Agreement reached with the Netherlands on special court (Koha/Zeri)
Citing unidentified sources in the Kosovo government, the news sites report that officials from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Foreign Ministry have reached an agreement with the Netherlands on the headquarters of the special court that will address war crimes allegations. According to this agreement, the court’s headquarters would be in Pristina while the main office where the protected witnesses will be interviewed will be located in The Hague. It is expected that this agreement will go first to the government, which will then send it to the Assembly for approval. Ardian Arifaj, political advisor to Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci, said he cannot confirm whether the special court’s headquarters will be located in the Netherlands, adding that it is up to the Netherlands’ government to decide on this matter.
Opposition to impede President Jahjaga’s annual speech (Indeksonline)
Representatives of Kosovo’s opposition parties announced that they will impede the annual speech of the President Atifete Jahjaga, announced to be held at Kosovo Assembly on 17 December. Muharrem Nitaj from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo said that positions of the opposition have not changed. Frasher Krasniqi from Vetevendosje Movement said they will be present at every session, including the President’s speech, but maintaining their position of impeding the holding of the session. Prior to President Jahjaga’s speech, the Assembly of Kosovo decided to hold next Monday the plenary session.
Grabovci: “I’m confident opposition does not want elections” (Epoka)
Deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Adem Grabovci said in an interview for the paper that the mutual will of the government and opposition parties is required to overcome the current situation. He blamed the opposition for not moving from its position, while the government has made the first step. Grabovci assessed that the role of the President of Kosovo is very important in the current developments, because he considers that a solution can be found within the institutions. Speaking about the request of the opposition for new elections, Grabovci said he is convinced that the opposition does not want new elections. According to him PDK would convincingly be the first political party in Kosovo.
Vetevendosje MPs Haxhiu and Topalli held in detention (dailies)
The Basic Court in Pristina issued a decision of 30-days detention for the Vetevendosje MP Albulena Haxhiu after she was arrested yesterday by the police in connection to the release of teargas at the Kosovo Assembly chamber. Haxhiu refused to answer the prosecutor’s questions and also refused to take a lawyer. The other Vetevendosje MP, Faton Topalli, arrested in a separate police operation, did not have a court hearing yesterday and will initially be held in police custody for 48 hours.
Allegations that AAK MP Kadaj-Bujupi was poisoned dismissed (Telegrafi)
Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) MP Donika Kadaj-Bujupi’s husband the media on Tuesday that his wife suffered food poisoning at the prison of Lipjan where she is serving her 30-day sentence for release of teargas at the Assembly. Naser Bujupi alleged his wife has been hospitalized for two days inside the prison medical facilities having been poisoned by food served in the prison. These claims were, however, dismissed by the Kosovo Correctional Service whose acting director Sokol Zogaj said Kadaj-Bujupi is suffering from high blood pressure and nausea. He said her condition is improving but that they will run all necessary tests today.
The coalition of failures (Koha)
The paper reports on its leading front-page story that the ruling coalition consisting of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) has “nothing to show” in its first anniversary. The paper notes that in one year of this government, Kosovo witnessed the biggest migration since the war, the blocking of the work of the Assembly and the biggest and most violent protests since the declaration of independence. “Every pillar of government has experienced the failures and promises made during the election campaign have not been fulfilled. The people meanwhile are the poorest and most isolated in Europe,” the paper reports. “Failures have been documented in two areas –diplomacy and the economy. Kosovo’s foreign policy is led by Hashim Thaci, the leader of the biggest party, while economic sectors have mainly been assigned to people from LDK. This autumn, Kosovo suffered the biggest diplomatic defeat from Serbia, failing to secure the necessary votes to join the UNESCO. Kosovo has yet to receive visa liberalization for its citizens. The government has failed to apply for membership of the Council of Europe. The only achievement in this period has been the signing of the Stabilization/Association Agreement with the European Union”.
Serwer: Kosovo needs to urgently create its army (KosovaPress)
The U.S. Balkans analyst, Daniel Serwer, said in an interview for RTK, that establishment of the Special Court is a very difficult but very important step for Kosovo. According to him, it is difficult for a country to bring justice at its doorstep when it soldiers are supposed to have committed war crimes. However, he let it to be understood that if one does not complete its duties, someone else will do it for them. He said the Special Court does not delegitimize Kosovo Liberation Army but in the contrary, hiding of the crimes would delegitimize it. Serwer also said Kosovo should focus on creation of its army as soon as possible. “When my neighbor does not recognize me and it does not exchange ambassadors, the danger for eventual attack of the country is higher. What would happen if Serbia entered Kosovo with its army, in the north for instance?” asked Serwer.
Kosovo Government condemns incidents in Gorazhdevc (Bota Sot)
The Government of Kosovo has issued a press release condemning the recent incidents in the village of Gorazhdec/Gorazdevac of Peja/Pec municipality. The Government said such acts are unacceptable and called on law enforcement institutions to bring authors of these acts to justice. It further noted that the Government of Kosovo is fully committed to creating good living conditions for all its citizens.
Constitutional Court blocks lands surrounding Decani Monastery (Koha)
The paper reports in one of its front-page stories that Father Sava Janjic has managed to block the relocation of 25 hectares of disputed land in Decan to state ownership until 29 February 2016. The Constitutional Court of Kosovo has set a temporary measure on the case. Previously the Special Chamber of the Supreme Court of Kosovo had ruled that the land belongs to the socially-owned enterprises Apiko and Illiria. The Constitutional Court said that if the procedures continue, the Decani Monastery could suffer irreparable damages. As a strong argument, the Court mentioned the fact that the Monastery is under UNESCO protection.
