Mustafa: Government cannot be overthrown through violence (RTK)
Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, told RTK the violence in the protest of 9 January was planned beforehand. “The protest was announced to be peaceful but it seems everything was calculated by the organizers. The violence which started after the speeches was justified by the opposition who said that people were outraged by the recent agreements,” Mustafa said. According to him, people are outraged by the untruths being spread by the opposition. “Angriness is always achieved if it is planned beforehand and if the people are lied to just as they are being now. The government cannot be overthrown through violence,” he added.
Thaci: Government will not resign (Klan Kosova)
Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Hashim Thaci, in an interview with Pristina-based TV station Klan Kosova, said the general elections in Kosovo will be held in 2018. “We do not take seriously the calls for the resignation of the government. The next election will be held in June 2018,” Thaci said. According to him, elections can be held only if the ruling-coalition doesn’t have the necessary numbers in the Assembly. In regards to the opposition’s protest on 9 January, Thaci said the opposition didn’t object to the agreements with Serbia and Montenegro but demanded the resignation of the government. “Such violent images damage Kosovo’s future,” he added. Thaci also said that the Constitutional Court gave a clear ruling on the Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities. “The formation of the Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities is allowed if it happens in line with the Constitution,” he said. Commenting on the recent protest by the opposition bloc, Thaci said the Republic of Kosovo cannot be protected by exercising violence. “That day we saw actions that are not in line with the democratic order. This was the biggest damage inflicted on Kosovo since the declaration of independence. The Republic cannot be protected with violence, Molotov cocktails or by entering hostile relations with the United States of America, the European Union, NATO and Albania. Now is the time to sit down and work on agendas that serve the country’s interest. We can have our disagreements, but we should not react with violence. Power can never be won with violence. It is the will of the people and the backing of internationals that legitimizes power,” he added.
Civil Protection members sign contracts with Kosovo institutions (media)
Pristina-based TV stations reported on Monday evening that according to the Kosovo government, 483 former members of the Civil Protection have been integrated in central state institutions of Kosovo, based on the Law on Civil Service, after a legal recruitment process. On its leading front-page story, Koha Ditore argues that the so-called Civil Protection has now transformed into a “mini-government”. The paper says that in several days they will start conducting “state activities” in the same premises where they were operating illegally for years. Their offices, which will be refurbished by the Kosovo government, will deliver services pertaining to the central level and will house representatives of nine ministries and many independent agencies. Meanwhile, Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, said on Monday that the dissolution of the Civil Protection marks an important step in wielding Kosovo’s state sovereignty in the north.
Vetevendosje: EULEX must leave Kosovo (Koha)
The Vetevendosje Movement reacted on Monday against the trial of 27 of its members accused of demolishing EULEX vehicles in 2009. A Vetevendosje communiqué noted: “We said at the time that the presence of EULEX in Kosovo is non-democratic, not only because EULEX officials are above the local law and are not accountable to anyone but also because EULEX does not recognize the independence of Kosovo … Our activists will not respond to this trial because this is a political process. Today, as in 2009, we have the same message: EULEX must go. We cannot have an experimental judiciary. Our judiciary needs to be set free from local oligarchs and criminals and from non-democratic interventions that are not accountable to the people of Kosovo.”
Demarcation committee chairman Meha pelted with eggs (dailies)
Several Vetevendosje Movement activists yesterday pelted with eggs the chairman of the Kosovo Government committee on border demarcation with Montenegro, Murat Meha on Monday evening. “As committee chairman, he has made major concessions, giving away over 8,000 hectares of Kosovo’s territory to Montenegro. As a result of such agreements that seriously harm Kosovo’s sovereignty, our state is in deep political crisis for several months now,” a Vetevendosje press release said. “Such actions and protests will not stop until the withdrawal of harmful agreements and the resignation of the government.”
