- Tahiri: Mini-Schengen creates economic nucleus for Serbia (Most monitored broadcasters, TV21)
- Serbia should stop campaigns against Kosovo’s integration (TV21)
- No investigation results about allergy caused by envelopes with ballots from Serbia (KTV)
- President receives 435 amnesty requests (KTV)
- Ombudsperson finds many violations in Roma woman’s assault case handling (KTV)
- Bosnia Presidency Chairman: Kosovo is independent state, that’s my own stance (N1)
News
Tahiri: Mini-Schengen creates economic nucleus for Serbia
(Most monitored broadcasters, TV21)
Former Kosovo chief negotiator for talks with Serbia, Edita Tahiri, stated that the “Mini-Schengen” idea creates the economic nucleus for “The Greater Serbia”.
On a Facebook post, Tahiri said she is happy with wise and strategic reactions of Albanians to defend national interests and prevent, as she pointed out, Serbian neo-hegemony in the Balkans.
“That the idea of the Mini-Schengen creates the economic nucleus for ‘The Greater Serbia’ is what all Albanians are seeing, except Edi Rama. Happy with the wise and strategic reactions of Albanians to defend national interests and prevent Serbian neo-hegemony in the Balkans…” Tahiri wrote.
Serbia should stop campaigns against Kosovo’s integration
(TV21)
President of Albania Ilir Meta, taking as an example membership of Kosovo in Interpol, stated to Bosnian media that Serbia should stop its campaign against integration of Kosovo to regional initiatives or international institutions.
“Everybody in the region is aware that organised crime is one of the key problems in all our countries, and that membership of Kosovo in Interpol facilitates cooperation not only of Kosovo with Interpol, but for the entire region. It is a contribution for fighting organised crime from this region. I cannot comprehend why Serbia would take such a position, which, in my view, is not much reasonable and not at all constructive,” Meta said.
Meta expressed his belief in resolving of the issues with dialogue and in partnership, hoping that the sides will soon sit at the dialogue table, saying that they are strongly in favour of full normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
No investigation results about allergy caused by envelopes with ballots from Serbia
(KTV)
More than two months have passed since the Prosecution Office sent outside Kosovo for expertise samples of envelopes arrived from Serbia. Following physical contact with those envelopes, officials of the Central Election Commission (CEC) suffered allergic reactions.
However, results of the samples – and it is not known where they have been sent for detailed test – still have not arrived to Kosovo. Officials of the Prosecution Office did not provide many details concerning this issue.
“In regard to your questions about this case, please be informed that the investigations are going on. So far, several persons have been interviewed regarding this issue, and concerning the test results, we are waiting for them, as they still have not arrived to our country,” Laureta Ulaj from the Prishtinë/Pristina Basic Prosecution Office said.
Kushtrim Palushi, lawyer, says that delays in this expertise are reasonable, although he believes that the whole process should be more transparent.
Palushi says that expertise in such complex cases point out inadequate skills in Kosovo.
Regarding this issue, Kohavision sent questions also to the Ministry of Justice, but received no reply.
On 13th October, as they were verifying envelopes with ballots from Serbia, dozens of CEC officials complained for hands and face itching and breathing difficulties. About 10 days after the process was interrupted, the ballots from Serbia were counted under extraordinary conditions.
President receives 435 amnesty requests
(KTV)
A long list of convicts in Kosovo prisons are waiting for amnesty from the Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi.
The number of requests for amnesty submitted to the Kosovo Correctional Service is 435.
In a written response, the Kosovo Correctional Service said that all those requests have reached the Office of the President.
According to the Correctional Service, regardless of the criminal offences, they are obliged to complete and submit the documentation, and it is up to the President to take the decision.
Council for Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) is working with six cases of women sentenced to over 10 years imprisonment for various criminal offences, including murders.
According to CDHRF, all those cases meet the requirements for amnesty or for reducing the sentence.
CDHRF believes that for many years in a row, women have been discriminated by the President’s amnesty, although in many cases they had met the requirements.
However, Office of the President did not provide details if it has established a committee for dealing with requests of the convicts, and if any of those who submitted requests will be amnestied at this end-year time.
