UNMIK Headlines 7 June
Haradinaj and Limaj call for early elections (Epoka e Re/Telegrafi)
In a press conference on Monday, the leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj and that of Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) Fatmir Limaj called for early elections in Kosovo. The two leaders argued that only new elections can resolve the current political crisis and also warned the government against attempts to, as they said, smuggle agreement on border demarcation with Montenegro and the on Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities. “The country ought to head to elections and give way to legitimate institutions which would then address these two important issues,” said NISMA leader Limaj. Pristina-based news site Telegrafi quotes Adem Grabovci, head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group, as saying that opposition parties can forget about early parliamentary elections. “We are in favor of all options that can result in a solution, but for the time being we are confident that early elections are not the right solution,” Grabovci said. He also called on the AAK and NISMA to “prepare an offer for the citizens of Kosovo and to return to the Assembly as soon as possible in order to represent and protect the interests of their voters”.
Vetëvendosje rejoins Assembly works (Kosova Sot)
Vetëvendosje Movement has announced it will rejoin the Kosovo Assembly works but warned that its opposition against the agreement on Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities and the border demarcation with Montenegro will be even more powerful in case are brought before the Assembly. The comments were made by Vetëvendosje leader Visar Ymeri at a press conference yesterday.
Germany and France against visa liberalisation for Kosovo (Zeri)
The paper reports in a front-page story that Germany and France are opposing the visa liberalisation for Kosovo, Ukraine and Georgia, because of the risk of an increased flow of asylum seekers. The German newspaper "Die Welt", referring to sources close to the German government, reports that there is a great fear of massive abuses of asylum applications after visa liberalization. According to the newspaper, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said this is why Germany and France have pushed to introduce a special clause, which stipulates that the EU member states can slow down the visa liberalization process for any country. Faton Abdullahu, advisor to Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, confirms the concern of some EU countries with regard to visa liberalization for Kosovo due to the large number of asylum seekers. But according to him, there is no place to talk about failure of visa liberalization process.
Implementation of SAA starts with failures (Koha)
The paper reports on its front page that the National Program for the implementation of the Stabilization/Association Agreement foresaw that 137 measures would be completed during the January-March 2-16 period in line with Kosovo’s contractual agreement with the European Union. Kosovo’s authorities however have not carried out more than a quarter of these tasks, as only 35 measures have been implemented in their entirety. The paper claims to have secured a copy of the Kosovo government’s report on the implementation program of the SAA. Kosovo’s Minister for European Integration, Bekim Çollaku, has justified the slow start of implementation saying among other things that in the first three-month period, authorities focused on the implementation of the eight remaining recommendations for visa liberalization.
Thaçi: Kosovo has shifted its focus on economic development (Koha)
Kosovo President, Hashim Thaçi, said during a visit to Slovenia that after the process of political consolidation, Kosovo has now shifted its focus on economic development. After meeting his Slovenian counterpart, Borut Pahor, Thaçi said: “It is a pleasure that to conduct my first bilateral visit as President of the Republic of Kosovo in Slovenia … Slovenia was and will always be a supporter and friend of Kosovo and the two countries have excellent bilateral relations”. Thaçi also said that Kosovo is on the eve of forming its Armed Forces. He added that Kosovo is leader in the region in combating violent extremism and terrorism. “Kosovo remains a factor of stability in the region and dialogue with Serbia has had a positive impact throughout the Western Balkans,” he said.
Hyseni: Let us safeguard inter-religious harmony (Koha)
Kosovo’s Minister for Interior Affairs, Skender Hyseni, said during a visit to Kaçanik municipality on Monday, that “any foreign media that portrays Kosovo as fertile ground for extremism, has nothing to do with reality”. “It is true that a somewhat larger number of residents from Kaçanik have gone to fight in foreign wars, but this doesn’t make Kaçanik a lesser part of Kosovo. It is an obligation of our society to engage in safeguarding inter-religious tolerance because we cannot damage the secular character of our state,” Hyseni said. Kaçanik Mayor, Besim Ilazi, told reporters that in the last 25 months, no resident from Kaçanik has gone to fight in Syria.
Haradinaj: I was not involved in the Kumanovo case (Zeri)
The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, said on Monday that he was not involved in the armed incident in Kumanovo last year. Haradinaj said that the accusations of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Interior Minister Mitko Cavkov that Ramush Haradinaj with his people are behind the Kumanovo incident, are pure fabrications. “Haradinaj and his people were not involved in the Kumanovo case or other cases of such nature, which were sponsored by Skopje’s political circles. The government of FYROM should distance itself from the statements of this minister. Also, we call on Albanian political parties in FYROM to distance themselves from such statements and to shed light on the Kumanovo case,” read a statement issued by the AAK.