Osmani: Kosovo’s membership in the Board of Peace, a historic step (media) 

All news websites cover an interview that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani gave to the BBC, highlighting her remarks that Kosovo’s membership in the Board of Peace is a historic step.  

Osmani recalled that 26 years ago Kosovo was devastated by war and that genocide was being committed against its population. She said that the intervention of the United States, with the support of the United Kingdom and other democratic nations, paved the way for peace, freedom, and Kosovo’s independence. “Let us go back in time a bit, 26 years ago. Kosovo was a country devastated by war. Genocide was being committed against the people of Kosovo and, under the leadership of the United States, of course with the support of the United Kingdom and many democratic countries around the world, our lives were saved. We were given a chance for peace. We were given a chance to live freely. And today, we are sovereign, we are democratic, we are independent, and most importantly, our children are the first generation in the history of our nation that has not experienced war and is enjoying peace,” she said. 

Osmani said that peace is achieved through action. “At that time, I was a child of war, growing up under shelling, and like everyone else in my generation, our lives were at risk. But the core issue is this: what we were hearing then were resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly. They were pieces of paper, they were words, but there was no action—until the United States intervened and mobilized the world to help us,” she said. 

Osmani also said that a strong international organization dedicated to building and achieving peace is necessary, noting that the United Nations has played a role in peacekeeping, which she said it has done successfully in Kosovo for more than a decade. 

Advisor: President will invite leaders on further actions on Board of Peace (KTV) 

Advisor to Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, Donika Kadaj-Bujupi, said in an interview with the TV station that Osmani will soon invite leaders of political parties in Kosovo to brief them about Kosovo’s further actions and obligations related to the Board of Peace. She also said that signing the Charter of the Board of Peace is one of Kosovo’s most important decisions since the declaration of independence and the ruling of the International Court of Justice. She argued that Kosovo’s membership in the organization strengthens its international standing and its position vis-a-vis non-recognizing countries. 

Kurti: No amnesty for those involved in vote manipulation (media) 

Kosovo caretaker Prime Minister and Vetevendosje leader, Albin Kurti said in a Facebook post that there would be amnesty for election commissioners and individuals who were involved in vote manipulation within political parties by damaging their colleagues and political parties. “We encourage the respective institutions to take the investigations to the end. The Vetevendosje Movement was always a guardian of the will of the people expressed in ballot boxes, and we will remain as such forever. The Republic of Kosovo is an example of democracy in the region and of the election process. Addressing suspected cases of manipulation within political parties through the law and accountability is necessary for the integration of the process. The will of the people is sacred, the vote is free, and this shall be guaranteed until the end. Suspected cases must be investigated, the manipulators must be punished, and such cases must never happen again,” Kurti said. 

Kosovo detains 109 suspected of election vote-tampering (BIRN) 

Kosovo police took 109 people into custody in the southern town of Prizren on Friday in a large-scale operation related to allegations of vote-tampering in the parliamentary election on December 28. 

The arrests are part of a probe that the prosecution launched last weekend, when the Central Election Commission, CEC, announced evidence of mass manipulation of the votes for candidates within parties’ lists. 

Petrit Kryeziu, Prizren head prosecutor, said the investigation involves election commissioners from the four biggest parties – Vetevendosje, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, and Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK. 

“They thought that far from the eyes of security and justice institutions, they could manipulate and get on with it,” Kryeziu told a press conference in Prizren. 

“Minor mistakes with dozens of votes could have been understood, even though the CEC has no margin of tolerance. But we are not speaking about dozens or hundreds of votes but about several thousand. The falsification of votes reaches more than 6,000 for one single candidate,” Kryeziu explained. 

In total, Kryeziu said that more than 68,000 votes for candidates had been tampered with in the Prizren counting centre alone. 

“We are speaking about deliberate intent to repudiate the result and repudiate the citizens’ will,” he added. 

Last week, when claims of manipulation first surfaced, the CEC announced a recount of 36 per cent of the ballots. But on Monday, it ordered a full recount. So far, around 51 per cent of the 2,557 ballot boxes have been recounted in a process that has delayed the inauguration of a new government . 

The recount is not expected to affect the final result in terms of party representation but might affect which MPs get seats. Election rules provide that besides choosing a party, a voter can pick up to ten party candidates in the ballot. 

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/zD0hb 

Kosovo and Serbia kick off joint commission on missing persons (PI) 

More than two years since the deal was made, EU Special Representative announces that Serbia and Kosovo's negotiators have finally agreed to form a joint commission to help find more missing persons from the 1990s war. 

About two-and-a-half years after Kosovo’s premier Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic agreed to a declaration on missing persons in May 2023, the two countries took the main step towards implementing this declaration: the establishment of a Joint Commission on Missing Persons. 

