Mustafa: Jablanovic should resign or he will be dismissed (dailies)
Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said during a visit to Rahovec/Orahovac municipality on Monday that he would soon make changes in his government. Commenting on the statement by Communities and Returns Minister Aleksandar Jablanovic who called protesters in Gjakova/Djakovica “beasts”, Mustafa said: “It should be clear to both Minister Jablanovic and to us that the current situation cannot stand. In my capacity as Prime Minister, I think I will make the right decision, or Minister Jablanovic will have to make the decision himself”. Mustafa did not comment whether or not Jablanovic would leave the post before the opposition’s protest on Wednesday.
Kurti: We won’t give up (Zeri)
Albin Kurti, the leader of the Vetevendosje Movement, said on Monday in Ferizaj/Urosevac, that Wednesday’s protest will be peaceful and the protesters will have two main requests: the dismissal of Communities and Returns Minister Aleksandar Jablanovic and the transformation of the Trepca mining complex into a public enterprise. He said that the Vetevendosje Movement would not give up on these two requirements until they are fulfilled.
Norwegian ambassador calls for peaceful protest (Zeri)
The Norwegian Ambassador to Kosovo, Jan Braathu, on Monday called on people in Kosovo to protest peacefully and not repeat the violence of the previous protest. Braathu said that the people have the right to protest but, according to him, they also have to respect the law.
Pentagon supports transformation of KSF into Armed Forces (Koha)
Citing a press release issued by the Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the paper reports that the United States Administration supports the transformation of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into the Kosovo Armed Forces (KAF). During his visit to Pentagon on Monday, Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci was told by the US Under-Secretary of Defense, Evelyn Farkas, that this year will be crucial in the establishment of Kosovo’s Armed Forces. Farkas assured Thaci that Kosovo would have the full support of the United States in the field of security. “The transformation of the KSF into the Kosovo Armed Forces enjoys the full support of the United States,” Farkas is reported to have said.
KLA veterans: We might set the government on fire (Bota Sot)
The government of Kosovo is facing another ultimatum, this time from the war veterans of the former Kosovo Liberation Army. The veterans are demanding that by February 10 the government must publish the list of those that have won the status of a war veteran. If the government fails to meet this deadline, the war veterans said they will organize a protest. “The disappointment of our fellow comrades is so great that we cannot rule out the possibility of setting the government on fire,” Xhevdet Qerimi, a member of the Council of War Veterans, told the paper.
U.S. Ambassador Jacobson’s interview to Voice of America
VOA: Madam Ambassador, thank you for your time. How do you evaluate the situation in Kosovo following the most recent protests?
Ambassador Jacobson: Peaceful protest is an important democratic right. It’s a way for citizens to engage their government; to raise issues that are important for them. So, it’s extremely unfortunate that the protests on Saturday and on Tuesday became violent. I’ve talked to many people here in Kosovo who were very unsettled and disturbed by the violence and of course, the international news coverage does nothing good for Kosovo’s international reputation. It doesn’t make Kosovo look like a country that is on a European path. So, we abhor violence and we would urge everybody involved, particularly organizers of protests, to be responsible and to distance themselves from the violence that has occurred.
VOA: We had different standpoints between the government, which states that the organizer of the protest is to be blamed for the violence, and the organizer blaming the government. Who is to be blamed for the violence?
Ambassador Jacobson: The violence should be blamed immediately on those people who were throwing the rocks, who broke up the glass on the Government building, who tore up Skanderbeg square, who destroyed a restaurant and attacked its owner, those individuals – and I think they are 200 to 300 of them – are to blame for the violence. The international observers, who were in the Command Center during the protest, have judged the police response to be completely appropriate to the conditions. Anywhere in the world, if a crowd starts to become violent and throwing rocks, then the police have to use the methods that they have to disperse the crowd. So, I think we should focus the violence on those people who immediately perpetrated it.
VOA: Nevertheless, we have a new situation, many demands from the opposition and a government that must act to calm down the situation, or after all to overcome this situation. What can the government do? What should it do?
Ambassador Jacobson: Any government needs to engage its population. I think that’s particularly true in a government like this one, which in fact has only been in office for a month and a half. They need to engage the population directly through media to let the population know what their plans are, to know what they’re specifically doing with regards to the issues that people care about. Like economic development, like jobs, like fighting corruption and improving the rule of law. And they also need to listen to their public. Any government needs to do this.