In February this year, on the anniversary of Kosovo independence declaration, the President amnestied six convicts, including three of them who were sentenced for murder.
Ombudsperson finds many violations in Roma woman’s assault case handling
(KTV)
Many human rights violations have been identified in handling of the case of Roma community woman, M.Z. from media outlets up to relevant institutions.
This conclusion came from the findings of Ombudsperson’s Institution, and his report was sent to the State Prosecutor’s Office, the Independent Media Commission, Kosovo Police, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, and the Municipality of Podujevë/Podujevo.
In this report, it is stated that these institutions have failed to protect the life of the victim Z.S., namely preventing the attack against her in Lipjan/Lipljane and Ferizaj/Urosevac.
Therefore, the Ombudsperson considers that the competent state authorities did not provide sufficient protection for the victim Z.S., who was exposed to risk and was consequently assaulted twice in a row.
By failing to launch a case for investigation on its own initiative against persons who for the first time published photos of the victim Z.S. on social networks, as well as publication of various messages by some media, the State Prosecutor’s Office constitutes non-compliance with constitutional and legal obligations.
According to this report, the Lipjan/Lipljane Police Station, which held information from citizens about the presence of Z.S. in this town prior to her becoming the target of attack, did not fulfill its constitutional and legal authorizations and failed to fulfill its primary duty which is the protection of life, as well as providing safety for all persons.
It also states that the police station in Ferizaj/Urosevac invited a representative from the Victims Protection Office with delay.
This institution has failed to provide the person Z.S.an interpreter in the language she communicated.
Ombudsperson finds that the Centers for Social Work in Lipjan/Lipljane, Ferizaj/Urosevac and Podujevë/Podujevo have not coordinated at the necessary level and have not provided the social services necessary to provide safety for Z.S., including proposing custody orders in the competent courts.
Failure to provide social services by these centers and transfer of the victim from one town to another is a re-victimization for her.
While at the Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) say they have reacted to all these violations before, but to at least serve to stop them from repeating.
Otherwise, the Municipality of Podujevë/Podujevo had earlier failed to provide her an apartment, as no one had agreed to rent her an apartment or house.
Therefore, the Ombudsperson has recommended this Municipality to provide permanent residence to Z.S.
The Basic Prosecution in Prishtinë/Pristina has confirmed that it has taken all investigative actions and that the case has been proceeded to the Basic Court in Prishtinë/Pristina.
Bosnia Presidency Chairman: Kosovo is independent state, that’s my own stance
(N1)
Despite the fact that Bosnia and Kosovo never recognised each other’s independence, there is no dilemma that Kosovo is an independent state, Bosnia’s Presidency Chairman told Pristina-based media.
Bosnia is one of the countries that did not recognise institutions in Pristina after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, mainly due to the opposition of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated region Republika Srpska, which can veto this decision in the state-level institutions.
Republika Srpska also passed a resolution, denouncing and refusing to recognise Kosovo independence.
In an interview with the Radio Television Kosovo (RTK), Bosnia’s Presidency Chairman said the agreement in the country has not been reached but that he has the right on his own opinion.
“The odds are we will have to wait (for that to happen), although I have no dilemma that Kosovo is an independent state,” he stressed.
“I won’t be always saying what has been agreed on, because there is three of us in the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it doesn’t mean I need to be authorised to say something. In my diplomatic activities, I have to stick to the rules that are in force in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I repeat, Kosovo is an independent state as far as I’m concerned. That’s a done deal and it is only a matter of time when others in the region will accept that,” said Komsic.
Bosnia’s Presidency consists of three members, who represent three major ethnic groups – Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats, and two semi-autonomous regions, Republika Srpska and Federation (FBiH). All decision at the state level must be endorsed by both entities and pass the state parliament where, again, the two entities and three ethnic groups are represented.
Kosmic also said that everything concerning Kosovo is a matter of agreement between Belgrade and Pristina. According to him, accession of Bosnia and the rest of the Western Balkans to the NATO would mean a “salvation for the region.”
