A written agreement that would encompass the main governing principles is expected to be signed in the coming days by leaders of Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Alliance for Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) on one hand and Vetevendosje on the other. The agreement comes as a necessity for LDK, AAK and NISMA to secure support from Vetevendosje.
Head of the Association of the Missing Persons in Podujevë, Latif Mehmeti, writes that while everyone is waiting for the creation of the new government, families of the missing persons have been waiting in anxiety for 15 years now. He adds that promise of the Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri, that the issue of the missing would be discussed with Serbian representatives in Brussels, was just another deception of Kosovo institutions to the families of the missing.
Vetevendosje conditions with reformatting of dialogue and privatization (Koha)
On the front page, the paper claims that investigations into war crimes allegations presented in the Council of Europe (CoE) report have concluded there is no evidence that an organ trafficking trade existed, but in the course of the investigation, evidence was found regarding other crimes alleged to have been committed by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). 10 to 20 former KLA members are expected to be indicted for these crimes as soon as the Special Court is up and running. The indictment will include KLA members from the Drenica and Dukagjin zones, sources told the paper.
Hashim Thaci, leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), could fail in his goal to become Prime Minister for a third term, the paper reports on the front page. The lack of support from other political parties to join his coalition could lead to the failure of the first round of attempts at forming the new government. As a result, the second time, Thaci would not be eligible to try again, and the President of Kosovo would need to propose a different candidate for Prime Minister.
Kosovo’s Interior Minister Bajram Rexhepi said that the reaction of the Kosovo Police to yesterday’s protest in Mitrovica was “excellent”. Regarding the new barricade on the Iber/Ibar River, Rexhepi said the Kosovo government is committed to resolving the issue through dialogue. “We are coordinating with Brussels and Washington. We expect them to put pressure on Belgrade to remove the barricade. If this does not happen, we will remove it ourselves in the coming days”, Rexhepi told Klan Kosova.
The lead prosecutor for the European Union Special Investigative Task Force (SITF), Clint Williamson, will present the findings of his investigations into allegations of war crimes and criminal activity contained in the Council of Europe (CoE) report of 2011, the paper reports on the front page. The original plan was for the results to be presented in the second half of this month but that has now been postponed for a few months.
The Chancellor of Austria, Werner Faymann, is currently visiting the Balkans. He visited Belgrade yesterday and will be in Pristina today. The paper reports that Faymann will only meet President Atifete Jahjaga and pay a visit to Austrian peacekeeping forces serving under KFOR.
Koha Ditore reports on the front page that the barricade on the main bridge over the Iber/Ibar River was removed only temporarily. Serbs replaced it with another barricade which they called the Peace Park. Throughout this action, Kosovo Police elite units only served as spectators. Municipal and central authorities all rushed to claim credit for the removal of the barricade, but when another one was built, all remained silent.
On the front page, the paper writes that a very uncertain situation is being created regarding the forming of new institutions following the 8 June elections, with none of the political parties knowing how the process is going to end. This is the reason, adds the paper, behind the increased activity of western ambassadors in Pristina, who are interested to learn from Kosovo leaders how they think the new institutions will be formed.