VOA: Public, protesters on this occasion, a large part of the opposition political parties and the civil society demanded dismissal of the Minister for Returns and Communities, Aleksandar Jablanovic, who had an offensive stance towards the protesters in Gjakova? How should this situation be solved? Should Jablanovic go?
Ambassador Jacobson: First of all with regards to these protests. I think you can call Minister Jablanovic and/or Trepça as maybe a proximate cause or pretext, but I don’t think that’s the whole story. I think there are many people who have felt frustration, first of all with the six months of inactivity during the government formation and there are people who believe, as I believe, that economic development, job creation, fighting corruption and improving the rule of law should all be things that should be moving a little bit faster than they are. So, I wouldn’t say that this protest is just about Jablanovic. I will say that his statement was immature and offensive to many, many people. I found it offensive. His first apology was not much better. He then, I think, provided a real apology, but the bottom-line with Minister Jablanovic is that he was nominated by the government, he was confirmed by a vote in the assembly; this is a democratic process and he can only be removed through a government process, which is a decision for this government to take, not by … I don’t think any government takes personnel decisions based on protests on the street where people are throwing rocks.
VOA: Does the government have such power to dismiss Minister Jablanovic having in mind that the Serb List will then condition the participation in the parliament and this could lead to a political crisis?
Ambassador Jacobson: I don’t engage in hypothetical situations. I think the government coalition still stands. It’s still working. They are all communicating with each other. They still have a big majority in the parliament. Following democratic elections last year we now have a government that has the number one and two vote-winning politicians in a coalition, so that does give them some strength. But, in terms of their internal personnel decisions, you know, that’s really their internal issue.
VOA: Trepça was the second cause or reason for these protests. The opposition accuses the government that it retreated; it gave in to the pressure exercised by Belgrade. Was it true that there was pressure? You have been engaged in the Trepça issue in the talks with people in Kosovo, too. What’s your opinion about this process?
Ambassador Jacobson: What the government was trying to do was to avoid the liquidation of Trepça. And this had come because of a Special Chamber Court decision that basically said that if Trepça was not reorganized under PAK, the Privatization Agency of Kosovo, by February 2, they could liquidate it, which would have been the worst possible outcome for everybody. In other words, it would have been bankrupt; the employees wouldn’t have had work or salaries. So the government was trying to find ways to avoid that scenario. One of the ideas that came up was nationalization. And this was initially presented to the Assembly and then withdrawn. I always thought that nationalization was a bad idea. First of all, it would have immediately exposed the government budget to claims from creditors, including creditors in Serbia and Greece that could total as much as 1.4 billion dollars. We already know that the government budget is under pressure. And certainly there’s no capacity here for the taxpayers of Kosovo to pay off that kind of debt. Secondly, nationalization of such an important enterprise as Trepça would send a chilling signal to investors about the direction of Kosovo’s economy. Kosovo’s economy is focused on an EU path, on market-driven private-sector led economic growth, and a return to communism or socialism not only would not help Trepça, but it would not attract that kind of investment that Trepça needs to reach its full potential. I think probably investors were already frightened by the events on Saturday and Tuesday, so I think it’s important that economic decisions be taken which attract rather than repel investment interest in Kosovo.
VOA: Belgrade requests Trepça’s issue to be put on the table of discussions in Brussels; talks that are expected to continue on February 9th. However, there are very strong reactions in Pristina against such a possibility. What’s your opinion? Can Trepça be part of these talks?
Ambassador Jacobson: Well, the way the dialogue is set up it’s facilitated by the European Union, but items can only get added to the agenda if both parties agree. So, that’s clearly not the case with regards to Trepça. In terms of the dialogue, we do have another session coming up, February 9th, and it will be the first session in almost a year. So, I hope to see some real progress. There are a lot of items still outstanding from the April 2013 agreement. The parties came close to an agreement on justice a year ago, but did not finalize it. There’s also energy, telecommunications, insurance… These are all important things that need to be resolved, and can be resolved if both sides come to the table prepared to work hard, prepared to show maximum flexibility and to move on. And I would like to see those things finished before we start putting new things on the table. Because it would be great to have a success story from the dialogue particularly as we have a brand new player in the facilitator, the new EU High Representative.
VOA: But not Trepça? Trepça is Kosovo’s.
Ambassador Jacobson: Trepça is not on the table for February 9 as far as I know, because as I said they need to finish the work on the already agreed agenda items, and there’s no agreement on any new items on the dialogue at this point. And I think the focus ought to be on finishing the work that already has been started.
