Albanian Language Media:

• LDK’s Mustafa calls urgent meeting of leaders of party branches (Indeksonline)
• Lutfi Haziri: We are trying to find a consensual candidate for President (Periskopi)
• Bajqinovci: Agreement on President post after formation of government” (media)
• Tahiri: New elections could produce the same results (Lajmi)
• Hoti: Berlin process, good opportunity for Kosovo and Western Balkans (media)
• Pacolli for a private audience at Pope Francis today (RTK)

Serbian Language Media:

• Zyberaj releases SPS’s session record from ’99, claiming grounds for Dacic to be summoned to Special Court but what does the document actually contain? (KoSSev)
• Serbian FM Dacic: "I'm ready for the Hague, with tons of evidence proving who was expelled from Kosovo" (B92, Vecernje Novosti)
• SDP: Publicity more important than resolving murder (Radio KIM)

International:

• Foggo: It is up to Serbia how much it wants to cooperate with NATO (EWB)
• Kosovo man charged in Germany with supporting Islamic State (AP)

Humanitarian/Development:

• DSRSG Coleman meets delegation from Pristina school (Kosova.info)
• Serbia is one of the Vice-Presidents of the next UN Climate Change Conference (BETA, B92)
• Fate of the missing, Kosovo’s serious wound (RTK)
• Climate change does not need Schengen visa (EWB)

 

 

Albanian Language Media

 

LDK’s Mustafa calls urgent meeting of leaders of party branches (Indeksonline)

Citing sources in the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), the news website reports that LDK leader Isa Mustafa has called an urgent meeting with leaders of the party’s branches today at 14:00. Indeksonline notes that the meeting will take place at a time when the LDK is failing to find a common ground with the Kurti-led Vetevendosje Movement to form a ruling coalition. It also notes that disagreements between the two parties have grown so deep that there is a possibility of new parliamentary elections. 

Lutfi Haziri: We are trying to find a consensual candidate for President (Periskopi)

Lutfi Haziri, deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) said his political entity is trying to find a consensual candidate to propose for the president of Kosovo, now that this matter has become the only reason keeping away coalition of his political party with Vetevendosje Movement (LVV).

Haziri told the portal that they are working with LVV to reach an agreement on daily basis, adding that negotiations for distribution of responsibilities are taking more time.

“We believe that with discussions, we will exhaust all possibilities of finding a joint way on building the government of change,” he said.

He added that LDK is not seeking more power than given by the citizens’ trust. “Furthermore, we have set the standard that the winning political party, be it even by a single vote, will have the post of the Prime Minister. While LDK’s role in governance will be in accordance with citizens’ vote,” he added further.

“We are jointly trying to find modality for a consensual president, who will in the future represent interests in the spirit of the Constitution of the Republic. Major work is being done lately in order for the role and responsibility of the partners in state institutions, such as Presidency, the Assembly, government and executive departments to be clearly defined in order not to leave space for misinterpretation and eventual disagreement during the exercising of the mandate of the coalition in the future,” he said.

Haziri said President Thaci’s biased decision on the date of the constitutive session came as a surprise to his political entity as well.

He noted that LDK and LVV are not working under conditioned but partnership relations. 

Bajqinovci: Agreement on President post after formation of government” (media)

Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) MP, Mefail Bajqinovci, took to Facebook today that talks on the division of state responsibilities between VV and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) should start from the principle that the state needs to be unseized. 

“The political agreement between LVV and LDK was built on two years of active opposition-making against a terrible government that the country was faced with. The key cornerstone of our agreement is to reestablish law and order or put simply to unseize the state. All talks on the division of state responsibilities should start from this principle. The current Presidency is one of the institutions most dedicated to deforming the judiciary and security system,” Bajqinovci writes. “The agreement on the President must ensure principles and criteria for the profile and values that the new President must have. This agreement should be reached only after the formation of the government. These values must not fall in opposition with what we have agreed upon: to remake the state of law and to unseize the state”.

Tahiri: New elections could produce the same results (Lajmi)

Political commentator Ramush Tahiri said in an interview with the news website today that even if Kosovo goes to new parliamentary elections the process could produce the same results. Tahiri argued that the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) should not block an agreement with the Vetevendosje Movement over the post of Kosovo President. “Because governance is not only about the division of power, but rather a process that lasts four years and that brings benefits both for the party’s program and for Kosovo. The objective is for all citizens to have a better life,” he said. 

Tahiri also said that the voters have decided that the Vetevendosje Movement and LDK should form the new government, and that these two parties must come up with a joint program instead of quarrelling over the coalition. “The people have not tried the option of these two parties, and they can govern well because they have the potential, in particular in terms of the fight against corruption and organised crime. This is the key reform and then there are other development phases,” he added.

