UNMIK Headlines 28 January
Ivanovic wanted under war crimes charges (dailies)
Kosovo Serb leader Oliver Ivanovic was detained yesterday by EULEX under suspicion of involvement in war crimes against the Albanian civilian population in April 1999. He is suspected of taking part in the killing of tens of Albanians, including a 13 year-old. EULEX said Ivanovic voluntarily reported to the police station in Mitrovica North, where he was interviewed as a suspect by a EULEX prosecutor suspect. Following the interview, the prosecutor submitted a request for Ivanovic’s arrest but the court did not announce a decision by the time the papers went to press.
No agreement on Mitrovica court (Koha Ditore)
The 21st meeting between the Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia, for the normalisation of relations, ended on Monday evening in Brussels without agreement. Courts and police in the north were once again discussed, however, the positions of the parties were in a complete contradiction. Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi was the first to announce the news, stating that there is no agreement, even though progress was achieved. “We also discussed the manner of further functionalising the municipalities in the north, the selection of assemblies and mayors, as well as for the elections to be held for the Mitrovica mayor. According to the 19 April agreement, everything will be in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Kosovo. “We agreed for the next meeting to be held on 12 February,” said the Prime Minister.
Farewell meeting? (Lajm)
The meeting between the Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia on Monday evening in Brussels could be their last in their capacity as prime ministers, as Serbia has already declared early parliamentary elections. No new agreement will be reached at the meeting, “because Dacic will be more careful to use a patriotic tone on the eve of elections”. The paper also learns that Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic was present at the meeting and is seen as the favorite to win elections in Serbia.
Zbogar calls for election reform (Tribuna)
Samuel Zbogar, head of the European Union Office in Kosovo, said on Monday that a priority for the Kosovo Parliament in the first half of the year should be laws related to Kosovo’s European integration process, namely the Stabilization/Association Agreement. During their meeting on Monday, Parliament Speaker Jakup Krasniqi and Zbogar highlighted the need for closer coordination between the parties for the SAA. Krasniqi and Zbogar also spoke about election reform, with the latter saying that possible amendments to the respective law need to be in the service of free and fair elections.
Rasmussen: Notable progress in Kosovo (dailies)
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is quoted as saying that the Alliance will continue to support the implementation of the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia. “We have noted significant progress in Kosovo while NATO provided vital support for the normalisation of relations between Pristina and Belgrade,” said Rasmussen in a press conference ahead of NATO’s forthcoming summit.
Selling insurance policies in Jarinjë, Bërnjak begins 7 February (Koha Ditore)
Kosovo officials involved in the latest meeting with the Serbian party said that after a two year delay, Brussels agreed to finally start selling security policies on 7 February at the Jarinjë and Bënjak border points as part of the implementation of the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia. Even though the agreement on security policies was reached in the technical dialogue on 28 December, 2011, Serbia has delayed its implementation. Despite the announcement that the payment of security policies for vehicles that enter Kosovo from Serbia would begin 8 January, the Kosovo Government had to back off due to Belgrade’s objections.
They want “gentlemen’s agreement” (Tribuna)
Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Government Slobodan Petrovic said there was a gentlemen’s agreement with the leaders of Albanian political parties to extend for another two mandates the reserved seats for minority communities in Kosovo’s Parliament. Petrovic claims that the agreement was reached during the conclusion of Kosovo’s supervised independence. “We had a meeting with Quint representatives in Pristina. There was no signed agreement, but we had a political gentlemen’s agreement,” Petrovic said. He added that there is no firm position yet by institutions and leaders not to extend the mandate of reserved seats. “The Brussels Agreement is entirely about the integration of Serbs, especially in the north. Therefore, an agreement to extend reserved seats in parliament would encourage them even more to integrate.”
Opposition against Thaçi’ proposal (Epoka e Re)
Representatives of two opposition parties - Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and Vetëvendosje - are against Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi;s proposal to change the Constitution of Kosovo to include Montenegrins and Croatians. They stated that they are against the constitutional changes at this phase. Kosovo Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi also stated that the Constitution cannot be changed based on individual wills. The deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo stated that the Constitution has to be changed and that Prime Minister Thaçi carries obligations for Kosovo citizens.