• Five new cases of coronavirus in last 24 hours (media)
• Thaci: There will be no territorial exchange (media)
• Hoti: I will be chief negotiator in the dialogue with Serbia (RTK)
• Veseli: New elections in 12 months (media)
• NISMA MP Shala speaks about visit from Haradinaj and Thaci (media)
• Civil society organisations accuse Thaci of two violations (media)
• LVV denies it is staging a protest today (Klan Kosova)
• Dacic rejects reports Serbia will stop Kosovo derecognition efforts (Telegrafi)
• Supreme Court rules against Serb’s war crimes acquittal (Balkan Insight)

Kosovo Media Highlights

Five new cases of coronavirus in last 24 hours (media)

The National Institute of Public Health said in a statement on Thursday that five new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the last 24 hours.

The new cases are from the municipalities of Fushe Kosove, Vushtrri, Prizren and Prishtina. 

Thaci: There will be no territorial exchange (media)

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said on Thursday that there will be no territorial exchange between Kosovo and Serbia, “but only a historic correction without violating the territorial integrity of the Republic of Kosovo”.

“Kosovo will be recognised by Serbia as an independent and sovereign country while respecting the current territorial integrity of the Republic of Kosovo,” Thaci said.

“I want Preshevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac to join the Republic of Kosovo … because this is a historic right, and this would be the only historic correction. It doesn’t cost anything to table this issue. I will table this issue without hesitation or fear”. 

Hoti: I will be chief negotiator in the dialogue with Serbia (RTK)

Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti said in an interview to RTK on Thursday that he will be the chief negotiator in the dialogue with Serbia.

“I will lead the dialogue because this is what the Constitution says. I will not make the mistake of meddling between the U.S. and the European Union. We are with both. The process of dialogue cannot be held without coordination between Washington and Brussels,” Hoti said.

Hoti further said that he will eliminate all obstacles to dialogue with Serbia, including reciprocity measures. 

Veseli: New elections in 12 months (media)

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) leader Kadri Veseli said in an interview to Klan Kosova on Thursday that Kosovo will go to new elections within 12 months. “I can tell you this evening that there will be elections within 12 months. I will be the first to call for elections the moment that Kosovo is no longer threatened by COVID – 19,” Veseli said. 

NISMA MP Shala speaks about visit from Haradinaj and Thaci (media)

Haxhi Shala, MP from the Social Democratic Initiative (NISMA), whose vote is said to have decided the formation of the new government of Kosovo under the leadership of Avdullah Hoti, spoke about the visit he received a night before the vote from the leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj and President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci.

He said that during the visit, Haradinaj did most of the talking. "Haradinaj spoke about numbers. The conversation was led by Haradinaj. Thaci only told me 'go to the parliament and don't split from the friends'," Shala told RTV Dukagjini.

Several media outlets report that Shala has warned he will leave NISMA if, as he said, party mechanisms are not respected. He said he was not pleased with appointment of Albulena Balaj from NISMA to the post of deputy prime minister as he believes there are much more adequate people in the party who could have taken the post.

Civil society organisations accuse Thaci of two violations (media)

A group of seven Kosovo-based civil society organisations have condemned, as they said, President Hashim Thaci's tendency to use power to influence the formation of the new government of Kosovo.

"We, the undersigned organisations, strongly react to the tendency of the President of the Republic Hashim Thaci to use unconstitutional power in relation to the process of formation of the new government coalition, voted yesterday at the Assembly of Kosovo. In addition, we also strongly condemn the unlawful arrest and disproportional use of force against a citizen who exercised the right of free speech," the organisations said in a statement.

They added that the Constitution of Kosovo forbids the president from getting involved into party politics. "We react against the active role that President Thaci exercised in facilitating a new government coalition to such an extent that an MP from the new parliamentary majority (Haxhi Shala) admitted he changed his voting stance in favour of the new government as a result of influence from President Thaci," the NGOs said.

LVV denies it is staging a protest today (Klan Kosova)

A call to protest is being shared on social media demanding new parliamentary elections but Vetevendosje officials have said they are not behind it.

At the same time, Vetevendosje said no one can prevent the citizens from expressing their discontent out to the streets and that they believe protests are becoming inevitable. "We did not yet call a protest which does not mean to say we will not do so," said LVV MP Fatmire Mulhaxha Kollcaku.

Dacic rejects reports Serbia will stop Kosovo derecognition efforts (Telegrafi)

Radio Free Europe in Serbian reported quoting EU officials in Brussels that Belgrade authorities have agreed to stop campaign for derecognition of independence of Kosovo in order to pave way for the resumption of dialogue for normalisation of relations.

"As part of good will and creation of an atmosphere that contributes to the continuation of dialogue, Belgrade side has agreed not to pursue derecognition campaign," a senior EU official told RFE.

However, Serbia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic has rejected claims that they plan to stop the campaign against Kosovo's independence calling such reports "big lies".

Supreme Court rules against Serb’s war crimes acquittal (Balkan Insight)

Kosovo’s Supreme Court rejected the acquittal of Milorad Zajic, ruling that previous court decisions incorrectly cleared him of involvement in killing two people and expelling ethnic Albanians from a village during the Kosovo war in 1998, Balkan Insight reports. 

The Supreme Court ruled against the March 2019 verdict handed down by the Basic Court in Peja/Pec, and the October 2019 Court of Appeals verdict that cleared Zajic of what the court described as the “criminal act of organising groups to commit genocide, crimes against humanity and crimes of war”. 

The Zajic ruling was made by the Supreme Court on February 18 this year and was sent to BIRN Kosovo on Thursday in response to a freedom-of-information request.

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