Kosovo Security Force (KSF) Commander Rrahman Rama told a parliamentary commission today that preparations are underway for the establishment of Kosovo Armed Forces (KAF) and that they are only waiting for the political decision to begin the transformation process. Rama said that 28 new cadets were admitted to the KSF last year and that there have been numerous training opportunities for the KSF officers in different countries.

The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) said in a statement that the failure of Kosovo institutions to establish Kosovo Armed Forces (KAF) is a result of the “incapability and negligence” of the government. The AAK considers that unnecessary delays in the establishment of armed forces are “completely unacceptable” and that the issue deserves to be treated as a strategic priority.

The news site carries a press release issued by the Pristina-based Kosovo Centre for Security Studies (KCSS) highlighting “the political failure to transform the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into the Kosovo Armed Forces (KAF)”. The KCSS calls on the Kosovo Government and Assembly to urgently adopt the constitutional amendments required for the transformation of the KSF into the Armed Forces. The Centre recalls that a recent poll showed that over 87% of Kosovo citizens are in favour of the transformation.

"Statute of the Association / Community of Serb municipalities (A/CSM) will not satisfy the interests of the Kosovo Serbs, but this will be a great success for Belgrade's policy towards Kosovo," said MP of the Serbian List in the Kosovo parliament Nenad Rasic. He added that the A/CSM is more a political issue than one that will have an impact on the life of the Kosovo Serbs. Rasic believes that there is little chance that the Serbian List will be united in the next elections.

In an interview for Deutsche Welle, Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and one of Serbian List leaders, Branimir Stojanovic, said an important step in the formation of the Association/Community of Serb majority municipalities is the approval of its statute. This, according to Stojanovic, will have to be agreed at a high political level. “The Association/Community and its competencies will not undermine Albanians and their lives,” said Stojanovic. He added that once the Association/Community is up and running, Kosovo Serbs will become more self-assured and cooperate more with the others.

Publicist Veton Surroi, in his series of articles covering the recent developments in Kosovo, writes today about the Kosovo Armed Forces (KAF). He says that in the coming weeks and months, there will be an attempt to present to the Kosovo Assembly two constitutional amendments, both interconnected: the proposal for transforming the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into Kosovo Armed Forces (KAF) and for establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities.

The news site’s editor-in-chief, Adrian Collaku, writes that Prime Minister Isa Mustafa should accept the reality together with his coalition partner Hashim Thaci, that they are powerless when it comes to facing the Serbian List in regards to the Kosovo Armed Forces.

The paper on its front page editorial writes that if the MPs’ fail to approve Kosovo’s Army before going on vacation, it would be considered as a failed season for the government of Kosovo.

The Kosovo government today has sent to the Assembly the constitutional amendments for the establishment of the Kosovo Armed Forces. Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said at today’s government meeting that the Armed Forces are not being established on ethnic basis but for all Kosovo people. The two Serb ministers coming from the Serbian List, Branimir Stojanovic and Dalibor Jevtic, voted against the transformation of the Kosovo Security Force into the Armed Forces.

The paper’s front page editorial today writes that Kosovo opposition suspects that the ruling coalition is bargaining with the representatives of the Serbian List to enable the establishment of the Kosovo Armed Forces (KAF) after the establishment of the special court. The paper also writes that the government’s lack of transparency makes more serious the allegations of the opposition parties for political conspiracies that might occur in the coming weeks.