Ethnic court in the north undermines Kosovo’s sovereignty (Koha Ditore)

The former head of UNMIK Legal Office Alexander Borg Olivier said the Kosovo Government should not accept a special Basic Court to function only for four municipalities in the north. Such a practice would imply acceptance of the division of Kosovo along ethnic lines and lead to a non-uniform and dual justice system.

The lawyer, who also served for some time as advisor to the prime minister, emphasised that a doubled justice system would be created in such a situation, based on ethnic consideration. According to him, this law should be applied consistently throughout Kosovo.

Serbia is insisting that the Mitrovica region be divided in half, like in the case of the police. The Kosovo side expects only one basic court in the north to be valid for four Serb and three Albanian municipalities. The Kosovo Government expects that on 12 February, when Prime Ministers Hashim Thaçi and Ivica Dacic meet in Brussels, the agreement with Serbia will be achieved.

Thaçi: I hope agreement on courts will be reached (Koha Ditore)

Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi is optimistic that the agreement with Serbia on functionalising the courts in Mitrovica region will be reached on 12 February. “I hope the agreement will be reached,” said Thaçi during a visit to the Mitrovica Olympic Stadium. “I spoke with Baroness Catherine Ashton on Monday in Munich. We have the full support of the EU and the U.S.,” he said.

Thaçi also commented on his statement on the reconciliation of Albanians and Serbs. “We are not the first nations to have fought each other. The war in Kosovo was against Serbia’s presence in Kosovo. Kosovo is free, independent and sovereign. It is in interest of Albanians and Serbs [to have] peace, stability and a Euro-Atlantic spirit. To integrate in NATO and EU as two sovereign countries, as soon as possible,” said Thaçi.

Elections to take place, modalities to be determined (Zëri)

Serbs will be allowed to vote in Kosovo for Serbia’s parliamentary elections on 16 March; OSCE is expected to handle the operational aspects. A senior Serbian Government official stated that discussions are underway regarding the organisation of elections, namely in the Kosovo municipalities in which they will be held. The stickiest point, the source added, is how the ballots will look and where they will be counted. Another issue that needs to be determined is whether there will be an election campaign in Kosovo or not. Earlier, Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic announced that Belgrade will not give up having elections take place in Kosovo as well. He said the issue will be raised at the forthcoming UN Security Council session on Kosovo next week.

Deputies against Serbia’s elections in Kosovo (Koha Ditore)

Deputies of the Assembly of Kosovo objected holding Serbia’s elections in Kosovo. Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi stated that this would mean double sovereignty for Kosovo. “We are not completely informed about the agreements reached in Brussels, but if Serbia’s elections are held in Kosovo, then those in the know should explain whether the situation is a double sovereignty or not,” said Krasniqi. Head of the LDK Parliamentary Group Ismet Beqiri added that if this happens, then Prime Minister Thaçi will be requested to offer clarification. AAK deputy, Burim Ramadani, stated that this is an important issue that will be explained as soon as it is clarified for Kosovo leaders.

Government to fall in March, elections in June (Bota Sot)

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) plans to overthrow the current PDK-led government by introducing a motion of mistrust at the Assembly. The motion is expected to be put to a vote in March and pave the way for general elections in June.

A senior LDK official told the paper that the party has recently carried out a confidential poll, which indicated that LDK is the leading political party in Kosovo and enjoys 6 percent more votes than PDK. This allows LDK to seek parliamentary elections by the end of June, the official said.

Next week talks about the code (Kosova Sot)

Kosova Sot reports that the delegation of Kosovo lead by Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri next week will take part in the regular meeting for telecommunication issues in Brussels. “The issue of telecommunication is in the drafting an action plan for the implementation of the agreement phase; the final phase. Meanwhile, regarding the telephone code, the European Union, which is assisting Kosovo in receiving the code, is preparing modalities,” said Tahiti. She is optimistic that the action plan could be finalised soon to open the path for the implementation of the telecom agreement.

Kuçi and Blomeyer discussed EULEX transformation (Epoka e Re)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice Hajredin Kuçi met with German Ambassador in Kosovo Peter Blomeyer on Monday to discuss the transformation of EULEX. They both agreed that EULEX should completely engage on strengthening local capacities. Minister Kuçi valued the cooperation of the German Embassy with Kosovo institutions, especially with the Ministry of Justice.

Germany supports reserved seats (Tribuna)

Germany’s deputy ambassador to Kosovo, Mathias Kiesler, reconfirmed his support in extending the mandate for reserved seats at the Kosovo Assembly for community members. “We support reserved seats but, ultimately, the decision lies with the parliament as to what system best suits,” said Kiesler. In a statement for RTK, Kiesler also said that the normalisation of relations with Kosovo is a condition for Serbia’s EU accession, and this is also clearly specified in the European Union documents.

Pressure for rector’s resignation grows (dailies)

All papers report on yesterday’s student protest in Pristina, which called for the resignation of the University of Pristina rector, Ibrahim Gashi. Koha Ditore reports that there were several hundred students joined by representatives of civil society protesting against Gashi. The students marched from their dormitories to the rectory building demanding the immediate resignation of Gashi and investigations of UP.  Meanwhile, Kosovo Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi announced that the situation at UP will be discussed in Thursday’s session, calling on political parties not to interfere in the independence of the University.

Kiesler: Government should not make Trepça public property (Koha)

Koha Ditore reports that German Deputy Ambassador in Kosovo, Mathias Kiesler, advised that the Kosovo Government should not make Trepça public property. Kiesler advised the Minister of Economic Development, Fadil Ismajli during a discussion organised by the Kosovar Consortium of Civil Society for Sustainable Development (KOSID), which presented a study on Trepça ownership.

Before discussing Trepça, noted Kiesler, studies should be done on the assets, the underground wealth and the social and environmental influences. “Trepça should not become public property without studies done by an international company, which will be engaged by Kosovo Privatization Agency,” said Kiesler.

The German Deputy Ambassador raised the issue of the functionality of half of this company. He said closer cooperation should exist with the northern part and called on the Government to go to the north.