- Reçak massacre survivors received Vucic’s statements painfully (KTV)
- Kosovo’s Thaci reacts to US Embassy Statement: Recak was a massacre not an “event” (GazetaExpress)
- Veseli: KLA war is as pure as diamond (Klan Kosova)
- Pacolli: We have not failed in the recognition process (RTKLive)
- SPERTK reacts to threat against journalist Denis Galushi (RTK)
- LDK and VV on top of expenditures for election campaign (KTV)
- Vjosa Osmani met Trump’s Envoy on Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (GazetaExpress)
- Jashari: Law on salaries should be suspended (RTKLive)
- Haradinaj: Kosovo’s Army has no restrictions to go to north (KTV’s summary of Rubicon show)
News
Reçak massacre survivors receive Vucic’s statements painfully
(KTV)
Ramë Shabani is one of the survivors of the Reçak massacre.
Two decades ago, Serbian forces killed and massacred 45 civilians in the village, including his brother Bajrush, who at that time was only 20-years old.
Telling how he survived from the Serbian paramilitaries, Shabani, 53, says he received painfully the statements of Serbian officials, who called the massacre a fabrication. He called on authorities to quit dialogue with Serbia and not to sit at the table of talks until Serbia admits all the massacres it committed in Kosovo.
On the other hand, Agim Kamberi is not surprised by the statements of Serbian officials, saying that he has sufficient evidence about the massacre, which was committed in the village.
“I don’t take their statements too seriously, because those who made those statements are also the ones who took part in the Kosovo war. So, I do not expect from Serbian officials to declare Reçak victims as martyrs. Regarding the statement that it was a fabrication, we have sufficient documentation, we have living witnesses, there is the OSCE that was an observer here, and we have different recordings. We can prove to Serbia at any time that this massacre against humanity took place,” Kamberi said.
A few days after the statements of Serbian officials, the Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi went to Reçak to pay homage. There, he criticised the internationals for not raising their voice against Serbia about the massacres committed in Kosovo.
President Thaçi did not answer journalists’ question when he will call the constitutive session, and whether he is waiting for reaching of the governing agreement by Vetëvendosje and LDK.
Kosovo’s Thaci reacts to US Embassy Statement: Recak was a massacre not an “event”
(GazetaExpress)
Kosovo president Hashim Thaci marking International Day of Human Rights has on Tuesday visited Recak, remembering 45 Albanian civilians who were killed by Serbian police and military forces in January 1999, Gazeta Express reports.
In a statement posted in his Twitter account, president Thaci has reacted to a statement issued by the US Embassy in Pristina, which refers as “events” all the massacres which happened in 1999 in Kosovo.
“On international day commemorating genocide, my message from Reçak to bureaucrats of relativization was clear: Reçak was a massacre not an ‘event’. Kosovo and Bosnia endured genocide, not a ‘civil conflict.’ Justice will prevail, not lies, denials and fake Nobel prizes,” Thaci wrote in Twitter.
Veseli: KLA war is as pure as diamond
(Klan Kosova)
Kadri Veseli said that the KLA war is as pure as diamond, and that he is not at all concerned that this cannot be proved.
The PDK leader Veseli on Tuesday was interviewed for about three hours by the Specialist Prosecution Office, in relation to the KLA war.
Talking to Klan Kosova after the interview, he said it is Serbia that should be held responsible for the crimes committed in Kosovo, and that it will happen.
“I was invited to interview, I responded, that would be the fairest thing to say. The KLA war cannot be stained. The KLA war is as pure as diamond. KLA did a just, liberation war in protection of civilian population. The KLA war was a war for justice, freedom, and independence. We opposed the Serbian genocide. Only Serbia should be held responsible for the crimes. The initiative that I have taken will go on,” Veseli said.
Pacolli: We have not failed in the recognition process
(RTKLive)
Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Behgjet Pacolli stated that his Ministry has not failed in bringing recognitions for Kosovo.
