• COVID-19: 101 new cases, 4 deaths (media)
• Kosovo leaders’ messages on World Press Freedom Day (media)
• Konjufca: We must not stop seeking justice for massacres (media)
• Pandemic leaves Kosovo without printed daily newspapers (AP)
• Experts fear Serbia could benefit from genocide lawsuit (Koha)
• “Kosovo must offer guarantees for freedom on bail of defendants” (media)
• “If Kurti doesn’t offer guarantees, he cannot be PM of Albanians” (media)
• Serwer: Serbia wants to benefit more than EU membership (media)
• Social housing issues remain overlooked in Kosovo (BIRN)
• Debate puts road safety in the spotlight (BIRN)
• Albanian PM: I never supported Kosovo-Serbia border changes (media)
• Vlora Citaku expected to be appointed Albania’s Foreign Minister (media)

COVID-19: 101 new cases, 4 deaths (media)

Kosovo has recorded 101 new cases of COVID-19 and four deaths from the virus in the last 24 hours. 421 persons have recovered from the virus during this time. There are 8,468 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Kosovo leaders’ messages on World Press Freedom Day (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on Monday that “journalists make it possible for us to learn the truth”. “Their work is crucial for the health and survival of our democracy, just as is their freedom and autonomy to pursue the truth. On #WorldPressFreedomDay we thank them for their vital role in keeping us informed,” he tweeted.

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani wrote on Twitter: “Today on #WorldPressFreedomDay day I want to express my admiration for the courageous profession of journalism. Freedom of press is a basic principle in democracy, and we need to protect and strengthen their independence.”

Konjufca: We must not stop seeking justice for massacres (media)

Kosovo Assembly President Glauk Konjufca said on Sunday that Kosovo authorities must never stop seeking justice for the massacres that Serbian troops committed against civilians during the last war in Kosovo. “Every institutional official that represents the state of Kosovo must be obliged to seek justice every day, because the pain will never go away and the martyrs will never rest in peace if the criminals remain free,” Konjufca said.

Pandemic leaves Kosovo without printed daily newspapers (AP)

The printing presses stopped running at the start of the pandemic in Kosovo. The country's five dailies all stopped printing physical newspapers and turned into online media portals. But these do not reach all the people as before, and many fear they prioritise speed over accuracy.

Ibrahim Gashi sold daily newspapers in downtown Pristina for 35 years, until they didn’t come anymore.

Azem Qerkini, an accountant and newspaper collector, misses the time when he went to Skopje, the capital of neighboring North Macedonia, in search of a copy he needed.

Imer Mushkolaj, a journalist, dreams of once more drinking his morning coffee while flipping through the daily papers.

Until March last year Kosovo had five daily newspapers, though they all had small circulations. One of them, Koha, sold about 10,000 copies a day at times when the news was most interesting.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been no more newspapers physically printed in Kosovo, only online versions. The pandemic was “the final straw, unfortunately turning Kosovo into the only country in Europe, maybe wider, without a daily paper,” said Mushkolaj.

Read full article at: https://bit.ly/3ujf3Ib

Experts fear Serbia could benefit from genocide lawsuit (Koha)

The paper reports in its leading front-page story that the Kosovo Government plans to file to the International Court of Justice a lawsuit against Serbia for genocide. Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced this during his first address to the Kosovo Assembly a month ago. “We will file a lawsuit against Serbia for the crime of genocide, at the International Court of Justice,” he said.

Citing unnamed sources, the paper notes that the Kosovo government has already engaged several lawyers who are working on the lawsuit. The Office of the Prime Minister confirmed the government’s engagement on the matter and that it is finalising the work plan. “Once the plan is complete, we can start working on drafting the lawsuit,” a government spokeswoman said, adding that the government plans to file the lawsuit before the end of next year.

However, Enver Hasani, former President of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, said in an interview for the paper that he fears Kosovo could lose from the initiative. He argued that Kosovo cannot file the lawsuit in the International Court of Justice. “To be a party in such a procedure, the country must first be a member of the statute of the ICJ and Kosovo is not. And for countries that are not members, a decision from the United Nations Security Council is required,” Hasani added.

“Kosovo must offer guarantees for freedom on bail of defendants” (media)

Faton Klinaku, acting leader of the War Veterans of the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), said on Sunday that Kosovo must offer guarantees for the eventual freedom on bail of defendants at The Hague. “Although I don’t recognise the Special Court because it doesn’t have a mandate, I need to explain the follow: 1. Kosovo must offer guarantees for the freedom on bail of the defendants, and the law specifically provides how the conditions are met, and 2. A third state can offer guarantees only if the detained person requests this and the third state then accepts, which is also specified in the regulation,” Klinaku wrote in a Facebook post.

