Albanian Language Media:

• COVID - 19: 353 new cases, 9 deaths (media)
• Hoti: If solution on President isn’t found, Kosovo goes to new elections (media)
• Nagavci: President post to be discussed after new elections (media)
• KOSTT to operate independently; PM Hoti calls it “a joint success” (media)
• Haradinaj: Decision to form Army was not easy, but most important (media)
• Pacolli: Army was a gift from the U.S. for our people (media)
• The shocking results of a study in Serbia (Klan Kosova)

Serbian Language Media:

• 24 new cases of Covid-19, four deaths registered in Serbian areas in Kosovo (KoSSev)
• Botsan-Kharchenko: There will be more pressure (Vecernje Novosti, B92)
• Lavrov to visit Belgrade on Tuesday (Tanjug, TV Most)
• The public does not see how much NATO and Serbia work together (cfsp.rs) 
• "When it comes to Serbia and Kosovo, the status quo is unsustainable" (Tanjug, B92, RFE)
• Abbot Janjic: Kosovo grotesque picture of what international community allegedly wanted to achieve 21 years ago (KoSSev)
• Brnabic: Vaccines by end of year (B92)
• Serbian Orthodox Church warns of false accounts under its name (BETA, N1)
• Mladjan Djordjevic once again urged Vucic to say to whom they handed over energy system in northern Kosovo (Direktno.rs)
• KOSTT started working as a regulatory area within the Kosovo-Albania bloc; no explanation to the citizens of the North (KoSSev)

Opinion:

• What Will a Joe Biden Presidency Mean for the Balkans? (nationalinterest.org)

International:

• Transparency concerns over Serbia’s growing military outlay (Balkan Insight)
• Kosovo’s ‘The Flying Circus’ wins debut prize in Cottbus Film Festival (Exit.al)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Reading through the pandemic (Prishtina Insight)

 

 

 

Albanian Language Media 

 

COVID - 19: 353 new cases, 9 deaths (media)

353 new cases of COVID - 19 and four deaths from the virus have been recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 661 persons have recovered from the virus during this time. There are 13,114 active cases of COVID - 19 in Kosovo. 

Hoti: If solution on President isn’t found, Kosovo goes to new elections (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti said in an online meeting with Peter Beyer, rapporteur for Kosovo at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, that if a solution is not found for the post of Kosovo President, the country will go to new elections. Hoti and Beyer discussed the position of minority communities, freedom of the media and current developments in Kosovo. They also talked about the ongoing dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia at the level of experts. Hoti said threatening remarks by Serbia’s senior officials do not contribute to the process.

Nagavci: President post to be discussed after new elections (media)

Kosovo Assembly Vice President Arberie Nagavci and senior member of the Vetevendosje Movement (VV), said today that VV has not received any invitation yet for talks on the post of Kosovo President. She said the main reason for this could be the party’s clear position on the matter. “The post of President must be discussed after new elections, because any negotiations beforehand would clearly show that these are talks for the interests of clientelist groups and heads of political parties, and not for the country’s interests,” she said.

Nagavci argued that a President elected by the current Assembly would not meet the constitutional requirements for a unifying President. She said the sooner all parties understand that the country needs to go to new elections the better it will be for Kosovo.

Nagavci also called for the downfall of the Hoti-led government, saying that every day it remains in power, it brings greater disappointment among the people.  

KOSTT to operate independently; PM Hoti calls it “a joint success” (media)

All news websites report that starting from today the Kosovo Transmission, System and Market Operator (KOSTT) will operate independently starting from today. Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti said that Kosovo’s independence in the energy sector is a major achievement. He said that starting from today a new power line with Albania is in function. “This is a major achievement because KOSTT has met all the requirements set out in the agreement and now operates independently,” Hoti said. “This is a joint success of Kosovo and our international friends”.

Haradinaj: Decision to form Army was not easy, but most important (media)

Former Kosovo Prime Minister and Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leader Ramush Haradinaj said today on the second anniversary of the formation of the Kosovo Army, that the Kosovo Security Force is ready to serve peace and security even beyond Kosovo’s borders.

