UNMIK Headlines 13 July
Kosovo leadership assures Nuland on special court’s establishment (dailies)
The United States Assistant State Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland, on Sunday met with Kosovo’s leadership in Pristina. Nuland held separate meetings with President Atifete Jahjaga, Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli and Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci. The dailies report that Nuland urged Kosovo’s leadership to show wisdom and determination in regards to the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue and the establishment of the special court, as the most important issues for Kosovo’s integration in the EU and its development. She was assured that Kosovo will continue the dialogue with Serbia and will establish the special court as soon as possible.
Special court at Assembly this week? (Epoka e Re)
Despite the fact that deputies of the opposition parties and those from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) have not changed their position on the special court, the Government plans to re-proceed amendment 24 of the Constitution at the Assembly again this week. Reliable sources within the Assembly, who preferred to remain anonymous, told KosovaPress that the time is passing and that this issue is one of the reasons that the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland visited Kosovo. According to this daily, the amendment will be sent to the Assembly without any further changes.
Ymeri: Imposition for establishment of special court, unacceptable (Epoka)
The leader of Vetevendosje movement, Visar Ymeri, told the Voice of America that that pressure on the Assembly of Kosovo to establish the special court is unacceptable. He said that he agrees with the idea to punish war crimes, but said that this should not be done in a disproportional manner and stressed that the process should be implemented in accordance with Kosovo laws.
Terrorism suspects were planning to poison water supply (Zeri/Kosova Sot)
Zeri on its front page reports that the prosecution requested a thirty-day detention period for the five individuals arrested on Saturday for the criminal offence of plotting terrorist acts. They were arrested under the suspicion of intending to damage Badovc Lake’s dam or to poison the water supply. During the arrest, flags of the "Islamic State", uniforms and poison were reportedly found in a bag inside of one of the two vehicles of the detained group. However, Kosova Sot reports that the Kosovo Police denied that poison was found amongst the suspects. The paper reports that the lawyer of one of the suspects initially confirmed that poison was found along with ISIS flags, but later denied the statement saying that she was misunderstood. A decision on the five terrorism suspects will be taken today.
Tahiri: Ibar River barricade to be removed on 1 October (dailies)
Kosovo’s Minister without portfolio, Edita Tahiri, told Deutsche Welle that the barricade over the Ibar River in Mitrovica will be removed on 1 October. “We already agreed that the barricade will be removed in October,” Tahiri said. She also said that despite agreement on the barricade, differences still remain when it comes to some other issues. "There are still different opinions regarding the Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities,” she said. In regards to the telephone code, Tahiri said that an agreement was already reached on this matter.
Kosovo-Montenegro border demarcation agreement reached (Koha)
According to reports from the Podgorica-based paper Vijesti, Kosovo and Montenegro reached agreement on border demarcation more than two weeks ago but the deal is being kept secret. According to the paper, the agreement is based on the 1974 borderline which stipulates that parts of Rugova region will be part of Montenegro. Rugova residents and Kosovo public opinion have insisted the area belongs to Kosovo.