Albanian Language Media:

• COVID – 19: 11 deaths, 855 new cases (media)
• Osmani: We are tired of irresponsible politicians who show tolerance to Serbia's rejective policies (media) 
• Hardinaj-Stublla made official request to visit mass graves locations in Serbia (media) 
• Kizevak explained: EULEX experts describe how they identified the exact location where the human remains were discovered (EULEX, Express)
• Veliu: Serbia exercising violence against migrants near Presevo (RTK)
• Osmani: We are tired of irresponsible politicians who show tolerance to Serbia's denying policies (media)
• Belgrade Court orders exhumation of human remains from Serbian mass grave (Euronews Albania)
• Kosovo’s Constitution does not specify who replaces acting president (Express)

Serbian Language Media:

• Gracanica Crisis Staff: Seven more newly infected with Covid-19 (KiM radio) 
• Serbian Orthodox Church: Serbian Patriarch Irinej reposed in the Lord (media) 
• Three-day mourning in Serbia after SPC Patriarch's death; Putin sends condolences (N1)
• Petar Petkovic: Serbian people has lost its spiritual father and archpastor (Kosovo Online, TV Most, KiM radio)
• Varhelyi tells MEPs Western Balkans are a priority (N1)
• Serbian government official calls for end to attacks on Kosovo Serbs (FoNet, N1)
• Gara: Nine sets of human remains found in 3 months in Kosovo, excavations carried out in North Mitrovica (KoSSev)
• SPO: Government officials “loyal” to Thaci and Veseli presided over “corrupt government pay-outs” to potential witnesses (KoSSev)
• Albanian citizens can enter Serbia using only an ID card (KoSSev)

Opinion:

• Kosovo turns blind eye to officials flouting COVID-19 laws (Prishtina Insight)

International:

• Serbia Mourns Aged Patriarch’s Death from COVID-19 (Balkan Insight)

     

Albanian Language Media 

  COVID – 19: 11 deaths, 855 new cases (media)

855 new cases of COVID – 19 and 11 deaths from the virus have been recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 1,930 samples were tested. The highest number of new cases is from the municipality of Prishtina (298). 748 persons have recovered from the virus during this time. There are 12,220 active cases of coronavirus in Kosovo.

Osmani: We are tired of irresponsible politicians who show tolerance to Serbia's rejective policies (media) 

Kosovo’s Acting President Vjosa Osmani said that over 13 thousand civilians were killed by Serbia in the recent war in Kosovo, many of whom were children.

Osmani wrote in a Facebook post that beyond the political obligation, as elected representatives of the citizens, it is above all a human and humane obligation to raise this voice for the victims and their families.

“The truth we never get tired of!

Over 13,000 civilians were killed by Serbia in the recent war in Kosovo, many of them children. Over 13 thousand people do not exist today, so that we could have more voice, so that we can freely raise that voice. Beyond the political obligation, as elected representatives of the citizens, it is above all a human and humane obligation to raise this voice for the victims and their families. Every day, at every place, in front of any party. Because the truth of Kosovo is the truth of pain, sacrifice, loss of loved ones, the truth of mothers who lost their children, the truth of children left without parents, the truth of family members who saw the horror with their own eyes, and they survived to tell about this horror, as Father Zef Pllumi said: "Live to tell me".

In mass graves in Serbia, parts of the bodies of civilians were found, most of whom were women (including pregnant women) and children, toys, prescriptions, children's clothes, and other items of our innocent people were found, killed in the most cruel ways just because they were Albanians.

The finding of mortal remains at a location in Raska, Serbia, a few days ago, brings back the attention on the 1643 missing persons, for whom families are still waiting in anguish and for whom even the state of Kosovo does not have information. Serbia wants their exhumation postponed because it wants to continue to cover up the crime. Hiding the facts is a crime in itself, so any delay in this plan is a double crime. Serbia's genocidal actions in Kosovo have not yet received a response. Accepting guilt, apologizing and establishing justice are the three prerequisites for stability, good neighborliness and lasting peace!

