Ahlin: Sweden in favour of visa liberalization for Kosovo

(All monitored broadcasters, KTV)

About 1,500 Kosovo asylum seekers have arrived to Sweden only during the first months of 2015. According to Sweden, this migration wave of Kosovars is harming visa liberalization process.

Sweden is in favour of visa liberalization for Kosovars, but it also expresses its fear that Kosovo might be emptied even more by this liberalization.

These messages were conveyed in Prishtinë/Pristina by the Swedish Parliament Speaker Urban Ahlin, who met with institutional leaders and opposition representatives.

Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli called on Sweden to support Kosovo integrations and its membership to Council of Europe and the OSCE. 

Murati: Privileged position of minorities among the reasons of illegal migration

(Most monitored broadcasters, RTK2)

The Government and the whole Kosovo political scene cannot fight the issue of socio-economic development, which is the main reason behind the massive migration, Kosovo Minister of Diaspora Valon Murati said.

However, minister Murati considers that the reason behind dissatisfaction also lay in interethnic relations.

“There is a very problematic relation with the Serb minority. Our Constitution is also problematic as it gives a privileged position to minorities. All minorities in Kosovo compose less than 10 per cent of the population, while the Constitution cannot be changed without two-thirds of the votes of minority representatives at the Assembly of Kosovo,” Murati said.

Dutch Ambassador to Kosovo Robert Bosch underlined that Kosovo citizens leave confident that they will not lose anything if their asylum is not granted, and that they will be paid money while waiting for finalization of asylum procedures.

“The truth is that they risk losing the asylum, money and eventually be arrested. By doing so, they also harm Kosovo’s image,” Bosch added.

Different from minister Murati, who considers privileged position of minorities as one of the reasons for illegal migration, the Dutch Ambassador said that there will not be any results in this field of migration, if the Government does not combat corruption and attract investments.

They made these statements in a roundtable organized by “Juridica” private university on Monday. 

Final decision of Srpska List after meeting with Serbian PM

(RTK2, TV21)

Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo Branimir Stojanovic said that the final decision for participation of Srpska List in Kosovo institutions will be taken during this week, following consultations with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.

Stojanovic told Serbian daily Jedinstvo that all representatives of Kosovo Serbs will take part in this meeting, including municipal mayors, Kosovo Serb MPs, as well as Kosovo government ministers.

TV21 also reported that Srpska List representative boycotted Assembly Presidency meeting held on Monday.

Kosovo Serb ministers get paid without showing up at work

(KTV) 

Srpska List MPs, Deputy Prime Minister, minister of local government administration and their advisors will receive over EUR 17,000 for February salaries without doing an effective workday.

All of them have boycotted work at the Kosovo Government since the beginning of February, when their leader, Aleksandar Jablanovic, was dismissed.

Deputy Minister of local government administration ministry, which is led by Ljubomir Maric, confirmed that they are not working.

However, Deputy Minister Bajram Gecaj of LDK did not consider this as work boycott, but rather withdrawal for internal consultations of Srpska List.

Gecaj added that their return to Kosovo institutions is expected to happen during the ongoing or the coming week. 

Klokot/Kllokot mayor accused of working in Serbian parallel structures

(Most monitored broadcasters, TV21)

Serb leaders of Kosovo municipalities with Serb majority, who were elected according to Kosovo laws, are being criticized of simultaneously working for the Serbian state, too.

Klokot/Kllokot mayor Srecko Spasic was accused by his predecessor, Sasa Mirkovic, that he currently is also a member of Viti/Vitina Interim Body which was established according to Serbia’s laws. Mirkovic also accused several other municipal officials of Klokot/Kllokot of working in Serbian parallel structures.

On the other hand, Spasic denied that he is working for both countries.

These were not the only accusations addressed against Spasic at a press conference organized by former leaders of Klokot/Kllokot and several current municipal assembly councillors. They also accused him of nepotism, fictional employment, disrespect of local government laws, and irrational spending of municipal budget.

They also announced that they will prosecute Spasic legally regarding these findings.

Former MUP members protest in north

(Most monitored broadcasters, KTV)

About 50 members of the Serbian Ministry of Interior (MUP) in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë north, who were dismissed after the Brussels Agreement, protested on Monday and blocked Kosovo Police station in the north and EULEX offices in this part of Mitrovica/Mitrovicë town.

They stayed for about 20 minutes in front of the police station in the north, while they requested explanations why a part of them were not integrated into Kosovo Police.

According to them, the ones that do not meet the criteria to become part of Kosovo Police should continue to work under Serbian MUP.

Prisoners dissatisfied with Conditional Release Panel

(Klan Kosova)

Members of the Kosovo Assembly legislation committee visited Dubravë/Dubrava correctional centre. They got surprised by the complaints they have heard.

Kosovo MPs were briefed about the conditions inside Dubravë/Dubrava correctional centre. Invited by the prisoners, members of the Assembly legislation committee visited this centre on Friday.

Only on Monday, chairperson of this committee Albulena Haxhiu spoke about what they saw in the centre, as the correctional service did not allow Klan Kosova TV crew to accompany the MPs.

“In Dubravë/Dubrava correctional centre there were detainees who were there for seven years. This is worrying and it must be addressed immediately”, Haxhiu said.

The biggest complaints that prisoners of this correctional centre had were related to Conditional Release Panel. They have also expressed their complaints to the MPs through a public letter.

According to Haxhiu, many prisoners have served half or more of their sentence, but they have not been granted conditional release. Haxhiu also said that recidivists were among the main ones that were granted conditional release.

Behxhet Shala, Director of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedom (CDHRF) considers that there are some problems in granting the conditional release. He also objects the composition of the Conditional Release Panel.

However, all these accusations were refuted by the Conditional Release Panel chairperson Emine Kaçiku. In an e-mail response, she told Klan Kosova that the Panel is working in line with the law.