Jahjaga establishes border demarcation commission

(All monitored broadcasters, TV21)

Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga signed the decision for establishment of the ad hoccommission of international experts, who will evaluate the demarcation process between Kosovo and Montenegro.

Fletcher M. Burton, senior US Diplomat (retired); Dr Herbert Wilmes,  a German citizen; and Mr Fred Newton who has served for 25 years at the United Kingdom’s Port and Borders Police and in other countries of the world, are members of this commission.

During the coming weeks, these experts will hold talks with all political and institutional actors on the demarcation process and they will also review the documentation and will carry out field visits. The evaluation results will be delivered to President Jahjaga.

Jahjaga called on all political entities, institutions and citizens, to cooperate with the international experts, in order to enable the commission to reach an exact and all-encompassing evaluation of the demarcation process. 

Opposition reacted against the decision of President Jahjaga to establish this commission. They consider that any evaluation commission that starts working based on the same materials and method will come to a similar conclusion with the one of the Government commission, and it can try to legitimate the previous commission.

They consider that border demarcation with Montenegro should be done by a credible and professional commission with involvement of local and international experts, and that the final version must be ratified by the Assembly of Kosovo.

Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said that Government will not get involved in this commission. “This international commission also evaluates our work, and that is why we will not get involved at all in this process,” Mustafa said.

Assembly fails to appoint Procurement Review Body members

(All monitored broadcasters, KTV&TV21) 

Due to its contradiction for the agreements on Association of Serb majority municipalities and border demarcation with Montenegro, opposition parties boycotted Tuesday’s session of the Assembly and this session was held without the presence of any opposition MP in it.

Although they were not impeded by anybody, ruling MPs did not meet their agenda. Even after two rounds of voting, they did not manage to appoint members of the Public Procurement Review Body (PPRB), which is also the final criterion for visa liberalisation.

President Atifete Jahjaga reacted after the failure of these MPs to appoint the new PPRB members. Jahjaga said she was disappointed with this failure, underlining that their appointment is one of the main European Union conditions for consenting visa liberalisation to Kosovars.

She called on institutions of Kosovo, Government and Assembly, as well as on all the political entities to take over the responsibility and identify a solution for this criterion to be fulfilled without further delay.

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) considers that failure to appoint these members is a result of non-harmonised political bargaining among the governing coalition.

Non-appointment of PPRB members also provoked the reaction of Kosovo Minister of European Integration, Bekim Çollaku, KTV reported.

Mustafa once again calls on opposition to return to Assembly

(All monitored broadcasters, KTV)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Isa Mustafa urged the opposition parties to return to the Assembly, saying that their concerns can be discussed in this institution. However, Mustafa said that violence must stop and his governance will go on.

Mustafa commented latest developments during the Government’s meeting and at a press conference staged after it. He was categorical that his Government will exercise its mandate until June 2018.

Trepça mining complex shall not be discussed in Brussels

(All monitored broadcasters, Klan Kosova & KTV) 

Government of Kosovo pledges that Trepça mining complex shall be discussed in Brussels, now that it finally started to solve the status of this complex with draft law.

This pledge was made by Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, who said that Kosovo assets will not be discussed with anyone.

A year after it withdrew the draft law for transformation of Trepça into a state asset, Government of Kosovo established a commission that will work of the draft law for this mining complex.

The three Srpska List members in the Government of Kosovo voted against this commission. Addressing journalists following the Government’s meeting, Mustafa said that he talked also with Serb ministers of his cabinet and expressed his hope that the Assembly of Kosovo will approve the law. He said that the commission will define final status of Trepça mining complex.

Minister Ljubomir Maric, who boycotted the decision of PM Mustafa regarding Trepça, went to Zubin Potok and together with the Director of Serbia’s Office for Kosovo, Marko Djuric, sent a message to Mustafa that Trepça is also a matter of Serbia, Klan Kosova reported.

According to Djuric, Serbian state is the biggest owner of this enterprise, and as such, it does not think of giving up from its assets, even less without having talks about it.

Hodzic: Association defends the interests of Serb community

(RTK2)

Head of Municipal Administration in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë north, Adrijana Hodzic, told RTK2 ‘Razgovor’ show that the aim of establishing the Association of Serb majority municipalities is to create a body that will defend national interests of Serb community in Kosovo.

Ten Serb majority municipalities will act united within the structure of the Association, said Hodzic, noting that current political situation in Kosovo has delayed implementation of the Agreement on Association.

“Prishtinë/Pristina and Belgrade continue to have different views regarding the competencies of the Association, and this issue remains a challenge. Therefore we have to wait for the compromise between Belgrade and Prishtinë/Pristina and after that to continue with the implementation of the Association. Several processes have delayed due to non-establishment of the Association,” Hodzic stated for RTK2.

