EU: No corruption in EULEX (dailies)
The French independent investigator, Jean-Paul Jacque, who conducted a four-month investigation into the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) to verify claims made by British prosecutor Marie Bamieh that EULEX judges and prosecutors were corrupt, submitted his findings on Tuesday. In his report Jacque has indicated that there was no evidence of corruption within the EULEX mission. Koha Ditore writes that Jacque in his conclusion calls for reforms in the mission, saying that without reform, there is no point of EULEX staying in Kosovo. He also said that there were delays in internal investigations, and that the prosecutor Bamieh was suspended from working as a preventive measure, to prevent the further leaking of information. The European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, confirmed that she received the report and thanked Jacque for his work. “In line with my promise to ensure maximum transparency, today I have sent the report to the European Parliament and the EU Member States. We are also making the report public. The services are studying the report carefully and are looking at the best ways to address the recommendations contained in it,” Mogherini said.
Thaci to visit Belgrade on 24 April (Koha)
Serbian media reported on Tuesday that Kosovo Principal Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci will visit Belgrade on 24 April to attend a conference on EU integration of the Western Balkans organized by Belgrade-based non-governmental organization Youth Council for Education. Citing its sources, Serbian newspaper Danas reported that the European Union is helping organize Thaci’s first-ever visit to Belgrade.Sources close to Thaci said the former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army has confirmed his participation in the conference in Belgrade. Also attending will be foreign ministers from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia, as well as other senior European, Kosovo and Serbian officials.
Ymeri: LDK, a stakeholder in the capturing of the state (Koha)
In a front-page interview for the paper, Visar Ymeri, the leader of the Vetevendosje Movement, talks about the opposition protest announced for 18 April in Pristina. Ymeri argues that the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), as a coalition partner of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), has become a stakeholder in what he calls “the capturing of the state”. Ymeri said the opposition aims to use protests to pressure the public institutions into turning their focus “toward the interests of the people and the Republic”. Ymeri also called for the resignation of Enver Hasani, the President of the Constitutional Court, Hajredin Kuci, the Minister of Justice, the dismissal of the management of the Radio Television of Kosovo and the Board of the Energy Regulatory Office. According to Ymeri, the 18 April protest will be peaceful, but he also said that if police places barricades then protesters will try to remove them in order to carry on with their march.
Haradinaj: There will be no protest if the price of electricity drops (Zeri)
The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, said on Tuesday that the protest scheduled for 18 April would be canceled if the government of Kosovo lowers the price of electricity. “If the government doesn’t want protests, it should lower the electricity price,” Haradinaj said. He also said that the protest would be peaceful.
Vetevendosje “seals off” the Constitutional Court (Zeri)
Dozens of activists of the Vetevendosje Movement, supported by activists of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) on Tuesday blocked for a few minutes the entrance of the Constitutional Court, by placing strips and placards with the words “Crime scene, documents are falsified here”. Nol Nushi, a Vetevendosje activist, said that the Constitutional Court has to defend the constitutionality of Kosovo, but in his view, the Constitutional Court has become a Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Court and is the one violating the constitution.
Police action in Mitrovica, nine arrested (Kosova Press)
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Kosovo Police conducted a major police action in Vaganicë neighborhood in Mitrovica. Kosova Press sources suggest that this action was undertaken to search for weapons and that so far, nine individuals have been arrested. According to Kosova Press sources, several Syrian nationals are believed to be among those arrested. Police spokesman for Mitrovica, Avni Zahiti, confirmed the police action.
Chaos in the north (Zeri)
The paper on its front page writes that since last Thursday, there have been eight incidents in the northern part of Kosovo. Although these criminal acts did not end with fatalities, political officials say the north is heading towards chaos. While quoted security issues experts blame “the law of jungle” for this situation, which according to them, prevails since 1999, local government leaders call on the law and order forces to find as soon as possible the perpetrators of these incidents. The Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police for the northern region, Besim Hoti, announced a rise in the level of security in the north, as a consequence of these incidents. Mayor of Mitrovica, Agim Bahtiri, said all the recent incidents have been of a criminal nature, but that because of Mitrovica being a particular city, people might tend to add other connotation to it, and this could make the situation even more tense.
Search teams fail to recover body from River Iber (Kosovapress)
Firefighting teams from Zvecan failed to recover a body discovered last night on the banks of River Iber close to a location known as “Simonida” in the north. Sources said the recovery efforts failed because of the slippery terrain and fast-moving waters. This resulted in the body being taken further down the river. Kosovo Police said the search operation will resume this morning.
Government signs concession agreement for Brezovica ski resort (dailies)
Representatives of the Kosovo government and a French consortium signed yesterday the concession agreement for the development of the Brezovica ski resort. The contract, worth 409 million euros, is set to enter into force in six months’ time.
Over 230 persons from Kosovo fighting alongside ISIS (Epoka e Re)
According to a recent report by the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies think tank, there are over 230 persons from Kosovo who are fighting alongside the Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq. Author of the report, Shpend Kursani, said that the weak state institutions in Kosovo, unstable politics, corruption, and poverty are the main factors that lead to people joining foreign wars. The report also found that the vast majority of the people fighting with ISIS have a secondary education and no history of permanent employment.
