In her first end-of–the-year speech to the Kosovo Assemby, President Osmani addressed many issues that Kosovo faced this year – from the pandemic to relations with Serbia, the Kosovo military and terrorism and organised crime.

“Ideas of the last century that aim for segregation and not integration, that aim division on ethnic lines and not multiethnicity, are neither in Kosovo’s benefit, nor in the benefit of the region. Such ideas will create conflict and not functionality,” said Osmani, expressing surprise that despite the current worrying situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are still voices pushing ideas for Kosovo that would create similar crises, referring to the initiative to establish an Association of Serbian Municipalities. 

“I invite you all to work together in rejecting these ideas of the past century and walk forward with ideas of the 21st century that promote harmony, integration and coexistence,” Osmani added.

Osmani added that the encouragement of autocrats is the biggest discouragement to democracies.

She also noted that Kosovo’s membership of international law enforcement organizations is vital. “Opponents of this process must understand that opposition to Kosovo’s membership is equal to support for transnational criminal organizations,” she said.

According to Osmani, Kosovo has shown its determination to fight organised crime and it will continue to do so whenever authorities consider that the lives of citizens are being endangered by criminal activities.

“Police actions in every corner of our country are inevitable to protect the life and dignity of our citizens. Our police do not target ethnicities but criminal activities. And in the fight against crime we must all be uncompromising,” Osmani said, apparently referencing recent police raids in Mitrovica that drew violent street protests from Kosovo Serbs.

During her speech, she also spoke about Kosovo-Serbia relations and the EU-facilitated dialogue between the two countries.

Osmani said that Serbia intended to destabilize countries in the region, including Kosovo. “Our region needs American and European attention, in order to neutralize the Russian-Serbian aggressive influence in the Balkans,” Osmani said.

As for the dialogue, Osmani said that it would not succeed if we do not learn from the mistakes of the past.

“Dialogue is not, nor will we ever allow it to be turned into, a dialogue about the status, the territory, the internal functionality, and the constitutional order of our country,” Osmani told deputies.

Meanwhile, she promised to publish all the official expenses of her presidency since taking office, including expenses from previous years. She insisted that her own expenses are far smaller than those of other presidents.

“This presidency has been announced as the most transparent institution in the region, but we will take this transparency to another level. We will publish all the official expenses of the presidency, but also the expenses of previous years, in which it will be proven that our expenses are smaller, while the work is many times bigger,” she said.

Osmani, who is also the supreme commander of the Kosovo Security Forces, KSF, said that the appointment of Commander Bashkim Jashari will push the KSF forward.

Osmani further talked about domestic violence, stressing that she wanted the current minimum sentences for perpetrators increased.

“Victims of domestic violence experience continuous acts of terror, not just once, so the level of current minimum sentences should increase,” Osmani said.

She called the failure to protect women from violence one of the greatest in the history of Kosovo society. Women, like any other citizens, will have the place they deserve and will have guaranteed rights to dignity and equal opportunities, she insisted.