Police launch investigations on Rikalo case

(KTV)

For about three hours, Festim Beqiri was interrogated by the Kosovo Police investigators. He told them what he had told KTV last week, namely the claims for mistreatment of Albanians before and during the war by the current Minister of Agriculture, Nenad Rikalo.

The Police have already launched formal investigations on Minister Rikalo case. They did it not only by interrogating Festim Beqiri, but also other residents of  Dardania neighbourhood in Prishtinë/Pristina.

KTV learned that besides the Police Station, a few days ago police investigators visited the scene also. Beqiri, who was reluctant to speak much about his testimony in order not to impede the investigations, hopes that the justice institutions will complete the case.

KTV asked the Kosovo Police Media Office about the investigations, but they did not reply.

Last week, several witnesses told exclusively KTV about tortures that they or their relatives had suffered by Nenad Rikalo before and during the war. Minister Rikalo said he had not done evil to any Albanian.

On the other hand, VV MP Albin Kurti called the Kosovo Government’s statement that Rikalo was not involved in torturing and mistreating citizens during the war, as absurd. In a Facebook post, Kurti says that Prime Minister Haradinaj’s statement about his Minister is prejudicing and inappropriate, because it is premature.

Kurti called for immediate dismissal of Minister Rikalo, saying that the Kosovo Prosecutor’s Office should have acted right after the allegations of Dardania neighbourhood residents.

He believes that mentioning of his, Shpend Ahmeti’s, and \Ilir Deda’s names in a statement to media by Rikalo was done in order to strike the opposition.

Lekaj: Srpska List hasn’t set any condition about Army

(RTK1)

Minister of Infrastructure Pal Lekaj said that Srpska List has set no conditions about the Army nor about Association of Serb Municipalities, RTKLive reported.

“I can say with full responsibility that Srpska List has not set any condition to us neither about the Army, nor about the Association, or about other issues on which we will have a national consensus. I can assure Kosovo citizens that we would not enter a coalition which would harm the State of Kosovo,” Lekaj said.

Minister Lekaj made these comments at Debat D + show.

Apostolova and Rakic inaugurate three projects in north Mitrovica/Mitrovicë

(Most monitored broadcasters, Klan Kosova)

They did not mention the projects that stagnated in north at all. Neither construction of the University and Cultural Centre that have been blocked by Brussels, nor revitalisation of the Iber River Bridge which has been blocked by north Mitrovica/Mitrovicë Municipality was mentioned.

Nataliya Apostolova and Goran Rakic, who did not allow journalists to ask any question, looked very friendly to each other, when they inaugurated another three projects, paid by the EU taxpayers.

The EU representative in Kosovo Natalya Apostolova and the mayor of north Mitrovica/Mitrovicë Goran Rakic decided not to speak about their earlier disagreements; instead, they inaugurated Green Mitrovica recreational centre, funded by the EU.

The EU also invested in the Health Centre renovation in north Mitrovica/Mitrovicë.

The third inaugurated project was a new bus station built for north Mitrovica/Mitrovicë citizens.

Addressing the media, where no question was allowed, the mayor Rakic called for continuation of support from Brussels.

Apostolova said that the support would continue, and said she was happy that the EU taxpayers’ money is used to improve lives of Kosovo citizens.

The cost of the inaugurated projects was 1.2 million euro

Kosovo Serbs believe it will be difficult to agree with Albanian majority

(Klan Kosova)

Serbs had a long discussion on Tuesday in Gracanica/Graçanicë. The topic of discussion was Kosovo and a launching and internal dialogue on Kosovo, announced by the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Oliver Ivanovic, a politician who is accused of war crimes against Albanians in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë, welcomes the idea of the State President in Belgrade, but says that it will be difficult for Serbs in Kosovo to agree with the majority, particularly in the next seven or eight years.

“They will not have time to deal with Serbs nor with their own affairs. In order for us to address our issues to them, we need a more serious team. The current team is not even worth of the third league, let alone the premier league. Besides that, there are the internationals and Albanians here, who have their precise idea and they know what they want,” Ivanovic said.