Haradinaj said that the decision to form the army was not easy but that it was among the most important decisions since the declaration of Kosovo’s independence. “December 14, 2018, was a historical day for Kosovo, and the decision to form the Army was not easy, but among the most important decisions since the declaration of independence. I thank every MP that voted in favor of the army, a vote that means peace and security in the region. Kosovo, congratulations on the second anniversary of the Army,” Haradinaj wrote in a Facebook post.

Pacolli: Army was a gift from the U.S. for our people (media)

New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) leader Behgjet Pacolli said on the second anniversary of the formation of the Kosovo Army, that the army was a gift from the United States of America for the people of Kosovo.

“Two years ago, the Kosovo Assembly adopted three laws that changed the mandate of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into an army of Kosovo. A dream for all of us, especially for those that gave their lives for Kosovo. The Kosovo Army was not a personal merit; it was a gift from the United States for the people of Kosovo. Today, the young women and men of the Army are ready to serve their country. Congratulations,” Pacolli said.

The shocking results of a study in Serbia (Klan Kosova)

According to a study by the Belgrade Center for Security Policy (BCSP), an independent think tank, 80 percent of Serbs are against the recognition of Kosovo’s independence, 50 percent support the idea of Serbia getting Kosovo back, and 77 percent don’t want Albanians to have government positions in Serbia or for Serbs to marry with Albanians.

The study, which was conducted in November, provides a detailed analysis of the opinions of Serbian citizens about the dialogue between Belgrade and Prishtina and their positions toward Albanians. 

Asked about the objective of the dialogue between the two countries, 51 percent of respondents said they don’t clearly understand the objective, 21 percent said the goal is to return Kosovo under Serbia’s jurisdiction and 10 percent said the objective is to peacefully resolve the problem.

Asked about the idea of territorial exchange, an absolute majority of respondents (85.5 percent) said they were strongly against the idea.

Only 29 percent of respondents said the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities would be a possible good exchange for Serbia to recognise Kosovo’s independence. 

40 percent of respondents said the eventual recognition of Kosovo’s independence would not improve the lives of Serbian citizens, while 25 percent said Kosovo’s recognition would lead to Serbia losing its identity and 20 percent said they would feel humiliated if Serbia were to recognise Kosovo.

50 percent of respondents said it would be best if Serbia were to reestablish judicial and political control over Kosovo by granting it a broad autonomy. Meanwhile, 77 percent of respondents said they would not agree with Kosovo Albanians having any positions in Serbia’s central government.

73 percent of respondents said they would not prefer for their children to have Albanian teachers in school. 67 percent of respondents said they would have nothing against Albanians living in Serbia.

The news website notes that the results of the report confirm that Serbia’s official policy, which is above all personified with the figure of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, has completely failed in preparing the public opinion for an eventual agreement between Serbia and Kosovo on the normalisation of relations or about the eventual reconciliation of the two people. 

 

 

 

Serbian Language Media

 

24 new cases of Covid-19, four deaths registered in Serbian areas in Kosovo (KoSSev)

Out of 79 tested samples in the Serb-populated areas in Kosovo, 24 tested positive, while four persons have passed away over the weekend, the Crisis Committee of Mitrovica North announced, KoSSev portal reports. 

The new cases were registered as follows: six each in Zubin Potok and Priluzje, four in Leposavic, two each in Mitrovica North, Zvecan and Kamenica and one each in Gracanica and Gnjilane. 

Deceased persons were from Mitrovica North two, and one each from Zvecan and Strpce. 

At the same time 106 persons have completed their two-week isolation period. 

A total number of active cases in the Serb-populated areas in Kosovo is 1.400.

At the same time, 68 persons have passed away due to Covid-19 related complications, since the outbreak of the pandemic.  

Botsan-Kharchenko: There will be more pressure (Vecernje Novosti, B92)

The pressure on Serbia will increase Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko said in an interview with Belgrade-based daily Vecernje Novosti, adding that not everyone likes Belgrade's independent policy. However, thanks to its moderate stance, Serbia preserves socio-economic stability, implements large infrastructure projects, and strengthens its defense capacities.

Botsan-Kharchenko considers certain assessments that the new government of Serbia is pro-American as inappropriate. According to him, Serbia pursues a balanced foreign policy that fully takes into account national interests.

"Russia has its own agenda of bilateral relations with Serbia. Our cooperation is not directed against other players. It is based on the principles of transparency, fair competition, and unconditional mutual respect. We consider the ‘either-or’ logic promoted by the West counterproductive", Botsan Kharchenko said.

