Ban urges Kosovo to step up establishment of special court (Koha)
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in his quarterly report on the situation in Kosovo, hailed the progress in the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue and added that one of the key issues remains the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities. Ban called on political leaders in Belgrade and Pristina to find a solution to this problem as soon as possible, by consulting Kosovo Serbs and their political leaders who will be directly affected by the establishment of the Association/Community. Ban also spoke about the necessity for Kosovo to take steps to establish the special court. “I call on Kosovo’s political leaders to redouble their efforts to this end,” he said. The report covers the period from 16 January to 15 April of 2015 and will be reviewed in the upcoming meeting of the Security Council on 26 May.
No agreement in FYROM, crisis continues (Zeri)
The first meeting of the four political parties’ leaders of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has ended without any concrete agreement to resolve the political crisis, which escalated recently with the police action in Kumanovo. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, leader of the opposition Social Democratic League Zoran Zaev, leader of the Democratic Union for Integration Ali Ahmeti, leader of Democratic Party of Albanians Menduh Thaci, and the ambassadors of the Unites States and European Union. The opposition leader, Zaev, said that the leaders discussed the possibility of drafting a framework based on which the dialogue will evolve, but he said he is not optimistic that a concrete solution to the crisis can be reached. Zaev said the opposition will not return to the Parliament even though the international representatives have requested it.
FYROM: Police operation targeted a terrorist group (Koha)
Authorities of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) sent a letter to European Union countries explaining last weekend’s events in Kumanovo. Authorities claim there were no interethnic clashes in Kumanovo but that the police operation was targeting a terrorist group that threatened law and order in FYROM. They also say that the police managed to completely neutralize the group with 14 of the group members killed and 33 others arrested. At the same time, 8 police officers were killed during the operation and 37 injured. The letter states further that the group was dangerous and harboured political ambitions in the region.
Konjufca: Albanian political parties in FYROM to be unified (Epoka e Re)
The head of the Vetevendosje parliamentary group, Glauk Konjufca, in an interview with the paper said that what happened in Kumanovo is unacceptable. Because of this, Konjufca said that on Thursday the Vetevendosje Movement demanded a debate in the Assembly of Kosovo, which was not approved. He added that the reaction of the Kosovo government to the events in Kumanovo has been scandalous. According to him, with such incidents, the FYROM Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski wanted to draw the attention away from the wiretapping scandals of his government. Konjufca said that Albanians in FYROM should be unified and demand their rights.
Rule of law agreement renewed (dailies)
The Joint Rule of Law Coordination Board (JRCB) composed of the Ministry of Justice of Kosovo, the EU Office in Kosovo/EUSR and the EULEX Mission today renewed their Compact commitments by signing a second Compact on Rule of Law in Kosovo. A press release issued by EULEX states that the agreement encompasses a number of issues such as strengthening of the police, customs, correctional and judicial institutions across Kosovo, all of which will help to satisfy the requirements of Kosovo’s visa liberalization and EU accession inspirations.
Bosch: Visa liberalization in 2016, if all criteria fulfilled (Epoka e Re)
The Dutch Ambassador to Kosovo, Robert Bosch, said on Thursday that people of Kosovo are the only ones in the Balkans that cannot travel without visas, and that it is up to the government of Kosovo to fulfill all the criteria set by the European Union. “If these criteria are fulfilled, visa liberalization could happen next year,” Bosch said. Bosch also said that the government of Kosovo and the Dutch Embassy are working on the financing of some important projects for Kosovo related to drinking water.