“If Kurti doesn’t offer guarantees, he cannot be PM of Albanians” (media)

Sami Lushtaku, a former KLA commander in the Drenica region and a senior member of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), said in a TV debate on Monday that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti must not wait for someone to ask him to give guarantees for the freedom on bail of the defendants at the Specialist Chambers. “We don’t have to put pressure on anyone. If Kurti is Prime Minister of Kosovo, then there should be no comment about this,” he said. Lushtaku also added that if Kurti does not offer the guarantees he cannot be morally the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albanians.

Serwer: Serbia wants to benefit more than EU membership (media)

Daniel Serwer, U.S. commentator on political developments the Balkans, said on Monday that Serbia could accept now a final settlement with Kosovo which would secure it a quick membership in the European Union but that it wants to benefit more in exchange of recognising Kosovo’s statehood. “The final compromise in my opinion is clear: recognition in exchange of a quick integration of Serbia in the European Union. Serbia could accept this agreement now, but it will wait to benefit more,” he said.

Asked to comment on a recent non-paper about a final settlement between the two sides, Serwer said he does not who the author of the document is “but I can imagine that it was intended to give a different direction to the process of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia”.

Social housing issues remain overlooked in Kosovo (BIRN)

In a BIRN debate broadcast on Thursday, government officials and representatives from civil society raised concerns about the lack of investment in social housing in Kosovo, which has left thousands of marginalised people vulnerable.

More than 3,100 families are currently applying for social housing in Kosovo with the number increasing year on year according to Rame Hamzaj, the head of the Housing Division at the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, MESP.

Appearing in the latest episode of BIRN’s Kallxo Pernime (Tell For Real) series on Thursday night, Hamzaj conceded that public investment in social housing has been minimal. “From 2003 to 2019, only 20 million euros were spent on social housing,” he said.

According to a 2019 report by the European Commission, social housing in Kosovo is very limited, with incomplete records at the MESP then revealing that a total of 51 residential buildings were built across Kosovo between 2003 and 2018, containing only 1,178 housing units.

During Thursday’s debate, Driton Tafallari, the executive director of the Developing Together NGO criticised the lack of investment, stating that only 0.3 percent of apartments in Kosovo are available for social housing.

Tafallari described the situation as “terrible” and an “alert that concrete steps must be taken to improve this situation.”

The series of debates is supported by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

Read the full article at: https://bit.ly/3aZoEMK

Debate puts road safety in the spotlight (BIRN)

In a BIRN-hosted debate, officials from Kosovo Police and local and central government discussed issues relating to the country’s roads, where more than 70 people died in traffic accidents in 2020 alone.

Despite the lockdowns and restrictions on movement that characterised last year, there were still 72 deaths as a result of traffic accidents in Kosovo in 2020, an average of more than one per week.

Appearing on BIRN’s KALLXOPernime (Tell For Real) show broadcast on Tuesday night Goran Stojanovic, the Chief Director of Road Safety within the Kosovo Police stated that “irresponsibility” from drivers was the main cause of the high number of accidents.

However, as well as human behaviour, numerous other factors also cause issues on Kosovo’s roads, including absent traffic lights and poor maintenance and construction.

According to Male Lokaj, the acting Director of Road Management at the Ministry of Infrastructure, in the last three years the ministry has even faced obstacles installing traffic signs.

Lokaj revealed that 37 percent of Kosovo roads under the management of the ministry are not replete with road signs, blaming this failure on issues in the tendering process.

“The reasons behind this were complaints by operators who applied for tenders, which prevented the ministry from signing the contract that would enable the installation of traffic signs,” he said.

The series of debates is supported by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

Read full article here: https://bit.ly/3ugfXVG

Albanian PM: I never supported Kosovo-Serbia border changes (media)

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama took to Twitter on Sunday to refute an article by Der Standard according to which he supported a map of new borders between Kosovo and Serbia. “What a disappointment to see such a highly reputated paper behave like a fake news spreader! I have never said any of it about "non paper&map" and I have never ever endorsed any border drawing along ethnic lines between SRB&KOS! #Embarrassing.” Rama tweeted.

Vlora Citaku expected to be appointed Albania’s Foreign Minister (media)

Several news websites reported during the weekend on rumors that Vlora Citaku, Kosovo’s former ambassador to the United States of America, could be appointed a Foreign Minister in the new government of Albania led by Edi Rama.