• Army without an Air Force (Koha Ditore)
• EULEX attacked in Brnjak/Bërnjak (Koha Ditore)
• Hoxhaj: Dacic is not tough enough for me (Epoka e Re)
• Tribunal to deal only with Dick Marty’s report (Zeri)
• Switzerland on Kosovo’s side (Zeri)

Headlines - 26.04.2014

Army without an Air Force (Koha Ditore)

Based on the package for the changes of Laws, Kosovo Security Force will become a national military force with a mission of defending territorial sovereignty and integrity. Based on the draft law document that this daily claims to possess, Kosovo Armed Force will have an active component of maximum 5000 members, 3000 reserve members and it will be equipped with armament of defense character. The President of the state will have the competency to authorize sending of these forces to action during an emergency situation or to support peace outside Kosovo, after the approval by the Government or the Assembly. However, this army will lack the component of air forces, reports this daily.

 EULEX attacked in Brnjak/Bërnjak (Koha Ditore)

Two EULEX vehicles were attacked on Friday evening on their way to Brnjak/Bërnjak by gunfire resulting in material damage. “I can confirms that our vehicles were attacked by gunfire at around 20:00 hours, while they were on their way to border point 31,” said EULEX Spokesperson, Irina Guduljevic. She assured that no one was hurt, however she didn’t want to tell how many people were in these vehicles. She said that Mitrovica Task Force is investigating the case and that she cannot give further details at this stage.

Hoxhaj: Dacic is not tough enough for me (Epoka e Re)

Kosovo’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Enver Hoxhaj, said for Klan Kosova broadcaster that additional recognitions of Kosovo are expected soon. He said that some governments have already made the decision and are now awaiting final confirmation  of their parliaments respectively, presidents.

Speaking about Serbia’s counter-campaign , Hoxhaj said that Kosovo’s position has advanced significantly compare to the one after the declaration of independence. Speaking about the recently elected leadership in Serbia, Hoxhaj said that Serbia’s leadership has a serious past. “Their entire effort is to improve their damaged image. They do not have a major international support. Dacic is not tough enough for me. It is easy for me to deal with him or someone like him in my appearances, I would only remind him of his quotes in the nineties,” said Hoxhaj.

Tribunal to deal only with Dick Marty’s report (Zeri)

Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuci, said in an interview for this daily that the special court would establish even without the approval of official Pristina. He explained that Kosovo officials said “no” to this court several times, “however, the relations of Kosovo with the U.S. and EU were at stakes.” According to him, they also negotiated for the panel of this court to have both local and international members but this was refused. “What I know is that this court will deal only with the investigations of the Task Force. I want to explain for the public opinion that this court does not close the investigations on war or other crimes. Kosovo’s Special Prosecution will function, crimes committed by Serbs and others  against Albanians will be investigated. So this court regulates only the issues of the investigations presented in Dick Marty’s report,” said Kuci.

 Switzerland on Kosovo’s side (Zeri) 

The President of the Swiss Confederation, Didier Burkhalter, who is also Chairperson-in-Office at the OSCE, stated that Kosovo has made a significant progress and that Switzerland supports Kosovo’s vision for the future. He made these comments during the meeting with the President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga. He added that Swiss businesses want to make long-term investments in the region and that they consider strengthening of the rule of law to be a precondition for such a step. Burkhalter said that Switzerland will make efforts to integrate Kosovo in regional initiatives during its presiding mandate at OSCE. He also expressed readiness of OSCE to facilitate the next election process in Kosovo.