• Haradinaj fires Minister of Local Government, Teodosijevic (media)
• Serbian List reacts to Teodosijevic’s dismissal (media)
• Veseli: EU to react to provocations by Serbia and Vucic (Koha)
• Serbian government reacts to dismissal of Serb Minister (RTK)
• Palmer: Serbia and Kosovo to negotiate best possible agreement (media)
• Daka: Organising elections in the north will not be a challenge (Epoka)
• Kuqi: We must safeguard our partnership with U.S. and EU (RTK)
• Bajrami: Constitution does not allow referendum on borders (Express)
• Kosovo takes part in security conference at UN HQ (RTV21/Kallxo)
• Kuci remained silent during his interview at The Hague (Bota Sot)
• Special prosecution addresses reports on “Gulenists” and lobbying funds (Koha)
• Hoxhaj: Kosovo became a board member of parliamentary network (media)
• Justice minister Tahiri condemns Prekaz killing (media)

Haradinaj fires Minister of Local Government, Teodosijevic (media)

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, announced the dismissal of the Minister of Local Government Administration, Ivan Teodosijevic, following his remarks regarding Recak massacre which he said was “fake”.

Haradinaj said on Facebook that hate speech used by Teodosijevic was intolerable. “It is incomprehensible how an until-now colleague of ours expressed such ignorance, hate and insult to the victims of Recak, other victims of the Milosevic’s regime and the endorsement to the terror of this regime. This is unjustifiable,” Haradinaj said adding that the government he leads has no room for anyone who insults the others based on ethnic, religious, or other backgrounds. He also said that the decision for Teodosijevic’s dismissal enters into force immediately.

During an event on the 20th anniversary of NATO airstrikes, Teodosijevic is reported to have said that the reason behind NATO’s “aggression” was “the so-called humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo and the fabricated massacre of Recak.”

Serbian List reacts to Teodosijevic’s dismissal (media)

The Serbian List has reacted to the dismissal of its member Ivan Teodosijevic from the post of Minister of Local Government Administration by Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj. The party said the dismissal shows that Pristina is not ready to face the past and even less so the determination of the Serbian List to always protect the interests of Serbs.

“We remind the international community that these dismissals of the Serbian List members are an example of ethnic division, violation of constitutional rights. So is the attempt to appoint as Serb representatives those who are known as Albanians’ private Serbs,” the statement reads.

Veseli: EU to react to provocations by Serbia and Vucic (Koha)

Kosovo Assembly President Kadri Veseli said the source of the rhetoric used by the Minister of Local Government Ivan Teodosijevic derives from Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic and it aims casing tensions in Balkans and Kosovo.

“The language of hatred and racism used by one of the institutional representatives from the Serbian List is unacceptable and intolerable. Such statements using language of hatred have the one source and are provocations by Aleksandar Vucic in order to cause tensions in Balkans and Kosovo. We will not allow for Kosovo to be used as means for someone in Serbia to keep his power. The European Union should react to these open provocations by Serbia and Vucic. Kosovo institutions will continue to work for integration of Serbs in Kosovo, but it will in no manner cooperate with those who aim inducing hatred and fear,” Veseli wrote.

Serbian government reacts to dismissal of Serb Minister (RTK)

The Government of Serbia reacted through its Office for Kosovo about the decision of the Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj to dismiss the Minister of Administration and Local Government, Ivan Todosijevic. The reaction of the Serbian government notes that “Haradinaj has confirmed that he needs obedient Serbs.”

Palmer: Serbia and Kosovo to negotiate best possible agreement (media)

The U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Matthew Palmer, told reporters in Tirana that the U.S. is encouraging Belgrade and Pristina to sit at the table of talks and negotiate the best possible agreement. He said the U.S. does not support any particular outcome of the dialogue and while the border issues can be part of the agreement, it would not be its main component.

“What is important for the U.S. is that any agreement has local ownership and be something that the two sides trust they can support, that the both sides believe it protects their crucial interests,” Palmer said.