When asked how he interprets the fact that certain circles in the United States openly threaten Serbia with sanctions if it continues to buy Russian weapons, he answered:

"It is one of the examples of unfair competition. Russian-Serbian military-technical cooperation is being developed strictly within the framework of international law and on a partnership basis, it is aimed at strengthening the state sovereignty of Serbia. The realization of the reached agreements continues, especially on the delivery to Serbia of BRDM-2MS and T-72MS tanks. The opening of a representative office of the Ministry of Defense of Russia in Belgrade, which is currently being considered, should also contribute to the realization of perspective plans".

Asked whether Moscow would agree to the suspension of Resolution 1244, if Belgrade agrees with that, the Ambassador said that the Russian position has not changed. "We are sure, like Belgrade, that a firm, sustainable solution on Kosovo and Metohija is possible only on the basis of the UN Security Council resolution 1244. We will agree only with that solution that will correspond to the legitimate interests of Serbs themselves, which will be supported by Belgrade, and it should eventually be approved by the UN Security Council as well", he added.

When asked if Serbia can trust the Russian veto, if the question of membership of Kosovo in the UN is raised, Botsan-Kharchenko says that Russia will continue to strive for the rigorous respect of international law, providing principled support to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia, both in the UN and in other multilateral forums.

See at: https://bit.ly/3qUYKQA

Lavrov to visit Belgrade on Tuesday (Tanjug, TV Most)

Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Belgrade on December 15 and meet Serbian President Aleskandar Vucic, Tanjug news agency reports referring to diplomatic sources.

It is expected that Vucic and Lavrov will address the public after the meeting.

Lavrov will also meet his Serbian counterpart, Nikola Selakovic, visit Liberators of Belgrade Monument, Saint Sava Temple and lay a wreath at the tomb of recently deceased Serbian  Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej.

The visit was originally scheduled to take place at the end of October, however prior to the visit the Russian Minister had to go to self-isolation following a contact with Covid-19 positive person. All planned official visits and meetings were therefore postponed, the press service of the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry said back then. 

The public does not see how much NATO and Serbia work together (cfsp.rs) 

Brigadier General Tommaso Vitale, Chief of the NATO Military Liaison Office in Belgrade, said in an exclusive interview with the Strategic Policy Council portal, cfsp.rs, that the public does not see how much NATO and Serbia have been working together for almost 15 years, that is, since signing of the Partnership for Peace.

Vitale recalled that his first operational mission was to participate in KFOR, during which, he says, he “saw the suffering and difficulties faced by the local population, but at the same time exceptional dignity”.

“We must never forget the past, but we can overcome it and that is what NATO and Serbia are doing with this partnership, we are looking towards a better future”, said the general.

He also emphasized that in accordance with the UN mandate, KFOR remains fully committed to the protection of Decani, as an important shrine for the Serbian community, and added that he was lucky to spend time and feel the hospitality of Father Sava and the monks of Decani.

The head of the NATO mission did not want to comment on the opening of military office of the Russian Federation in Belgrade and characterized it as an issue for Serbian or Russian authorities, but he emphasized that NATO fully respects Serbia’s policy of military neutrality.

Speaking about the increasingly frequent cyber threats, the brigadier general emphasized that the attackers were targeting an increasing number of targets – from national parliaments to the Olympic Games, from vaccine manufacturers to the sites of election bodies.

“Cyber defense is part of the collective defense. We have made it clear that a serious cyber attack could lead to the activation of Article 5 of the Washington Agreement, our clause on collective defense,” he said.

In this pre-holiday interview, Vitale said that it helped him feel at home and the fact that Italian espresso was served in Belgrade cafes “just the way Italians love it”, but that he was deeply touched when Serbia sent medical equipment to his country and that his countrymen would carry it in their hearts forever.

Read full interview at: https://bit.ly/3gO5Hye

"When it comes to Serbia and Kosovo, the status quo is unsustainable" (Tanjug, B92, RFE)

US State Department senior official of the Bureau for European and Eurasian Affairs, Philip T. Reeker, assessed that the status quo re: Kosovo is unsustainable.