This position and other discussions from the ‘Internal dialogue: a farce or a fact’ roundtable was not heard by Serbian officials and Srpska List representatives. They did not respond to the invitation to attend the debate, whose organiser addressed harsh words against them, especially against Srpska List MPs and politicians.

“They need power, which they are launching through manipulation, thus spreading fear to the people, which does not dare to appear. Even intellectuals do not dare; we invited some of them, but they did not come, because they fear the consequences,” Momcilo Trajkovic, ex politician said.

Another debate participant says that Kosovo Serbs, who should be involved in the internal dialogue proposed by Vucic, are at a loss. On the one hand, the proposals coming from Belgrade for partition of Kosovo, and on the other hand, the politicians claim that the youngest country in Europe is a fait accompli.

“There is Cedomir Jovanovic, who views Kosovo as an old umbrella which his grandfather failed to fix and left it in the basement, so he Cedomir has to throw it away. Then there is also Vuk Draskovic, and we do not even have to debate on his speech about Kosovo,” he said.

The organiser, namely National Serb Forum, announced that a meeting on the same topic will take place soon in Belgrade. Senior Serbian leaders will be invited as panellists.

Reactions to Korenica’s statement about Israel

(KTV)

Visar Korenica, the VV candidate for Rahovec/Orahovac mayor, said that his Facebook status against the State of Israel was misunderstood.

Speaking at the KTV Interactive show, he explained that he did not say Israel as a country should vanish, but only its Government.

Korenica said that VV also supports the right of Palestinians to have their State, although he says he had published the status about Israel before he joined VV.

Reacting to Korenica’s statement, President Thaçi said he was concerned about it.

“Such statements are deeply insulting and intolerable. The State of Israel and Jewish people have supported Kosovo at all periods of time. I call on all institutions, political parties and civil society to distance themselves from hate speech against other peoples and countries.

Such a language is against our culture and tradition,” Thaçi wrote.

After many reactions to Korenica’s Facebook post, another reaction came from the VV leader, Visar Ymeri. Ymeri qualified Korenica’s status as unacceptable.

“Visar Korenica’s earlier Facebook status about Israel   does not represent the VV views, neither is it fair and acceptable. It does not fit with the Movement’s political concept, which is based on the principles of universal rights for equality and peaceful coexistence amongst peoples,” Ymeri reacted via Facebook.

“Disagreement with a certain state policy may not escalate to calls for wiping out the country. Every people have its right to organise its collective life in freedom and equality, never and in no way by violating those rights to some other people,” he added.

Ymeri explained that Korenica has apologised for his Facebook status, saying that he had written it out of the momentary anger, and that it does not represent Korenica’s position.

“Once he is elected mayor, he will have a lot of job in leading the Municipality, to improve support to agriculture, to provide necessary resources for quality healthcare, and for order and discipline at schools,” Ymeri wrote.

“Foreign policy and international relations remain up to central institutions that over the last decade have contributed directly to their degradation, at the same time trying to mask this failure through slander against VV,” |Ymeri concluded.

Women underrepresented at public enterprise boards

(Most monitored broadcasters, KTV)

Although women’s education in Kosovo has been considerably improved, the number of employed women is very small.

Out of 159 board members at public enterprises and independent agencies, only 15 percent are women, while 95 percent of positions are led by men. These data were presented by Gap Institute.

Research carried out by Gap indicates that only Central Election Commission (CEC), Election Panel for Complaints and Appeals (ECAP), and Constitutional Court are led by women.

According to Jeton Mehmeti, the underrepresentation figures    are too far from the 40 percent quota and from the EU practice.

In addition, Mehmeti said that in 17 cases when board members of those enterprises were appointed, law violations happened. According to him, many of them were appointed by and were closely connected to politics.

On the other hand, new Minister of Economic Development Valdrin Lluka intends that 60 percent in this sector will be women. Lluka announced that a draft Law on Public Enterprises has been signed, which will take into consideration women’s involvement.

Gap Institute recommends that Law on Establishment of Public Enterprises shall apply the quota, so that 40 percent of members can be women.