UN Secretary General calls for peace in FYROM (dailies)
The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, on Monday called for calm and peace after the recent clashes between police and an armed group in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). “At this sensitive time, the Secretary-General calls on all actors to exercise maximum restraint and to refrain from any rhetoric and/or actions that may escalate tensions further,” said a statement released from Ban’s spokesman office. “Mr. Ban strongly supports the calls by the European Union and other members of the international community urging the state authorities and all political and community leaders to cooperate to restore calm and to fully investigate the events in an objective and transparent manner,” the statement noted.
Thaci: Forces trying to destabilize FYROM are Kosovo enemies (Blic)
Kosovo’s Foreign Minister, Hashim Thaci, said that Kosovo is in direct talks with the FYROM government and that Kosovo has taken all necessary measures to secure the border with FYROM. Thaci said he was deeply concerned with events in Kumanovo over the weekend and added that Kosovo views FYROM as an ally and partner. “Let us say this loud and clear: these forces working for the destabilization of Macedonia are the greatest enemies to the stability of the whole of the Balkans, including Kosovo,” stressed Thaci.
Over 20 Kosovars believed to be involved in the Kumanovo clashes (Koha)
The paper reports on its front page that Xhafer Zymberi and Mirsad Ndrecaj from the municipality of Gjakova/Djakovica are reported to have been killed in the Kumanovo clashes in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). Their families confirmed to the media that they were involved in the fighting, but did not know if they were killed. A court in Skopje has set a 30-day detention for 28 fighters who were arrested, 16 of whom are from Kosovo. Meanwhile, authorities in Pristina are saying that they have received no confirmation about the victims or those that have been arrested.
Kosovo-FYROM relations suffer after Kumanovo clashes (Koha)
An unnamed source from the Kosovo government told the paper on Monday that a joint meeting between the governments of Kosovo and FYROM scheduled for this month will be postponed in the wake of the Kumanovo clashes. The source said the government in Pristina received frustrating signals from the Skopje government following the actions of the armed groups in the Kumanovo region. “There have been immature statements, despite the fact that we have done everything to respond to the situation, including the earlier incidents, such as the one in Goshince. Our intelligence agency and law enforcement authorities were in the line of duty and offered their cooperation to the FYROM authorities. Following the Kumanovo incident, the joint meeting of the two governments will be postponed to a more appropriate date,” the source added.
Pristina – Belgrade without agreement on energy (dailies)
Representatives of Pristina and Belgrade have ended their technical-level meeting in Brussels without reaching an agreement on energy. Kosovo’s Minister without portfolio, Edita Tahiri, said that the Serbian side has come up with new demands that contradict the earlier political agreement reached for energy. Tahiri said that Serbia wanted to have a distribution company for supplying the northern Kosovo with energy, which the Kosovo side has refused. Serbia’s Government head of the Office for Kosovo, Marko Djuric, said that the agreement on energy was not achieved, “because of the refusal of Pristina to fulfill their obligations”. After that, according to him, Pristina did not agree that the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities and a Serbian energy company “should create a new company that would handle the distribution of electricity in the north. They [Pristina] are responsible for the fact that we couldn’t achieve any progress today.”
Special court to be voted on 21 May (Zeri)
The Assembly of Kosovo will discuss the constitutional amendments that pave the way for the establishment of the special court on 21 May. Sources from the ruling coalition told KosovaPress that on 21 May the Assembly shall proceed with the establishment of this court, because it is the demand of the international community. “This date is the deadline for saying yes to the special court,” the source said.
Kosovo passports and IDs found with ISIS (Koha)
According to a news report from a Dubai-based TV, a number of personal documents issued by Kosovo authorities have been found in an office occupied by members of ISIS in Syria. A number of passports from EU countries and the US have also been found to have been in the possession of ISIS. These are thought to have been used by ISIS members to travel to various countries.
