Week in Review: The Struggle for Normality and Revival

Taking Stock

Kosovo Acting President, Vjosa Osmani, L), and leader of Vetevendosje Movement, Albin Kurti, R), give a joint victory speech after the preliminary results of February 14 snap parliamentary elections showed Vetevendosje won by a landslide. Photo: BIRN/ Urim Krasnii

Ten years ago, the EU began facilitating a dialogue on 'normalising' relations between Kosovo and Serbia. More than 30 deals have been brokered since, though many have only been partly implemented, or not at all.

To the casual observer, it may appear that there is not a lot that is 'normal' in relations between Belgrade and Pristina, despite ten years of efforts at 'normalisation'. While some progress has been achieved, the two sides have a long way to go in making their relations less combustible. Yet the future of the dialogue remans uncertain. Vetevendosje, the party set to form the next Kosovo government, claims negotiations are not a high priority. It also insists on some stock-taking and restarting the dialogue on a more sound footing. Our analysis does some of its own stock-taking, pondering what lies next for the long-running 'normalization' process.

Read more: Kosovo Seeks 'Reset' of Decade-Old Dialogue with Serbia (March 16, 2021)

Twitter Terrorism

Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu. Photo: Gergerlioglu's personal archieve

Sharing a news article on Twitter may seem like a harmless activity in most countries. Yet in Turkey, it has landed Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a prominent human rights activist and MP of the opposition Kurdish People's Democratic Party, HDP, with a two and a half year jail sentence, on charges of spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization.

The article in question called for renewed negotiations...

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