• COVID-19: 307 new cases, four deaths (media)
• Sixth election in 12 years reveals growing pains of young nation (EuroNews)
• Hoxhaj: PDK believes in the U.S. and dialogue (media)
• Krasniqi: PDK will restore the good relations with the U.S. (media)
• Limaj expects NISMA to win 50,000 – 55,000 votes (media)
• SL aiming for all parliament seats reserved for Kosovo Serbs (Exit News)
• Political parties with old solutions for new economic challenges (Koha)
• Constitutional Court terminates review of Vetevendosje’s referral (media)
• Citaku: Change of governments cannot be compared to capital events (media)
• International analysts see shift in U.S. positions on dialogue (media)
• “US sledgehammer diplomacy on Kosovo won’t budge Serbia” (BIRN)
• “Kosovo should establish embassy in West Jerusalem” (media)
• Kosovo religious groups still divided on law offering legal status (BIRN)

COVID-19: 307 new cases, four deaths (media)

307 new cases of COVID-19 and four deaths from the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 221 persons have recovered from the virus during this time. There are 6,896 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Sixth election in 12 years reveals growing pains of young nation (EuroNews)

The man who is the frontrunner to be Kosovo’s next prime minister is a 45 year old politician and former independence activist whose 2018 conviction for setting off a tear gas canister in parliament has seen him barred from running in elections on February 14.

Due to the quirks of Kosovo’s electoral law, it is expected that Albin Kurti will still be able to serve as prime minister if – as expected – his Vetevendosje, meaning “Self-Determination” movement sweeps the polls this week. It is currently polling at between 40 and 50 % of the vote.

It will not be the first time that Kurti has held the post. In 2019, Vetevendosje formed a governing coalition with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) which lasted just 50 days before LDK leader Avdullah Hoti brought a vote of no confidence in Kurti over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By June, Hoti had taken over as prime minister after pulling together a razor-thin governing coalition of 61 members of parliament out of a total of 120. On 21 December, it emerged that one of those 61 votes was invalid as the member of parliament that cast it had conviction for fraud.

Read full article at: https://bit.ly/3q9Wdkt

Hoxhaj: PDK believes in the U.S. and dialogue (media)

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Acting Leader and candidate for Prime Minister, Enver Hoxhaj, said on Wednesday that he will never hesitate to shoulder the burden of dialogue with Serbia, unlike his other counter candidates. He said the PDK has traditionally trusted international cooperation and the United States of America.

“In international developments, especially after Joe Biden’s letter for a new situation in relation with Kosovo, I think the PDK is again an address of security and credibility compared to other political parties that have failed to manage the issue of dialogue and other foreign policy issues,” he said. “As far as dialogue is concerned, the PDK is different from other political parties, because we have trusted dialogue, we have shouldered the process and paid a process for this”.

Krasniqi: PDK will restore the good relations with the U.S. (media)

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) senior official and candidate for MP, Memli Krasniqi, said on Wednesday that the PDK will restore Kosovo’s good relations with the United States of America and criticised the previous governments for threatening the cooperation between the two countries.

“Unfortunately, there is no other active person in politics except Enver Hoxhaj with that kind of access to European chancelleries. When Hoxhaj led the Ministry of Foreign Affairs we got around 116 recognitions from other countries, whereas the other ministers can only talk about withdrawals of recognitions,” he said in an interview with Klan Kosova.

Krasniqi said the Hoti-led government missed the opportunity with the agreement signed in Washington, adding that the draft of the agreement had initially included mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia.

“We supported the idea of going to Washington, but mutual recognition was not secured, it was removed from the draft agreement. We think the dialogue must have a clear outcome and this is mutual recognition. This was requested by Biden, Trump and senior levels in the U.S.”

Krasniqi also argued that Kosovo’s relations with the U.S. were threatened when Vetevendosje Movement leader Albin Kurti was Prime Minister.

Limaj expects NISMA to win 50,000 – 55,000 votes (media)

NISMA leader Fatmir Limaj said that he expects his party to win 50,000 – 55,000 votes in the early parliamentary elections on Sunday. “Our slogan is not about an individual but about the liberation spirit. The liberation spirit has been carried from one generation to another for centuries. We never want to abandon this,” he said in an interview on Kanal 10.

