Albanian Language Media:

• COVID-19: 590 new cases, 13 deaths (media)
• Hoti: Parties to agree on either the president or election date (Telegrafi)
• Mustafa doesn't view elections as way to resolve president's issue (Koha)
• Foundation set up to support Thaci's legal defence in The Hague (media)
• KFOR Commander expresses readiness to continue cooperation with KSF (Koha)
• Austrian MEP Mandl urges EU to grant Kosovo visa liberalisation (Klan)
• Residents of Krusha demand Tasic be retried for war crimes (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• In Serbian areas in Kosovo 66 new cases of Covid-19, one death (Kontakt plus radio)
• Visoki Decani one of 12 most threatened heritages sites, shortlisted for the 7 most endangered (KoSSev)
• Father Sava: 200.000 Serbs have not returned to Kosovo (Radio KIM)
• “Everyone has right to truth” (Radio KIM)
• The hearing on the case of Ivanovic's murder postponed indefinitely (Kontakt plus radio, KoSSev)
• Radojevic took oath: It is now up to me to live up to expectations (TV Most)
• Pristina Mayor: "The biggest problem of Serbs is that when they turn 18, they leave" (RTK2)
• Montgomery: Fixed stances on multiethnic societies in Kosovo and B&H will bring no solution (Kosovo-online)

International:

• COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories Grip West Balkans, Survey Reveals (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Reidentifying the dead (Prishtina Insight)
• Homeless in their homes (Kosovo 2.0)

   

Albanian Language Media 

  COVID-19: 590 new cases, 13 deaths (media)

590 new cases of COVID-19 and 13 deaths from the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 696 patients have recovered from the virus during this time.

Health Minister Armend Zemaj said at a news conference today that anti-coronavirus measures taken by the Government have been effective and have led to the stagnation in the number of new infections. "These measures need to continue with an added intensity in order to be successful," he said.

Zemaj also said the authorities have changed the way the municipalities are categorised depending on the number of COVID-19 cases."There are 16 municipalities in the red zone, 9 in the yellow, 13 in the green," Zemaj is quoted by the Telegrafi news website. 

Hoti: Parties to agree on either the president or election date (Telegrafi)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti said ruling and opposition parties should sit down together and come up with an answer on either who the new president of Kosovo will be or when the elections will take place. 

"We face the challenge of electing a president and this is a fact and we are working on getting all political forces to sit together and review the readiness to overcome this situation, to either agree on the president or the election date," Hoti said in an interview with Telegrafi.

Hoti also spoke about the insistence of his coalition partner, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), to have the party leader Ramush Haradinaj become the next president of Kosovo. He said the post of the president is not included in the coalition agreement. "What is clear is that the votes of the ruling coalition cannot elect a president. We will see if there is readiness on the part of the opposition to discuss resolving this matter and what their conditions are."

Asked to comment on AAK's request to suspend the dialogue with Serbia, Hoti said he opposes such a decision. "They can request for suspension but I am the prime minister of the country and I have a coalition agreement whereby the process of dialogue is clearly addressed and we have agreed on the principles of how this process should take place and I cannot allow Kosovo to be isolated. The dialogue should continue."

Mustafa doesn't view elections as way to resolve president's issue (Koha)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Isa Mustafa thinks the possibility of Kosovo heading to early elections if parties do not agree on a candidate for the next president of Kosovo is concerning. Although none of political parties have a common position on who should become the next president, Mustafa said he hopes the parties will reflect. 

"I don't see we are in a dead-end situation. I think the parliamentary political parties have always demonstrated responsibility towards institutional stability and we can therefore expect reflection. In this situation, the question is not who would best serve in the post, because this is relative. The question that needs to be answered is which solution is the most acceptable one. The answer to this needs to be joint, of relevant majority, of one or two entities. Conditioning this with elections is not the solution," he told Koha.

Mustafa added: "Heading to elections is a normal process. However, causing elections in the inability of finding a solution for the president is concerning. If there is now a lack of will and barricading, who is to guarantee that after elections a necessary majority will be secured. If the process is dragged on, we cannot expect anything good to come out."

Foundation set up to support Thaci's legal defence in The Hague (media)

A foundation named "Support for Legal Defence of Hashim Thaci" has been set up to provide financial support for the former Kosovo president who is awaiting trial for war crimes at the Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

The foundation is said to have been established in line with applicable legislation and will work to "promote the truth and the history of the war for freedom of President Thaci and the Kosovo Liberation Army." The foundation pledged to raise funds for Thaci's defence in a transparent way and has been established on the initiative of Hashim Thaci's brother, Idriz. 