Therefore, every rational person in Kosovo should never tire of telling the truth and raising his voice for the people we lost as a result of Serbia's genocidal policies. We are not tired and we will never get tired of listening to the families of the victims, because they tell the truth about Kosovo. But we are tired of irresponsible politicians, who show impatience with the truth and the families of the victims, while showing tolerance for Serbia’s denying policies!

For all those who ask ‘What does Kosovo have to offer Serbia as a compromise in dialogue,’ our answer, unanimously, should be: Listen to the stories of the victims' families. Kosovo has nothing else to offer. Kosovo has given its most precious… Has given its children. This is the truth we will never tire of telling,” Osmani wrote.

 Hardinaj-Stublla made official request to visit mass graves locations in Serbia (media) 

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla, made an official request to visit on Saturday, 21 November, locations of mass graves, where bodies of Albanians killed by Serbian forces during the last war in Kosovo were recently found, and the process of their exhumation is expected to start soon, informs a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora. 

“She expressed her determination to be close to the family members who have lost their most beloved in the most inhumane manner from the genocidal regime of Miloshevic, exalting their sacrifice and pain by seeking responsibility and justice 21 years later! 

Chief of Kosovar Diplomacy is expected to conduct this visit and closely witness the excavation process and raise awareness of the international opinion on the truth about crimes, namely deliberate concealment by Serbia of mass graves of Albanians throughout Serbia,” the press release notes.

Kizevak explained: EULEX experts describe how they identified the exact location where the human remains were discovered (EULEX, media) 

On Monday 16 November 2020, experts from the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), the Kosovo Institute of Forensic Medicine, and the Serbian Government Commission on Missing Persons discovered human remains in Kizevak, a large quarry site in Serbia. 

EULEX experts have been carrying out excavations in Kizevak since 2015. After several unsuccessful excavation seasons in Kizevak, a breakthrough happened in 2020 thanks to the use of aerial images. 

“The problem was that these are large quarry sites and the landscape kept changing over time due to the fact that the quarry was still in use for a number of years,” said Javier Santana, EULEX’s forensic archeologist. The process of identifying the exact location of the human remains was further complicated due to the fact that there are four to five levels in the mine with an approximate height of 13 meters each. 

After EULEX’s request to receive aerial images from 1999, the International Committee of the Red Cross made the aerial images available to the Kosovo Government Commission on Missing Persons and the Serbian Government Commission on Missing Persons at the end of 2019. 

“We received aerial images in late 2019. Between late 2019 and early 2020, EULEX’s exhumation coordinator Krassimir Nikolov and I analyzed the photos. Based on our analysis we went back to the site in February 2020 and we pinpointed the exact location of the site. This is when the work started this year,” Santana said.

After identifying the location, experts from EULEX, the Kosovo Institute of Forensic Medicine, and the Serbian Government Commission on Missing Persons carried out field work in Kizevak, which led to the discovery of the human remains.

“The work in Kizevak is far from over. The process is very complicated and time-consuming. To be able to continue to work, there needs to be a court order. After that, the next step is to proceed with the exhumation and the recovery of the remains. Once the remains are recovered, an autopsy will be performed and bone samples will be taken for DNA profile testing. In cases where relatives of a missing person have provided reference blood samples and there will be a positive DNA match report, the identification process is completed. Then, the families are informed about the identification and the remains of the missing are handed over to them,” EULEX’s exhumation coordinator, Krassimir Nikolov, said.

“The discovery of the human remains in Kizevak is a very positive development and a reward for our continuous efforts to establish the fate of over 1640 persons, who are still unaccounted for in Kosovo. The issue of the missing persons is a human rights issue. It is about the human rights of the relatives to find out what happened to their loved ones,” the Deputy Head of Kosovo’s Institute of Forensic Medicine, Tarja Formisto, said. Formisto appealed once more to all missing persons’ relatives to provide blood samples to facilitate the identification process. 

