• Ruling and PSD MPs vote Law and Platform on Dialogue (All monitored broadcasters, KTV)
• Hoti: Only new elections can pull Kosovo out of institutional chaos (RTK)
• Djuric: Platform marks end of Dialogue (RTK1)
• Switzerland: Border revision never worked throughout history (KTV)
• OSCE: Violence against women dominates societies in Albania and Kosovo (Kosovo portals)
• Mitrovicë/Mitrovica Municipality intends to demolish cultural heritage facilities (KTV)

Ruling and PSD MPs vote Law and Platform on Dialogue

(All monitored broadcasters, KTV)

Extraordinary Assembly session was scheduled to begin at 9:00hrs, where ruling parties believed that they would easily pass Draft Law on Dialogue and the Dialogue Platform; however, the governing coalition had to make efforts for many hours in order to get the 61 necessary votes.

The first problems that occurred to them were when they failed to circumvent the Regulation, so that they could pass Draft Law on dialogue through accelerated procedures in the second reading.

Concerning the Dialogue Platform, opposition MPs said that they could not discuss a document deriving from an inexistent draft document.

When ruling MPs started to discuss the Platform, LDK and Vetëvendosje left the plenary room.

In addition, many ruling MPs were absent, as well.

In the midday, the Assembly took a break, to return only for the voting process.

When the extraordinary session resumed and when they made sure that they got the necessary 61 votes, the Assembly Speaker closed the session which was called by the Prime Minister, without putting the Platform to voting; instead, he immediately opened a new session, where, at the proposal of Memli Krasniqi, both the Law and the Platform were listed as top items on the agenda, by circumventing the Regulation.

Law on Dialogue was passed first, with 58 votes in favour and 3 abstentions.

But when the Platform’s turn came, several failed attempts happened.

PSD had decided that without making sure that there would be 61 votes in favour of the Platform, some MPs would not take part in the voting process.

Thus another 15-minute break followed.

The condition of PSD was fulfilled, and the Platform was voted with 61 votes in favour. During the whole session, most of the MPs referred to this document as Resolution.

Hoti: Only new elections can pull Kosovo out of institutional chaos

(RTK)

 LDK caucus leader Avdullah Hoti said that the Law on Dialogue is anti-constitutional and it will be sent to the Constitutional Court.

“The Platform is illegal because it is based on a law that is not in force. Dialogue should only be based on the Constitution and should be led only by the Prime Minister of a legitimate Government.”

“Only new elections pull Kosovo out of the institutional chaos that it was put to by PAN coalition with the help of PSD, and stop this harmful and non-democratic government,” Hoti wrote on Facebook.

Djuric: Platform marks end of Dialogue

(RTK1)

Serbia reacted to adoption of the Dialogue Platform by the Kosovo Assembly.

Director of the so-called Office for Kosovo Marko Djuric said that by adopting this document, Prishtinë/Pristina conveyed the message that this is the end of Dialogue.

“By adopting a platform that says that the only possible result of the dialogue is recognition, without dealing with the rights and position of Serbs, indicates that Prishtinë/Pristina in this way has conveyed a message that this is the end of Dialogue,” Djuric said at a press conference on Thursday evening in Belgrade.

According to him, the decision of Prishtinë/Pristina authorities has put Serbia in the worst position ever since 2011, KosovaPress reports. He stated that the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has scheduled an urgent meeting of the National Security Council on Friday.

“We will not be hasty, but Serbia will be able to protect national and state interests with regard to the Kosovo issue, to position and rights of Serbs in Kosovo and in entire Serbia,” Djuric said, adding that the media would be informed on Friday about the next decisions.

 Switzerland: Border revision never worked throughout history

(KTV)

The Swiss Ambassador to Kosovo Jean-Hubert Lebet gave clear messages that border changing should not be a topic of discussion in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.

The Swiss Ambassador said that history does not know any states that normalised relations by changing borders.

“The existing problems from the conflict will continue to be present, crystallised through the same borders, moved only a few kilometres away. Thus, the same things will continue to exist; moreover, they will become even more complicated by moving borders. You should never be compelled to reach an agreement by force. We have never had examples when a quick agreement was a long-term one,” Jean-Hubert Lebet said.

Ambassador Lebet added that the key thing is that a possible agreement between the two countries be implemented and be comprehensible.

At the meeting about the Dialogue, organised by KDI, chairs remained empty, given that the two chairpersons of the Negotiating Team Fatmir Limaj and Shpend Ahmeti were absent.

The organiser criticised Limaj and Ahmeti for neglecting the discussion.

Other panellists also opposed the border changing idea. They highlighted that Kosovo is unprepared for the dialogue with Serbia.

Panel members criticised Kosovo institutional leaders, and pointed out that Kosovo still has not been unified regarding the dialogue process.

OSCE: Violence against women dominates societies in Albania and Kosovo

(Kosovo portals)

According to an OSCE survey, 16 million women in South-Eastern Europe have experienced different forms of violence during the lives since the age of 15.

The OSCE presented the findings of perhaps the largest ever study on violence against women in South-Eastern Europe. The report was launched in Brussels and it is based on a survey undertaken in 2018 in seven OSCE participating States: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova and Ukraine. The survey also covered Kosovo. In total, 15,179 women aged 18 to 74 were interviewed for the survey.

“Over two-thirds of women think that violence against women and girls is common in their communities, and a fifth think it is very common,” OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger said.

“These facts are unacceptable from the human aspect as well as from the security, stability, and socio-economic aspects,” he added.

The data are presented in a general format and separately according to the states. According to the data, Kosovo differs a lot from the region to a question if women are obliged to have sexual intercourse without their consent. 26 percent of the women surveyed in Kosovo thought that it is an obligation for them, while the average in the region is 17 percent and 19 percent in Albania.

As far as external intervention in the family in cases of violence is concerned, 62 percent of the surveyed women in Kosovo said that others should intervene. The most spread form of violence is the psychological one by the partner.

Mitrovicë/Mitrovica Municipality intends to demolish cultural heritage facilities

(KTV)

Former House of Army in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica serves as the city museum, which contains more than 10,000 exhibits.

However, the Municipality led by Mayor Agim Bahtiri wants to demolish the House of Army as well as the old Post Office building, and to replace them with new buildings.

Both buildings have historic values, and they are part of the list of cultural heritage under provisional protection.

On the other hand, experts are against the demolishing, saying that those buildings may serve the city to develop its culture.

Nevertheless, the Municipality intends to construct a new building for the city museum.

Municipal officials have asked the Regional Centre for Cultural Heritage in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica to find out whether the two buildings will be under permanent protection.

Demolishing such buildings is prohibited by the Law on Cultural Heritage.

Officials of the Ministry of Culture said that the Municipality may not act against the Law.

Council of Cultural Heritage, which has the mandate to decide whether those two buildings must be permanently protected as cultural monuments, currently is not functional, because its Board members have not been appointed by the Kosovo Assembly yet.