Haradinaj: Protests to begin in November (Kosova Sot)
The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, said on Wednesday that after a meeting with the leader of the Vetevendosje Movement, Visar Ymeri, and leader of Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA), Fatmir Limaj, they agreed to call mass protests during November. Haradinaj told a press conference that there is no room for debate without the annulment of the agreement on Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities and the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro. He denied the possibility of the AAK joining the ruling-coalition, saying that “if there is no solution, then we must go to early elections”.
Chief Prosecutor: Opposition MPs could be arrested (Zeri)
Kosovo’s Chief Prosecutor, Aleksander Lumezi urged the opposition MPs who threw teargas in the Assembly in the last few weeks to answer to the invitations of the prosecution and to not impede justice. According to Lumezi, if opposition MPs do not respond to the prosecution’s invitations then the prosecution will need to use the legal measures and order their arrest. He added that the Basic Prosecution did not invite the MPs to arrest them but just to give their version about the recent events in the Kosovo Assembly.
Deda: Do not call for session without resolving crisis (Gazeta Blic)
Ilir Deda, Kosovo Assembly deputy from the Vetevendosje Movement, said for Rrokum TV that he is ready to take over individual responsibility for individual actions and added that he is not the only one at the Assembly and outside of it who thinks that the solution lies in dialogue between the government and opposition. “We should encourage and increase the voices who would say enough to the political clashes,” Deda assessed. He added that the Stabilization Association Agreement increases the role of the Assembly, and its obligations. He added that the statement of the Austrian President at the Assembly of Kosovo was a message for Kosovo and not just a protocol statement. According to him President’s message was not to continue with this situation, because what happened to Austria 80 years ago could happen. He also mentioned Wednesday’s statement of the head of the EU office in Kosovo, Samuel Zbogar, that the government should discuss with opposition. “The issue is if they are going to sit around a table on their own or if someone will come and sit with them,” Deda said. He added that it should be worked on not calling regular sessions prior to the resolution of the political crisis.
“Association/Community with constitution-making powers” (Zeri)
The former President of the Constitutional Court, Enver Hasani, said that the text of the Agreement on Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities in English, unlike the one in Albanian, gives the Association constitution-making powers. The agreement says that the Statute of the Association shall be approved by a “constituent assembly”, which, according to Hasani, has a different meaning comparing to the “founding assembly” as it is translated in Albanian. Therefore, he said that the Constitutional Court should clarify this issue. “This term should be defined and clarified by the Constitutional Court. This, for the fact that it is left as it is, the Assembly of the Association shall have constitution-making powers (constituent assembly) outside the Kosovo constitutional order,” Hasani said. According to him, something like this is not only contrary to the constitutional order in Kosovo but also with international law. Furthermore Hasani said that if the Association shall have constitution-making powers and bodies as provided in the agreement, it means that other non-Serb communities would be discriminated.
RTK managers react against government decision (RTK)
The RTK General Director, Mentor Shala, and the RTK Board Chairman, Ismet Bexheti, reacted on Wednesday against a decision by the Ministry of Finance not to allocate funds for the public broadcaster in the 2016 budget. “This is very concerning news not only for the RTK but for Kosovo as a whole, bearing in mind that the strength of democracy in the country is also measured by the strength of the public broadcaster. I call on the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo to ask Prime Minister Mustafa to include RTK in the 2016 budget and to find a proper financial solution since the law on RTK is being amended. As General Director, I will use all means to ensure that RTK is not left without funds,” Shala said.
FYROM approves agreement to cross border only with ID (Epoka e Re)
The Government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has approved the agreement for the crossing of the border between Kosovo and FYROM with identity cards. The news was published by FYROM media and confirmed by Artan Grubi, adviser to the leader of BDI, Ali Ahmeti. “In a while the borders among us will disappear completely. The Government has approved the agreement to use only IDs while crossing of the border with Kosovo, just as it did with Albania a few years ago. We will work for disappearance of the dividing lines between us and for speedy integration as much as possible in all the fields, in order to facilitate the lives of the citizens,” Grubi wrote on his Facebook profile.