From the beginning of EULEX’s mandate until 19 November 2020, EULEX has conducted 662 field operations to locate missing persons, including 169 exhumations. The remains of 457 individuals have been identified, including 317 missing persons.

Veliu: Serbia exercising violence against migrants near Presevo (RTK)

Kosovo’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Agim Veliu addressed a letter to the Head of the EU in Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog, to express his concern about the treatment of migrants in Serbia. 

Veliu says that there are about 400 migrants who are gathered near Presevo, in order to be transported to the vicinity of the border with Kosovo. 

"Furthermore, they have stated that they have been subjected to physical violence and, in addition, they have been threatened with violence if they try to return to the territory of Serbia. Such actions of the Serbian authorities have been reported in various international media," Veliu's letter reads.

Belgrade Court orders exhumation of human remains from Serbian mass grave (Euronews Albania)

The War Crimes Department of the Supreme Court in Belgrade issued an order for the exhumation of an unknown number of corpses in a mass grave in Kizevak, a town in the Raska municipality.

The news was confirmed for Radio Free Europe by the Serbian Supreme Court, according to which, the beginning of the exhumation process has not yet been determined.

The chairman of the Government Commission for Missing Persons in Serbia said according to the data, human remains of fifteen to seventeen bodies are found in the mass grave in Kizhevak near Raska.

It is suspected that the bodies belong to citizens of Kosovo.

According to data published by the non-governmental organization Humanitarian Law Center, based on a report by the UNMIK Office on Missing Persons, 744 bodies of citizens of Kosovo were found in Batajnica near Belgrade since 2001, reports the news portal.

Kosovo’s Constitution does not specify who replaces acting president (Express)

The Constitution of Kosovo does not clarify what should happen in the event that the acting president for any reason will not be able to perform the duty of head of the state. Expert of the Constitution, Mazllum Baraliu, is considering this to be a constitutional vacuum, while adding that acting president should be replaced by the president of the Constitutional Court. Debate on this came upon recently when the acting President, Vjosa Osmani, went in isolation as a result of infection with COVID-19.

Following the confirmation of the indictment by the Specialized Chambers of the Special Court in The Hague against former President Hashim Thaci, the Speaker of the Assembly, Vjosa Osmani, is acting as President as provided by the Constitution of Kosovo.

But Osmani will not be able to show up at the presidency, as she confirmed three days ago that she tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and that she is in isolation in good and stable condition.

The Constitution of Kosovo does not clarify what happens if the acting president fails to exercise her duty. It only clarifies who replaces the president.

   

Serbian Language Media

  Gracanica Crisis Staff: Seven more newly infected with Covid-19 (KiM radio) 

KiM radio reported, quoting Gracanica Crisis Staff announcement, that on the territory of Gracanica municipality coronavirus was confirmed in seven more patients, while 44 patients were hospitalized at the Infectious Diseases Clinic in Laplje Selo. 

The announcement reads that the total number of active cases now is 164. 

The Crisis Staff calls on the locals to behave responsibly and in a disciplined manner and to strictly follow the recommended measures.

Serbian Orthodox Church: Serbian Patriarch Irinej reposed in the Lord (media) 

The Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch (Gavrilovic) reposed in the Lord in the Military Covid Hospital "Karaburma" in Belgrade, on Friday, November 20, 2020, at 7:07 AM, announced this morning Serbian Orthodox Church. 

Serbian media reported that before the SPC announcement, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic published the news on his Instagram account.

Irinej was born as Miroslav Gavrilovic, in western Serbia in 1930.

The SPC Synod elected him Patriarch in January 2010.

Irinej was hospitalized on November 4, following the coronavirus symptoms. On Thursday, the doctors reported his health had severely deteriorated.

Three-day mourning in Serbia after SPC Patriarch's death; Putin sends condolences (N1)

Serbia's Government declared on Friday three-day mourning until Sunday, following the death of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Irinej who passed away earlier this morning from COVID-19-related complications after spending 16 days in a military hospital.

Irinej was admitted to the hospital on November 4, after developing mild coronavirus symptoms.