A statement issued by the foundation's board said it will come out with an announcement in the coming days laying out its plans and priorities in a more detailed manner. 

KFOR Commander expresses readiness to continue cooperation with KSF (Koha)

KFOR Commander, Major General Franco Federici, held his first meeting with Kosovo Security Force (KSF) Commander, Lieutenant General Rrahman Rama, since taking over command of NATO troops in Kosovo.

COMKFOR Federici congratulated Rama on the progress made by the KSF and expressed the readiness of KFOR to continue cooperation in an effort to maintain security and stability in Kosovo.

Austrian MEP Mandl urges EU to grant Kosovo visa liberalisation (Klan)

Austrian member of the European Parliament, Lukas Mandl, urged the European Union to take a positive decision on visa liberalisation for Kosovo.

Mandl said Kosovo still needs to overcome different challenges to become part of the EU, especially with regards to the rule of law and fight against corruption but also noted that when it comes to visa liberalisation, Kosovo has met all the necessary criteria.

"Some EU member states still block visa liberalisation for Kosovans, which was recommended by the Commission and decided by the European Parliament. As a result, Kosovans in the Western Balkans still cannot travel freely. Furthermore, an economy that has troubles in recovering, now also needs to cope with unnecessary visa tariffs," Mandl said as quoted by an Austrian media outlet.

Residents of Krusha demand Tasic be retried for war crimes (media)

Residents of Krusha villages have demanded a retrial be held for the former member of the Serbian police reserve units, Darko Tasic, whose war crimes conviction was halved by the Appeals Court.

In a meeting with Kosovo Assembly's Committee for Human Rights, Gender Equality, Missing Persons and Petitions, representatives of Krusha e Vogel and Krusha e Madhe expressed disappointment over the court's decision to reduce the prison sentence for Tasic.

"Only in Krusha e Madhe, 241 citizens were massacred. Many children were orphaned because of this massacre. The perpetrators were never arrested. We are here to protest the reducing of the prison sentence for Darko Tasic from Krusha e Vogel," said head of Krusha e Madhe Selami Hoti. 

The residents asked the Committee to enable each association of missing persons to hire lawyers to press charges for war crimes and to advocate for Tasic's retrial. 

   

Serbian Language Media

  In Serbian areas in Kosovo 66 new cases of Covid-19, one death (Kontakt plus radio)

According to the latest data, in Serbian areas in Kosovo, one person died as a result of Covid-19, 66 new cases of infection were recorded, the North Mitrovica Crisis Staff announced today. 

Out of 148 processed samples, positive cases were recorded in the municipalities: North Mitrovica (15), Leposavic (11), Zubin Potok (11), Gnjilane (11), Priluzje (7), Kosovska Kamenica (6) and Zvecan (5).

There are currently 1,480 active cases.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 64 people have lost the battle with Covid-19 in the Serb areas in Kosovo, reported Kontakt plus radio.

Visoki Decani one of 12 most threatened heritages sites, shortlisted for the 7 most endangered (KoSSev)

Europa Nostra – the European voice of civil society committed to safeguarding and promoting cultural and natural heritage, and the European Investment Bank Institute published today a list of the 12 most threatened heritage sites, which are shortlisted for the 7 Most Endangered Programme 2021. The list includes Visoki Decani Monastery, both due to security threats and non-compliance with UNESCO laws and standards by local authorities and the Kosovo government, KoSSev portal reports.

The selection was made on the basis of the outstanding heritage significance and cultural value of each of the sites as well as on the basis of the serious danger that they are facing. The panel took into consideration the level of engagement of local communities and the commitment of public and private stakeholders, as well as sustainable socio-economic development potential of these localities, the press release said.

In addition to Visoki Decani monastery, the list includes Achensee Steam Cog Railway, in Tyrol, Austria, the Modern Theatre in Sofia, Bulgaria, the Cemetery Complex of Mirogoj in Zagreb, Croatia, the Church of Saint-Denis in Hauts-de-France, France, the Narikala Fortress in Tbilisi, Georgia, the Green Space System in Cologne, Germany, the Five Southern Aegean Islands in Greece, the Giusti Garden and the Ca’ Zenobio Palace in Venice, Italy, the Central Post Office in Skopje, North Macedonia, and the San Juan de Socueva Chapel and Hermitage in Cantabria, Spain.

