The head of the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), Gabriele Meucci, said today that if the Assembly of Kosovo adopts the constitutional amendments that enable the establishment of the special court, EULEX would close the Task Force that  investigates alleged crimes that happened during the war in Kosovo. "If the Assembly approves constitutional amendments, the task force and specialized chambers would become part of the Kosovo legal system.

The front page editorial of this daily notes that Kosovo should return to the direct democracy, by using a referendum and letting the people decide on key issues, just like Greece. “Kosovo would gain an extraordinary opportunity to exercise democracy by allowing a referendum. Our crisis differs from that in Greece, however it is a heavy weight for our small shoulders. Let us take the special court, where a group of parliamentarians are caught up and do not know what to do.

Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, said today that the constitutional amendments that enable the establishment of the special court will soon be sent again to the Assembly. He said that it is the free will of the MPs to vote however they prefer, but called on them to vote in favor for the establishment of special court. Mustafa said Kosovo should be ready to fulfill its international obligations and that he would try to cooperate with the opposition on this issue.

Imer Mushkolaj criticizes opponents of the special court noting that they find all sorts of arguments, starting from violation of sovereignty and integrity, KLA’s clean war, special war against KLA, but none of them speaks about the most important issue, the victims. “The people who are not among us anymore and who are suspected to be murdered by former KLA warriors,” writes Mushkolaj.

Lumir Abdixhiku in his weekly column for the paper writes that Kosovo continues to make wrong decisions that can likely affect the fate of a whole generation. In this respect, the failed vote on the establishment of specialist chambers by the members of the Kosovo Assembly was a step in the wrong direction and the motion’s opponents created certain myths while arguing against the court, says Abdixhiku.

Former Assembly Speaker and current head of the National Council at the Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) political party, Jakup Krasniqi, stated that witnesses can be protected also in Kosovo and that this is not an essential reason to establish a special court. His statement came as a response to the announcement of the Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth that the special court has to establish being that witnesses are not protected in Kosovo.

In an interview for the media, Thomas Yazdgerdi, the US State Department Director of the Office of South Central European Affairs, said he was disappointed with the Kosovo Assembly’s failure to adopt the special court. Yazdgerdi said that although it is a difficult matter, the Kosovo government should resend the issue to the Assembly and that MPs need to vote in favour of the special court. “As friends of Kosovo, the United States of America are disappointed that the Kosovo Assembly did not adopt the creation of the special court.

According to KTV’s editor-in-chief Adriatik Kelmendi there was only one Kosovo Albanian MP who spoke about all crimes alleged to have occurred in the Kosovo conflict and that was Ilir Deda from Vetevendosje. In his speech at the Assembly session on the establishment of specialist chambers, Deda said that crimes were not only committed against Albanians but also against other communities and absolutely all should be addressed by a Kosovo war crimes court which Pristina authorities would have to set up. According to Kelmendi, no MP has ever called for justice for non-Albanian victims.

Is the wish of Hashim Thaqi to again become Kosovo Prime Minister maybe the main reason why last Brussels round of talks didn’t result in agreement between Belgrade and Pristina? Will the establishment of the Special Court for crimes committed by KLA (whose leader was Thaqi) be a trigger to terminate the coalition with Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and result in the new elections?

United States Congressman Elliot Engel in his address to the Kosovo Assembly today called for the establishment of the special court that will address war crimes allegations. Engel said the court would be established, either by the Kosovo Assembly or the United Nations, and that it would not be good for Kosovo if the UN establishes the court. Engel said Kosovo was doing many things that other countries cannot do, but also that a lot remains to be done in the fight against corruption and for economic development.