Hoti: Berlin process, good opportunity for Kosovo and Western Balkans (media)

Avdullah Hoti from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) said that the Berlin Process, an initiative to boost regional cooperation among the Western Balkan countries and their EU integration, is a good opportunity for Kosovo and the region.

“The Berlin Process for the first time brought together Western Balkans leaders, by treating them as equal. This created a new dynamic in regional cooperation, with the only aim of getting these countries ready to join European Union,” Hoti said.

Some of the challenges Kosovo faces in the process, says Hoti, include internal political instability and frequent elections which have derailed institution’s focus from the European integration agenda. “Politically weak institutions in the last two years have resulted in poor planning and coordination of Euro-integration policies. The Berlin Process ought to be seen beyond infrastructural projects as a wide range of issues are integral part of it like bilateral disputes, political reforms, and democratisation.”

Another challenge, according to Hoti, is regional cooperation and the disputes with Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. These, he says, could put the success of the process at a risk. “It is most likely due to these disputes that Kosovo is the only country part of the Berlin Process with no regional organisation headquarters. Increasing partnership between Albania and Serbia is making Serbia avoid resolving disagreements with Kosovo. Kosovo cannot be overshadowed by relations between Albania and Serbia,” Hoti writes on Facebook.

Hoti also considers internal EU developments to be another challenge for Kosovo in the Berlin Process. “EU is asking Western Balkans countries to work together in resolving regional issues, especially normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. However, this normalisation exceeds Western Balkans since Kosovo’s cooperation with some European countries that have not yet recognised it also need to be normalized.”

Pacolli for a private audience at Pope Francis today (RTK)

Kosovo’s Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Behgjet Pacolli, is visiting the Vatican.

Pacolli during the day will be hosted in a private audience by Pope Francis at the Holy See at the Vatican.

He is expected to brief the Holy Father on the consolidation of the state of Kosovo, as well as on the coexistence between different communities and religions.

 

Serbian Language Media

 

Zyberaj releases SPS’s session record from ’99, claiming grounds for Dacic to be summoned to Special Court but what does the document actually contain? (KoSSev)

An advisor to the outgoing Kosovo Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jetlir Zyberaj released the alleged record of the SPS party’s chief executive board session from February 1999, arguing that this document shows, among many other plans against Kosovo Albanians, attempts to conceal the massacre and mass expulsions of Kosovo citizens, KoSSev portal reports.

Zyberaj further estimated that the document should serve as a basis to summon Ivica Dacic to the Specialist Court.

KoSSev’s journalists, however, could not find anything in the published document which might be interpreted as an intention to cover up massacres or any other crimes.

The record, written in Cyrillic, contains reports on the progress of the Rambouillet negotiations, submitted by the former Foreign Minister, Zivadin Jovanovic, and the former chairman of the citizens’ committee of the Federal Parliament of FRY, Milomir Minic, as well as conclusions from this session.

For more see at: https://bit.ly/35t9R8e

Serbian FM Dacic: "I'm ready for the Hague, with tons of evidence proving who was expelled from Kosovo" (B92, Vecernje Novosti)

Foreign Minister and SPS leader say that Pacolli's adviser, Jetlir Zyberaj, is viciously lying pertaining to some SPS' documents about persecuting Albanians

"No matter what, I am ready to go to the Special Court for Crimes committed by KLA, as I possess tons of materials that best tells who expelled whom from Kosovo and Metohija," Ivica Dacic told Belgrade based daily Vecernje Novosti.

He, thus, responded to Zyberaj, who had previously stated that he possesses the minutes of the February 1999 SPS Main Board session, which allegedly intended to "conceal the massacre and mass expulsion of Albanians and that this should serve as a basis for summoning Dacic to the Special Court".

Dacic points out that it is enough for him to just look into his reports from UN Security Council meetings, without referring to other archives.

"As much as Kosovo is an independent state, that much is this alleged SPS report Zyberaj hallucinates of - credible. However, it is not a hallucination, unfortunately, but a realistic state of affairs, that more than 200.000 Serbs expelled from Kosovo and Metohija cannot return to their homes for two decades," he said.

Dacic underlined that he is ready to go to the Special Court, but as a witness against Zyberaj's chiefs from the top Pristina authorities, who were on the helm of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army.

https://bit.ly/2LXp9dF

SDP: Publicity more important than resolving murder (Radio KIM)

23 months have passed since the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, and his murderer is still free, Civic Initiative Freedom, Democracy, Justice (CI SDP) said today, Radio KIM reports.

