Special court’s week (Zeri/Koha Ditore)
The paper reports that this week the Kosovo Assembly is expected to vote on the constitutional amendments that enable the establishment of the special court. Sources within the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) told the paper that the PDK MPs already changed their minds regarding the special court and assured party leader Hashim Thaci that they will vote in favour for its establishment. “We expect that special court will receive 84 votes in favour,” said the source. The opposition parties announced that they would try to block the vote on special court by all means. According to them, the Assembly has already had its say regarding this issue.
Government has no plans for the special court this week (Epoka e Re)
The government of Kosovo does not plan to re-submit the constitutional amendments for the establishment of the special court to the Assembly this week. Besnik Berisha, legal adviser to the Prime Minister of Kosovo, told the paper that the government is working on this but that there is no fixed date to resubmit the amendments. “There is no defined plan on this issue. Therefore we cannot say that there are such pretensions. If anything changes, we will certainly inform you in time,” Berisha said. “Neither I nor the Prime Minister ever considered the time factor to be important, whether this would happen this week or the next. What is important is that the structure that deals with this issue is becoming each day more aware that this should proceed and that it is an obligation that has to be fulfilled,” Berisha said.
HRW: EU to ask Government to secure votes for special court (Koha)
Human Rights Watch, in its latest report, calls on the European Union to ask the Kosovo government to secure “full support for the establishment of the special court and to make sure that state institutions will operate in full accordance with the court once it is adopted by the Kosovo Assembly”. HRW experts also raised concerns over the treatment of minority communities in Kosovo. They argue that the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities are still faced with problems when applying for personal documents, “which in turn makes it difficult for them to have access to healthcare, social assistance and education”. They also noted that the Kosovo government “has failed to implement” the 2010 Strategy and Action Plan for the integration of RAE communities due to lack of political readiness, funds and cooperation between central and municipal authorities.
Serbia doesn’t want Kosovo in UNESCO (Zeri)
The paper reports that Serbia’s Foreign Minister, Ivica Dacic, wrote a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, regarding Kosovo’s application to join UNESCO. In the letter, Dacic says that this is unacceptable for Serbia, because Kosovo cannot be considered a state. He said that any consideration of the possibility of Kosovo’s membership in this agency will constitute a violation of legal regulations of the United Nations. Kosovo’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Petrit Selimi, said that statements of the Serbian officials regarding Kosovo’s application for membership in UNESCO are inconsistent with international law. Selimi noted that Greece has promised to vote in favour of Kosovo’s membership in UNESCO and Interpol.
Half of “Civil Protection” out of integration (Epoka e Re)
The decision of the Kosovo government to disband and integrate into institutions 483 members of the parallel structure called Civil Protection that operated in the north of Kosovo, has triggered reactions from the leaders of the northern Serbs. Marko Jaksic, a Serb leader in the north, who opposes Serbs’ integration into Kosovo institutions, told Radio Free Europe that with their recent actions Serbian leaders in Belgrade have shown that they are continuously giving up on Serbs and Serb institutions in Kosovo. “They are completing Kosovo’s independence. This is moving, sad and miserable, but such is the current political elite of Serbia. Serbs in these territories managed to fight against UNMIK, then against KFOR, but they cannot fight against their own state, which has stabbed them on their backs,” said Jaksic. On the other hand, Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue with Serbia Edita Tahiri said the decision to dissolve the Civil Protection was in accordance with the agreement for the normalization of relations between Pristina and Belgrade. She also added that the Kosovo government has pledged to integrate 483 members of this formation.