Daka: Organising elections in the north will not be a challenge (Epoka)

Valdete Daka, head of the Central Election Commission (CEC) said that when it comes to organizing, the matter of extraordinary elections in the northern municipalities will not represent a challenge for CEC. She added that she does not expect irregularities at 19 May elections, as Kosovo has already established a culture of elections. Daka said that participation of political parties in these elections is a political matter while as far as organizing is concerned, there is no danger for the elections to fail. She called on citizens to participate in election and chose their representatives.

Kuqi: We must safeguard our partnership with U.S. and EU (RTK)

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) deputy leader, Hajredin Kuqi, said on Tuesday that Kosovo is in dialogue with Serbia as a result of the status quo. “We don’t go to dialogue to damage Kosovo. As far as our foreign policy is concerned, we need to be careful and every political party must assume responsibilities for the events, because we must safeguard our partnership with the United States and the European Union. The opposition too must become part of the process,” Kuqi said in an interview to RTK. Asked to comment on the 100-percent import tariff on Serbian and Bosnian goods, Kuqi said the tariff is not the only problem in Kosovo’s relations with Serbia. “We have reached a point where the tariff is seen as Serbia’s biggest problem. The Prime Minister should tell us that if there is a real request from the U.S., he should be ready to negotiate the issue of the tariff in Brussels,” he added.

Bajrami: Constitution does not allow referendum on borders (Express)

Arsim Bajrami, one of the authors of the Constitution of Kosovo and deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), argued on Tuesday that the Constitution of Kosovo does not allow any kind of referendum on borders. “Any kind of constitutional change should be made based on the Constitution and any referendum would only have a consultative character,” Bajrami said. He added that it is the Assembly with two thirds of votes that should vote on international agreements. He said that in order to give an obliging character to a referendum, a constitutional amendment is required.

Kosovo takes part in security conference at UN HQ (RTV21/Kallxo)

A high-level security conference took place at the UN headquarters in New York where Kosovo is reported to have taken part as an equal party. The topic of discussion according to RTV 21 was control of small arms and light weapons in the Western Balkans. Kosovo’s consul in New York, Teuta Sahatqija, said she informed the participants in the conference of the steps Kosovo has made in controlling arms.

Kuci remained silent during his interview at The Hague (Bota Sot)

Kosovo Assembly MP from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Blerim Kuci decided not to answer the questions from the Specialist Chambers prosecutors during his interview in the capacity of suspect in The Hague. His attorney in Kosovo said Kuci is expected to return to Pristina today.

Special prosecution addresses reports on “Gulenists” and lobbying funds (Koha)

In its leading front-page story, the paper reports that the Special Prosecution of Kosovo has confirmed it is looking into the report by the parliamentary investigation committee on the expulsion of six Turkish nationals from Kosovo last year. The committee had concluded in its report that there were 31 legal violations during the operation. The special prosecution is also addressing another parliamentary report on lobbying expenses by the Office of the President and the Kosovo Government. The prosecution did not comment on the issue, but an unnamed source confirmed the ongoing investigation to the paper.

Hoxhaj: Kosovo became a board member of parliamentary network (media)

Several news websites report that Kosovo’s Deputy Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj congratulated Kosovo on becoming a board member of the Global Parliamentary Network of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Hoxhaj tweeted: “great news! Kosovo became a Board Member at @ParlNetwork for the next three years. Kudos to @VjosaOsmaniMP and the team of #Kosovo MPs representing us in DC for this great achievement, despite the tough competition”.

Justice minister Tahiri condemns Prekaz killing (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Abelard Tahiri, has condemned the recent murder of a man in the village of Prekaz, who the police believe was first shot and then his body and the car he was in set ablaze, as “as serious blow to our society and the rule of law state we are trying to empower.” Tahiri said law enforcement institutions will make utmost efforts to solve the case as soon as possible and extended his condolences to the victim’s family.

Online media at the same time quote the family of the deceased saying that he had no problems with anyone and that he worked as a taxi driver while Klan Kosova and Kallxo report that the victim was a key witness to the killing of a Kosovo police officer in 2015.