Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga says the recent decision by the Constitutional Court obliges all parties to find a solution that does not include new elections. Jahjaga said she is confident that the solution to the political deadlock must be found by members of the Kosovo Assembly. Jahjaga told Voice of America that the solution should not be influenced from outside Kosovo.
Before travelling to the United States of America, you initiated a series of meetings with political parties to find a solution to the political deadlock. How do you think this situation will be resolved?
The meeting with leaders of parliamentary political parties is part of our efforts to facilitate discussions and seek ways for emerging from this situation. The first meeting was an opportunity to listen to all leaders, from all political parties, on how they view the road toward the establishment of institutions. All actions will be in line with the Constitution, they will respect the independence of the Assembly and all solutions rest in the Assembly and among members of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo. I will continue to meet all leaders of parliamentary parties until a solution is found that will pave way to the establishment of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo and then the establishment of all other institutions.
Madam President, what do you think is your role in this case? Do you think you can offer a solution?
It is important that my invitation was accepted and welcomed by all leaders and all political parties attended the meeting in my office. It is also important that all political parties showed readiness and willingness to openly discuss all issues and to find a solution to this process. I have a constitutional role to guarantee the democratic functioning of institutions, while respecting the independence of the Assembly and the vote of the people. As I said before, the solution lies in the Assembly of Kosovo and its members; this should not be an imposed solution but rather one that derives from the elected representatives of the people, in this case members of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, a solution that is not influenced from outside. I hope we will establish institutions as soon as possible because this will contribute to the long-term processes of our country.
The current situation has brought about discussions about the possibility of new elections. How do you think such elections can be avoided or do you believe they are inevitable?
We have a decision by the Constitutional Court that obliges us all to find a solution and avoid new elections. I believe our country is at a very important stage – we have entered processes with the European Union and other international organizations – and delays and obstacles do not suit us. Moreover, all our domestic processes should not be held hostage by these developments, because an exceptional engagement awaits us and all these delays do not contribute to our country’s long-term processes. I can say that we have neither the time nor resources to have consequent elections, because this would not contribute to the long-term processes of the state.
Talking about these important processes that you mentioned, such as talks with Serbia and the establishment of the special court. What is the current political standing on these matters?
Everything is a political process, a democratic process, or a process of democracy and a process of our political maturity. We need to learn to respect legal procedures, to respect the independence of institutions, we need to learn to have and encourage debate between political parties and we also need to learn to find solutions on our own. These solutions must not be imposed but rather supported by the majority. We have taken over many obligations that require the fast establishment of institutions and we need to meet these obligations according to timelines. Because we are a success story of a joint work of Kosovo institutions, the people of Kosovo and the international community. This success needs to be promoted and proved with the establishment of institutions.
Madam President, Kosovo Police has recently arrested citizens of Kosovo believed to have participated in wars in the Middle East. It is believed that over 100 people from Kosovo are currently there. What do you think their involvement there means for Kosovo?
For several months, we have expressed concern over the participation of Kosovo citizens in the war in Syria. We have also seen that professional coordination between security institutions in Kosovo has resulted in several measures to prevent such extremist activities. Kosovo is a state that has only recently started making concrete steps aimed at preventing such negative phenomena and our society is focused on integration processes. Kosovo’s youth, which I believe is our country’s biggest fortune, is focused on integration processes and we need to empower our youth as much as possible. Our institutions need to promote values that we have fostered for decades and centuries. This is what we the state, institutions and the people of Kosovo, should be doing. 15 years have passed since the war which had terrible consequences and the participation of our citizens in a foreign war does not contribute Kosovo in any way. Kosovo has never been and will never be a shelter of such phenomena. This is damaging Kosovo’s image and is causing instability in Kosovo, in countries of the region and to our strategic allies. Kosovo will never be a shelter for such phenomena or a transit country for these elements. Kosovo has a clear future and that is in process of European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
What do you think makes people join these wars in the Middle East?
This concerns a small number of individuals or groups which have decided to join a way as a result of ideologies or because they lack perspective about the future or for other reasons. In addition to prevention measures launched by security mechanisms, our country also needs to focus on establishing a sound base for economic development. This requires deep reforms, especially in education, and also reforms to attract foreign investments, in order to give our youths the opportunity to focus their future on the country’s development.