In addition, he refuted claims of Belgrade authorities that some states have revoked their recognitions to the state of Kosovo.
“Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not failed, you are well aware about that. Recognitions have not been revoked. Now it is dignifying for us to do another job and tell the world that Kosovo is not a country of crimes, that Kosovo did not commit crimes against anyone, but that Kosovo was victim of an unprecedented genocide,” Pacolli said at a press conference.
SPERTK reacts to threat against journalist Denis Galushi
(RTK)
Trade Union of RTK Employees (SPERTK) strongly condemns threat against their colleague from Radio Kosova, Denis Galushi, by the Kosovo Assembly Member Veton Berisha.
“Our colleague Galushi wrote an article about Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community, based on his personal and family arguments, and seemingly, MP Berisha did not like the article,” SPERTK stated.
“We would like to remind MP Veton Berisha that freedom of speech is guaranteed by the Constitution, therefore Mr Berisha’s action is violation of the freedom of speech and interference in the work of journalists.
SPERTK calls on Mr Berisha to stop threats against our colleague Denis Galushi. Mr Berisha’s action is a direct threat and lynching of our colleague Denis Galushi in his professional job. We would like to remind Mr Berisha that journalists are free to write about every phenomenon that concerns our society, and not to be subject to political dictates.
We also would like to remind Mr Berisha that the powers are divided, and that his today’s action is a threat, aiming to intimidate journalists in revealing the truth. Let us remind you that the Kosovo Constitution in its provisions ensures human rights and freedoms and freedom of speech, specifically Article 40,” the reaction of SPERTK says.
LDK and VV on top of expenditures for election campaign
(KTV)
The Central Election Commission (CEC) on Tuesday published financial reports on expenditures of political parties for the campaign of the October 6 general elections.
The reports show that LDK spent the most, 730,146,87 euro in total, followed by Vetëvendosje Movement with 451,979,85 euro. The third one is the AAK-PSD coalition with 346,544,15 euro. PDK spent 316,346,32 euro, Srpska List 26,652,31 euro, and the Nisma-AKR-PD coalition spent 115,863,80 euro, KosovaPress reported.
Expenditures of political parties that seats in the Kosovo Assembly’s seventh legislature are as follows:
Vetëvendosje Movement 451,979.85
LDK 730,146.87
PDK 316,346,32
AAK-PSD 346,544,15
Nisma-AKR-PD 115,863,80
Srpska List 26,652.31
Vjosa Osmani met Trump’s Envoy on Kosovo-Serbia dialogue
(GazetaExpress)
Deputy Head of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, met on Tuesday in Berlin Richard Grenell, US Ambassador to Germany and US Presidential Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Gazeta Express reports.
The news has been confirmed by Osmani who posted a photo with US President Donald Trump’s envoy in her official Twitter account.
“Thank you Ambassador Richard Grenell for a great discussion at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin today. Looking forward to further strengthen our cooperation,” Osmani wrote in Twitter. Osmani is in Berlin as her party the LDK is negotiating with the Vetevendosje reaching of a coalition and form new government after 6 October elections.
Jashari: Law on salaries should be suspended
(RTKLive)
Kosovo’s Ombudsman, Hilmi Jashari, said the Law on Salaries should be suspended by the Constitutional Court.
“There is no equality with this law. This law has failed to meet the requirements; there is a category whose rights are violated. There are over 15,000 positions, where these rights have been violated and five thousand more in the health system,” he told the morning show of Radio Television of Kosovo.
According to him, there are many differences in this law.
“A law must be accurate and precise,” he said.
Haradinaj: Kosovo’s Army has no restrictions to go to north
(KTV’s summary of Rubicon show)
The incumbent Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said that in the region where Kosovo is, it should never be said that there is no danger of war.
According to him, based on historic events and wars in the past, it has been proven that the Balkans is not a stable region and it is sensitive.
