Coalition parties confident president will be elected by end-February (Koha)
The ruling coalition between the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) is confident that Hashim Thaci will be elected to the post of Kosovo’s president by the end of February. The parties rules out the claims that they don’t have the necessary numbers to elect the president saying that they are only waiting for all MPs to be in Kosovo as some of them are abroad. What it is certain though, adds the paper, is that the voting will not be in the Assembly’s agenda before 10 February since seven coalition MPs are expected to travel to the US to attend the National Prayer Breakfast events.
Serbian List: No agreement with PDK on election of president (Gazeta Blic)
The leader of the Serbian List, Slavko Simic, said for the Serbian news agency Tanjug that Serb MPs at the Assembly of Kosovo do not have a firm position on whether they would support Hashim Thaci for the president of Kosovo. He also denied that Serbian List would support Thaci in exchange for the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities. “There are no conditions for election of the president yet and we do not guarantee support for any of the candidates proposed for the president of Kosovo. We do have an agreement with PDK and LDK coalition, which does not mention support of any candidate for the president of Kosovo,” Simic said. He added that MPs of his party do not have an official position and that they did not discuss this issue with the coalition government yet.
FM Thaci meets US Secretary Kerry (dailies)
Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci, who is visiting the US, met the US Secretary of State John Kerry. “Kosovo is blessed to have the US support in the path to Euro-Atlantic integrations,” Thaci wrote on his Facebook account. He added he had a friendly conversation with Kerry who in turn expressed interest to pay another visit to Kosovo.
Kosovo Assembly to tackle creation of armed forces in November (Telegrafi)
According to the Kosovo government’s legislative plan for 2015, the transformation of the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) into Kosovo Armed Forces (KAF) is expected to take place in late November. Government officials did not comment on the plan but opposition representatives said that the formation of armed forces is late as it is and further delays are being caused due to the government’s negligence.
KP: Persons arrested in Decan are not linked to terrorism (dailies)
The dailies report today that the arrest of four individuals yesterday in Decan is being used for propaganda by the abbot Sava Janjic. Through social media, Janjic said the Kosovo Police has arrested four armed Islamists. However, the Kosovo Police has denied that the arrested individuals are relating to terrorism or any attack on the Decani Monastery. Police spokesperson Baki Kelani told the paper the police have arrested four people in Decan for illegal possession of weapons. “We cannot link these people to any attack against the Monastery, nor with any terrorist group,” Kelani said.
Haradinaj: Explosive doesn’t hinder our western orientation (RTKLive)
Media reported over the weekend that Kosovo Police arrested two individuals in Fushe Kosove/Kosovo Polje and seized over 12 kilograms of explosives. The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, commenting the news, said that “neither explosives nor anything else can hinder Kosovo’s western orientation, commitment to democratic society and the state of rule of law.”
