- Kosovo bans visits of Belgrade officials during election campaign (Zeri)
- Finnish foreign minister to visit Kosovo today (RTK)
- Footage showing VV’s Abazi and PSD’s Molliqaj fight surfaces (media)
- Petritsch: Dialogue to be led by EU, U.S. and Russia to be involved (Zeri)
- Outgoing government sets own competencies (Koha)
- The three big challenges of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities (Koha)
- Kosovo first in Europe in deaths from air pollution, parties offer no solutions (Koha)
Kosovo bans visits of Belgrade officials during election campaign (Zeri)
Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has banned visits of Serbian officials to Kosovo during election campaign period, said Jetlir Zyberaj, advisor to Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli.
“6 October elections are elections of the Republic of Kosovo and its citizens. Belgrade officials will not be permitted to campaign for Kosovo elections nor will Belgrade threats against the Kosovo Serb community be tolerated,” Zyberaj wrote on Facebook.
The paper writes that as part of this ban, the deputy director of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo Damjan Jovic was not allowed to visit Kosovo while the Serbian media reported that the Kosovo Police stopped yesterday the other deputy director Dusan Kozarev as he was travelling through Kosovo and ordered him to leave Kosovo.
Finnish foreign minister to visit Kosovo today (RTK)
Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto is expected to visit Kosovo today and meet Kosovo’s acting Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli. The two are scheduled to hold a joint press conference after the meeting.
Footage showing VV’s Abazi and PSD’s Molliqaj fight surfaces (media)
News website Sinjali has published a footage showing the fight that happened between Vetevendosje’s candidate Haki Abazi and that of Social Democratic Party (PSD) Dardan Molliqaj after a televised debate at T7.
Vetevendosje reacted following the publication of the footage saying it shows how Abazi was “brutally” attacked from behind and confirm Molliqaj as a “violent” man. Vetevendosje also accused Rexhep Hoti from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) who was a witness to the incident as not telling the truth. “AAK should condemn the criminal violence of Molliqaj and PDK should denounce public deceit on the part of Rexhep Hoti. At the same time, we are disappointed at the failure of the prosecution to act as it had in possession this footage,” Vetevendosje said in a statement.
At the same time, Molliqaj said the footage of the fight shows that Vetevendosje’s candidate started the fight. “Very good that the video surfaced. Now all speculations can be put to rest. A party that presented itself as a victim is openly being shown as a fraud,” Molliqaj said.
Petritsch: Dialogue to be led by EU, U.S. and Russia to be involved (Zeri)
Former EU envoy for Kosovo, Wolfgang Petritsch, said dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina should be led by the EU but should also involve the U.S. and Russia.
“As a diplomat, I prefer to have all those that have interest in the region be part of the dialogue, both the U.S. as well as Russia, but I want to underline that the EU would have crucial part in this,” Petritsch told Serbian media.
Outgoing government sets own competencies (Koha)
The paper reports on its front page that the outgoing government has prescribed its own competencies through a document sent to the ministers, after the Constitutional Court ruled as inadmissible Prime Minister Haradinaj’s request about his authorisations and decisions following his resignation. The paper claims to have seen a copy of the document issued by the Office of the Prime Minister, which also quotes the Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government, and which equalises circumstances of a ‘fallen’ and ‘outgoing’ government. Legal experts meanwhile argue that equalising such circumstances is wrong.
The three big challenges of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities (Koha)
The paper reports in one of its front-page stories that early dropouts from school, early marriages and the high level of unemployment are the biggest concerns of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in Kosovo. These concerns are echoed in reports by local and international institutions too. The paper interviewed representatives of RAE communities who said that they don’t expect any major changes even after the October 6 parliamentary elections. Some of them even accused their political representatives of creating many political parties only for their own personal interests.
Kosovo first in Europe in deaths from air pollution, parties offer no solutions (Koha)
The Kosovo National Institute for Public Health has recently warned that air pollution is threatening the health of the population and the pollution levels are expected to be even higher during the winter season, the paper reports on page five. While people all over the world are alarmed from the threats from air pollution, political parties in Kosovo do not see this as a priority. The paper further notes that none of the candidates for Prime Minister in the upcoming parliamentary elections have made promises of measures to fight air pollution. It also notes that Kosovo is first in Europe in deaths from air pollution; according to a report about air quality in Europe in 2018, around 3.700 persons die from air pollution in Kosovo every year.
