Individual Partnership Action Plan of the Serbia-NATO Partnership from 2019 to 2021, which states that "NATO is an indispensable factor for regional stability, as KFOR contributes to a safe and secure environment in Kosovo and freedom of movement for all".

There are currently 385 Hungarian soldiers in the KFOR Tactical Reserve Battalion (KTBRN - KFOR Tactical Reserve Battalion), reported the portal.  

 

 

International 

 

Serbian President Accused of Spreading Hate by Denying Massacre (Balkan Insight)

A Kosovo lawyer filed a criminal complaint against Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, accusing him of spreading hatred by claiming that a 1999 massacre of Kosovo Albanian civilians was fabricated.

Lawyer Tome Gashi filed a criminal complaint to Kosovo’s Special Prosecution on Friday, alleging that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic “intentionally incited and spread hatred, division and intolerance between ethnic groups, Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo”.

“[He] systematically denied the Recak massacre, in which Serbian occupying forces killed 45 Albanian civilians of various ages,” the complaint said.

See at: https://bit.ly/340FDaP

Kosovo to boycott Nobel awards over Peter Handke (DW)

With the Nobel Prize for literature set to be handed to controversial author Peter Handke, Kosovan Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli said that his country will not take part in the award ceremony. Handke is due to receive his award in Stockholm on Tuesday.

"I can confirm that our ambassador … will boycott this event," Pacolli said on Facebook on Saturday.

https://bit.ly/354kK01

On China’s Digital Silk Road, Serbia Has Special Place (Balkan Insight)

If Huawei and other Chinese tech firms have big plans for Serbia, it’s clearly not because of the size of the local market but because of its unique location, and role as a ‘test’ for the rest of the region.

We live in an age of US-China great power rivalry. At the moment, this rivalry is being manifested in the form of tech war. This new rivalry revolves around who controls global tech standards, and the fact that both powers want to be independent when it comes to the technology on which the global economy and defence systems will be based. 

https://bit.ly/2P3R3Xd

 

 

Development/Humanitarian

 

Will women representation in new government be measured with percentage? (RFE)

The news website reports that after the October 6 parliamentary elections, female candidates have secured 38 out of a total of 120 seats in the new Assembly of Kosovo, and now another matter will be the representation of women in the new government and institutions. Civil society representatives in Pristina argue that the law on gender equality, which foresees a 50-50 representation for both genders, must be implemented. Another important fact is that the majority of female MP candidates have managed to win their seats through votes and not through the gender quota.

Blerta Aliu from the Kosovo Democratic Institute told RFE that the gender quota has had positive effects, but that she prefers the political parties that run in the elections to have 50 percent of female candidates in their lists. “However, this year too, we haven’t seen readiness by the political parties on this issue. Most of them respected the 30 percent quota because it is a legal obligation. But it would be ideal to have an equal race and then the composition of the Assembly would be even more equal than what it is today,” she said.

Luljeta Demolli, Executive Director of the Kosovo Centre for Gender Studies, said the gender quota produced maximal effects in the October 6 parliamentary elections, as female candidates received more votes compared to other election cycles. Demolli also said the political parties that will form the new government must implement the law on gender equality. 

“The law on gender equality must be properly respected in Kosovo, as this has not happened so far. We expect the new leadership to reflect on this and for this to be a year of gender equality, 50-50 representation in the new government,” she said.

Demolli said that despite the legal requirements the participation of women in decision-making processes in Kosovo is low and that “a patriarchal mindset still prevails among the political parties”. “The voters showed they want gender equality, they voted for women and they have trusted them with seats in the Assembly. But the political parties are patriarchal, and they are not politically ready to change things, or they have yet to be in favor of gender equality,” Demolli added.

UK offers support for determining the fate of missing persons (KP/Koha)

Human rights to families of missing persons are being infringed as 20 years since the end of the Kosovo conflict they still have no information of what happened to their loved ones, said participants at a conference organised by the Missing Persons Resource Centre on the International Human Rights Day.

Bajram Cerkini from the Centre said that for twenty years the questions regarding the fate of their loved ones have gone unanswered. 

Nicholas Abbott, United Kingdom's Ambassador to Kosovo, said his country has expressed readiness to help the families of missing persons find closure. 

"It is not easy to talk about human rights today when your wounds are still open. Missing persons rights have been violated. They have been denied the right to life and freedom. The British government has vowed to work with you to heal these wounds from the past and together contribute to a brighter future for all citizens," he said. 

Happy with being badly educated, poor and isolated (Prishtina Insight)

Misguided optimism and accepting Kosovo’s faults in education, health and governance as fate will not resolve the deep-seated issues.

Recent PISA results demonstrating the proficiency of Kosovar students once again confirmed the desperate situation in Kosovo schools, with the performance of Kosovo’s 15-year-olds ranking 77th out of 79 countries and regions that undertook the PISA test in 2018.

Even more worrying than the result itself is the belief of Kosovar students that, in terms of their intelligence, a change is not likely to happen. According to the PISA report, 72 percent of Kosovar students lack a “developing mindset” and agree that “intelligence is something you do not have the power to improve.”

See at: https://bit.ly/2LDWJFn

Kosovo Officials Forget Promise to Rescue Captive Lion (Balkan Insight)

Animal rights activists say officials have done nothing to penalise a restaurant that is holding an illegally imported lion in a small cage as entertainment for customers.

Animal rights NGOs in Kosovo say the authorities have done nothing to punish or prosecute a restaurant that is illegally keeping a lion in a small cage for entertainment.

“Without a formal decision by institutions to confiscate the lion, no organisation can save it,” Elza Ramadani, CEO of the Animal Rights Foundation NGO, told BIRN: “For this reason, we are trying to put legal pressure on the relevant institutions to react.”

Ramadani said the foundation had asked the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning “to find out whether any lawsuits filed by the relevant institutions” after the Food and Veterinary Agency, KFVA, confirmed that the lion had been smuggled into the country.

See at: https://bit.ly/2E68DU1