UNMIK Headlines 20 May
Minister Jevtic calls on Kosovo Government to assist Serbia (Koha)
Kosovo’s Minister for Communities and Returns, Dalibor Jevtic, together with his colleagues in the ministry have launched an initiative to come to the aid of the people in Serbia who are facing terrible floods. “During a meeting of our cabinet we decided to allocate funds from our budget to help them with what they need. We will be sending food and hygiene packages and other necessary things as aid to the people of Serbia,” Jevtic said after meeting EU Representative in Kosovo, Samuel Zbogar, on Monday.
Jevtic said this was a personal initiative by people working in the Ministry for Communities and Returns. “I don’t need anyone’s permission when I want to help someone, when I decide to give my salary for something,” he added.
Jevtic also called on his colleagues in the Kosovo Government and all other institutions to come to Serbia’s aid and help it overcome the difficult situation.
Hoxhaj expresses condolences to Serbian counterpart (Tribuna)
Foreign Minister of Kosovo Enver Hoxhaj has expressed condolences to his counterparts in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ivica Dacic and Zlatko Lagumdzija, for the loss of their citizens’ lives from flooding. Hoxhaj posted his message on Twitter and while Bosnia’s Lagumdzija responded quickly and thanked Hoxhaj, Dacic did not reply to the post.
Uncertainties regarding reserved seats (Tribuna)
The debate regarding reserved seats for minority communities just before the Assembly of Kosovo was dissolved is set to make a comeback during the election campaign, reports the paper. This is due to disagreements within Kosovo institutions in interpretation of the notion “reserved seats”. A senior Kosovo official said that some think that minority communities will have a fixed number of seats, namely 20, following upcoming elections while others believe communities stand to win even more than 20 seats, if the turnout of the members of communities is high. “This will cause troubles in the coming days as the members of the Serb community, who are now mobilising for elections, will insist on getting more than 10 seats”, the source said.
Serbs want 15 seats in the assembly (Zeri)
United and with assistance from Belgrade, Kosovo Serb politicians will try to secure 15 seats in the Kosovo Assembly after the 8 June parliamentary elections. Minority communities in Kosovo now have only 10 guaranteed seats, as the mandate of 10 reserved seats has expired. “We need 15 seats in the Assembly of Kosovo, because any Albanian party that wins the elections will then have to make a coalition with Serbs. Serbs need to be there in order to prevent the adoption of laws that are not in their interests,” Milovan Drecun, chairman of the Serbian Parliament’s committee for Kosovo, said on Monday.
Polls: LDK first, PDK, Vetevendosje, AAK and AKR follow (Bota Sot)
The paper reports that according to LDK polls, the party is going to come out the first in forthcoming elections and will have 2 percent more votes than the second party, PDK which has been damaged a great deal since Fatmir Limaj and Jakup Krasniqi formed their own party. The third largest party, according to the LDK poll, is Vetevendosje which is expected to be followed by AAK and the Initiative for Kosovo while AKR will win somewhere around 5 percent which is also the election threshold.
Mustafa and Pacolli mobilize forces against Thaci (Zeri)
The paper reports on the front page that LDK leader Isa Mustafa and AKR leader Behgjet Pacolli will meet today in Pristina to determine the modalities of their post-election cooperation. Unnamed sources told the paper that Ramush Haradinaj’s Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and the Initiative led by Jakup Krasniqi and Fatmir Limaj are expected to join the initiative launched by Mustafa and Pacolli to send Thaci and his PDK in the opposition.
Pacolli puts his name at the bottom of the list (Tribuna)
New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) leader Behgjet Pacolli has put his name at the bottom of the party’s list of candidates running in 8 June elections. He said this was one of his old goals. “It is my wish to show respect and appreciation for the people I work with”, said Pacolli.
“Drenica Group” to be transferred to Mitrovica (Lajm)
Former KLA commanders facing a trial on war crimes charges will be transferred in the prison of Mitrovica North, confirmed defence lawyer Tahir Rrecaj. Sylejman Selimi, Sami Lushtaku and others will be transferred to the prison which is administered from Serbs of this part of Kosovo. It is expected that lawyers will appeal the decision of the Court in Mitrovica. The so-called Drenica group is in detention for almost one year and is expected to appear before a judicial body on 22 May in Mitrovica North. Their lawyers have requested an earlier trial date and also have demanded the proceedings take place in Pristina instead of Mitrovica.
Kosovo establishes diplomatic relations with Republic of Vanuatu (Lajm)
Agreement for establishment of diplomatic relations between Kosovo and Vanuatu has been signed at the Embassy of Kosovo in Brussels by the Kosovo ambassador and the ambassador of Vanuatu in Belgium. As Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports, the act of signing diplomatic relations opens a new chapter of building bilateral relations and offers perspective in widening of cooperation between Kosovo and Vanuatu. Republic of Vanuatu is located in the South Pacific Ocean and has recognized Kosovo on 28 April 2008.
Chetnik symbols in the Albanian school in the north (Epoka e Re)
Unidentified persons have broken the doors of the Albanian school “Aziz Sylejmani” in Kodra e Minatorve, Mitrovica North and have written in the classroom blackboards Chetnik symbols, said sources of Kosovapress. “Samo Sloga Srbina Spasava,” which means “Only Unity Saves the Serb” is the inscription that has been left in the classrooms of this school. Flamur Gacaferri, director of this school, expressed concern with the act saying that for 15 years they didn’t have such troubles. According to him, the school did not work on Monday because of investigations carried out by the police.
Auda: Kosovars should not go to war in Syria (dailies)
Several dailies quote Jasser Auda, renowned Muslim scholar and professor at the Qatar Islamic Faculty in Doha, saying that Kosovars should in no way take part in the fighting in Syria. “Your youth should stay away from this. The Arab world is a very complex place. The war in Syria is a very complex war. No Kosovar should be involved in the fighting in Syria,” Auda said during a visit to Pristina on Monday.