Headlines - 20.11.2013

United Nations Security Council holds session on Kosovo (dailies)
All dailies cover yesterday’s session of the United Nations Security Council on Kosovo. Koha Ditore notes that Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic accused the government in Pristina of failing to respect the agreements reached in Brussels. Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said the November 3 local elections have eliminated all eventual tendencies for the territorial division of Kosovo or its federalization along ethnic lines. Thaci said Kosovo was highly committed to have a free and democratic process with mass turnout by citizens.

Tribuna reports that UN member states have called for continued dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade aimed at normalizing relations between the two countries and integrating the northern part of Kosovo.

The paper quotes Thaci as saying that Kosovo appreciates the contribution of UNMIK but that the Security Council should consider transforming UNMIK into a political office of the United Nations. “The Republic of Kosovo appreciates the colossal contribution, being that this is one of the most successful stories in the history of the United Nations. However, I need to reiterate our position that the time has come for the Security Council to consider transforming the mission of UNMIK into a UN political office,” Thaci said.

Russian Ambassador Vitali Churkin criticized the work of UNMIK, namely the speech of its chief in Kosovo. Churkin said UNMIK needs to be the main authority in Kosovo, especially in the north.

Zeri quotes Thaci as saying that Kosovo will forever be an independent country with a European perspective and that the Association of Serb Municipalities will not have legislative or executive competencies. “It will not be a replacement for municipal assemblies and the responsibilities of municipalities will not be transferred to this association,” he added.

Thaci is quoted on the front page of Epoka e Re as saying that the November 3 local elections were a victory for the people, a victory for all political entities and a victory for the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo”. The paper also quotes Dacic as saying that Serbia will not recognize Kosovo’s independence because it was declared unilaterally.

Under the front-page headline Thaci and Dacic exchange accusations at the UN, Kosova Sot reports that Thaci accused hardline extremist groups for incidents during elections in northern Kosovo, whereas Dacic blamed Kosovo for obstructing the implementation of agreements.

Bota Sot reports that UN chief Ban Ki-moon has praised Kosovo and Serbia for their talks in Brussels.

Kuçi: Dialogue to end in a peace treaty (Epoka e Re)
Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuçi confirmed to the paper that the prime ministers of Kosovo and Serbia are to meet in Brussels on 5 December. He said he believed the dialogue will end in a peace treaty between the two countries. “Things are going in that direction”, added Kuçi.

Jacobson: PTK privatisation cannot fail (Epoka e Re, Tribuna)
US Ambassador to Kosovo Tracey Ann Jacobson said in an interview for RTV 21 that privatisation of Kosovo Post and Telecom cannot fail. “It is up to Kosovo to decide, the Assembly and the Government. I am not here to instruct but I can say that if this process fails, it will be a very bad sign for Kosovo and its journey forward”, she said.

Speaking about relations with Vetëvendosje movement, Jacobson said she would meet its officials when they change their approach to the work of the Assembly and other state institutions. “If they back down from these tactics, I would be happy to meet them”, the US ambassador noted further.

She also said that general elections in Kosovo should be organized six months after conclusion of election reform. “We have heard being said that elections will take place in June. If this is the case, then the reform should conclude by the end of December, at the latest”, said Jacobson.

Kosovo Serbs under heavy pressure from Serbia (Koha)
The paper reports on the front page that after what they experienced in the last two months, Kosovo Serbs have forgotten about the regimes of Tito and Milosevic. Local Serbs are now talking about a much harsher regime that they faced especially during the campaign for local elections and even after the election process. According to local Serbs, they were under pressure from Serbia’s structures that operate illegally in their municipalities which tried to secure as much votes as possible for the Serbian List. Serbs criticized Kosovo institutions for failing to support them and for cooperating with Serbian illegal structures. Serbs from the municipalities of Partesh, Gracanica and Ranillug have submitted evidence on what they call “terror” against them. Fearing reprisal, they did not mention any names, but they did submit official documents and video recordings to the paper to support their claims.

Belgrade interfered in elections formally and informally (Koha)
In an interview for the paper, Slobodan Petrovic, leader of the Serb Liberal Party (SLS) and Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, says that internationals ignored complaints by the SLS for the formal and informal interference of Belgrade in Kosovo elections.

“Belgrade interfered formally and informally in the election process, especially during election campaign and not only by favoring one list and certain candidates. We reported on individual cases of interference in the elections, but ultimately we realized that there is no effect and we gave up because the international community was not willing to take into account our remarks,” Petrovic said.

Petrovic added that members and candidates of his party were under pressure, while their Serb political opponents enjoyed the open support of the Government of Serbia. He also said that he was happy with results in the first round of local elections. The SLS received 9,000 votes and believes it will win posts of mayors in three municipalities.

EPCA’s official decision on Zvecan revote (Koha)
Koha Ditore reports that Elections Panel for Complaints and Appeals has partly accepted the complaint of Civil Initiative of Oliver Ivanovic branch in Zvecan, for supposed violation of the law on local elections, which has impacted on the regularity of elections, the right of the citizens for participation and the final result. Based on the decision of the Election Panel for Complaints and Appeals, CEC has been guided to repeat voting in three polling stations, in which are registered 2.595 voters. The complaint has been approved only for these three polling stations, which lacked the voters list after the end of elections of 3 November.

Facebook recognizes Kosovo independence (Zeri)
The paper reports that the leading social network in the world, Facebook, has recognized Kosovo as a sovereign state and has included it in its system as any other state in the world. The news was confirmed by the Government of Kosovo, referring to announcement that Prime Minister Thaci received from Facebook headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. The Kosovo Government said in a release that the inclusion in Facebook will provide Kosovars and Kosovo businesses with the same opportunities as other countries. Thaci, who was in close contact with different internet global corporations over the last couple of months, said, “the Kosovo Government has invested in digital diplomacy, with the aim of enabling Kosovars to enjoy the same services and products as all citizens with access to digital services”.

Media managers speak in confidentiality to the EU (Tribuna)
Managers of the leading media outlets in Kosovo have complained over the political system in the country and told the EU observation mission officials that the situation of the media is difficult not only due to financial reasons but also because of political acts.

Some of the media representatives defined Thaçi-led government as being corrupt. “It is arrogance to run in local elections with ten candidates that are under investigations”, said one representative. They also alleged that the public broadcaster, RTK, is completely under the influence of the ruling party saying the news edition there “begin and end with Thaçi”.