Headlines - 19.02.2014

Kuci: No need for a tribunal (Epoka e Re)

Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuci said on Tuesday that there is no need to establish a tribunal that would investigate war crimes in Kosovo. Kuci said Kosovo has enough capacities to examine and try every case. “As far as reports about an eventual tribunal are concerned, I must say that Kosovo has enough capacities to examine and try every case in our country. When I say this, I refer to local and EULEX judges. There is an international mission in Kosovo, with international judges and prosecutors and I don’t believe we should be thinking otherwise. We treated other cases and I believe that every treatment was appropriate,” he added.

Commenting on media reports about the eventual statute of the tribunal, Kuci also said that the Kosovo Government never discussed the statute. “My opinion is that this statute would violate human rights. I say publicly as Minister of Justice that this statute would undermine the work done by UNMIK and EULEX, and by our courts since 1999. In such a case, I don’t know why we would need courts and EULEX in Kosovo,” Kuci added.

UNSC might decide on Tribunal (Tribuna)

It is unlikely that the Government and current MP’s would endorse a decision for the establishment of a Tribunal for the alleged crimes of former KLA members, according to Dick Marty’s report. Therefore, the European Union is preparing an additional scenario to establish this court. A decision of the UN Security Council would bring to life the Tribunal without a decision of local institutions. According to a source of this daily, all the possibilities to reach the decision at the Assembly of Kosovo, with 80 votes, will be exhausted. In such a case, the procedures would have been similar to those for the creation of EULEX. After the decision of Kosovo institutions, EU member states and other contributing countries would allocate a certain fund. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon would be informed about the development and he would then include this in his report, explaining that everything happened according to Resolution 1244.

If Kosovo institutions cannot reach this decision, then EULEX would send a request to clarify the establishment of the court to treat the investigations of the SITF (Dick Marty’s Task Force.) SG Ban would address the UNSC differently; he would request from the UNSC to bring a decision on the Tribunal, based on Resolution 1244.

One of the key people of the Government of Kosovo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Hajredin Kuçi, objected on the creation of the Tribunal, and stated that he would not support it.

Kosovo to have 8,000 troops (Zeri)

In a matter of weeks, the Government of Kosovo is expected to submit a draft law to the Assembly on the Kosovo Armed Forces and, once approved, preparations for setting up a Kosovo army will begin. However, before this can happen, the Assembly will also have to change the Constitution of Kosovo. The new force is expected to have 5,000 active troops and 3,000 reserve, which is roughly the same in other regions. Security experts believe this number will be sufficient to guarantee security in Kosovo.

North risks getting out of control from Pristina (Koha Ditore)

Kosovo-based think tank Democracy for Development (D4D) said in a recent publication that elections in Serbia, EU, and Kosovo could create a vacuum and a dangerous situation in the north, making it slip entirely out of Pristina’s control. The report noted that the north is not managing to find a new balance despite local elections that took place recently and recommends opening a dialogue between the north and Pristina. Not everything, adds the report, should go through Belgrade; communication should be established directly with Serbs in the north.

Ivanovic remains in Pristina prison (dailies)

The Basic Court in Mitrovica annulled an earlier decision by a judge who ordered that Oliver Ivanovic, who was arrested on 27 January for alleged crimes against Albanians, should be transferred from Pristina prison to the detention center in Mitrovica. “This means that the court has accepted the complaint of the prosecutor who was against the transfer,” Ivanovic’s attorney told reporters. “The decision is tendentious and motivated by other reasons, not by the law.”

Hoxhaj calls for Kosovo’s membership in SEECP (dailies)

Kosovo Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj said on Tuesday that Kosovo is committed to join the South-East European Cooperation Process, which he called the most important organisation for regional cooperation. “We are grateful to all members for their support for membership and we highly appreciate the European Union’s call to welcome Kosovo’s inclusion in the SEECP. This would be in accordance with agreements reached between Kosovo and Serbia in March 2012 and April 2013,” he said. Hoxhaj added that Kosovo’s inclusion in the process would be in line with the main priorities of the SEECP and would contribute to the full consolidation of peace and development in the region.

PDK sees LDK as rival, not Krasniqi and Limaj (Koha Ditore)

The deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Arsim Bajrami, said that his former party members, Jakup Krasniqi and Fatmir Limaj, would be defeated by PDK in the upcoming elections. Bajrami said the party’s only rival is considered to be the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), but even that will be beaten. “We will win the entire political scene,” said Bajrami after a PDK presidency meeting yesterday. Bajrami denied that Krasniqi and Limaj were the topic of the meeting. He said they discussed an analysis on local elections results and an action plan for reforming the party and its approach to parliamentary elections.

Haradinaj surprised by unwillingness to bring down Government (Koha)

The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, met on Tuesday with Pristina mayor Shpend Ahmeti to discuss the current political situation. Haradinaj stated that he does not know if the other political parties are going to support the motion of no confidence in the Government. “I do not understand why we should waste more time. I know that there is the will among the opposition to stop this kind of governing and to start with a new one, but I do not see any reason to waste time. So, the unwillingness of each of us to find a way to reach the joint intention surprises me,” said Haradinaj.

Kurti: LDK and AAK, crutches of the government (Epoka e Re)

According to Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti, Vetevendosje has been calling for the resignation of the government since 2011. He said that Vetevendosje was the only opposition during this term of parliament and that LDK and AAK served only as crutches of the government.  “LDK and AAK did not play the role of the opposition, and in critical moments they became crutches of the government in processes that have seriously damaged the country. The fear from power and the lust for power have made LDK and AAK obey Thaçi,” he added. Kurti said Vetevendosje would not form a coalition with any party in the next parliamentary elections. He welcomed Fatmir Limaj and Jakup Krasniqi’s initiative to form a new political party and he did not rule out eventual cooperation between their party and Vetevendosje.

RTK2 doesn’t recognise independence of Kosovo (Koha Ditore)

Kosovo public broadcaster RTK2 doesn’t recognise Kosovo as an independent country. The channel, which broadcasts in Serbian, in one of its shows referred to independence of Kosovo as being declared unilaterally. The management of RTK said accountability will be sought for such statements, but added that they are still checking all the facts. Furthermore, RTK has been sharing its news programming on YouTube, until 16 February. Members of the Kosovo Assembly Commission for Media said such a statement is “scandalous” and “unacceptable”.

WikiLeaks: Thaci interfered in judiciary (Tribuna)

The paper notes that WikiLeaks published a cable that EULEX deputy chief Thomas Bosch sent in August 2009 to then-head of mission, Yves de Kermabon, “for Prime Minister Hashim Thaci’s political interference in the judiciary”. The confidential document, which was sent only to senior EU and EULEX officials, noted that the concept of non-interference in the independence of the judiciary does not exist in the Kosovar mentality. Bosch highlighted Prime Minister Thaci’s comments during a government session about three defendants in a war crimes case. Thaci said that the defendants are innocent and this was qualified by EULEX as serious interference in the policy of the judiciary.