During his participation in the 2BS Forum, organized by the Atlantic Alliance of Montenegro, Reeker assessed that the agreement signed by Belgrade and Pristina in the White House on September 4 is an example of the leadership that the region needs, Radio Free Europe reports.

Asked how the United States will restore trust in the region, which, according to some estimates, was damaged during the mandate of Donald Trump, Reeker answered that the United States and the EU share a common vision towards the Western Balkans.

Reeker added that this is the vision of the region integrated into the Euro-Atlantic community and that it has not been violated in previous years, which, according to him, is evidenced by the Prespa Agreement, the agreement on electoral reform in Albania, the elections in Mostar and the dialogue in Washington between Belgrade and Pristina.

Reeker pointed out that the Western Balkans have been the subject of attention and investment of the United States for decades, and that it will remain so until the goal of gaining a full transatlantic structure is achieved.

Reeker marked Russia and China as the states which, in his opinion, are trying to obstruct or slow down the Euro-Atlantic integration of the countries of the Western Balkans.

Reeker said that the recent elections in Montenegro brought a significant political change, and pointed out that the United States appreciates Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic's commitment to common Euro-Atlantic values and the intention for Montenegro to remain on that course as a NATO member.

Regarding the blocking of EU negotiations with North Macedonia, which was done by Bulgaria due to the name of the language, Reeker assessed that both North Macedonia and Albania have taken important and difficult steps on the path to European integration.

"That is why we believe that the EU should not allow bilateral disagreements to stop the deserved progress in integration. We believe that these issues should be resolved outside the process of accession negotiations, because Skopje genuinely deserved that chance", Reeker concluded. 

Abbot Janjic: Kosovo grotesque picture of what international community allegedly wanted to achieve 21 years ago (KoSSev)

“No just settlement of the Kosovo issue is possible in the prevailing absence of human rights and amid the frantic attempts to make Kosovo another ethnic Albanian land, without Serbs and their Christian heritage”, the Abbot of Visoki Decani Monastery, Sava Janjic said. He also underlined that “systematic pressure on the non-majority community continues with impunity”, KoSSev portal reports.

Janjic also said that liberal declared Pristina officials stand in defense of “those whom they themselves have recently called criminals”, adding Kosovo is a “grotesque picture of what the international community allegedly wanted to achieve 21 years ago”.

He commented on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day to emphasise that some 200.000 Serbs and non-Albanians still have not returned to their places of origin even 21 years after the war, due to usurpation of property, lack of security, basic human rights, and other injustices.

He also reminded of the remaining ruins following the desecration and destruction of Christian cemeteries and churches.

“Regrettably many world politicians turn their blind eye to the most lawless part of the European continent from which due to endemic corruption and mafia-clan rule many Kosovo Albanians would leave en masse at the first opportunity”, the abbot stressed, adding that the remaining Kosovo Serbs are being “bullied on a daily basis in press.”

Systematic pressure on the non-majority community continues with impunity – the Abbot Janjic warned.

“Our language is being banished, and our holy sites and history proclaimed ethnic Albanian just to make Kosovo completely ethnically and culturally ‘clean.’ All this with a lukewarm international reaction in the world”.

The Abbot’s words were met with severe criticism in the Kosovo press. Thus, the Pristina-based Gazeta Express and Bota Sot published an identical article entitled: “The Abbot who served the Serb government that massacred children, now speaks of human rights“, KoSSev portal added.

See at: https://bit.ly/3gItbop

Brnabic: Vaccines by end of year (B92)

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said Saturday Serbia would receive the first vaccines against COVID-19 by the end of this year, B92 reports.

She added that her recent statement on vaccines was not well interpreted in the media.

"I saw some reports in the media that were not accurate, part of my speech on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day was taken out of context. Serbia, as promised by President (Aleksandar) Vucic, will be one of the countries that will receive the first vaccines against the coronavirus", she said after touring the works on the Moravian Corridor.

Brnabic added when she talked about one company saying that Serbia can get vaccines only in December 2021, that was true, but it is only one company, while we are in negotiations with other companies as well.

"Serbia is not a country as it was before, but a country with political strength and credibility. We will really have that vaccine in December this year", Brnabic emphasized.

Serbian Orthodox Church warns of false accounts under its name (BETA, N1)

The Serbian Orthodox Church said on Monday that it did not have any social media accounts, adding that all accounts using its name and coat of arms were fakes and should be deleted, BETA news agency reports.