The Abbot of Visoki Decani Monastery, Sava Janjic tweeted that he is deeply honored that Decani monastery has been selected, expressing hope that this will “highlight the need of protection of Serbian Orthodox Church sites in Kosovo”, – four of which are UNESCO sites.

The 12 endangered heritage sites were shortlisted for the 7 Most Endangered Programme by an international Advisory Panel, comprising experts in history, archaeology, architecture, conservation, project analysis and finance.

See at: https://bit.ly/2W2uCEm Father Sava: 200.000 Serbs have not returned to Kosovo (Radio KIM)

On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, Abbot of Visoki Decani Monastery Sava Janjic recalled that more than 20 years after 200.000 Serbs and non-Albanians aren’t able to return to Kosovo, Radio KIM reports.

“Today on International Human Rights Day we must remember that for 21 years 200.000 Serbs and non-Albanians aren’t able to return to their homes due to lack of security, human rights, usurpation of property and other injustices. Many cemeteries and churches destroyed since 1999 are in ruins”, Father Sava wrote on Twitter. 

“Everyone has right to truth” (Radio KIM)

By laying the wreath on the monument dedicated to the missing persons in front of the Kosovo Assembly in Pristina, members of the missing persons families marked the International Human Rights Day. Bajram Qerkinaj said should the current pace continue, the missing persons issue wouldn’t be resolved in the next 21 years, Radio KIM reports.

A minute of silence for all those who died during the Covid-19 pandemic, including the Association of the Kidnapped and Missing Serbs in Kosovo Coordinator Milorad Trifunovic was observed.

“Advantage is not given to finding the missing persons. All stakeholders involved in this issue, starting from local self-governments to the presidency, need to address this issue more. The way it is done now for another 21 years we will not be able to close this topic. For example, in the case of Kizevak it took five years to start working there, excavating, and the international community had recordings to show where they were buried. They are obliged to show us those satellite records and somehow ease the pain that endures 21 years already”, Bajram Qerkinaj from the Missing Persons Resource Center said.

Chairman of the Kosovo delegation at the Missing Persons Working Group Ibrahim Makoli said everybody has the right to truth.

Djula Aziri from “Voice of Parents” NGO whose husband was murdered during the conflict in Kosovo said the missing persons families feel neglected all these years.

“I feel very sorry for all families, as many years have passed, 21 years of looking for our beloved ones. Our rights had been discriminated against in many ways, nothing was done relating to the protection of the families also regarding the pensions. We have been discriminated against by all sides”, Aziri said. 

Gracanica Representative of the Association of Kidnapped and Missing Persons from Kosovo, Silvana Marinkovic called upon the international community, authorities in Belgrade and Pristina to make the missing persons issue a priority topic in the future.

“They should not only do excavations in Serbia, as we all are aware there are plenty of locations here, international officials told us about, however, up to date nobody undertook anything. Promises are there, we have been listening to it 20 years, and nothing came out of it. I appeal to all institutions to finally get serious, and realize that this issue is very hard for the families and the time has come to finally resolve it (…),” Marinkovic said.

Missing Persons Resource Center and members of the missing persons families sent five requests to the Kosovo government in order to resolve the missing persons issue. The requests include – strengthening capacities of the Missing Persons Commission, continuation of the support to the Missing Persons Working Group chaired by the International Committee of Red Cross, increase the number of the war crimes prosecutors, allocate funds to the associations so they can continue the work hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic and finalize the law on missing persons.

They also called for opening of the archives and delivery of documents and satellite recordings to the responsible bodies. 

The hearing on the case of Ivanovic's murder postponed indefinitely (Kontakt plus radio, KoSSev)

Although scheduled for today, the new preparatory hearing for the consideration of the new - third indictment against the six accused for participating in the murder of Oliver Ivanovic has been postponed indefinitely, the lawyer of the accused Nedeljko Spasojevic, Faruk Korenica yesterday told the KoSSev portal. 

The delay was due to a proposal made by the new lawyer of the accused Rade Basara, Tom Gashi.

According to Korenica, the proposal requests that he be excluded from the procedure because he defended Rade Basara and Nedeljko Spasojevic.

Faruk Korenica said that he had been representing the accused Nedeljko Spasojevic before the Basic Court since the beginning of the trial.

He previously represented Rade Basara, but in the period when he was not included in the same case, which now includes all those accused of involvement in the murder of Oliver Ivanovic.

Korenica further states that the Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that in one criminal procedure, the defense counsel cannot defend two or more defendants.

