UNMIK Headlines 10 August
Serbia camouflages failure of agreement on telecommunications (Tribuna)
Belgrade has yet to sign the agreement on telecommunications with Pristina, despite the fact that Thursday was the last deadline when it had to provide a positive or negative reply to the document, Tribuna reports. "Serbia is manipulating the public by saying that it has partially accepted the agreement. Brussels and we have received no official information from Belgrade. Thursday, August 8, was the last deadline when Serbia had to provide a reply, but it has not done so," a senior political advisor to Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri told the paper.
Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, told Radio Free Europe that there are no new developments surrounding the agreement. "There is still no news about the agreement. We hope both parties will reach an agreement as soon as possible," Kocijancic said.
Haradinaj: PDK should go in the opposition (Epoka e Re)
Ramush Haradinaj, leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), said on Friday that the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) should go in the opposition as this would benefit Kosovo. "After all the latest developments, it would be healthier for democracy for the PDK to go in the opposition," Haradinaj said in an interview for the paper.
Haradinaj said he would not seek support from PDK leader Thaci or LDK leader Mustafa to become prime minister. "The people are those who decide, therefore, we will have to wait for their decision. I will ask for the post of prime minister from the people, neither from Thaci nor from Mustafa or anyone else," he added.
Haradinaj criticized the current government and said the situation would change once the AAK comes to power. "The AAK will go to elections with the goal of bringing about change. My logic is to come to power in order to change the situation in Kosovo," Haradinaj said.
Mustafa: LDK will defeat Thaci (dailies)
Isa Mustafa, leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), said his party would defeat the ruling PDK and its leader Hashim Thaci first in the November local elections and then in parliamentary elections. "We will defeat Thaci, first in local elections and then in national elections. Thaci can only talk now but in the future he will have to shoulder the consequences of defeat," Mustafa said. The statement of the LDK leader came one day after Thaci said he does not view Mustafa as a rival for the post of prime minister, but only as a mayor of a municipality.
Ivanovic: More contacts with Albanian politicians (dailies)
Oliver Ivanovic, leader of the Serb Civic Initiative in northern Mitrovica, said on Friday that Albanians and Serbs need more time to improve their relations after the conflicts they had in the past, especially in the 1990s.
Ivanovic said meetings between prime ministers Hashim Thaci and Ivica Dacic are helping to improve these relations and he welcomed their call to Serbs in northern Kosovo to take part in local elections in November. "Some additional actions are required, especially from prime minister Dacic, because Serbs in Kosovo listen to orders from the Serbian Government. Dacic and Vucic need to tell their people in Kosovo to participate in the November elections and to prepare the lists," he added.
Civil Protection digs hole at Kroi i Vitakut (Zeri)
Members of the so-called Civil Protection, a parallel security structure in northern Mitrovica, led by former Mitrovica parallel mayor Krstimir Pantic, have dug a big hole in Kroi i Vitakut neighborhood, Zeri reports.
Although Albanian residents expressed their concern, Mitrovica mayor Avni Kastrati said the hole would be filled and the reconstruction of Albanian houses would resume. He added that local and international security structures would not allow such situations.
Kastrati also said it was a paradox for Serb illegal structures to obstruct the reconstruction of houses in Kroi i Vitakut, while the same structures are building a collective settlement in the Bosniak Mahalla.
Behxhet Bala, director of the municipal department for protection and rescue, said the "hole was aimed at obstructing the reconstruction of Albanian houses and to carry out the ethnic cleansing of Albanians from the mixed neighborhood". He appealed to the international community to dissolve Serb illegal and parallel structures as soon as possible and in compliance with the Brussels agreement.