“If it would be demanded for my country, I wouldn’t hesitate, why not. It should never be said that there is no danger because it is bad, it is known from history and times of wars, that even in those areas where it was thought that war could never happen, it did happen. We have to understand that we live in the Balkans and the Balkans is sensitive, it isn’t that sustainable,” Haradina told KTV Rubicon show.
“Kosovo must work, get consolidated, strengthen, be able to defend itself, and must work so that war never happens again, never to have the cause of any war, we must be careful to protect ourselves and the region, too. The war is not bad for one party only, but for all the party involved,” he added.
Speaking about the Kosovo Army, the incumbent PM Ramush Haradinaj said it has no restrictions for it to go to any part of the country, referring to the north of Kosovo.
According to him, the Kosovo Army is mandated to go anywhere in the country that it is required to. However, he said that the Army does not go north just for the sake of boasting.
“There is no restriction for our Army to go to any part of its homeland. The laws have been voted as such, the decision is such and the Parliament has given it the mandate. But, we do not send our Army to north just to boast to some local Serbs, to show them that we have an army. We are being careful; there are Kosovo Serbs who are becoming soldiers. It is not our intention to humiliate or demonstrate our power to Kosovo Serbs, to Kosovo citizens. The Army was made to defend from external and internal attacks, if there is any,” Haradinaj said, adding that Kosovo Police takes care of the law and order, even in the north.
Delays in forming the new government following October 6th elections, that were won by Vetëvendosje, according to Ramush Haradinaj, are showing that the party does not know how institutions are made.
Following Vetëvendosje’s disagreements with LDK in negotiations for forming the Government, Haradinaj has said the parties must be careful and engaged to reach the agreement.
“I don’t think institutions are created by threatening each other publicly, coming up with stances, care should be paid. The situation needs a different spirit and it is go to tell the people if the intend to make these institutions. If they intend to, let them do it,” he said.
Haradinaj said he did not find serious the blaming approach against each other in this relation.
The new elections, in case the agreement between Vetëvendosje and LDK on forming a government fails, according to AAK chairperson Ramush Haradinaj, could be a mistaken calculation for VV.
He said the announcements that if VV-LDK coalition fails, Albin Kurti’s party will receive more votes, could be wrong.
“This approach is strange! What is the success then? Is it a success to go to the polls or to build the institutions? I tell them that one must be careful. If someone has convinced Vetëvendosje and Kurti that it is enough to blame the LDK because they are not being reasonable, you go to the polls and grow, it might not turn to him like that. These can be mistaken calculations. I would not do that if I were in that position,” Haradinaj said.
Haradinaj said that it is up to Kurti as the party leader to find the formula for moving forward.
Acting Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj justified appointment of Kreshnik Gashi as director of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (KIA) and of his co-partisan Burim Ramadani as KIA Chief Inspector, to fill the vacuum for those who are not forming the government.
Haradinaj said that the only ones who criticised him for appointment of Ramadani have been those who, instead, should criticise themselves for not forming the institutions.
“All parties that have worked with that man [Burim Ramadani], praise him. Why has nobody criticised this appointment, neither international parties nor anybody else… It would be good that all those inside the country criticise themselves for not forming the institutions, as then I would not have to appoint them. Let those who are criticising me form the government and shut their mouths. They should be ashamed of what they are doing… Let them do their jobs, build the institutions, let them not complain about what others are doing. Let them speak, but they also will get what should be told them,” he stated.
The AAK leader Haradinaj said that VV should stay here and form the institutions, rather than going on tourism with Djuric.
“Let them get locked in here, let them form the institutions. You can see both Xhelal Sveçla and Albin going on tourism at conferences with Djuric. What forced Albin to go with Djuric? Instead of going with Djuric, it would be better for him to go with Isa Mustafa and do the job,” Haradinaj said.
“I resigned in July; the New Year is coming… Those people who won the elections, Albin Kurti is spending more time in Berlin than in Kosovo. I am covering their vacuum,” he added.
“I appoint them, because I cannot leave those positions vacant…,” he said, adding that the appointments have been fair and there has not been any conflict of interest.
