Mustafa: Mitrovica border based on Ahtisaari Plan (Koha)
Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa took to his Facebook account to respond to the opposition’s claims that the administrative border of the city of Mitrovica will be changed. “Serbs from Mitrovica North are wishing one thing, but the border between the northern and southern part of Mitrovica is and will remain as envisaged by the Ahtisaari Plan. The Iber River will not be the border,” Mustafa wrote. He also said that the revitalization of the Iber Bridge will commence on Saturday and that it would be open for traffic in June next year.
“If Iber Bridge is not released today, Brussels dialogue becomes meaningless” (Koha)
Besnik Tahiri, a member of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) presidency, posted in his Facebook account today that if the Iber Bridge is not released today the process of dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade in Brussels becomes meaningless. “By proposing the Iber River as a new boundary line between the two municipalities in Mitrovica, Belgrade is trying to impose a geographical division to the detriment of the Albanian residents of Mitrovica. Such an approach is purely political and by failing to implement a minor agreement, Belgrade wants to sabotage the implementation of other agreements and continue an agenda that is not in the interest of the people of Mitrovica … Another attempt by Belgrade is to open the Ahtisaari Plan and further defunctionalize the state of Kosovo,” Tahiri wrote.
No decision today on four Albanian-majority villages in Mitrovica (Kallxo)
The Kosovo Government’s Ministry for Local Government has yet to make a decision on the four Albanian-majority villages in Mitrovica. There is an ongoing dispute on whether the villages of Suhodoll, Gushavc, Vinarc and Kroi i Vitakut, belong to the Mitrovica South or the Mitrovica North municipality. Kosovo’s Deputy Minister for Local Government, Bajram Gecaj, said a decision on the four villages could be made tomorrow. Mitrovica North Mayor Goran Rakic recently told BIRN news agency that although Albanians consider Suhodoll as part of Mitrovica South, the village belongs to Mitrovica North. The revitalization of the Iber Bridge was postponed on Thursday as Rakic asked for two days time to sign the agreement on the administrative boundary between the two municipalities.
Haradinaj: Kosovo has no President (Kosovapress)
In an interview for the news site, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leader Ramush Haradinaj said he does not believe that President Atifete Jahjaga’s involvement can help resolve the political crisis, “because Kosovo unfortunately does not have a President”. Haradinaj said the opposition released the teargas in the Assembly hall because the government is refusing to consider withdrawing from the recent agreements with Belgrade. He further argued that the pressure is now on Belgrade and that EU mechanisms and institutions have realized that they cannot take away more from Kosovo. Asked to comment on recent claims that the opposition is rejecting the agreements only to avoid the formation of the special court, Haradinaj said these were only attempts to put the blame on the opposition. The AAK leader also did not rule out an eventual dialogue with LDK leader and Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and PDK leader Hashim Thaci, “but only if they reflect on the current developments”.
11 MPs could be expelled from Assembly sessions (Koha)
The paper reports on its front page that 11 MPs, two of them from the ruling coalition, could face disciplinary measures and be expelled from Assembly sessions. Unnamed sources told the paper that the Assembly Presidency discussed on Thursday introducing disciplinary measures against MPs who committed illegal actions and acted in violation of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure. A final decision is expected on Monday.
Prosecution preparing arrest warrants for MPs that don’t answer to police (Zeri)
The State Prosecutor will issue arrest warrants for Vetevendosje MPs, Albin Kurti, Albulena Haxhiu and Faton Topalli, and AAK MP Donika Kadaj-Bujupi, if they do not answer to interview invitations from the police or the prosecution. Meanwhile, opposition MPs are refusing to go to the police and prosecution, arguing that “these mechanisms have come under the control of politics and are supporting crime”.
Pacolli: This is the death of politics (Koha)
New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) leader and former Kosovo President, Behxhet Pacolli, writes in his Facebook account that the Kosovo government has no perspective or vision in carrying out its political and administrative duties. “The government, opposition and the President have a wrong approach to the current crisis. The government must offer dialogue as means to explain the [Brussels] agreements with the opposition. The opposition meanwhile must exhaust all political means before choosing to release teargas in an attempt to make their voice heard. The President should also become more active. The President must call all parties to a roundtable of talks that should go on until a solution is found,” Pacolli wrote.
