• Thaci: No Serb convicted for 400 massacres in Kosovo (media)
• Veseli: Serb perpetrators cannot evade justice (Zeri)
• Haradinaj on resolution for Serbian genocide: Time to clarify the past (Koha)
• Haradinaj: Mogherini called for tariff removal “to divide Kosovo” (media)
• Mogherini: KSF mandate can change only in line with Constitution (Lajmi)
• Veseli calls on Albanians in the north to vote on Sunday elections (Klan)
• Hodzic: Elections in the north to be free, fair and democratic (Epoka/Klan)
• One-year “war” between Thaci and Haradinaj (Zeri)
• Daut Haradinaj: President Thaci to act in line with Constitution of Kosovo (Koha)
• U.S. Embassy concerned with appointments of ‘unqualified’ individuals (media)
• Poll: PDK and LDK could get 200,000 votes each in new elections (media)
• Trajkovic presses charges against Vucic and Djuric (media)
• Kosovo to open embassy in Qatar (Kallxo)

Thaci: No Serb convicted for 400 massacres in Kosovo (media)

President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci said yesterday that no Serb was convicted in connection to 400 massacres committed in Kosovo and that this failure to deliver justice is an insult to the dignity of the victims and the people of Kosovo.

“As we mark in the coming weeks the twentieth anniversary of victory, it remains a huge concern for us as institutions of Kosovo, as a society of Kosovo, but above all for the conscience of the international community that to this day, 20 years on, no person from the state of Serbia was convicted for 400 massacres committed by the state of Serbia,” Thaci said at a ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of massacres in the villages of Qyshk, Pavlan, Zahaq and Llabjan of Peja/Pec.

Thaci commended the initiative for establishment of an international tribunal to prosecute Serbia’s crimes in Kosovo.

Veseli: Serb perpetrators cannot evade justice (Zeri)

Kosovo Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli said that Kosovo should respond to the international silence and Serbian denial of war crimes as a state, by collecting all facts of crimes committed by Serbian forces in Kosovo thus paving way for the creation of an international tribunal to try these crimes.

In a ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the killing of Albanian civilians in several villages in Peja/Pec, Veseli said that the 13,500 victims of Serb crimes demand justice. “We are demanding this today. Kosovo has a right to seek justice for its people and justice has to be delivered. Perpetrators who committed these crimes need to receive the deserved punishment,” Veseli said.

“We have undertaken an initiative and all institutions of the Republic of Kosovo are together. We will be together on Thursday to begin the journey to seek justice for all our people that have been killed and massacred,” he added.

Haradinaj on resolution for Serbian genocide: Time to clarify the past (Koha)

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj commented on Tuesday on the resolution on Serbian genocide in Kosovo that will be voted soon at the Assembly, saying that it is time to clarify the past. “Serbian leaders are denying the crimes that were committed. They don’t want to admit the truth. We need to clarify the past and the victims must realize the rights they have been denied so far,” Haradinaj said.

Haradinaj: Mogherini called for tariff removal “to divide Kosovo” (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said on Tuesday that the import tariff on Serbian and Bosnian goods will not be lifted, most news websites report. Haradinaj said that at a recent meeting in Tirana, Albania, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini called for the removal of the tariff “in order to divide Kosovo”. “Mogherini said in Tirana lift the tariff and I will divide Kosovo right away. Isn’t that so, in other words, remove the tariff and I will call the meeting to resume dialogue. Thank God we understood these projects at the right time. The tariff remains … Mogherini has finished her mandate. She will hold the post until the end of October,” Haradinaj said.

Mogherini: KSF mandate can change only in line with Constitution (Lajmi)

The European Union’s High Representative, Federica Mogherini, commented on Tuesday on the formation of the Kosovo Army by the Kosovo Assembly, saying that the mandate of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) can be changed only through a gradual process and in full compliance with the Constitution of Kosovo. Mogherini also said the EU hopes Kosovo will meets its obligations deriving from the agreements reached in Brussels. “The European Union, on several occasions, has repeated its hope that Kosovo will meet its obligations in line with the first agreement reached in Brussels in April 2019 and its security arrangements. NATO has publicly stated that KFOR will continue to guarantee a safe and secure environment in Kosovo and that NATO will review the level of its engagement with the Kosovo Security Force,” Mogherini said.

Veseli calls on Albanians in the north to vote on Sunday elections (Klan)

Kosovo Assembly Speaker and leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Kadri Veseli, attended an election rally with party’s candidates for Sunday extraordinary elections in four northern municipalities and called on Albanian residents to go out and cast their votes.

