UNMIK Headlines 16 May
Jahjaga: Credible and transparent investigations on Kumanovo incidents (Express)
Kosovo’s President Atifete Jahjaga is calling for credible and transparent investigation into the Kumanovo incidents in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) last weekend. Jahjaga’s statement comes after a letter that FYROM President George Ivanov sent to leaders of UN member states making Kosovo responsible for the incidents. Arber Vllahiu, a spokesman for Jahjaga, told the news site that parties in FYROM should refrain from violence and pave way to thorough investigations into the incidents. “President Jahjaga has expressed the readiness of Kosovo’s institutions to shed light on the Kumanovo events. President Jahjaga also calls for the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement that envisages equal rights for Albanians,” Vllahiu said.
Kosovo authorities launch investigations into Kumanovo incidents (Zeri)
In a front-page story, the paper reports that the Special Prosecution of Kosovo has launched investigations into the involvement of Kosovo citizens in the Kumanovo clashes last weekend. The paper also notes that Kosovo Police officers carried out raids in the houses of 18 Kosovo citizens who were arrested by the FYROM authorities after the armed confrontation in Kumanovo.
Tahiri: Political dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia will continue (Kallxo.com)
Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, told the news site that political dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade would not stop. In response to earlier media reports that the dialogue has stopped, Tahiri said the Kosovo government remains committed to the EU-brokered dialogue talks. “The European Union usually schedules the meeting between the two Prime Ministers and our government awaits her invitation [EU High Representative Federica Mogherini] and we will take part in the political dialogue at the level of Prime Ministers,” Tahiri said. “Our government is always committed to dialogue because we find it important and we will engage in further progress through new agreements and the implementation of agreements reached so far … Next week we will have another meeting where we will discuss the telecom, the insurance of vehicles, the plan for permanent facilities for the Integrated Border Management and the removal of the barricade on Iber”.
Veseli: Thaci will be elected President by the people (Kosovapress)
Kadri Veseli, the Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly, said today that Hashim Thaci, the Principal Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Kosovo Democratic Party (PDK), will soon be elected President of Kosovo directly by the people. “The Democratic Party of Kosovo will soon score another big victory of historic importance … Very soon Hashim Thaci, the leader of the PDK, will be elected President directly by the people of the Republic of Kosovo,” Veseli said at a PDK convention.
The roots of religious extremism in Kosovo (Koha)
The paper reports on its front page that a certain eleven individuals and 50 non-governmental organizations should be held responsible for spreading religious extremism in Kosovo. The paper claims to possess a detailed report that the Kosovo Police Anti-Terrorism Intelligence Unit that was sent to other state institutions in 2013. The paper also publishes the identities of people suspected of spreading Salafism, the majority of whom were arrested last year as suspects of recruiting people for terrorist activities.
Serbs want to have own army within Kosovo Armed Forces (Koha)
Citing unidentified sources, KTV reported on Friday that Serb MPs are not against the formation of the Kosovo Armed Forces, but that they want the same arrangements from Kosovo Police to be applied for them in the future Armed Forces. Serb MPs reportedly want an ethnically-clean structure under the leadership of a Serb commander and this will be reportedly discussed by the Kosovo and Serbia Prime Ministers in Brussels.