He was reported relatively stable in the last several days, but his health suddenly deteriorated on Thursday, according to the doctors. 

Patriarch Irinej attended the funeral of Bishop Amfilohije Radovic on November 1.

The casket was open despite the Bishop also died from COVID-19 and Irinej was suspected to have been infected during the funeral attended by many people amid the epidemic.

In the meantime, state officials, politicians and public figures are sending condolences for the Patriarch's deaths. They described the late SPC head as "the symbol of spiritual unity," the voice of sanity, reconciliation, forgiveness and the Christianity moral," adding "his death is an irreparable loss."

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences to his Serbia's counterpart Aleksandar Vucic.

"Dear President, accept my sincere condolences for that huge loss, the death of His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Irinej," the Sputnik outlet quoted Putin as saying.

As he said, Irinej's "main efforts were the promotion of the highest spiritual values, but also the strengthening of the unity of the entire Orthodox world."

"Please convey my condolences and words of support to the entire clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church, as well as to the entire Serbian fraternal people," Putin added.

See at: https://bit.ly/36VdA02 Petar Petkovic: Serbian people has lost its spiritual father and archpastor (Kosovo Online, TV Most, KiM radio)

 “Passing away of His Holiness, Serbian Patriarch Irinej, means that Serbian people has lost its spiritual father and archpastor, who led the Serbian Orthodox Church in a difficult and turbulent time,” said the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic, reads the press release reds. 

“This is a sad moment for the entire Orthodox world and Serbian nation, especially for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, to whom Patriarch Irinej was both encouragement and consolation and whose destiny he shared as a student, and later as a professor and rector of the Prizren seminary, all the way to this day, taking strong and profound care of every Serbian in our southern province. He was a man of peace and understanding, and his spiritual path, based on lasting Christian virtues, marked by wisdom and gentleness, will remain eternally remembered and respected. The decade that Patriarch Irinej spent on the Pec throne will remain deeply engraved in the memory of Serbian people. May God grant us, in moments of immense grief for the deceased Patriarch, that his life, embodied in noble and selfless service to the church and the people, be a consolation and inspiration to direct our efforts to preserving love and peace, wherever we are, and especially to our suffering Kosovo and Metohija. May the Kingdom of Heaven be an eternal memory of His Holiness, Patriarch Irinej,” Petkovic stated.   

Petkovic posted on his Facebook page that the Serbian people in Kosovo were sending off their beloved patriarch with sadness and pain. 

“Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija are sending off their beloved patriarch with sadness and pain! Eternal remembrance and blessed peace to the soul of His Holiness,” Petkovic wrote. 

Spahiu: ''No reason for Pristina media to write that Patriarch Irinej hated Albanians'' (Kosovo Online)

Portal Kosovo Online reports that the news about the Serbian Patriarch passing away was also reported by many media in Kosovo, and among the headlines was one in which it was stated that ''Irinej hated Albanians'', which was published by the portal Reporteri, writes Kosovo Online portal. 

According to university professor and political analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu, the reporting of such inaccurate information in Kosovo is possible, because there is no law that regulates and prescribes the work of the media.

Spahiu added that there is absolutely no reason for such words, because the Serbian patriarch never said that publicly.

"All sorts of things are written in the press and on portals that are not regulated by law, but there is no reason or basis to say that Patriarch Irinej hated Albanians," Spahiu said.

The law of every secular state stipulates that the church should not interfere in the internal affairs of the state, Spahiu points out and adds that in all states there is an indirect influence of the church. He opined that the election of a new patriarch will not be possible without political influence.

"I don't think that anyone could come to the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and who is not in favor of President Vucic at this moment. However, the election in the church is politics, and part of it, although could not be seen directly, but politics in the country and politics in the church are linked,” Spahiu points out.

Varhelyi tells MEPs Western Balkans are a priority (N1)

European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi told the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) on Thursday that the Western Balkans are a priority for the European Commission.

