Protestors request UP Rector’s resignation
(All monitored broadcasters, RTK1&KTV)
Protest called by KLA war associations lasted for several hours. Hundreds of protesters that came from all over Kosovo started to revolt after the repeated refusal of University of Prishtina Rector Ramadan Zejnullahu while meeting these associations on Thursday.
They requested by all means to enter Rectorate’s building and take the Rector out, but they were stopped from doing so by the Police.
LDK leader Isa Mustafa expressed his support for UP Rector. He said that University of Prishtina must be respected by all and it must be allowed to develop as an institution, independent from dictate and pressures.
The Council for Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) reacted against the language used by protesters in front of the UP Rectorate building. CDHRF says that besides repeating their requests, many speakers opposed all those that did not agree with these requests – media, civil society and the Ombudsperson Institution.
CDHRF defends the right of citizens to peaceful and dignified protest as a basic human right for expression of dissatisfaction; however, it is against the protests that influence on escalation of situation.
On the other hand, RTK1 reported that the protest ended on Thursday’s evening hours. It also reported that an agreement was reached between war veterans, Ministry of Education, University Steering Committee, the UP Senate and the Rector’s Office. According to this agreement, a commission will be established within a week time to verify the list of candidates put forward by the war veterans.
UNSG Ban criticizes political blockade in Kosovo
(Most monitored broadcasters, KTV)
The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will present its report on Kosovo on Thursday evening, for the period 16 June to 15 October 2014, at the UN Security Council.
This report stresses that the main political developments are related to the failure to establish the new Assembly of Kosovo, after the general elections of 8 June 2014.
Ban also stresses that he is especially concerned about the prolonged political blockade in Prishtinë/Pristina and its negative impact in the progress reached so far on strengthening the democratic institutions and processes in Kosovo.
Caretaker Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi will represent Kosovo at this meeting.
Indictment filed against Procurement Review Body officials
(Most monitored broadcasters, KTV)
The Special Prosecution of Kosovo (SPRK) filed on Thursday an indictment against two officials of the Procurement Review Body (PRB) and two officials of the ‘Conex Group’.
The indicted was filed against Hysni Hoxha, the President of the Procurement Review Body (PRB) and Hysni Muhadri, the internal expert at the PRB, Veton Fetahu, owner of ‘Conex Group’ and Arsim Robelli, accountant at the same company.
Hoxha and Muhadri are suspected of having committed the criminal offence of misuse of official duty, while Robelli and Fetahu are suspected of document forging.
The indictment has been filed by the SPRK local prosecutor, who proposed the Court to find the defendants guilty and sentence them according the law.
Ombudsperson: My mandate expired in June
(RTK1, RTK2)
Kosovo Ombudsperson Sami Kurteshi said that his mandate has expired in June, but no one else has been chosen as a replacement for this position so far. He considers this as a problem that is being inherited from the past, since, at the time when Kurteshi was elected; five efforts were made to elect the Ombudsperson.
Talking to AAB University students in Prishtinë/Pristina, Kurteshi said that he made efforts to remove the institutional influence on the independence of Ombudsperson’s Institution.
Civil society call for adoption of electronic procurement
(KTV)
Public procurement appears to be the main source of corruption in Kosovo. Many tenders are manipulated and companies close to political parties and the power usually benefit from them.
Director of FOL Movement, Petrit Zogaj, says that in order to decrease the corruption level, the government should initiate adoption of electronic procurement. According to him, the level of misuse of different tenders would be decreased with this.
Zogaj says that public procurement field is the key generator of corruption.
