UNMIK Headlines 2 April
KLA court, split into three countries (Tribuna)
The paper reports on the front page that the special court that is expected to tackle possible indictments from the Council of Europe’s allegations will function from three locations. The headquarters of the court will be in Brussels, there will be an administrative office in Pristina and the court proceedings are most likely to take place in The Hague. Pristina office will be tasked to communicate with the public whereas judges and prosecutors working for the new court will be based in Brussels.
Sources told the paper that the idea to have the actual trials taking place in The Hague was quite convenient as most of the EU member states did not support the creation of the court because of their internal legal arrangements. Netherlands, on the other hand, has already a number of international courts in its territory and has no such legal obstacles.
Agreement on judiciary should be sent to Constitutional Court! (Zeri)
Constitutional experts in Pristina argue that the agreement between Pristina and Belgrade on the judiciary in northern Kosovo, which has yet to be signed, should be sent to the Constitutional Court. Constitutional experts argue that the agreement constitutes a serious violation of the Constitution and the law on courts and prosecutions. The agreement namely provides that the chairman of the court in the north should be a Kosovo Serb and that 60 percent of prosecutors there should also be Serbs. Experts believe that the agreement should be discussed in parliament and then sent to the Constitutional Court.
Agreement yes, implementation no (Tribuna)
All deadlines for disbanding of Serb illegal structures in the north of Kosovo have expired on 31 March and “Civil Protection” is still functioning. Bekim Collaku, advisor to Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci, said delays in the implementation of agreement are evident, particularly in aspects relating to justice. “It is clear these delays came from the Serbian side,” he said.
At the same time, the Serbian side is slowly changing the stance towards the April 19 Agreement, the paper adds. President Tomislav Nikolic said the new government should come up with a strategy how to continue dialogue with Pristina and that the Assembly of Serbia should also have a say on the matter.
Opposition coordinates for elections (Zeri)
Isa Mustafa, leader of the biggest opposition party, the LDK, has not been successful in uniting an opposition bloc against the government, but it seems that he has been successful on one issue. LDK officials said on Tuesday that Mustafa has coordinated with other political parties for national elections to be held between May 25 and June 15.
AAK officials said they support the position of the LDK, whereas Vetevendosje members said they would support an honest initiative that would come from coordination between opposition parties, and not coordination with Thaci and the ruling PDK.
AAK senior official Besnik Tahiri said, “the AAK would support the LDK and Vetevendosje, whichever of them takes the initiative to bring down the government”.
Manipulations with election date (Lajm)
Representatives of political parties on one hand are saying that the Kosovo Assembly should not be dismissed without extending the mandate of EULEX and on the other hand they mention deadlines by when the Assembly should be dismissed. These statements are manipulations with the public opinion or these political representatives truly do not know constitutional procedures and deadlines regarding the prospect of holding early elections.
Before choosing to cut short their mandate, MPs have to first approve the new law on elections, legitimise the new mandate of EULEX, vote on the mandate of the tribunal for war crimes, and reach an agreement with representatives of communities for the mandate of reserved seats. Only once these tasks are fulfilled can there be talk about options on how to dismiss the Assembly.
Northerners keep “Republic of Serbia” in official documents (Koha Ditore)
In a front-page report, the paper notes that northern municipalities have not changed their approach toward the state of Kosovo, despite the fact that they took part in the November municipal elections. The northern municipalities, inhabited by Serbs, continue to issue documents with Serbian content. Even when communicating with institutions in Pristina, northern Serbs use documents with the header Republic of Serbia.
Bahtiri: Barricade over the Iber River should be removed (Lajm)
Mayor of Mitrovica Municipality, Agim Bahtiri, said that the barricade over the Iber River should be removed because it is a roadblock that does not send a good message internationally. Bahtiri said he spoke to members of the Serb community and promised to help them return to their homes and noted that the same should also be made possible to Albanians who used to live in the north. “Soon in the north are going to be build six more houses, but it is important to provide security there,” said Bahtiri.
Kosovo, optimistic about SAA (dailies)
In the framework of intensifying European agenda, Kosovar Minister for European Integrations Vlora Citaku and of Foreign Affairs Enver Hoxhaj met in Brussels with European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fule. They discussed future steps towards the closing of negotiations for Stabilisation and Association Agreement, visa liberalisations and implementation of mid-term priorities from the Feasibility Study.
Svarqa: We should not die in foreign wars (Koha Ditore)
Ferizaj mayor, Muharrem Svarqa, said on Tuesday he was concerned upon receiving the news that Blerim Heta, from the village of Varosh near Ferizaj, committed a suicide attack in Iraq killing 52 officers. Svarqa appealed that Kosovo Albanians should not go and fight there.
“It was never in our tradition to get killed in meaningless and foreign wars. Our people always fought national wars. The loss of our sons there is very painful because they have been deceived,” he added.
Svarqa also said that participating in such wars only stains Kosovo’s image and called for a greater role by the Islamic Community of Kosovo to unmask the indoctrination of youth.