Limaj also said that he will focus on initiating a law to sanction those that deny the Serbian genocide in Kosovo. “This is our cause and this will be the core of the engagement of NISMA MPs. This is going to be our priority. Better late than never,” he added.

SL aiming for all parliament seats reserved for Kosovo Serbs (Exit News)

Three among dozens of parties running in Sunday elections in Kosovo are Serb parties competing for the 10 seats reserved for Serbs.

Out of 120 seats in the Assembly, 20 are reserved for minorities, ten of which for Kosovo Serb representatives.

Srpska Lista (Serb List), a Belgrade-backed party aims for all ten seats, as it competes against two citizens’ initiatives: Serbian Democratic League and Citizens’ Initiative for Freedom, Justice and Survival.

Kosovo Serb politicians in opposition with Srpska Lista claim that elections in Serb-majority municipalities are not free and fair.

Nenad Rasic, who was the leader of the Sloboda coalition in the 2019 elections, told Prishtina Insight that “Kosovo institutions are not capable of providing conditions for normal elections”, due to intimidation and threats.

Rada Trajkovic, a Kosovo Serb politician running with the Citizens’ Initiative for Freedom, Justice and Survival has low exceptions due to “intimidation and vote buying” by Srpska Lista.

One of the key findings in the EU 2020 Report on Kosovo about 2019 elections was that “the campaign was competitive, except in the Kosovo Serb areas where the campaign environment was marred by intimidation against non-Srpska Lista candidates and supporters”.

Trajkovic added that Kosovo Serbs “cannot escape Srpska Lista’s influence over their lives as their control over public employment has extended”.

Kosovo Bosniak former MP, Duda Balje accused Srpska Lista of trying to also influence the election of MPs in Kosovo’s non-Serb minorities.

Ten other seats are reserved for non-Serb minorities: four for Romani, Ashkali and Egyptians, three for Bosniaks, two for Turks and one seat for Gorans.

Srpska Lista’s plan is to make it hard for Vetevedosje, the largest party in the country, to gain power, according to its former MP Slavisa Petkovic.

Polls put the Vetevendosje party led by Albin Kurti ahead of all others, with 48 percent of votes.

“With two or three more deputies from other non-majority communities they will try to prevent Vetevendosje from forming the government,” Petkovic told BIRN.

The Constitution of Kosovo stipulates that Kosovo Serb representatives must be included in the country’s governing institutions. It requires at least one minister and two deputy ministers from the Kosovo Serb community, with provisions for more in case the government has more than 12 ministries.

Being backed by Belgrade, Srpska Lista acts in synchrony with the politics of Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic, even by often boycotting Kosovo institutions.

Snap elections will take place on February 14. Srpska Lista led by Goran Rakic will once again run with Belgrade’s support, in an attempt to influence Kosovo institutions in accordance with Serbia’s political needs.

Political parties with old solutions for new economic challenges (Koha)

The paper reports on its front page that political parties are presenting old and failed offers for new economic challenges in their campaigns for Sunday’s parliamentary elections. Parties are promising raises in salaries and pensions and millions of euros for economic recovery but according to economic commentators these are only wishes and almost impossible to implement in practice. Representatives of the private sector do not trust the promises saying that they are only a repetition since 2011.

Constitutional Court terminates review of Vetevendosje’s referral (media)

Most news websites reported on Wednesday that the Constitutional Court of Kosovo has ruled to terminate a referral by the Vetevendosje Movement (VV) about the constitutionality of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci’s visit to the house of former MP Haxhi Shala one night before the Assembly voted on the Hoti government.

Citaku: Change of governments cannot be compared to capital events (media)

Kosovo’s Ambassador to the United States, Vlora Citaku, said on Wednesday that the change of governments in Kosovo cannot and should not be compared to the liberation war, the peaceful resistance movement during Serbia’s occupation or with the reconciliation movement to end blood feuds in the early 1990s.