She thinks that Kosovo Government cannot support establishment of a new Serb majority municipality due to lack of funds. She also said that the current political situation in Prishtinë/Pristina results with unrests amongst Mitrovica/Mitrovicë north citizens.

Government: Gafurr Dugolli’s arrest unacceptable

(Most monitored broadcasters, KTV& Klan Kosova)

Kosovo Government considers the arrest of Gafurr Dugolli, Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Kosovo Security Force, by the Macedonian authorities as unacceptable. Addressing the Government’s meeting on Tuesday, Minister of KSF Haki Demolli called on respective ministries of the Government to continue with their efforts to release Dugolli, who was arrested few days earlier according to an arrest warrant issued by Serbia.

Acting Kosovo foreign minister Petrit Selimi said they have contacted the Macedonian Embassy in Prishtinë/Pristina, but there is not much hope that the neighbouring country will change its stance.

On the other hand, Kosovo minister for dialogue, Edita Tahiri, said she wrote to EU and requested that this case is not treated as it was presented by Serbia, but also to stop this practice of Serbia.

Klan Kosova reported that the heads of the Association of KLA War Veterans joined the protest on Tuesday in front of the Macedonian Embassy in Prishtinë/Pristina.   Protestors demanded Dugolli’s immediate release from custody.

In its later news edition, KTV reported that a Court in Skopje put Mr Dugolli in 30-days detention. The news was confirmed by his brother, Bujar Dugolli.

Assistance of international organizations for the missing requested

(RTK2) 

After last year’s excavations in a suspected mass grave in Rudnica, Serbia, which was believed to contain human remains of Kosovo Albanians, a new excavation has been announced to take place in Prizren on 17 March. Representatives of the Associations of kidnaped and missing persons of Prishtinë/Pristina and Belgrade stated that 1.667 persons continue to be considered as missing; out of which, 560 are Serbs and non-Albanians.

The issue of missing and kidnapped in Kosovo has left serious consequences on relations between Belgrade and Prishtinë/Pristina, said Veljko Odalovic, Head of Belgrade’s delegation for missing persons.

“What is evident is that the information we receive from Prishtinë/Pristina is not sufficient, or it does not exist at all. For years now, we called and requested opening of the archives of international representatives who were in Kosovo in 1999-2000, I am thinking of KFOR and UNMIK above all, but the OSCE should also help with its information,” Odalovic said.

On the other hand, the Chairperson of Kosovo Government Commission on Missing Persons, Prenk Gjetaj considers that progress has been made in shedding light on the fate of missing persons.

Representatives of the commissions for missing persons from Prishtinë/Pristina and Belgrade say that the potential inclusion of this issue in Brussels talks depends from senior officials that organize these meetings.

EBU calls for Kosovo authorities to decide on funding of RTK

(RTK1)

The European Broadcasting Union – EBU’s Director General Ingrid Deltenre has written to the President of the Assembly of Kosovo Kadri Veseli in support of an urgent amendment to the law on public service broadcaster, Radio and Television of Kosovo.

“During meetings with the President and the Parliamentary Committee on Media earlier this week, the EBU stressed the urgent need for Kosovo to find an adequate, stable and predictable source of funding for public service broadcasting. State funding for Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) runs out in June which leaves their funding undefined after this date. According to RTK’s financial assessment, the current budget of EUR 11 million – which includes EUR 2 million from advertising – is insufficient in the context of rising costs and the need to renew the production and distribution infrastructure. The annual budgets of EBU members of similar sizes such as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are in the range of EUR 17-22 million,” Deltenre’s letter reads.

Serbian elections under the OSCE logo, a challenge for Kosovo

(Top Channel) 

Kosovo Government still has not given the green light to Serbia to hold its parliamentary elections in Kosovo areas inhabited with Serbs on 24 April.

Bajram Gecaj, advisor to Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, told Top Channel that there will be consultations and that decision for allowing these elections, or not, will be taken during the coming days.

“Whatever happens, it will be within the laws of the Republic of Kosovo and by respecting double citizenship of Kosovo citizens. However, consultations for this issue still have not been made,” said Bajram Gecaj, advisor to PM Isa Mustafa.

Immediately after formal announcement of elections in Serbia, Belgrade has requested the OSCE’s support to help with their organisation in the territory of Kosovo.

“There is anticipation for the OSCE to enable development of a process in Kosovo, through which persons with the right to vote will be provided the opportunity to exercise their right in relation to Serbian parliamentary elections, on 24 April. Consultations with the parties will clarify all the related issues,” said Senad Sabovic, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Spokesperson.

Top Channel learned that Belgrade has requested opening of 10 voting centres under the OSCE logo in the Serb majority municipalities, where about 108.000 Kosovo Serbs have the right to vote. Different from the past, this time, neither Serbia north Kosovo north Serbs are not expected to organise parallel local elections for Kosovo municipalities, thus respecting the Kosovo local authority in the north in line with the Brussels Agreement.