Headlines - 29.06.2015

Thaci: We will establish special court next time around (Zeri)

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci said he still believes Kosovo Assembly will establish the specialist chambers although in the last session some of his party’s MPs voted against. In an interview for Tirana-based Top Channel, Thaci said Friday’s vote against the court was disappointing but that the government of Kosovo has decided to resubmit the motion to the Assembly but added that they are looking into legal possibilities on how to do so as this is the first time that constitutional amendments did not receive two-thirds of votes.

Haradinaj: We will establish the court on our own (Zeri)

In a press conference yesterday, leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj said that he doesn’t want a court to be established by the international community. “The decision not to vote for the court, despite all sorts of interpretations, ultimately conveyed the message that Kosovo does not want a foreign court for Kosovo. Kosovo wants a Kosovo court”, said Haradinaj. He said that the UN and finally the EU had the opportunity to help Kosovo in the field of the judiciary but had failed to do so and it is now Kosovo’s turn to decide on its own. Haradinaj also said that it is impossible for the constitutional amendments for establishment of the specialist chambers to be put to a re-vote at the Assembly and that Prime Minister Isa Mustafa is aware of this.

US says Kosovo war crimes trial at mercy of Russia (Indeksonline/Globalnews)

The Pristina-based news site Indeksonline re-runs an article originally published by Globalnews which says that the United States of America will not block Russia’s attempts to establish a United Nations tribunal to investigate allegations that Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian wartime leaders killed hundreds of Serbs civilians. The country’s lawmakers rejected amendments to the constitution to allow a Western-backed court deal with the claims. The U.S. Embassy in Kosovo said in a statement on Saturday it was “deeply disappointed” by Friday’s vote.

Human Rights Watch chief reacts to special court vote (Koha)

The paper notes that among foreign officials criticizing Kosovo’s refusal to establish the special court is Kenneth Roth, the executive director of the Human Rights Watch. “Kosovo happy to be rescued from Serb war crimes, but blocks the special court about its own,” Roth wrote on his Twitter account.

EU counts on “Merkel factor” for a successful dialogue (Koha)

The paper reports on its front page that the new round of talks between Kosovo and Serbia at the level of Prime Ministers will begin in Brussels today. European Union officials in Brussels said they hope that the meeting, which is expected to start in the morning and last until the afternoon, will produce concrete results. European diplomats also believe that Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and Aleksandar Vucic will realize that they need to achieve concrete results before their respective meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and prove that they are truly committed to the normalization of relations.

Belgrade to insist on establishment of Association/Community (Zeri)

Ahead of today’s meeting of Kosovo and Serbia prime ministers in Brussels, the paper reports on the front page that expectations in Pristina and Belgrade are quite high with regards to the outcome of the meeting. However, while the Pristina delegation hopes to get agreement on Kosovo’s dialing code and energy, Belgrade expects to establish the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities by the end of the meeting. Head of Pristina negotiating team Edita Tahiri said from Brussels that the Association/Community will not have executive powers and the Serb side had to dissolve illegal structures in the north as a precondition to the establishment of the Association/Community, which has not happened yet.

Jablanovic: The Association/Community will not be an NGO (Telegrafi)

Aleksandar Jablanovic, the leader of the Serbian List, said on Sunday that the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities will not be a non-governmental organization. “Pristina has assumed the obligation to establish the Association. The Kosovar legislation does not recognize the term ‘Community’, which means that it needs to be amended in order to enable the establishment of the Association. The Association will certainly not be an NGO. Its competencies will depend on the agreement in Brussels and its brokers, the European Union and the United States of America,” Jablanovic said.

EU and Kosovo to condition Serbia with Presevo Valley (Epoka e Re)

Representatives of the Presevo Valley have requested from officials in Pristina to condition implementation of the agreements with Serbia with the advancing of the rights of Albanians in Serbia. The leader of the Albanian National Council, Jonuz Musliu, has also requested from the European Union to condition Serbia’s integration process with the improvement of the general situation in the Presevo Valley. He also stressed their continuous request to participate in the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. “We are not requesting arms or war, but to be part of the dialogue process which opens way to peace and stability in the region. We in the Presevo Valley have troubles, especially due to Serbia’s much bigger problems with Serbs in Kosovo, who are in any case being privileged by the internationals, and consequently ignoring Albanians’ requests be it by Belgrade or by the internationals, could be paid with a high price,” said Musliu.