He said that last week’s summit in Sofia showed that the future of the whole region lies in the European Union and that “it is in our strategic interest to bring the region into the EU as fast as possible”.

According to him, Serbia has a key role to play in that regard. “Not only is the EU Serbia’s most important trade partner, covering around 65% of total trade, with very good dynamics of growth - the EU is also by far the biggest provider of financial assistance to Serbia and the biggest investor. And Serbia has a clear EU accession perspective, with 16 negotiating chapters opened and two provisionally closed. I believe that Serbia has a unique responsibility in demonstrating that this region is forging ahead on its European path,” he said.

The commissioner said that he finds it very encouraging that the new Serbian government put the reforms linked to EU accession and the continuation of the EU facilitated dialogue with Kosovo as number one and two priorities, next to the fight against the pandemic. “I have confidence that the new government will move ahead decisively on these priorities and will reinvigorate its accession process with the European Union,” he added.

“The Commission is fully committed to supporting Serbia on this path,” Varhelyi said. “The Economic and Investment Plan will support the longer-term socio-economic recovery of the region and its economic convergence with the EU. For Serbia, this means better road and rail connections. This will help Serbia to fully exploit its strategic location in Europe and generate more growth and jobs. The plan also includes a huge environmental program, which will benefit people in numerous Serbian cities, increasing their quality of life very directly,” he said.

Varhelyi warned that boosting investment and economic growth in the Western Balkans will only be possible with a firm commitment and implementation of fundamental reforms.

“On the economy and on Serbia’s alignment with EU legislation, we have seen overall positive developments. Before the crisis, Serbia was performing strongly in economic growth terms. It seems that in Serbia the pandemic affected the economy the least in the region, thanks to the government’s comprehensive financial package for the private sector that has helped mitigate to a large extent the negative effects. Of course, we have a decline in productivity and employment, but the country is coping better than the rest of the region with those challenges,” the commissioner said.

He said that the reforms will require a genuine dialogue across the political spectrum and expressed the hope that the government will move forward with reforms quickly.

See at: https://bit.ly/35KCWP0 Serbian government official calls for end to attacks on Kosovo Serbs (FoNet, N1)

The head of the Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic said that the international community and the institutions responsible for the safety of the Serbs in Kosovo, primarily KFOR, had been warned that they have to do everything to stop the increasingly frequent attacks on Serbs.

“They are leading to a radicalization of the Albanian society in Kosovo and creating a situation in which the Serbs don’t feel safe in their communities,” he told in press conference.

Petkovic recalled recent attacks on Kosovo Serbs and a billboard with the insignia of the Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), adding that the billboard was not a performance as claimed by Albanian-language media but “an open call for violence”.

He said that ‘’the peace must be preserved, and the popularization of crime ended along with the glorification of crimes by Albanians’’. 

Petkovic recalled Thursday’s police raid of Serb-owned pharmacies in North Mitrovica which he said was done to seize medication stocks.

See at: https://bit.ly/36PfRdm Gara: Nine sets of human remains found in 3 months in Kosovo, excavations carried out in North Mitrovica (KoSSev)

During the search for the remains of 1999 war victims, nine sets of human remains have been found and exhumed in Kosovo in recent months, the head of the Kosovo government’s Missing Persons Commission, Kushtrim Gara confirmed in a statement for KoSSev. He announced further excavations in the coming days.

„During the last three months, at least six locations within the territory of the Republic of Kosovo have been processed, i.e. excavated. The remains of at least nine war victims were found and exhumed at these locations,“ Gara said in a written response to KoSSev, without specifying whether the found remains have been identified or whether DNA analysis was performed.

Out of a total of six locations chosen for excavation, four are in the Muslim cemetery in North Mitrovica, Gara confirmed.

He stated that certain processed locations were treated in the sense of a detailed review of the information this Commission possesses jointly with representatives of international organizations that are part of this process, as well as during the meetings of the two Commissions.

At the invitation of the Kosovo delegation, as part of the Working Group on Missing Persons, the representatives of the delegation from Belgrade were also present, he said.

