Association to have Assembly and Executive Council (Koha)
The paper reports on its front page that Kosovo’s officials said on Wednesday said that the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities will not have executive competencies; however, this umbrella mechanism will have decision-making forums on a broad range of issues. Unnamed sources told the paper that the current draft of the agreement on the Association/Community provides that this structure will have an Executive Council consisting of mayors of member municipalities. The Council will be responsible for analysing and monitoring decisions directly related to the activities of local authorities. The Association will also have an Assembly and a Board.
Chancellor Merkel makes the special court happen (Zeri)
Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, has given strong guarantees to German Chancellor Angela Merkel that he will convince the MPs of his party to vote in favour of the special court. The paper recalls that PDK MPs were not all united during last week’s vote on the special court. “We assured the Chancellor that Kosovo will establish the special court very soon and that we will fulfil the other international obligations,” Thaci said. Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, said on Wednesday that his government is focused on resending the matter to the Assembly. “We will sit and discuss with parliamentary groups as soon as we return, we will treat the issues at the Assembly and we will also hold individual talks with the MPs,” Mustafa said.
Thaci needs more time to convince his MPs on special court (Telegrafi)
The Government of Kosovo is expected to ask the Assembly to convene next week and re-vote constitutional amendments paving the way for the establishment of the specialist chambers, reported Tirana’s television station, Top Channel. The report further said that the ruling coalition leaders, Hashim Thaci and Isa Mustafa, plan to meet each of their respective parties’ MPs to ensure they have sufficient votes to pass the motion next time around. An official from the office of the Kosovo Prime Minister said Mustafa and Thaci will decide on a further course of action after they meet all their MPs.
Krasniqi: Special Court cannot return to the Assembly (RTK)
Jakup Krasniqi, head of the National Council of the Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA), told Pristina-based Rrokum TV that re-proceeding of the special court at the Assembly is almost impossible. He considers that the debate on the special court has already been exhausted. “Anything can be done by force, however forceful efforts will ruin the entire system and as such, it ruins also the democracy,” said Krasniqi. Krasniqi blames the current political leaders for creating the situation with regards to the special court, saying that they try to reach their aims using all possible forms. He also blamed the current government for dealing only with the dialogue and the special court, leaving aside vital problems of the people.
Janjic: Germans threatened Thaci with government reshuffle (Kosova Sot)
Coordinator of the Belgrade-based Forum for Ethnic Relations Dusan Janjic said that the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue should end in a compromise and it is no coincidence that the EU and Germany, in particular, have stepped up commitment to the process. “Germany was serious when it told Hashim Thaci that he has to finish the job he was elected to do in the government or risk its reshuffling”, Janjic said adding, however, that he thought this scenario unlikely to happen.
The telephone call that alarmed Kosovo Police over terror attacks (Koha)
In a front-page story, the paper reports the Kosovo Police have mobilized to prevent “a possible terror attack” after tapping a telephone conversation between a Kosovo Albanian from Gjilan/Gnjilane and an Albanian from FYROM who is in Syria. A source from the Prosecution told the paper about the conversation. “During their conversation, the youth from Gjilan asked for the assistance of the Albanian from FYROM to go to Syria and to fight in the Jihad. But according to the source, the Albanian in Syria told him that ‘you can make Jihad where you live’ [in Kosovo].” As part of increased security measures, the Kosovo Police have ordered their members to wear bullet-proof vests for several days now. But officially, the Kosovo Police have said there is no high risk from terror attacks.
