UNMIK Headlines 6 January
Americans & Brits “scold” opposition parties (Zeri)
The embassies of the United States and United Kingdom in Pristina reacted to statements by opposition parties that they would vote against the formation of the special court that will address war crimes allegations in Kosovo. American and British diplomats said the special court is a priority and that Kosovo’s Parliament must adopt the necessary legislation. Ian Cliff, the British Ambassador to Kosovo, said on Monday that he would raise the issue with opposition MPs and remind them that adopting the legislation for the special court is crucial for Kosovo’s image.
Rinkevics: Pristina & Belgrade should normalize relations (Zeri)
The chairman of the European Union Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics, called on Pristina and Belgrade on Monday to resume the dialogue process. “Latvia expects Serbia and Kosovo to continue working on normalizing relations at all levels, as per the Brussels Agreement. The high-level dialogue should resume soon, and the parties should accelerate the implementation of agreements that have been reached so far,” Rinkevics said.
Association of Serb municipalities to have executive competencies (Lajmi)
Aleksandar Jablanovic, leader of the Serbian List and Kosovo Minister for Communities and Returns, told Klan Kosova on Monday that the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities will have executive competencies. Jablanovic added that the participation of Kosovo Albanian attorneys in the drafting of the Association/Community’s statute would be acceptable to the Serbian side.
Serbian Minister to visit Kosovo on Orthodox Christmas (Zeri)
Aleksandar Vulin, the Serbian Government’s Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Policy, will visit the village of Zoqisht/Zociste in the municipality of Rahovec/Orahovac on Wednesday, to attend an Orthodox Christmas celebration. Vulin’s visit was announced by Kosovo’s Minister for Communities and Returns, Aleksandar Jablanovic, who will also attend the event. Citing unidentified sources, Lajmi reports that Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has cancelled his scheduled visit to Kosovo for Orthodox Christmas.
Kouchner defends Kosovo (Kosova Sot)
In a televised debate for the French public broadcaster France 2, the former head of UNMIK, Bernard Kouchner, rejected claims by one of the panelists that Kosovo is a failed country mired in crime and that its leaders are facing organ trafficking allegations. Kouchner said that the statements are untrue and that it was the Kosovo Parliament that had sought investigations into the organ trafficking allegations contained in the relevant Council of Europe report.