The head of the Missing Persons Commission announced further excavations on the territory of Kosovo, without revealing the exact locations.

See more at: https://bit.ly/3pL6jZr SPO: Government officials “loyal” to Thaci and Veseli presided over “corrupt government pay-outs” to potential witnesses (KoSSev)

The Special Court in The Hague published an extended version of the Special Prosecutor’s Office’s request for the detainment of Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi, and Jakup Krasniqi. The request alleges that Kosovo government officials „loyal“ to Thaci and Veseli – such as the former Justice Minister Abelard Tahiri and the former head of a Division for Coordinating the Process of Legal Protection and Financial Support for Potential Accused Persons in Trials before the Specialist Chambers, Driton Lajci – presided over “corrupt government pay-outs” to potential SPO witnesses. The SPO stated that this division processed applications for the payment of purported expenses for suspects appearing before the SPO, as well as to those who did not submit a formal request, even though the KSC already reimburses interviewees for such expenses.

The SPO recalled that the former Kosovo Minister of Justice, Abelard Tahiri appointed Driton Lajci as the head of a Division for Coordinating the Process of Legal Protection and Financial Support for Potential Accused Persons in Trials before the Specialist Chambers.

They said that Tahiri worked extensively with Thaci in “multiple roles“. Other details about this cooperation, however, are not known to the public, because this point of the prosecution’s request, as well as the next one, has been redacted.

See more at: https://bit.ly/38ZzpOF Albanian citizens can enter Serbia using only an ID card (KoSSev)

The Government of Serbia has adopted a decision allowing Albanian citizens to enter the territory of Serbia without a travel document – only with a valid biometric ID card.

This decision was made at yesterday’s government session. It is the result of the signed interstate agreement between the two countries as part of the mini-Schengen initiative.

''By putting this decision into operation, additional preconditions are being created for further development of economic, scientific, educational, sports, and cultural cooperation between the two countries,'' the Government of Serbia said.

The Serbia-Albania interstate agreement on the free movement of citizens with ID cards was signed on November 9th by the Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama.

On the same day, a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation in the fight against Covid-19 was also signed. Before the signing of these documents, several meetings between the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the Prime Ministers of North Macedonia and Albania, Zoran Zaev and Edi Rama took place – as part of the mini-Schengen initiative.

Vucic, Zaev, and Rama launched the Balkan mini-Schengen initiative in November last year by signing a joint declaration on regional cooperation to ''eliminate all obstacles to the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital ''.

According to this idea, all countries of the Western Balkans should join the initiative, including Pristina, which committed itself to it by signing the agreement on economic normalization in Washington on September 4th this year. So far, however, the Kosovo Prime Minister, as well as the representatives of Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, have not attended any meetings on the mini-Schengen.

See at:https://bit.ly/3fjKxY4    

Opinion

  Kosovo turns blind eye to officials flouting COVID-19 laws (Prishtina Insight)

Kosovo’s constitution may proclaim that everyone is equal before the law – but its selective imposition of punishments for breaking government pandemic measures shows otherwise.

“Everyone is equal before the law,” reads the constitution of the Republic of Kosovo. However, the pandemic has again highlighted that, as in George Orwell’s classic book Animal Farm, some categories of citizens are more equal than others.

Recently, a photo of more than 70 people, all men, standing side by side, was posted on social media by Bekim Jashari, the mayor of the town of Skenderaj.

Besides Jashari, three other mayors, one deputy mayor, four MPs, two deputy ministers and the leader of Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, former prime minister Ramush Haradinaj, could be seen in the photo as well. The photo was proudly shared by other officials who were part of the group.

This gathering of over 70 people, mostly officials, clearly violated the Law on Preventing and Combating the Covid-19 Pandemic which, among other things, stipulates penalties of up to 35 euros for not wearing a mask or for failing to respect social distancing measures.

However, authorities in Kosovo have yet to take any measures against any of the officials seen in this photo.

