Thaci: Kosovo will show no compromise in war against radicalism (media)

Several media cover an interview that Kosovo President Hashim Thaci gave to the Voice of America, highlighting his remark that Kosovo will show no compromise in the war against Islamic fundamentalism, radicalism and any other form of extremism in Kosovo. “It is important that Secretary Kerry highly evaluated Kosovo as the leader of the fight against extremism in the region. We will continue to show no compromise and all our security mechanisms will do everything in their power to uproot this phenomenon. We are coordinating with regional authorities and our international friends to remove this dangerous phenomenon from Kosovo, other European countries and throughout the world,” Thaci said. “I am confident we will win this battle. Kosovo, as the youngest country in the world, has not been immune to this. There were individuals from Kosovo that went to Syria and Iraq, but we were determined to bring them to justice and the same approach will be followed with others who are still there. It is very important that in the last six months no citizen of Kosovo has traveled to Syria and Iraq to take part in the fighting there. It is very important that Kosovo is filling the institutional and legal gaps. We have now also adopted a law that bans the participation of Kosovo’s citizens in foreign wars”. Asked if Kosovo is threatened by terrorism, Thaci said the terror attacks in Paris, Brussels and Ankara can pose a threat to every country in Europe, including Kosovo. “This is why we need to be very determined not only in terms of the functioning of the law and the judicial system but also in educating people that this [radicalism] has nothing to do with faith or religion,” Thaci added.  

Mustafa: Government has met 90% of planned objectives for 2015 (media)

Most media cover Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa’s statement that the Kosovo government has met 90 percent of the planned objectives for 2015. Some of the government’s achievements that Prime Minister Mustafa highlighted in a Facebook post include: a 3.6% economic growth, the employment of 18,000 people, a stable budget and the fulfillment of budgetary obligations, a 6 percent salary increase, a 25 percent increase in social assistance, pensions for KLA war veterans, the signing of the Stabilization/Association Agreement.

Erdogan calls on Islamic countries to recognize Kosovo’s independence (media)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during his closing address at the 13th Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, criticized Islamic countries that have not recognized Kosovo’s independence. Erdogan said those countries would have to undertake quick diplomatic steps and recognize Kosovo’s statehood. “Among the 56 Islamic countries, there are still some that have not recognized Kosovo, and we are very concerned about this,” Erdogan was quoted as saying.

Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities drops from the agenda (Zeri)

The Kosovo government has yet to make concrete steps in drafting the statute of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. Government officials said they would set up a committee to work on the statute of the Association, but that this is not urgent, and that the most important thing is to ensure the full implementation of the verdict of the Constitutional Court on the matter. Representatives of opposition parties are meanwhile arguing that the government should not draft the statute at all.

Ahmeti signs coalition agreement with AKR in Pristina (media)

Several media quote Pristina Mayor Shpend Ahmeti as saying that he will very soon formalize cooperation at the municipal level with Behxhet Pacolli’s New Kosovo Alliance (AKR). Gazeta Blic reports that as a result of the coalition agreement, the AKR will head the Department of Agriculture in Pristina municipality.