SDP recalled that recent indictment raised by the special prosecutor and publishing photos in the media, then statements of a protected witness, indicate that for some obviously “publicity is more important, than implementing the law in this serious case, resolving the murder of Serbian politician.”

CI SDP also in the strongest terms condemned raising indictment against the secretary of late Oliver Ivanovic, Silvana Arsovic noting it is a sort of psychological and political pressure exerted upon single mother and a hard-working secretary who performed this job for 13 years, also on the morning when Oliver was murdered.

“Her lawyers would get today the indictment and list of cases. We hope, we will get evidence, what Silvana Arsovic is charged for, and she in this case represents a collateral damage, while the murderer is still free,” SDP said in a statement.

 

International 

 

Foggo: It is up to Serbia how much it wants to cooperate with NATO (EWB)

We had the opportunity to interview Admiral James Foggo, commander of Allied Joint Force Command in Naples, during his visit to Belgrade last week. We talked with the Admiral about the current cooperation between NATO and Serbia, about KFOR, the NATO perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the importance of North Macedonia’s accession to the Alliance, and whether NATO’s “brain is dead”.

https://bit.ly/2YR7Os1

Kosovo man charged in Germany with supporting Islamic State (AP)

BERLIN (AP) — A man from Kosovo has been charged in Germany with supporting a terrorist organization on allegations he funneled money to the Islamic State in Syria and spread propaganda for the extremist group, federal prosecutors said Monday.

See at: https://bit.ly/2Pr3LzG

 

Development/Humanitarian

 

DSRSG Coleman meets delegation from Pristina school (Kosova.info)

Christopher Coleman, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) in Kosovo, welcomed a delegation from the “Ismail Qemaili” elementary and high school in Pristina, the news website reports. The delegation included the school principal, representative of the teachers’ council and over 25 students. In appreciation of the continuous support from the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the school principal awarded the DSRSG with a certificate of appreciation and an art piece from one of the students symbolising world peace. During their visit at UNMIK headquarters, the students participated in an interactive presentation of UNMIK measures for protecting the environment, where they learned about solar panels, waste and water management, and received individual advice on eco-friendly behavior. Following a tour around UNMIK premises, the students also learned about the work of the Mission and possibilities to join its Youth, Peace and Security program.

Serbia is one of the Vice-Presidents of the next UN Climate Change Conference (BETA, B92)

On Sunday in Madrid, Serbia was named one of the Vice-Presidents of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP 26, to be held in Glasgow.

In that capacity, Serbia will participate in the 2020 session in Glasgow, the environment ministry said.

At the closing of the conference, signatories to the UN Convention on Climate Change COP 25 in Madrid today, Serbia was also elected a member of the Convention Bureau on behalf of the Eastern European Group of countries, the statement added.

"Time for Action" is the motto of the United Nation's COP25 climate conference that was dedicated to the next key steps in the fight against climate change, the operationalisation of the provisions of the Paris Agreement and the push for global and national climate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

As decided at the meeting, all countries will have to announce new commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by the next COP 26, 2020 conference in Glasgow.

"The conference ended with a compromise agreement and the postponement of a key decision to regulate the global carbon market for next year. An agreement was reached on the key issue of strengthening global commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions", the statement said.

See at: https://bit.ly/36IuNZ5

Fate of the missing, Kosovo’s serious wound (RTK)

Although twenty years have passed since the war, fate of 1600 people considered missing remains unknown.

Bajram Qerkini, head of the Resource Center for the Missing Persons, said the fate of the missing is a serious wound of Kosovo.

“There is no will to resolve the fate of the missing by the internationals,” he said today at RTK’s “Good Morning Kosovo” TV show.

Qerkini assessed that neither locals nor internationals have the will to resolve the fate of the 1600 people once and for all.

According to him, families seek concrete information. “We request concrete things, we request to work at the locations where bodies are suspected to be,” he said.

Climate change does not need Schengen visa (EWB)

Albert Einstein once said: “Look deep into nature, and you will understand everything better.”  Our nature, our planet is in trouble!

Trying to see the town while looking at the thick fog through the window of my Sarajevo office I couldn’t agree more – the time is NOW! These days Sarajevo topped the list of the 10 most polluted capitals in the world. Quite ahead of megalopolises like Delhi or Mumbai. Sadly, Sarajevo is not the odd one out from the WB on that list – it is closely followed by Belgrade and Skopje ranking 7th and 8th. Last year there were 6 WB cities among the top 10 most polluted, and this winter is not over yet.

https://bit.ly/36DSSQE