UNMIK Headlines 29 May
North threatens election boycott (Koha Ditore)
The paper reports on the front page that while Albanian political parties south of the Ibër/Ibar River have officially started their election campaigns, the Serb-inhabited northern municipalities have decided to do the opposite by stopping their electoral activities. Serbs are claiming that “decisions made by the Central Election Commission (CEC) are violating the law and rights of minority communities”. Northern Serbs say that the CEC decision to appoint voting center councils was not in accordance with the ethnic structure of the northern municipalities. Serb representatives are also against symbols of the “Republic of Kosovo” being included on the ballots for the upcoming elections. They say that if the CEC does not change its decisions they might opt not to take part in the elections.
1.7 million citizens eligible to vote (Lajm)
The Central Election Commission (CEC) certified on Wednesday the final list of voters for the 8 June general elections. The list contains 1,782,454 names of voters, divided into 38 municipalities. Based on civil registration records, 33,735 voters will have the right to vote for the first time. During the CEC meeting, the accreditation of 430 electoral observers was also certified.
Election campaign starts officially (Lajm)
The official campaign for the 8 June elections started in Kosovo, after the “pre-election campaign”. The Kosovo Assembly has 120 seats, but 20 are reserved for minority communities, including ten for Serbs and the rest for other non-Serb communities. The Central Election Commission (CEC) has certified 30 participating entities, including 18 political parties, seven civic initiatives, one independent candidate and four coalitions, with a total of 1,235 candidates running.
Radical Islam: the next strike against Kosovo (Zeri)
The paper notes that Serbia and other countries that don’t support Kosovo’s independence are using the participation of Albanians in the Syrian conflict to portray Kosovo as a country with terrorism problems. For the second time now, the participation of Kosovars in the conflict was discussed at the United Nations Security Council. Kosovo’s European Integration Minister, Vlora Citaku, said this is seriously damaging Kosovo’s image. “We knew from the beginning that our opponents would use this argument against Kosovo and will try to portray it as a source of terrorism. But the reality is completely different. The absolute majority of the people of Kosovo have a clear and strong pro-Western orientation. Our Assembly is also considering a law to prevent this worrying phenomenon,” Citaku said.
Cliff: Barricade should be removed (Epoka e Re)
The Ambassador of the United Kingdom in Kosovo, Ian Cliff, stated that the barricade at the Ibër/Ibar River is unfortunately becoming a tourist attraction as many visitors from the UK and other countries want to see it and take pictures there. But he added that, for the people in the north, the barricade is a psychological issue as well. He said the barricade should be removed and that people should be able to return to their properties, wherever they are.
Serbia violates agreement, funds education system (Koha Ditore)
The Government of Serbia has allocated €33,000 to fund pre-elementary schools in ten Serb-inhabited municipalities in Kosovo, despite the international agreement signed by Pristina and Belgrade to dissolve Serb parallel structures in Kosovo. Government officials in Pristina said they had not been informed about this. They said they would complain to Brussels about Belgrade’s action. “We will analyze this information and then we will raise it with the EU, which mediated the agreement and guarantees its implementation,” a senior political advisor to outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri told the paper.
Surroi: This government has run out of lies (Koha Ditore)
Publicist Veton Surroi said in an interview for KTV on Wednesday that another governing mandate for the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) would be suicide for Kosovo. “It would break the country’s back and it would prevent further development,” he said. Surroi argued that talks in Brussels were held in order to bring Serbia, and not Kosovo, closer to the European Union. “There can be no Stabilization and Association Agreement for Kosovo if the latter is not recognized by all EU member states. Kosovo stands no chance of catching up to Serbia in the process of EU membership,” he added.
Luxemburg values progress in Kosovo (Epoka e Re)
The Grand Duke of Luxemburg visited Kosovo on Wednesday, and during his meetings with President Atifete Jahjaga and Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj, he stated that Kosovo has achieved significant progress over the last few years. He added that his country is proud of the assistance it gave to Kosovo. President Jahjaga expressed gratitude to the Grand Duke for his country’s help on Kosovo’s integration process and continuing support for the EU’s enlargement policy in the region.