Headlines - 12.02.2014

Jahjaga rejects Haradinaj’s request for early elections (dailies)

Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga rejected AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj’s request for talks between political parties for early parliamentary elections. In her reply to Haradinaj’s letter, Jahjaga said laws determine the organisation and timeframe of elections. “I thank you for your cooperation and remain committed to implementing my constitutional role to ensure the democratic functioning of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo,” Jahjaga wrote in her letter.

Haradinaj replied immediately, saying in an interview for Klan Kosova that it is the president’s responsibility to summon political parties. “A solution needs to be found for this situation; Thaci’s government lacks the majority in parliament,” Haradinaj said.

In another interview for RTK, Haradinaj said he did not call on Jahjaga to declare early elections. “I did not specify early elections. I called for consultations between political parties and for a joint decision for the current situation. I understand the position of the President and her reply. I more or less expected this. These are sensitive topics. But everything begins with the President. Then we need to ask for assistance and commitment from all other stakeholders,” Haradinaj said.

LDK does not rule out coalition with Limaj (Tribuna)

Ismet Beqiri, head of the parliamentary group of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), said on Tuesday that his party is ready for parliamentary elections. Beqiri said LDK would not enter a coalition with PDK, but did not rule out a coalition with Fatmir Limaj’s new political party. “LDK might form coalitions with new political parties. Limaj’s party could be one of them, you never know,” Beqiri added.

EU: Issue of missing persons needs to be resolved (Tribuna)

Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said on Tuesday that the fate of missing persons from the 1999 conflict in Kosovo needs to be resolved. “The issue of missing persons is carefully observed. There is a working group led by the International Committee of the Red Cross that is working on the matter. There are multiple efforts in this direction and these cases need to be resolved,” Kocijancic said, in response to media inquiries following an Amnesty International report which called for the resolution of the fate of 1,716 missing persons from the conflict in Kosovo.

Government: We won’t allow character of Association to be changed (Koha)

Following accusations by Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic that authorities in Pristina are delaying the establishment of the Association of Serb majority municipalities, Kosovo Government officials said on Tuesday that Serbia’s attempts to change the character, role and competencies of the association are useless. Bekim Çollaku, top advisor to Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, told Koha Ditore that there is no need to change laws for the establishment of the association. “Accusations by the Serbian Prime Minister that we are allegedly delaying the implementation are completely groundless,” Çollaku said.

Rexhepi: non-recognising EU member states not preventing visa liberalisation (dailies)

Kosovo Interior Affairs Minister Bajram Rexhepi said the five non-recognising member states of the European Union are not preventing visa liberalisation for Kosovo citisens. Rexhepi said countries with the largest number of asylum seekers from Kosovo are the ones preventing the visa liberalisation process. Rexhepi made these remarks during his report to the parliamentary committee for European integration.

Hoxhaj asks support from Belgium, Romania, Slovenia, Latvia and Portugal (Botapress)

During their visit to Brussels, Kosovo Foreign Affairs Minister Enver Hoxhaj and European Integration Minister Vlora Çitaku met with the foreign ministers of Belgium, Romania, Slovenia, Latvia, and Portugal. Hoxhaj said two key topics were discussed at the meetings: support for finalising SAA negotiations with the EU and the visa liberalisation process.

Borchardt: We’re not conducting politically-motivated investigations (Botapress)

EULEX head Bernd Borchardt, in an interview for Jeta ne Kosove, rejected accusations by both Albanians and Serbs that EULEX is a politically-motivated mission. “This is an assumption that I don’t understand. When EULEX arrested the mayor of Skenderaj, there were claims that this is part of a political agenda against the Kosovo Liberation Army. When EULEX arrested the candidate for Mitrovica mayor, there were claims that this is an anti-Serb agenda,” Borchardt said.

Two U.S. nationals testify about attack from terrorist suspects (Koha)

Under strong security measures, six suspects appeared on Tuesday before the Basic Court in Pristina. In the hearing, which lasted until the late evening hours, two American citisens testified via video conference on having been attacked by two of those arrested, Bekim Mulolli and Nyredin Sylejmani. The seven persons accused were arrested in November 2013 and have since been in detention. They are suspected of planning a terrorist act against two U.S. nationals in Pristina.

Tadic’s party with branches in Kosovo (Koha)

The New Democratic Party (NDS), led by former Serbian President Boris Tadic, established steering committees in Serb-inhabited areas in Kosovo. Goran Bogdanovic, former member of the Democratic Party (DS) who recently joined Tadic’s party, said former DS branches in Leposavic, Klina, Obilic, Lipjan, and Gjilan have collectively joined NDS. Bogdanovic said the NDS in Kosovo would engage in protecting the interests of the Serb community and create conditions for inter-ethnic trust, reconciliation and coexistence between Serbs and Albanians.