“The turnout of all Albanians in elections of northern municipalities is very important. All need to be united in going out to vote. The large turnout of Albanians in these elections is a message saying that Albanians are and will always be in their properties. We will continue concrete projects to reconstruct all houses of Albanians forcibly expelled from their properties,” Veseli said.

Hodzic: Elections in the north to be free, fair and democratic (Epoka/Klan)

Kosovo’s Minister of Local Government Administration, Adrijana Hodzic, told Epoka e Re that she believed Sunday extraordinary elections in four northern municipalities will be free, fair and democratic and that Kosovo institutions have taken all precautionary measures to enable a fair process.

Hodzic also called on the residents of the four municipalities to go out and vote based on their free will.

One-year “war” between Thaci and Haradinaj (Zeri)

The paper reports that over the last ten months, Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj have clashed over the idea for correcting the border between Kosovo and Serbia. While Thaci is adamant on the border adjustment idea, Haradinaj is strongly against the initiative. The paper notes that “the verbal war” between the two leaders started in June last year when the final phase of the dialogue began and when President Thaci announced for the first time in public the border adjustment idea. Prime Minister Haradinaj had reacted immediately against the idea saying that border changes could lead to new tragedies in the Balkans.

Daut Haradinaj: President Thaci to act in line with Constitution of Kosovo (Koha)

In an interview with KTV, MP from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Daut Haradinaj said that President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci is obliged to follow the Constitution of Kosovo and preserve Kosovo’s borders. “I don’t think that if one’s skin is under threat, one should damage Kosovo. Whoever that person may be, in whatever capacity,” Haradinaj said.

With regards to the recent spat between the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj on the issue of border changes, Daut Haradinaj said Rama should try to help Kosovo but also needs to focus on problems inside Albania. “We cannot have verbal conflicts with the government of Albania, we need to work together and look into the possibilities of stronger cooperation,” he said.

Haradinaj said Kosovo is in no rush to reach final agreement with Serbia, which is not the case with Serbia. “Kosovo should not rush because recognition of Serbia is not an urgent matter while for Serbia it is,” he said.

As for alleged ties between his brother, Ramush, and Milan Radojcic from the Serbian List in the north, Haradinaj dispelled such claims saying it is the President of Kosovo Thaci that has met Radojcic several times.  “To accuse someone of smuggling with Radojcic, is not befitting for a president,” Haradinaj said.

U.S. Embassy concerned with appointments of ‘unqualified’ individuals (media)

The U.S. Embassy in Pristina has issued a statement expressing concern over what it said were appointments of ‘unqualified’ individuals to senior positions in the government of Kosovo.

“In a democracy, individuals appointed to high-level positions should project an ethical and qualified face to the world; Kosovo’s pattern of appointments, unfortunately, presents the opposite.  Unqualified individuals, those whom the judiciary has punished or is actively pursuing for serious crimes, as well as those who have demonstrated willingness to act with impunity and abuse their authority, have no place in public office,” the statement reads.

The U.S. Embassy added that such appointments undermine the public trust, deprives Kosovo of skilled individuals, and dishonors the victims of these individuals’ past offences. It also impedes Kosovo’s progress toward building its international.

“We urge Kosovo’s citizens as well as its leaders to reflect on what face they wish Kosovo to show to the world.  We call on Kosovo’s leaders to take this issue seriously and stop and reverse this trend in appointments of individuals, some of whom the Embassy has already named, whose selection appears to advance short-term political goals rather than the legitimate needs of the citizens of Kosovo or the credibility of the state,” the statement concludes.

Poll: PDK and LDK could get 200,000 votes each in new elections (media)

Fisnik Halimi, head of the Pristina Institute for Public Opinion Studies (PIPOS), presented on Tuesday the results of a poll on the standing of political parties in Kosovo, several news websites report. According to the poll, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) could get 200,000 votes each in the event of new elections, and Nisma and the New Kosovo Alliance would cross the election threshold. Halimi also said that Vetevendosje could get 150,000 votes and the Haradinaj-led Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) could get 105,000 votes.

Trajkovic presses charges against Vucic and Djuric (media)

Most news websites report that Rada Trajkovic, leader of the European Movement for Kosovo, has pressed charges against Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and the head of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo, Marko Djuric. Trajkovic’s attorney said Vucic and Djuric, in separate public statements, accused her client of betraying the Serbian state and people and of cooperating with foreign intelligence services, thus endangering her security.

Kosovo to open embassy in Qatar (Kallxo)

Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli announced on Twitter that Kosovo is making final preparations to make sure its embassy in Qatar is up and running in the coming period.

Pacolli said that Embassy in Doha will be functional in the coming weeks and will work towards strengthening relations between Kosovo and Qatar.