New Draft Law on Elections will decrease Serb electorate
(RTK2)
In case that the new draft law on elections will be adopted, only Kosovo citizens will have the right to vote. Internally displaced persons and Serbs from Kosovo without documents would be left out of the voter list. As a consequence, Serb community electorate in Kosovo would be brought to 40.000.
Kosovo’s voter list contained around 130,000 Serb community voters. Over 25,000 of those living in Serbia were eligible to apply for voting. With the new draft bill on elections, the rights of Serb community are diminished.
This would mostly affect Kosovo north voters, where the majority of Serb citizens do not have Kosovo documents. As far as IDPs are concerned, there is an agreement of Serb community that taking out their right to vote is unacceptable.
New draft law on elections can be proceeded to the Assembly next week. Serb MPs prepared their amendments, but they doubt that they will find support for them, and that is why they plan to block the draft law.
Assembly passes Law on Status and Rights of Martyrs
(All monitored broadcasters, KTV)
Kosovo Assembly passed the Law on Status and Rights of Martyrs, Invalids, Veterans, KLA members, civilian war victims, and their families.
The Law has also included war victims of sexual violation; however, benefits for this category have not been included in the budget line.
The Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga welcomed passing of the Bill on war emerging categories.
“This Law aims to recognise the right to a category in our society which for 15 years since the end of the war has been marginalised and excluded from society. War victims of sexual violence need institutional care, and we as society are showing that we are mature to make them become our part. This category of our society needs justice which would heal their wounds,” President Jahjaga’s statement reads.
Borchardt: No secret indictments in Kosovo
(Most monitored broadcasters, KTV)
The EULEX Head of Mission Bernd Borchardt said that there were no secret indictments in Kosovo, as there is no mechanism on secret indictments in Kosovo’s legal system.
“EULEX is here because the EU believes that north Kosovo like the entire Kosovo has a future, but the future will be unsafe as long as some people take law into their own hands,” said Borchardt, commenting on search operations in the police station in Zubin Potok and release of a suspect, who was arrested under the suspicion of committing serious criminal offences.
“That was not a Hollywood movie scene, that happened in reality last week in Zubin Potok,” Borchardt told Serbian newspaper Blic. He added that the fugitive Slobodan Sovrlic was in detention in Zubin Potok upon an arrest warrant, not because he was on a secret list.
Kosovo and Serbia discuss dissolving illegal structures
(TV21)
Delegations of Kosovo and Serbia met in Brussels to discuss the issue of dissolving illegal security structures of the so-called Civil Protection.
They discussed actions that need to be taken for fully dissolving this illegal structures, which implies interrupting its activity, closing down their operation premises, and handing in their uniforms and operation equipment in accordance with international rules.
