Dialogue to continue on 4 September (Epoka e Re)
Edita Tahiri, Kosovo’s outgoing Deputy Prime Minister, told the paper on Thursday that a meeting on Integrated Border Management (IBM) will be held in Brussels on 4 September. Delegations from Pristina and Belgrade are expected to discuss the permanent facilities at the six border crossings between Kosovo and Serbia. Tahiri said delays in the establishment of new institutions in Kosovo did not impact the implementation of Brussels agreements. According to her, Serbia has stagnated in this process and added that this is the reason why Serbia could not open negotiations with the European Union. Tahiri also said there would be no going back, because dialogue has brought many results.
Serbian List could enter coalition with Thaci (Kosova Sot)
The Serbian List will decide with whom it will enter into a coalition after the Constitutional Court announces its ruling. The Serbian List earlier said it was open to cooperation with Isa Mustafa’s Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). But, Vladeta Kostic, member of the Serbian List, told media on Thursday that they are waiting for the Court’s decision to then see if they will change their position. “The Court’s decision needs to be in accordance with the law. We are facing this situation because the law on elections has flaws. The Court should recognize the will of the people. The majority in parliament has the post of Assembly Speaker and can nominate their candidate for Prime Minister. It’s simple,” Kostic said.
AAK’s wish (Lajm)
Ardian Gjini, deputy leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), said on Thursday that if Kosovo goes into new elections, the opposition coalition will campaign together. Gjini, however, also said that there will be no new elections and that this is only speculation aimed at causing stress among the people of Kosovo. Kosovo’s Minister for Communities and Returns, Dalibor Jevtic, said on Thursday that there should be no new elections and that the government should be established as soon as possible.
Mortal remains of 24 people identified (Epoka e Re)
The Kosovo Government Commission on Missing Persons, headed by Edita Tahiri, held on Thursday its regular meeting to discuss recent developments related to the Raska mass grave. They decided to respect the legal procedures and the right of the families to learn about the fate of their loved ones, by informing the respective families about the identification of 16 persons through DNA testing. “In addition to this, the Commission suggested to the Serbian side to start the process of repatriating the bodies on 26 August, or some other date within the next week that would be acceptable for both parties,” a government press release said. Kosovo’s Working Group for Missing Persons also received a notification on the identification of 24 persons, from the mortal remains exhumed in Rudnica.
Tensions in the government’s missing persons committee (Koha)
Arsim Gerxhaliu, Director of the Kosovo government’s Department of Forensic medicine, announced his resignation from the Government Commission on Missing Persons after a quarrel with Prenk Gjetaj, the Commission’s head. Gerxhaliu complained that state officials were interfering in his work and that this was the reason behind his withdrawal. But Gjetaj told the paper that Gerxhaliu had already been warned not to disclose any information to the media before informing family members of the victims. The paper also notes that this is not the first time that Gerxhaliu has withdrawn from the Commission. He had abandoned excavations at the mass grave in Raska, Serbia, several months ago, saying that the Serbian side had asked him to sign a document preventing him from publishing pictures of the mass grave site.
Kosovo Intelligence Agency associate killed in Syria (Koha)
The paper reports on the front page that the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (AKI) has a large number of associates and informers without contracts. One of them, known as “F.S.”, was killed last January, in Aleppo, Syria. According to the paper, F.S., a 42-year-old from Pristina, was recruited as an informer and associate by AKI to provide information about the departure of Kosovars to Syria. He was identified by AKI as one of the first volunteers who went to Syria. F.S. was also selected because of his family ties and the credibility he had among leaders of the Islamic movement “Unite”. According to sources in this movement, F.S. had family ties with Unite leader Arsim Krasniqi. Citing official sources, the paper also notes that F.S. had cooperated with AKI for several months and was paid in cash for his services. On the other hand, AKI issued a press release on Thursday saying that media reports about the killing of an AKI associate in Syria are not true.
Heading to Syria with a military uniform (Koha)
Kosovo Police on Wednesday arrested in Pristina Airport a Kosovo Albanian with Belgian citizenship under the suspicion that he was travelling to Syria to join terrorist organizations there. Gramoz Shabani had in his luggage a military uniform, binoculars and military equipment. Shabani later admitted to the police that he was travelling to Syria to join terrorist groups.
