UN wants to revive its mission in Kosovo (Koha)
The paper on its front page quotes an unidentified source as saying that the United Nations wants to revive its mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and to regain competencies to address war crimes cases when EULEX leaves. UNMIK representatives told the paper on Tuesday that they are not aware of this. “This is news to UNMIK,” UNMIK press officer Shpend Berbatovci said.
Special court, without “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” (Zeri)
The paper on its front page reports that the words “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” are expected to be removed from the European Union document on the establishment of the special court, so that the latter then is brought to a vote in the Assembly of Kosovo. Citing unnamed sources, the paper reports that the Kosovo side and the EU Legal Office are discussing the latest modalities of the draft law. From the 11 recommendations made by the Kosovo technical team, only two of them might be incorporated in the draft. The situation about the changes is expected to be clarified by the beginning of next week, and then the draft would be sent to the Assembly.
Zbogar calls on Kosovo institutions to establish special court (Zeri)
The European Union Special Representative in Kosovo, Samuel Zbogar, said on Monday that the establishment of the special court is in Kosovo’s interest. According to him, the decision on the establishment of the special court is not easy for the Assembly of Kosovo, but reiterated that it is now time to adopt the constitutional amendments that would enable its creation. Zbogar also said that he expects the discussions for the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities to begin as foreseen in the Brussels Agreement. He made these comments during the inauguration of the Family Medical Centre in Zubin Potok, which was funded by the EU.
Thaci: Establishment of special court, state obligation (RTK)
Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Hashim Thaci, told RTK that the establishment of the special court is a state obligation and that nobody should play politics with this process. He expressed confidence that the leaders will reach a consensus in the coming days and will vote in the Assembly very soon.
Areas where SITF investigated war crimes (Bota Sot)
According to a report aired on TV Dukagjini, the Special Investigative Task Force, set up to investigate war crimes allegations contained in the Council of Europe report, has based its investigations process in the areas of Klecka, Radoniq Lake, Bellaqevc, and Zoqishte with witnesses from these parts having been interviewed in connection to crimes against members of the Serb community. The paper recalls that several people were already tried for alleged crimes in these areas but were acquitted.
Bosch encourages Lumezi to strengthen the rule of law (Epoka e Re)
The Netherlands Ambassador in Pristina, Robert Bosch, met on Tuesday with the chief prosecutor Aleksander Lumezi. Bosch encouraged Lumezi to work on strengthening the rule of law, to combat organized crime and corruption, and to investigate cases that are made public by the media.
FYROM political leaders to meet in Brussels (Zeri)
The leaders of the four political parties in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) have confirmed their participation in today’s meeting in Brussels, which was initiated with the aim of solving the political crisis in FYROM. The paper writes that the parties will discuss the composition of the Government and organization of the announced elections for April 2016.
