Coalition bloc: We won’t meet with Thaci (Zeri)
Leaders of the coalition bloc consisting of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Vetevendosje Movement, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA), told Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga on Tuesday that they would not attend a joint meeting with outgoing Prime Minister Hashim Thaci – unless Thaci handed over his duties. Meanwhile, Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) representatives said they still hope a joint meeting will be held. “We believe the President will finally invite all leaders to sit down together and find a solution to the deadlock,” PDK deputy leader Adem Grabovci said.
Bloc to seek clarifications from Constitutional Court (Lajm)
A group of experts – from the coalition bloc consisting of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) and the Vetevendosje Movement –has prepared a request for additional explanations from the Constitutional Court in relation to the issue of the Assembly President. The request will specifically focus on Article 127 of the decision of the Constitutional Court, which the coalition bloc sees as its opportunity to elect the Assembly President after the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) fails to do so.
Krasniqi: Hashim, leave! (Zeri)
In an interview for the paper, Jakup Krasniqi, co-founder of the Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) and former Kosovo Assembly President, said new elections are unnecessary for Kosovo because they don’t guarantee a solution for the crisis. Krasniqi also said that the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) should now be part of the opposition.
Submission to UN of petition on rape gets delayed (Koha)
A petition calling for international justice for women raped during the Kosovo conflict is expected to be submitted to the United Nations either late this month or in early November. Organizers of the petition, which was signed by 115,759 people in Kosovo, had said in July that they would submit the petition to the UN in September. Edita Tahiri, chairperson of the organizational committee, however told the paper on Tuesday that setting the date for submitting the petition was not in their hands. “We can only make the request and we have done this … We expect the date for submission to be late this month or early next month. The moment we receive the final date we will announce it in a press conference,” Tahiri said. The petition calls on the UN to prepare an official report on the raping of women during the Kosovo conflict and to establish international legal mechanisms that would prosecute the perpetrators of the acts.
Ceku takes part in Adriatic Charter meeting (Tribuna)
Kosovo Security Force Minister Agim Ceku has travelled to Montenegro where he is expected to take part in the forthcoming meeting of defence ministers of the Adriatic Charter countries. Ceku is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with NATO officials and the majority of the defence ministers attending the conference.
Meta lobbies for Kosovo, requests recognition from India (Epoka e Re)
Ilir Meta, Albania’s Assembly Speaker, asked India to recognize Kosovo, during the 131st session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva. During his meeting with the Chairperson of the Parliament of India, Sumitra Mahajan, Meta said that the recognition of Kosovo by India would be a contribution not only to the peace and stability of the region but also to further friendship between the two nations.
Former KLA fighter arrested in Serbia (Tribuna)
A former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), Genc Zogaj, was arrested by French authorities pursuant to an arrest warrant issued by Serbia. Zogaj is now facing extradition to Serbia on charges of war crimes although he has previously been tried and retried by the UNMIK administration and eventually acquitted.
