Headlines - 20.10.2015

Mustafa and Thaci: There is no political crisis (dailies)

Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa and Deputy Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, yesterday met President Atifete Jahjaga to discuss a possible dialogue with the opposition in an attempt to resolve the current situation in the Assembly. After the meeting, Mustafa and Thaci said that there is no political crisis in Kosovo but only an attempt to obstruct the work of institutions with violent means. Mustafa said that his party supports any initiative by the President to resolve the situation created in the Assembly, but that in his opinion, the opposition should be served only through constitutional and legal methods. Thaci said the Kosovo government will honor all the agreements reached so far. Thaci invited the opposition parties to debate in the Assembly, saying that the opposition should not hinder Kosovo in important processes that are going on currently. “These are very important days for Kosovo. We expect the voting on Kosovo’s bid to join UNESCO, the signing of the SAA, the application to join Interpol and the visa liberalization process. We invite the opposition parties that instead of creating barriers, to contribute to these processes,” Thac said. The opposition parties confirmed that they will meet President Jahjaga today but reiterated that they would not withdraw their demands. 

Ymeri: Agreements are being implemented unilaterally (Epoka e Re)

Leader of Vetevendosje movement, Visar Ymeri, has criticized the government of Kosovo for implementing the agreements reached with Serbia in a unilateral manner. He said that such implementation is very harmful for Kosovo. According to him, there cannot be agreements reached by two states and implemented by only one of them. Ymeri also criticized the government about the agreement for the removal of the barricade on the River Iber. “It (the barricade) continues to remain there, except that the EU now covered it with a metallic fence, with the justification that it will start works for its revitalization,” Ymeri said. 

Negotiations underway about special court’s location (Koha Ditore)

While the Kosovo authorities have not revealed any of the steps they are undertaking regarding the setting up of the special court, the EU Office in Kosovo confirmed that the first step in enabling the functioning of the court is the finalization of negotiations with the country that would be host to the court’s headquarters.  The EU also confirmed that negotiations are already underway between the Kosovo and the Dutch authorities but that any further detail on the matter would have to be requested from the parties in question.

Mustafa: Decision on visa liberalization, in December (Epoka e Re)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, stated that December will be the month when the decision for liberalization of visas for Kosovo will be made. He informed municipality mayors that Kosovo has fulfilled all the criteria for this process. He added that only some recommendations regarding the repatriation remain to be fulfilled, explaining that Kosovo has so far repatriated 17,000 people and it has brought back the situation of migration under control. 

Support for Kosovo to join UNESCO (Zeri)

The paper reports that the proposal for Kosovo's membership in UNESCO is expected to be voted at the three-day meeting of the organisation’s Executive Council which starts today. However, for a few days now, Father Sava Janjic from the Decani Monastery, launched a campaign in social networks against Kosovo with the slogan "No to Kosovo in UNESCO". The US Ambassador to Kosovo, Greg Delawie, reacted to these statements, saying that Kosovo in UNESCO is necessary and important for the protection of cultural heritage. Meanwhile, over 30 media owners from Kosovo sent a letter to the UNESCO general director, Irina Bokova, in support for Kosovo's membership in this organization. 

Deputy Minister Gecaj pelted with eggs (Zeri)

Vetevendosje activists threw eggs on Monday at Bajram Gecaj, Deputy Minister of Local Government Administration. "The violence and police brutality against opposition activists in police stations will not stop us at any moment. We will make the politician’s lives uncomfortable,” read a statement from Vetevendosje, adding that Gecaj was attacked after he reacted to Vetevendosje activists attack at the Prime Minister Isa Mustafa’s property few weeks ago. Gecaj said that “every anarchist movement began with attacks with eggs, teargas, scalpels and then it went to knives and from knives to weapons.” 

KP launches investigations into allegations of police misconduct (Koha Ditore)

The Kosovo Police (KP) has launched investigations into allegations that its officers used excessive force in detaining two Vetevendosje activists arrested on suspicion that they were preparing an attack on the Prime Minister Isa Mustafa’s motorcade. KP said in a statement that the police inspectorate is looking into the allegations of possible misconduct on the part of the police that handled the case. Vetevendosje said the two activists, detained in the morning and released later in the day, were brutally beaten by the police, including the commander of the police station in downtown Pristina.

Kurti’s arrest without warrant, human right violation (Telegrafi)

Kosovo Ombudsperson, Hilmi Jashari, in an interview for KTV said that if reports that the former Vetevendosje leader and MP Albin Kurti was arrested without a warrant are true, this would be a case of a human rights violation. He added, however, that the court will assess whether this was truly the case. Jashari also said that there is no equal treatment of all prisoners in the Kosovo correctional centres and that it is deeply concerning that there are people staying in detention for years because investigations have not been completed yet.

Daviet: Assembly to resume work as soon as possible (Klan Kosova)

The French Ambassador to Kosovo, Maryse Daviet, said yesterday that the opposition should not continue to block the work in the Assembly. She said that all the ambassadors in Kosovo agreed that the work in the Kosovo Assembly should not be blocked and that the violence is unacceptable. "Our message is that the work in the Assembly should start as soon as possible. The opposition should start a dialogue with the government to try and overcome the crisis. Violence doesn’t offer solutions,” Daviet said. She praised the initiative of President Atifete Jahjaga for inviting all the political leaders for a dialogue to find solutions to this situation.