Headlines - 26.06.2015

Jahjaga: The special court, an international obligation (Bota Sot)

The President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga has requested once again from the Assembly of Kosovo to act on the establishment of the special court for war crimes, saying that it is an international obligation. Jahjaga made these comments during the meeting of the Ambassadors of Kosovo to discuss “The position of the Republic of Kosovo in relation with regional and global challenges.” The Assembly of Kosovo is expected to vote on the constitutional amendments which open way to the establishment of the special court today.

Source: Assembly vote in favour of special court, a done deal (Koha)

The paper on its front page quotes an unnamed source in the Kosovo Assembly as saying that today’s vote in favour of the establishment of the special court is a done deal. The source said at least 82 MPs will vote in favour of the constitutional amendments that pave the way for the special court. The paper also notes that the MPs will be under pressure from two sides today: on one hand, their political leaders and the international community expect them to vote in favour of the special court, while on the other hand, the opposition and the veterans associations expect them to reject it.

Opposition parties to attend Assembly session (Zeri)

Vetevendosje, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) have decided to attend today’s session of the Kosovo Assembly which is to vote on the constitutional amendments paving way for the establishment of the specialist chambers. The three opposition parties said their participation in the session is more pragmatic than boycotting it. However, they made it clear they would not vote in favour of the specialist chambers.

Opposition to join today’s protest (Kosova Sot)

Opposition parties Vetevendosje and Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) have come out in support of today’s Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) veterans’ protest against the establishment of the specialist chambers expected to be voted today by the Kosovo Assembly. Vetevendosje said a parallel justice system is being imposed on Kosovo and called on the people of Kosovo to join the protest.

EU steps up pressure on Pristina and Belgrade to reach agreement (Zeri)

The paper quotes an unnamed official in Brussels as saying that the EU has stepped up pressure on Pristina and Belgrade to reach an agreement on telecommunications, energy, the so-called Peace Park, and on the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. However, the source added that the Association/Community will not be established before an agreement on the first three issues is reached.

Assembly adopts resolution on demarcation with Montenegro (dailies)

All dailies cover yesterday’s session of the Kosovo Assembly on the border demarcation with Montenegro. After the debate that lasted over three hours, the Assembly adopted a resolution on the border demarcation. The document provides that the administrative borderline between the two countries should be in line with the 1974 Constitution and the current Constitution of Kosovo. Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci assured the MPs that Kosovo would not lose a single square meter from the demarcation process. The opposition MPs meanwhile warned that Kosovo risks losing thousands of hectares and blamed the government for letting in on the matter. Opposition MPs even criticized Thaci for having no problem “giving away land to Montenegro, the same way he is doing with Serbia”.

State Department criticizes limitations in free movement in Kosovo (Koha)

The latest human rights report by the United States’ State Department notes that the biggest problems in the area of human rights in Kosovo in 2014 have been actions to block the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, most notably road blocks by Kosovo Serbs in Mitrovica North and the limitations to the free movement of Serb Orthodox pilgrims. The violence and social discrimination against members of ethnic minority communities, people with special needs and members of the LGBT community were ranked as the second biggest concern, while domestic violence against women was ranked as the third biggest problem.

O’Connell: Justice system has not marked expected results (Epoka e Re)

Kosovo’s Institute for Justice, supported by the British Embassy in Pristina, organized a roundtable on “Assessment of the implementation of the action plan for increase of the efficiency of the prosecution system on fighting corruption.” The British Ambassador to Kosovo, Ruairi O’Connell, said that Kosovo continues to have problems and serious challenges in fighting the corruption. He also said that the justice system has not done enough to prevent this phenomenon. “We are seeing a result which tells that the justice system has not marked the expected results against corruption,” Ruairi said.

Senior EULEX officials interfere in the judiciary (Koha)

In a front-page story, the paper reports that Malcolm Simons, the President of the EULEX Assembly of Judges, in cooperation with prosecutors of this mission, has allegedly interfered in the work of the judge Anna Adamska-Galant, cancelling one of her decisions. Adamska-Galant is the presiding judge in the Naser Kelmendi case. She ordered Kelmendi’s transfer from the high-security prison to the Dubrava prison, citing the defendant’s health problems. The order was cancelled two days later following the interference of senior EULEX officials. The latter said the high-security prison in Podujevo was closer to Pristina than Dubrava, in the event of an emergency. However, a correspondence between EULEX officials, which the paper claims to possess, reveals that they did not want to send Kelmendi to Dubrava prison because of the presence of high-profile inmates there.

Drenas municipality supports Catholic community in Llapushnik (Zeri)

Drenas/Glogovac municipal assembly has given support to the Catholic community in Llapushnik for the continued construction of the cemetery in the village. The municipality explained that the land in question was purchased by the Catholic Church in Kosovo in one of the privatization rounds. Out of 30 municipal councilors present at the voting, only one opposed the decision to permit the Catholic community to continue the construction works. Drenas/Glogovac Mayor Nexhat Demaku said the municipal assembly has no right to decide on property which is owned by someone else. “As a municipality we have no right to get drawn into inter-religious debates. We also have no moral right to deny them the right to build in their property”, said Demaku.