The news site reports that a small number of members of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities protested in front of the Kosovo government building in Pristina today demanding more jobs. One of the protesters said the only way to put pressure on the government is to organize protests. Protesters also expressed dissatisfaction with their representatives in the Kosovo Assembly. They even refused a meeting with a RAE MP.
Dozens of former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) war veterans gathered in front of the government building today to express their dissatisfaction about the government’s decision not to issue pensions for all veterans. The Chairman of the Council for the Protection of KLA veterans, Xhevdet Qeriqi, urged the government to form a commission to review their complaints and make the decisions public as soon as possible.
Kosovo’s Minister for European Integration, Bekim Collaku, has requested from the European Union countries to treat Kosovo in an equal manner as its neighboring countries.
Vice-President of the European Parliament Urlike Lunacek, and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn, have offered to help on relaxing the relations between the opposition parties and the government of Kosovo.
The leader of the Vetevendosje Movement, Visar Ymeri, requested the resignation of the government and the creation of conditions for new elections. At a round table with civil society, Ymeri said that the beginning of last year had been marked by mass departures from Kosovo, due to lack of prospects for the future.
The Government of Kosovo is committed to step up efforts in preventing extremism and terrorism, said today Prime Minister Isa Mustafa in a meeting on the implementation of the national strategy for prevention of violent extremism and radicalism. Mustafa said Kosovo is a small country but has its share of responsibilities in the global fight against terrorism. “Consequences from terrorism are great, long-term, and necessarily require a joint alliance,” said Mustafa. He said the Government of Kosovo has defined concrete objectives in the fight against terrorism and radicalism.
Beqe Cufaj considers today that frustration and conclusion that the current opposition which raises only the issues of the “Association” and “Demarcation” cannot be supported, is understandable. To him, the current opposition is only the other side of the coin, or different faces with the same intention. He regrets for the lack of a third wing or an alternative that would breach the dreams of current politicians for power and corruption.
The paper’s Brussels-based correspondent Augustin Palokaj writes that the “ease” with which the international community views the latest developments in Kosovo, should make the local leaders take action to decrease tensions and prevent further deepening of the political crisis. Palokaj says there is no doubt that the current government of Kosovo enjoys considerable support from the international community but it has adopted a wrong approach in presenting the opposition’s protests as doomed.
At the end of the year press conference, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, said that 2015 is characterized by two different approaches: “The government approach to implement the governing plan and resolve problems of the citizens, and that of the opposition, to impede the processes and the work of the government.” He said that opposition used teargas, impeded the work of the Assembly, destroyed public property and attacked government officials.
The government of Kosovo during its meeting today voted the criteria for issuing certificates for the Kosovo citizens who received undergraduate diplomas from the University of North Mitrovica. All those who received degrees from this University, their diplomas will be recognized if they meet the set criteria. Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister, Branimir Stojanovic, said that despite the delay, this decision is welcomed.