Headlines - 10.04.2013

Thaçi is ready for a new meeting in Brussels (Epoka e Re)

Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi said the dialogue remains the only reasonable option for the normalization of relations between Pristina and Belgrade, and expressed readiness to accept the invitation for a joint meeting in Brussels, which would be organized in the coming days from Baroness Catherine Ashton. “The failure of the dialogue should not be an option for Kosovo and Serbia. For this reason, I am remaining committed to accept any new invitation for a joint meeting in Brussels, which would be appointed by Ashton in the coming days,” said Thaçi for Belgrade newspaper Blic. 

Negotiating process back to zero (Zëri)

Analysts believe that talks between the prime ministers of Kosovo and Serbia are back to zero after Belgrade refused to sign the agreement for the normalization of relations between the two countries. Kosovo experts say that if Serbia doesn’t give up demands on executive and legislative competencies for the association of municipalities with a Serb majority, PM Thaçi has no other alternative but to refuse going to Brussels. 

Kurti: Good news may be ruined by Thaçi (Koha Ditore)

Leader of Vetëvendosje Albin Kurti called a press conference yesterday to speak about the failure of the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia. Kurti said this is good news but will be short-lived as Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi continues to believe that the dialogue is the only solution.

“Serbia rejected the agreement because it was insufficient to feed its appetites, not because it was favourable. The other reason is because it still has hopes for Thaçi, and hence it asked for more dialogue,” said Kurti.

Ivanovic: Pristina will be forced to accept executive competencies (Bota Sot)

Kosovo Serb political leader Oliver Ivanovic said Pristina will be forced to accept giving executive competencies to the association of Serb municipalities because the situation on the group indicates that Pristina has no power to convince local residents in the north to accept Kosovo institutions. Ivanovic told Telegrafi that the resumption of talks is necessary because Pristina, Belgrade, and Brussels are interested in political stability to build trust.

Hoxhaj: Serbia’s decision anti-European (Koha Ditore)

Kosovo Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj said that Serbia’s decision not to accept the European proposal for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is anti-European. “Serbia should give up from trying to create a “Republika Srpska” in Kosovo,” said Hoxhaj. 

Wikileaks: Thaçi pressured to bring PDK in Government (Koha Ditore)

The most recent cables published by “Wikileaks” note the headache PDK leader Hashim Thaçi gave Americans and other western representatives when his party was in the opposition. The cables describe several cases where Thaçi would use every method of blackmail to make PDK part of the Government. He was never considered until he won votes in 2007. “Both Rugova and Haradinaj are very much interested to cooperate and have good relations with the U.S. Of course, none of them needs us as much as Thaçi, who continues to believe that he personally liberated Kosovo. Ahead of the pre-election campaign, he is impatiently waiting to portray himself as somebody who has connections with the U.S. Government in Washington and the UN in New York. He will request public political support from U.S. officials,” wrote U.S. diplomat John Menzis, according to “Wikileaks”. 

President actively violates Constitution (Koha Ditore)

President Atifete Jahjaga is violating the Constitution as did former president Fatmir Sejdiu. However, the case with President Jahjaga is different, because the actions of Blerim Shala make the president violate the Constitution.

Shala was appointed by Jahjaga to the post of political coordinator for the normalization of relations with Serbia. Since 22 October, when he was appointed, Shala continued to be deputy and to receive a salary from the Assembly, from AAK as the deputy head of this party. And, since his appointment, he started receiving another salary from the Government.

A senior state official who wished to remain anonymous said there is a sufficient basis to “denounce” the case at the Constitutional Court. “The appointment did not constitute a violation of the Constitution. However, none of the goals of the appointment have been fulfilled because Mr. Shala does not represent the unity of the people. He does not represent the country in a legitimate way, nor can he guarantee the democratic functioning of the institutions of the Republic, as it is foreseen in articles 4.3, 83, 84.1, and 84.2 of the Constitution,” said the official who is a lecturer in the faculty of law. 

Reserved seats in Assembly remain applicable (Zëri)

Although state in Ahtisaari’s Package, Kosovo’s obligation to guarantee reserved seats for members of minority communities has ended; representatives of political parties are said to be reviewing the possibility of extending the provision of reserved seats for two more mandates. The request was originally presented by Serb political leaders but now it seems it has become the next compromise Kosovo has to make because of the north. As a result, the reservation of seats for communities in the Assembly will largely dependent on the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, but political parties have also proposed this right be granted to members of the Montenegrin and Croatian communities.

UN “converts” Albanians into Serbs (Tribuna)

90 Albanians that work as international staff members for the United Nations in several African countries were forced to declare themselves as Serbs if they want to keep their jobs. They have reportedly called on the UN to amend this but they received a negative reply from headquarters in New York.

“I worked in UNMIK after the war and in April 2008 I started working as an international staff member in Sudan. In 2008 we could register there as Albanians of Yugoslavia, but things have changed in the last couple of years and now we are obliged to declare ourselves as Serbs from Serbia,” Hysen Boroci told the paper.

A petition signed by Albanian staff members and sent to UN headquarters noted: “Everyone is entitled to their own nationality, as provided in the Universal Charter of Human Rights. We want our nationality to be recognized in the United Nations. We can no longer accept being identified with other nationalities that don’t correspond to our natural identity.” 

Intervention in north only through international coordination (Tribuna)

Security expert Nuredin Ibishi said during an interview that Kosovo should under no circumstance accept any break in the chain of command in police and justice, otherwise it would face similar problems as Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ibishi said Pristina has made several concessions in the dialogue and will have to make other in the event of an agreement.

“Ongoing incidents and the alleged disobedience of Serb illegal structures vis-à-vis Serbia are a farce because those structures are funded and led by the government of Serbia. These are games they play in the eyes of internationals to show that they won’t accept agreements that the Serbian government will sign in Brussels,” Ibishi said.

Asked if Serbia doesn’t accept the agreement does Kosovo have the capacities to bring the situation in the north under control by using force, Ibishi said, “I think even if the agreement is not reached, we should not rush. Every action or intervention in the north must be coordinated with our international partners. It is true that one should not allow the situation to remain frozen and tense. However, a careful approach is required.” 

Parallel structures of Shtërpcë support Serbia’s refusal (Koha Ditore)

The leader of parallel structures in Shtërpcë, Zvonko Mihajlovic, stated that he does not expect any turbulence after Belgrade’s refusal to sign the agreement with Pristina. He said that Brussels will continue to create false negotiations, which according to him “will not be bought.”

“It is the only reasonable decision that can be made at this time, because the offer was not given in writing and is not reliable. On the other hand, I know that this classic ultimatum, which aims at disbanding the remaining Serbian institutions in Kosovo and eventually the entire territory of Kosovo, will be handed to Pristina’s jurisdiction,” said Mihajlovic for Gracanica radio.