"The moment the prosecutor decided to join Rade Basara's case to this group, former Special Prosecutor Syle Hoxha called me and asked who I wanted to continue to represent - Basara or Spasojevic," Korenica explains, adding that he then stated that he wanted to continue to represent Spasojevic, because he was his client from the very beginning.

He reiterates that he has not defended Basara for a year and adds that it is not clear to him why his current lawyer, Tom Gashi, sent such a request to the court and why he decided to do it now.

"Suddenly a new lawyer appears, who is defending Basara for a year now, and who knew that I was only at the time when the ordering of judicial custody happened and nowhere else ... Now, after a year, it occurs to him to ask for my exemption, which is incompatible with logic, because his and my client do not have any collisions," adds Korenica.

This proposal was sent to the court a week ago. Korenica states that the judge was obliged to decide on it, but that this did not happen.

Korenica says for himself that "someone is bothered by the fact that he demands that the constitutionally guaranteed rights of his client Nedeljko Spasojevic be respected", but also that now he only has to wait for the court's decision, and that he has the right to appeal.

He could not specify when the new hearing will take place, but he expects that the whole process will take longer.

Korenica also commented on the third indictment of the Special Prosecutor's Office. He says that it absolutely does not correspond to the case file and that it is "even worse than the previous one".

"The judge is now in a difficult situation, because a fair decision would be to dismiss the indictment and suspend the criminal proceedings. But he does not have the courage, he entered the drum," Korenica said, noting that nothing had changed compared to the previous indictment, and which was requested by the decision of the Court of Appeals.

Korenica also states that one of the rare changes in the new indictment is that it now mentions two unknown persons who allegedly committed the act of murder, while the others covered by the indictment are charged with aiding and abetting the murder.

Radojevic took oath: It is now up to me to live up to expectations (TV Most)

At yesterday's Mitrovica North Municipal Assembly (MA) solemn session a newly elected mayor Milan Radojevic took the oath and officially took over the duty of Mayor of Mitrovica North, TV Most reports.

"I expect all MA members to work together as a team to make Mitrovica North a better place to live for all citizens. First of all, I would like to thank all citizens who came out in large numbers on election day, despite the extremely difficult epidemiological situation in our city, and reaffirmed their support for the policy of continuity pursued by the Serbian List. It is up to me to live up to their expectations and to continue with what Mr. Goran Rakic started, who, in sports jargon, has set the bar to a higher level", Radojevic said.

Radojevic's deputy in the next period will be the current Head of the Administrative Office in the municipality of Mitrovica North, Adrijana Hodzic.

Media also reported that Kosovo Prime Minister Avduallah Hoti relieved Milan Radojevic of his duty as Deputy Minister of Interior at personal request.

Pristina Mayor: "The biggest problem of Serbs is that when they turn 18, they leave" (RTK2)

"We tried, we had some calls from Serbs living in the city, we wanted to help them, that's a small number of people, these are people who have lived in isolation for a long time. Now we are trying to find a way to help them economically, in terms of jobs," Pristina Mayor Shpend Ahmeti said in an interview with RTK2's morning program.

The biggest problem for Serbs is that when they turn 18, they go to Nis or Belgrade, said Ahmeti.

"I would like us to make such a city, that a Serb wants to live in this city, that he wants to live here, not to be like a return. If we give you an apartment and you come here but you do not have a social life, that wouldn't be life for me either. It seems to me that this is the biggest problem of Serbs for now," said, among other things, the mayor of Pristina Shpend Ahmeti, RTK2 reported.

Montgomery: Fixed stances on multiethnic societies in Kosovo and B&H will bring no solution (Kosovo-online)

Newly elected US President Joseph Biden, the same as majority of US foreign policy experts in the non-governmental sector have already established strong stances towards the Balkans and today they haven’t changed much compared to 30 years ago, former US Ambassador to Serbia William Montgomery said. He added such stances would represent a challenge for Serbia, Kosovo-online portal reports.

Montgomery further said he doesn’t believe the countries in the region could move towards the reconciliation as long as the international community is “fixed” on those long time established goals, including desire to regain or create multiethnic societies in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and Kosovo.

According to him, pragmatic reality is that accepting multiethnic societies so much wanted by the West in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina is not only lacking, but it is also the main reason why the both remain unstable and “second-class countries” in Europe.  