“The Church information service has been contacted by a number of the faithful asking if those accounts belong to the Church considering the views they advocate and the fact that some are being used for commercial transactions. The only official Church presentation is on the Internet addresses spc.srb and spc.rs”, a statement said. 

It added that no social network account bearing the name of the Serbian Orthodox Church has any connection to the church site. “If the Church had its social network account (and if it is set up in future), that fact would be published on the official church website”, the statement added.

The Church called the owners of those false accounts to delete them immediately because of both moral concerns and the fact that claiming a false identity is a crime.

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

Mladjan Djordjevic once again urged Vucic to say to whom they handed over energy system in northern Kosovo (Direktno.rs)

In his latest press release, leader of Liberation Movement Mladjan Djordjevic presented claims that over the weekend, workers from Valac substation (in northern Kosovo) have removed the materials and equipment from Valac, in preparation for the handover. He also called upon Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, Serbian Government and 243 MPs who supported the ruling majority to explain to citizens what was happening in northern Kosovo and to whom they handed over the energy system or rather who authorized them to do so.

Djordjevic said that as of today, Pristina company KOSTT was taking over the supply of electricity to the north of KiM, or rather, the companies from central Serbia would stop supplying the Serbian consumers.

“This was confirmed by KOSTT itself, the Serbian portal KosSev and the Pristina media also wrote about it, and until last week, until we made this affair public, Belgrade media also reported about it - Večernje Novosti directly confirmed the transfer of supply under the Albanian system”, Djordjevic said.

He stated that during the weekend, workers of EPS emptied the Valac substation, from where they took out the equipment and materials, which obviously was preparation to hand it over to the new owner.

“None of the officials from Belgrade denied these allegations. Vucic hid in a hole, the competent minister Zorana Mihajlovic is playing dumb, Ana Brnabić is behaving as if she is not leading the government of this country, and the MPs in the Assembly are acting as they’re in the reality show “Zadruga”. All of them together are pushing the tortured and funny Petar Petkovic to flounder away and repeat like a parrot that there will be electricity even after December 14”,  Djordjevic said and emphasized that it was known that there would be electricity, but it was not known who would distribute it, collect the bills and who would “cut off electricity” to Serbs in northern Kosovo.

“Energy will become another means of putting pressure on Serbs in Kosovo, such as customs, police and the judiciary. And all that was handed over to Pristina by Vucic”, Djordjevic said. He stated that in this way, Serbian consumers in the north of Kosovo were practically integrated into the energy system of “Greater Albania” - since Pristina’s energy was united with the Albanian network.

KOSTT started working as a regulatory area within the Kosovo-Albania bloc; no explanation to the citizens of the North (KoSSev)

Portal KoSSev reports today that “at the meeting held on December 1, 2020, RGCE (Regional Group for Continental Europe) agreed to start the work of KOSTT as a regulatory area within the regulatory bloc Albania-Kosovo, i.e. the beginning of the implementation of the Agreement on Liaison between KOSTT and ENTSO will start on December 14, 2020,” KOSTT announced on December 2. Officials from Belgrade and Pristina have not yet explained what this means to the citizens of the North, nor to the public.

A similar notice, according to KoSSev sources, and after the same meeting, was received by EMS workers in Kosovo, who were informed that at midnight on December 13, the possibility of exchanging electricity between PE EPS and KOSTT would end, which existed until now, due to the need to supply consumers in the North.

KoSSev portal reports that the interconnection agreement between the Kosovo operator KOSTT and the European network of ENTSO operators was approved in April this year, after years of dissatisfaction between Serbia or EMS, was announced to the public immediately after the approval of the agreement within RGCE.

Also, after KOSTT announced parts of the interconnection agreement in June, it became clear that Licensing Elektrosever remained one of the points that needed to be implemented within 30 days.

However, according to the information available so far, the licensing of this company for energy supply and distribution did not take place, although according to the previously signed energy agreement, the condition for the functioning of KOSTT as a regulatory area was the formation of Serbian companies: Elektrosever (supplier in northern Kosovo) and EPS trade (wholesale supplier).