“There have been changes in government in Kosovo since 2000, always through a free and democratic vote. The election results were never disputed by anyone,” she added.

International analysts see shift in U.S. positions on dialogue (media)

International commentators of political developments in Kosovo believe that the new administration in Washington will work swiftly to conclude the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia but also believe that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will wait after the new elections in Serbia to move in the process.

James Ker-Lindsay a professor at the London School of Economics said in an interview with RTV Dukagjini that the Biden administration will be more friendly towards Kosovo. “It was clear that the new U.S. administration called for Kosovo’s recognition by Serbia. This news was welcomed in Kosovo. It is clear that the Biden administration is much more friendly towards Kosovo than the previous administration. But in fact, I think this was a mistake by the new team in Washington. Everyone knew what Belgrade’s response would be and it was no surprise when Vucic said that recognition was not going to happen,” he said. “What is needed is a solution between Kosovo and Serbia. and honestly this is not the way to do it. There should not be any calls for recognition because it is known that Serbia will not agree to this at this phase.”

Daniel Serwer, a professor at John Hopkins University, said Biden’s final objective is Kosovo’s recognition by Serbia. “Biden’s goal is mutual recognition, but I don’t see Vucic doing this before the new presidential elections in Serbia. I hope that Brussels and Washington will work together to conclude the process,” he said.

“US sledgehammer diplomacy on Kosovo won’t budge Serbia” (BIRN)

Opinion piece by Milos Damjanovic

The 18th-century English dramatist Edward Moore may not be deeply ingrained on the collective memory of the Anglophone world, yet his 1748 comedy The Foundling has, according to the Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, bequeathed to the English language the idiom “to add insult to injury”. The phrase, whose etymology goes back to the Classical world, is defined in the same dictionary as to “act in a way that makes a bad or displeasing situation worse”.

“Adding insult to injury’ was what sprang to mind when reading what should have been a mundane diplomatic congratulatory note from US President Joe Biden to Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vucic, published on February 7 on the official web page of the Serbian Presidency.

In his “congratulations” to his Serbian counterpart ahead of Serbia’s Statehood Day, on February 15, Biden underlined his support for Serbia’s goal of EU accession and all the tough steps on that road. So far so good. However, one of these tough steps, according to Biden, is “reaching a comprehensive normalization agreement with Kosovo centred on mutual recognition”.

Reading the “congratulatory” note must have been bitter-sweet for President Vucic and for much of the Serbian public – probably more bitter than sweet.

Read full piece at: https://bit.ly/3a9J4Cp

“Kosovo should establish embassy in West Jerusalem” (media)

Most news websites cover a statement by Alon Ben-Meir, U.S. analyst on the Balkans, that the Kosovo government should establish an embassy in West Jerusalem. “Since both Israel and Kosovo agreed that normalization of relations between the two countries would require Kosovo to establish embassy in Jerusalem, I believe the government should adhere to the agreement; that said it should be in West Jerusalem, where US Embassy is located,” Ben-Meir said in a Twitter post.

In another post, he argued that the “EU may discourage Kosovo from maintaining its embassy in Jerusalem, but I don’t think that EU will take punitive action should Kosovo proceed as was agreed with Israel. Since Biden isn’t expected to move US embassy back to Tel Aviv it’s unlikely he’ll advise Kosovo to do otherwise.”

Kosovo religious groups still divided on law offering legal status (BIRN)

Years of obstruction have prevented Kosovo from adopting a law granting religious communities legal status – and even now, some eye this apparent benefit with misgiving.

Bekim Jashari has been an imam in the village of Ballovc, near the northeastern town of Podujeva/Podujevo, for more than 15 years. Despite that, his mosque still does not have a building permit.

Jashari explains this as one of the many challenges facing the Islamic Community in Kosovo due to the lack of a law regulating the legal position of the country’s religious communities.

“There are many things we can’t do because of being an undefined community; we function like an NGO, while we are not one,” Jashari told BIRN.

For more than a decade, the country’s parliament, the Kosovo Assembly, has failed to adopt a draft law providing a legal framework for the registration of religious communities.

Read full article at: https://bit.ly/3p5Behn