Civil Protection to transform into “north’s government” (Koha Ditore)
The paper reports on the front page that the illegal structure functioning in the north, the Civil Protection, is expected to transform into a type of a “mini government” and continue work in the same premises it occupied so far which will now be refurbished by the government of Kosovo. The people working in these offices will provide central-level services, adds the paper, by representing a number of Kosovo ministries and independent agencies. Kosovo’s minister without portfolio and chief negotiator Edita Tahiri said that all the ministries that work locally but that for obvious reasons were not able to function in the north, will now open offices in the area and employ members of the Civil Protection.
Collaku: Visa liberalization in 2016 (Zeri)
Kosovo’s European Integration Minister, Bekim Collaku, told Radio Free Europe that the visa liberalization process with the EU is a bilateral process but the responsibility of meeting the criteria is on the Kosovo institutions. “The expectations of the institutions and citizens are that in 2016 we will travel without visas in the Schengen area. We rightfully believe that we managed to fulfill the required conditions,” Collaku said.
Selimi: Special court lists are pure speculation (Telegrafi)
Kosovo’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Petrit Selimi, told KTV that he doesn’t believe that the lists published by media of the alleged special court suspects are true. “I personally don’t believe conspiracy lists, without being official. I believe that the prosecutor has preserved this secret. It would be surprising that before the process started, names of different individuals emerged,” Selimi said. He also said that as far as he knows, Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci was never interviewed by the prosecutor. While regarding Kosovo’s membership in UNESCO, he said that it will be a difficult battle, but he is optimistic that Kosovo will win the necessary votes.
Kosovo’s road towards UNESCO, unstoppable (Epoka e Re)
The Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, and Professor of the International Law, Afrim Hoti, stated that Serbia will not succeed in its efforts to impede Kosovo’s membership at UNESCO. They said that with the support of Kosovo’s friends this process is unstoppable. According to them, Serbia’s efforts are not in the spirit of the Brussels Agreement for normalization of the relations.
No EU for Serbia without recognizing Kosovo’s independence (Zeri)
The Catalonian Member of the European Parliament, Josep-Maria Terricabras, in an interview with the paper said that Kosovo’s membership in the European Union is the best guarantee for stability and development in Kosovo and the region. According to him, Serbia will be forced to recognize Kosovo. “Recognition of Kosovo from Serbia will be absolutely mandatory for Serbia before it becomes a full member of the EU,” Terricabras said. He also said that the European Parliament must act quickly regarding the visa liberalization for Kosovo. “Kosovo being the only isolated country is not a fair treatment from the EU,” he added. In regards to Pristina – Belgrade dialogue, Terricabras said that Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia are committed to the dialogue which will promote better relations in the future.
HLC files criminal charges for the killing of 53 Albanian civilians (dailies)
The Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Centre (HLC) filed criminal charges against two unidentified members of the Serbian police special unit for the killing of 53 Albanian civilians in 1999 in the village of Poklek, Drenas/Glogovac municipality. Criminal charges for not preventing the crime and not punishing the perpetrators were also filed against two former police commanders. The charges and evidence gathered by the HLC were submitted to the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor in Belgrade.
