- Collaku: There will be no agreement on amnesty of war crimes (Express)
- Different positions among Western countries on Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (Koha)
- Finland encourages Kosovo to reach agreement with Serbia (Kosovapress)
- “Attempts to damage the image of KSF” (media)
Collaku: There will be no agreement on amnesty of war crimes (Express)
Bekim Collaku, chief of staff of Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, said the final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia will not include any amnesty on acts related to war crimes, genocide and acts against humanity. He said there will be an amnesty for the killings, tortures and rapes that happened during the war and that it is regrettable that some people are using the topic for small political and personal gains. “For the sake of explaining to the public, but above all for the sake of truth and respect for all those that lost their most loved ones, those that experiences the most atrocious crimes during the war, allow me to explain something that everyone knows. There will never be an amnesty for those that committed war crimes in Kosovo,” Collaku said. He called on all actors involved in dialogue to be careful when they talk about sensitive topics related to the process. “It is regrettable that over some small political and personal battles, some people go so far with fabrications that they forget they can hurt thousands of people by doing so. Kosovo fully respects international conventions and international law. War crimes are sanctioned by international law. There is no and there will be no amnesty for war crimes”. Collaku also said that there will be full transparency in the final phase of dialogue with Serbia. “Transparency, responsibility and accountability are the three guiding principles during the final phase of dialogue for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia”.
Different positions among Western countries on Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (Koha)
There are differences among Western countries regarding dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, with a group of countries supporting a speedy agreement between Pristina and Belgrade, while others ask for a more substantial process in which Kosovo would engage with full political consensus, the paper reports. From separate conversations with diplomatic representatives of several Western countries, the paper learned that there is broad agreement on the fact that dialogue has no alternative and that Kosovo is obliged to engage in the process. However, there are also differences between the same countries when it comes to the content of the talks and their timeframe. As far as President Thaci’s leading role in dialogue, some capitals, like Paris and Rome, believe that in the short-term period “there is no other alternative but President Thaci”.
Finland encourages Kosovo to reach agreement with Serbia (Kosovapress)
The Finnish Ambassador to Kosovo, Pia Stjernvall, said in an interview to the news website that dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels is very important and it needs to result in an agreement, “which Finland will support … and this is one of the most important things that both countries needs to focus on”. “You are too focused on what Serbia is doing and Serbia is too focused on what you are doing. Instead, it would be more important to focus on what you are doing and how you are moving forward. The agreement of dialogue on peace is very important and we will support it. Increased efforts are needed for this to happen,” Stjernvall said.
“Attempts to damage the image of KSF” (media)
The news website reports that 40 Serb members of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) were forced to resign following outstanding pressure from authorities in Belgrade. KSF Minister Rrustem Berisha told a press conference in Pristina that the requests of some Serbs members to leave the force are a result of intentional attacks against them. “The Kosovo Security Force Ministry believes the requests to leave the force are a result of attacks against the KSF, namely against Serb members, and an attempt to damage the process and achievements of the KSF and also to damage its image as the most trusted institution in the country,” Berisha said. He also added that the pressure against Serb KSF members are unacceptable and constitute a violation of basic human rights. Ibrahim Shala, the KSF Public Affairs Director, said there are currently 130 Serb members in the force and predicted that there could be more requests from Serb members for demobilization in the future.