The move raises hopes that more of the 1,600 people still missing from the 1998-99 Kosovo war may be found, as efforts to find missing persons’ remains have stalled in recent years due to lack of information about burial sites. Most of the missing are Kosovo Albanians, but also some Serbs. 

“The objective of the Joint Commission is to oversee the implementation of the Declaration on Missing Persons, which aims to contribute to shedding light on the fate of the remaining missing persons, which includes persons forcibly disappeared, provide closure to their families and foster lasting reconciliation and peace,” the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade Pristina Dialogue, Peter Sorensen, said in a statement on Friday. 

Sorenson explained that the long-delayed Joint Commission will support efforts by a missing persons working group chaired by the International Committee of the Red Cross. It will help facilitate searches and resolve any disagreements, he added. 

The search for the remaining missing persons is a key element in the ongoing Belgrade-Pristina dialogue process to normalise relations, conducted in Brussels since 2013. 

Kosovo’s acting deputy prime minister and chief negotiator in the dialogue process, Besnik Bislimi, expressed satisfaction about the outcome of the latest talks with Serbian negotiators on Thursday. 

“The meetings were successful and at the end we reached the conclusion of realising this objective,” Bislimi said. 

Serbian lead negotiator Petar Petkovic, director of the Serbian government office for Kosovo, said the agreement was “extremely important and significant”. 

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/2tSfL 
 

Hoti announces candidacy for LDK leader: Time for a new beginning (media) 

Most news websites reported on Sunday that Avdullah Hoti has announced his candidacy for leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). Hoti said in a Facebook post that he will seek the support of LDK delegates at the party’s assembly on January 31. “The time has come to use our potential and channel it into returning the LDK as the main political force in Kosovo in the service of the people and for state interests. This is a time for unity, maturity, political courage, and a new beginning that is built on principles, trust and vision,” he said. 

Most news websites note that Hoti’s candidacy comes at a time when LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku has offered his resignation, following a poor result in the last parliamentary elections, and the party’s assembly is to decide whether to approve it.  

Kurti meets Jonathan Powell on margins of World Economic Forum (media) 

Kosovo caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti met with Jonathan Powell, National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, on the margins of the World Economic Forum. “We discussed the December elections in Kosova, plans and projects for our next term in government, Kosova’s democratic progress and economic growth, and regional security issues. The UK continues to be one of our closest allies, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration,” Kurti wrote in a post on X. 

Police find hand grenades and ammunition in uninhabited house in Zvecan (media) 

Most news websites report that Kosovo Police have found ammunition and hand grenades in an uninhabited house in a village in the municipality of Zvecan in the north of Kosovo. Police said that the unit for explosive ordnance devices also went to the site and safely treated explosive devices. No arrests have been made in relation to the case. 

Movement of trucks at crossings with Serbia will be stopped (media) 

Several news websites report that Kosovo’s Center for Border Management said in a Facebook post on Sunday that according to information received from Serbian border officials, starting from today at 12:00 hours there will be a stoppage in the movement of trucks at all crossings with Serbia. This comes as a sign of protest to the EU measures for truck drivers in the region, and the protest in the territory of Serbia could last for seven days. 

Suspicion grows, “Skifteri K1” drone promoted with video of Chinese company (Koha) 

The news website reports that there is growing suspicion that two companies from Gjilan deceived the public with a video concerning the production of kamikaze drones. The video which they published saying that the “Skifteri K1” drone hit a target at a distance of 1,000 kilometers, was in fact made by a Chinese company which had used the video before to promote its own drone. The two companies from Kosovo, which claimed to have manufactured the drone, have only one worker registered in the Kosovo Tax Administration.  

“International working group established to assist Serbs over the law on foreigners” (Kosovo Online) 

Dragisa Mijacic, Coordinator of the National Convention for Chapter 35, stated today that the international community is deeply concerned about the implementation of Pristina’s Law on Foreigners and that it has established a special working group to enable a large number of members of the Serbian community to resolve their status in Kosovo, Kosovo Online reports. 

Mijacic told Tanjug that “a working group has been formed consisting of representatives of the international community, primarily the European Union and several embassies of the Quint countries, as well as the Kosovo government, which will deal with issues of importance relating to civil registries, citizen registration, and similar matters, in order to simply enable a large number of members of the Serbian community to resolve their status in Kosovo”. 

He added that a few days ago they held a meeting with representatives of the EU, the Quint countries, and other ambassadors in Kosovo, as well as international organizations such as KFOR, the OSCE, UNMIK, and others, along with four civil society organizations from northern Kosovo operating in Serbian communities, at which they presented all the problems they are facing. 

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/xkCO7