A bitter fight for power (Koha)
In a front-page report, the paper notes that the gap between the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the opposition coalition is growing bigger, after the latter rejected consultations proposed by PDK MP and Assembly chairperson Flora Brovina. Following the opposition’s rejection, the PDK issued a statement saying that such decisions are aimed at abusing the state and violating constitutional and democratic order. Meanwhile, the Vetevendosje Movement is waiting for a green light from other opposition parties to organize civic actions, including protests. “We have proposed both institutional and civic actions aimed at highlighting that the Constitutional Court made an unfair decision that cannot be implemented because it prevents the majority in parliament from creating new institutions. Our proposals are aimed at rejecting the seizing of the state by the PDK,” Vetevendosje’s Organizational Secretary Dardan Molliqaj said.
PDK says opposition bloc using blackmail (Lajm)
The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) issued a statement on Wednesday saying that “statements by political leaders, who lost the elections, that they are not going to respect the Constitutional Court’s decision, and their insistence on proceeding with unconstitutional procedures, constitutes public blackmail… The PDK will never tolerate unconstitutional procedures by other parties to grab power in Kosovo.”
Astrit Haraqija, “messenger” of the PDK (Zeri)
The paper reports on the front page that the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) is trying through Astrit Haraqija, former Minister of Culture, to convince several Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) MPs to vote for the PDK’s candidate for Assembly President. Haraqija recently told the media that he favors a coalition government between the PDK and LDK, but this was rejected by LDK leader Isa Mustafa.
Tahiri continues technical dialogue (Tribuna)
Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister and chief negotiator, Edita Tahiri, will travel to Brussels today to attend a meeting organized by the European Union, on issues related to Integrated Border Management (IBM) and freedom of movement.
“The implementation of the IBM technical protocol, signed by Kosovo and Serbia, has reached the last phase of implementation. We are expecting to conclude the final project for the construction of IBM permanent facilities at six border crossing points between Kosovo and Serbia,” a Kosovo government statement noted on Tuesday.
Ceku: Only Serb MPs are blocking establishment of army (Lajm)
Kosovo Security Force (KSF) Minister Agim Ceku said on Wednesday that Serb members of the Kosovo Assembly are the only obstacle to the transformation of the KSF into the Kosovo Armed Forces. “There are no other obstacles and we believe this will be resolved. It is clear to Serbia that Kosovo is going to have its own armed forces,” Ceku said.
Brush appointed deputy chief of UNMIK (Kosova Sot/Bota Sot)
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Jennifer Brush as deputy chief of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Brush recently served as head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Moldova. Brush also worked for the United States State Department for over 25 years, dealing with the Balkans, Poland, Turkey and several other countries.
Janjic: There will be an accord, but not a peace agreement (Lajm)
The paper quotes a leading Belgrade-based political analyst, Dusan Janjic, as saying that a reconciliation agreement will be reached in final talks between Kosovo and Serbia, in two to three years, but it will not be called a peace agreement. “In spring next year, parties will reach another agreement, which will be called the second Brussels agreement. There will also be a reconciliation agreement but it won’t happen next year,” Janjic said.