VOA: Madam Ambassador, there are proclamations for new protests by Vetëvendosje Movement and other opposition parties. Tomorrow a one-day strike is announced in the education and health sectors. So there are a lot of problems that this government is facing. How can this situation be overcome? What is your opinion on what should the approach of the government and the opposition parties be towards this situation?
Ambassador Jacobson: I think it’s important always that the government and the opposition have a dialogue with each other. I’m not sure that that’s been happening so far, but I’ve encouraged both sides to sit down and talk and resolve their differences. Public protest is a great way for citizens to get involved and to raise their concerns, but at the end of the day policy is made in Kosovo’s institutions, not in the street. So, they need to meet in the context of the Constitution and Kosovo’s institutions. With regards to the protest next week, I would urge all the organizers to take every caution to avoid violence and that includes by sending clear messages to all the participants that they don’t accept violence; that includes them distancing themselves from the violence that occurred and the damage that occurred in the previous two protests. So, I hope that we will see a demonstration that’s peaceful, that doesn’t frighten residents of Pristina and that doesn’t send a bad message about Kosovo as a modern country to the rest of the world.
VOA: You have met Mr. Haradinaj. Have you got such assurances for such calls?
Ambassador Jacobson: He and I had a very good meeting. I don’t discuss the details of my private diplomatic meetings, but certainly I urged him to be more clear about the fact that his party does not accept violence. He talked about the violence from the police, but not from the protesters. He said that he would much more clear about that in the future. And I also shared with him our assessment that the police had behaved in an appropriate manner. There were some mistakes made by some individual police, but it’s my understanding that Kosovo Police Inspectorate and EULEX had plain clothes officers in the crowd and they’re reviewing the video and if police are found to have used excessive force or to have acted inappropriately, they will face the usual disciplinary process. So, I think it’s important for all of the political leaders to call for calm, to reject violence. If they want their message to be heard, it’s going to be heard much better in terms of a peaceful protest. All the great protests that have led to changes – I think in my own country to the Civil Rights in 1964, Mahatma Gandhi in India, – those had been peaceful protests, and those are the kind of protests where really the grievances can find a way to the political dialogue.
VOA: Main organizer of the protest is Vetëvendosje Movement and Mr. Albin Kurti? Why don’t you meet with him to talk to him and to make the same demands?
Ambassador Jacobson: I haven’t met with Mr. Kurti for the same reason as I’ve explained many times. And it’s because I’m waiting for Vetëvendosje to renounce violence as a tactic. Not just the violence that occurred in June 2013 against some Members of Parliament and some international observers, but violence in general. And certainly, I haven’t heard anybody from Vetëvendosje distance themselves from the violence that was started on Saturday or on Tuesday. And that was a group of 200-300 people – I don’t know who they are connected with, I don’t know who they’re taking orders from – but I think it’s important that the organizers distance themselves from that kind of activity. And I would note that between Saturday and Tuesday we had a lot fewer protesters. Civil society groups decided that they didn’t want to be involved in the organization of it. I’ve noticed that the Miners’ Union wasn’t there at all, even though Trepça was ostensibly one of the reasons for the protest. And I think that’s partially a sign that people don’t want to be associated with the violence.
VOA: Nevertheless, a lot of great politicians in the world often have stated that after all it’s the government that it is responsible because it has the responsibility, it has the authority and it has the power. So, in the end, what should the Government of Kosovo do in a short-time to calm down the situation in Kosovo?
Ambassador Jacobson: I think there’s always an After Action Report that the security services do, that the police do after a situation like this to see if there’s any kind of lessons learned. I understand that the government is reaching out to the opposition. I’m not sure that anything has resulted from that yet, but they need to do so. Certainly I encouraged both, Mr. Mustafa and Mr. Haradinaj yesterday to engage in a dialogue inside the institutions. And as I said, every government needs to be prepared to engage with its public, and from what I’ve seen the last couple of days in terms of government interviews on television, I think that they are trying to engage more directly with the population.
http://pristina.usembassy.gov/mobile/amb_interview_voa_1.29.2015.html
Amazon.com recognizes Kosovo (dailies)
Citing a communiqué issued by Digital Kosovo, several dailies report that Amazon.com has recognized Kosovo and included it in its country list. Digital Kosovo is an initiative powered by the IPKO Foundation, with the support of the Republic of Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the British Council and the Norwegian Embassy, and is aimed at integrating Kosovo into the digital landscape.