 

Opinion

 

What Will a Joe Biden Presidency Mean for the Balkans? (nationalinterest.org)

One can expect that the Biden team will be far more involved in transatlantic affairs. The Balkan countries should be involved in the resulting conversations.

Americans still have questions about their future, even a month after the elections. But for Europeans in general, and the Western Balkans in particular, a few things are clear. The style of American foreign policy will change, and it will align itself more with the efforts and preferences of the EU (especially Germany) when it comes to questions of peace in the Balkans. This will likely be the case for all European Union accession for aspirants, and overall economic development schemes. After a period of creative diplomacy (but often unsubstantial) on the part of the Trump administration, Joe Biden’s team will most likely be careful, steady, and predictable. Above all, Balkan issues will be linked to other important transatlantic questions. With this as a backdrop, it will be wise for Balkans leaders to see their issues in broader contexts rather than from the typical Balkans’ stand-alone perspective. 

There is common acknowledgement that the Euro-Atlantic integration of the region has witnessed a general “enlargement fatigue” in European Union countries and institutions, accompanied with a decreased appetite for reforms and a significant lack of overall progress in the region. Disputes remain an open wound in a region entrenched with political and ethnic divisions, stoking fears that the ethnic, institutional and political crises could devolve into new ethnic and geopolitical confrontations. Add to these issues is the terrible toll to the economies and the disastrous impact the coronavirus pandemic has levied on the fabric of civil society in a region already critically disadvantaged compared to the EU countries. 

See more at:https://bit.ly/37gjlHd

 

 

 

International

 

Transparency concerns over Serbia’s growing military outlay (Balkan Insight)

Serbia has stepped up defence sector spending under Aleksandar Vucic, but beyond the headline announcements of helicopter and drone purchases, little is known about where the money is going.

In an address to military cadets in June 2018, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic claimed that, out of similar countries in the region in terms of size and population, “there are no stronger armies than ours.”

That’s debatable, not least given most countries in the region – unlike Serbia – are members of NATO. But Serbia is indeed spending big under Vucic to boost its military capability.

In 2019, Serbia spent $1.14 billion on its military, an increase of 43 per cent on 2018 that saw the country outstrip its NATO neighbour Croatia in terms of total spending.

Indeed, between 2018 and 2020, Serbia has spent more than three billion dollars on its defence sector, according to an analysis by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI.

But you wouldn’t know it from official data on defence spending.

As it loosens the purse strings, Serbia has simultaneously restricted the flow of information on how the money is being spent, to the concern of experts who say the lack of transparency opens the door to possible abuse and hides the true plight of those employed in the sector.

“The procurements in the army are non-transparent and conducted without official plans, which opens space for various forms of misconduct,” said Marija Ignjatovic, a researcher at the Belgrade Centre for Security Politics.

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

Kosovo’s ‘The Flying Circus’ wins debut prize in Cottbus Film Festival (Exit.al)

“The Flying Circus” by director Fatos Berisha from Kosovo was awarded the prize for the best debut film in the 30th edition of Cottbus Film Festival on Saturday.

The film follows the journey of four theater actors who, during the Kosovo war, decide to travel to Albania to attend a theater festival and stage their “The Flying Circus” play. Their true objective, however, is meeting their idol, Monthly Python’s Michael Palin who will also attend the festival.

It is a road movie, as well as a dark, absurdist comedy based on true events.

The film is a production of Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia.

The 30th Cottbus Film Festival took place between 8th and 13th December 2020.

 

 

Humanitarian/Development

 

Reading through the pandemic (Prishtina Insight)

Libraries in Kosovo have suffered badly in 2020 – but bookshops are doing better than ever, with readers looking to literature for self-help and comforting stories.

Despite some 70,000 books on the shelves and around 100 places to sit and read, the Sadik Tafarshiku Library in Ferizaj hosted only eight readers on Tuesday. 

Typically the library, which has an annual membership fee of five euros, receives many visitors – around 4,000 a year according to its director, Teuta Demiri. 

However, the pandemic has cut this number to around 1,000 in 2020, and Demiri says that only around 20 readers now come in daily compared to 200 or so before the health crisis started.

Kosovo shut its libraries and other cultural institutions in March to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Most libraries reopened in the summer, but since September have been ordered to operate at 40 percent capacity.

See more at: https://bit.ly/2Lz708B