On the same day when these state officials were violating the pandemic law, the Kosovo Police imposed hundreds of fines on other citizens for not complying with COVID-19 precautionary measures. 

Police reports indicate that officers impose between 500 and 1,000 fines on health measure violators every day. Since the Law on Preventing and Combating the Pandemic was enacted on August 25 until October 27, the police imposed about 55,000 fines in total. In some cases, the police fined persons sitting in their cars. 

On the day when the 70 officials were having their group photo taken side by side, without masks, Refki Hyseni, from Fushe Kosove, accused the police of mistreating his 14-year-old son who was not wearing a mask at the time of his detention. 

Later, the Police Inspectorate admitted it had launched an investigation into the police officers on suspicion of having abused the juvenile. 

Three days after the same group photo was taken, police fined Ardian Gola, a professor at the University of Prishtina, for not wearing a mask in public.

Following the imposition of the fine, Gola posted a collective photo of the 70 officials, urging the police to apply the same criteria to public officials who openly violate the COVID-19 precautionary measures.

Former President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci has also openly violated the government’s precautionary health measures.

On July 11, while still President, Thaci appealed for strict adherence to measures designed to prevent the spread of the virus. Two weeks later, however, when he met a group of elderly citizens, everyone was wearing masks except himself. 

A month later, he proudly posted the photos taken in an oda – a typical traditional large room in an Albanian household – accompanied by traditional Albanian songs. 

Prime Minister Hoti also posted photographs on social media of him playing basketball, one day after his government imposed 28 restrictive measures against the pandemic – which included a ban on sporting activities. 

The Mayor of Prishtina, Shpend Ahmeti has been very active throughout the pandemic with his appeals to people to wear masks and respect precautionary measures. He was seen during August dining with many other well-known faces. 

Despite all these violations, not one public official has yet been fined.

Such selective justice is not new in Kosovo. During the pandemic, officials from the former Haradinaj government posted videos on social media of them illegally shooting bullets through a window in Malisheva back in 2017. 

Later, the courts fined the two officials, one a deputy prime minister, with 1,700 to 2,400 euros, significantly lower than the fines provided by the criminal code for that offence, or up to five years of imprisonment. 

What is especially disturbing is that the perpetrators of these unlawful acts proudly post their evidence on social networks, confirming either that they are not afraid of the law, or perhaps that they are not even aware their behaviour is unlawful.

At a time when state officials are imposing rules and appealing to citizens to wear masks and comply with the various preventive measures, and when their behaviour proves quite the opposite, it makes it difficult to take their messages seriously. Selective law enforcement is worse than not enforcing the law at all. 

See at: https://bit.ly/3322YeK    

International

  Serbia Mourns Aged Patriarch’s Death from COVID-19 (Balkan Insight)

Two weeks after it was confirmed he tested positive for the coronavirus, Patriarch Irinej has died aged 90 from complications related to COVID-19.

Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej died aged 90 on Friday as a consequence of complications related to COVID-19, the Serbian Orthodox Church has confirmed.

Irinej tested positive for the novel coronavirus and was admitted to hospital in Belgrade on November 4. His condition started to get worse on November 15.

He was last seen in public on November 1 when he presided over the funeral service of Metropolitan Amfilohije Radovic, the Church’s senior bishop in Montenegro. He also died of COVID-related complications. Media reported that Irinej most probably got infected with COVID before the funeral.

In his public appearances, the leader of the influential Church, to which most Serbs belong, was very supportive of the political authorities, especially of President Aleksandar Vucic.

In October, the Church awarded President Vucic the Order of Saint Sava, first order, the highest decoration of the Church.

He criticized anti-government protests in Serbia in 2019 against President Vucic, saying that, “what we see in streets today is not good” and that, “it gives strength to our enemies”.

However, he also insisted that the Serbian Orthodox Church would oppose any deal reached between the Belgrade government and authorities in Kosovo, the former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008, if it confirmed Kosovo remaining outside Serbian territory.

See more at: https://bit.ly/35Pgc00