Commenting on the recent session of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Montgomery said that “they believe in full independence of Kosovo within its current borders”. He also opined one should expect stronger interest of the new US administration for Bosnia and Herzegovina since, as he said, it implies a “firm stance” in maintaining the integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the foundations of the Dayton Peace Accord or with some changes but on the account of decreasing authorities for the both entities in the state.

“I think this would be a challenge for the Serbian Government”, he said, adding there are legitimate reasons for concern over such stances, referring to the idea of a compromise solution to the Kosovo issue, but also the status of the Republic of Srpska. 

   

International

  COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories Grip West Balkans, Survey Reveals (Balkan Insight)

Belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories is very strong in all six Western Balkan countries, a new survey shows – and these beliefs are not linked, as might be expected, to educational levels.

Over 75 percent of people in Western Balkan countries believe many or some of the popular conspiracy theories about COVID-19, the latest survey by the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group, BiEPAG, shows.

The survey, “The Suspicious Virus: Conspiracies and COVID1-9 in the Balkans,” focuses on beliefs in six popular conspiracy theories: the virus escaped from a lab in Wuhan, i.e. had existed for longer than was publicly known and its origins had been obscured by China; the Chinese government engineered the coronavirus in a lab; it is being spread by the pharmaceutical industry; the US government engineered the virus as a bioweapon; it is linked to 5G technology; and it is being spread to allow Bill Gates to control the population through a vaccine.

BiEPAG explained that its opinion poll was conducted in the six Western Balkan countries in October 2020 on a nationally representative sample of at least 1,000 respondents aged 18+ and the questions were asked through telephone and online interviews.

See at: https://bit.ly/3a269HO    

Humanitarian/Development

  Reidentifying the dead (Prishtina Insight)

In the afternoon of August 7, 1999, after seven exhausting days awaiting exhumations at a cemetery in the city of Peja, Shahe Berisha carefully looked at each body that was taken out of a mass grave, trying to identify one of them as her husband Ramiz.

Most of the corpses, which had been piled on top of each other, had remained intact, and Berisha remembers how she spotted the body of Ramiz.

“He had one bullet in the neck and six in the abdomen. His beard had grown a little in the grave and one tooth was broken,” she recalled, speaking in her garden in Lubeniq, a village roughly 10 kilometres outside of Peja.

“I knew his clothes,” she said. “I hadn’t forgotten anything about him in four months. I remember his shirt since the moment he handed me our seven-month-old son and walked away with the other men.”

Ramiz Berisha, then 28, was among 64 men, women and children who were seized by Serbian forces in Lubeniq during the Kosovo war. He was killed just a few metres from his home on April 1, 1999.

His was among the first 12 bodies found in the mass grave at the Peja cemetery by Hague Tribunal experts who were searching for evidence for their indictments of Serbia’s military and political leaders for war crimes in Kosovo.

“Most of the bodies were easy to identify,” Shahe Berisha told BIRN “Forensics experts told me that Ramiz’s tooth was broken when he fell to the ground after the gunshots. I heard them saying that two bodies have been buried alive but I couldn’t understand who they were.”

The bodies of most of the other victims of the massacre in Lubeniq were found at three other locations in the village, as well as in the graveyard in Peja and at a police training centre in Batajnica in Serbia. Six of them are still missing.

But more than 21 years after they were found, the remains of Shahe Berisha’s husband and 11 other victims may be exhumed again.

See more at: https://bit.ly/39Xvd2B Homeless in their homes (Kosovo 2.0)

Women are fighting for their right to property, inside and outside of the house.

Marigona Buja does not hesitate to call her former two story house in Lipjan a wrong address. She had lived there for over a year after her marriage, which was mediated between the two families in October 2014.

Only a few days after the wedding, she says that her role in her husband’s family was solely to serve. Indeed, the second floor bathroom was the only place where she could have any bit of privacy.

“That’s where I cried, where I sweared, where I cursed,” the 29-year-old from the village of Bujan in Lipjan says.

Marigona hurries to explain that the bedroom could not offer privacy because her father-in-law modified the door so that it opened from the outside even if it was locked.

She says that this control and supervision was set up by her ex-father-in-law in the absence of her husband, who lived between Kosovo and Germany, where the family conducted business. Yet, even when she would tell her husband about his father’s behavior, the only response she would get, according to her, was that “my father is the man of the house, I bow to him and to God.”

Marigona’s living situation with her in-laws began getting worse at the beginning of 2015 when she got pregnant. Marigona says that her ex-father-in-law’s behavior toward her turned even harsher when he learned that the child she was expecting was a girl.

See more at: https://bit.ly/342UBA8