Kosovo’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Petrit Selimi, reacted to the statements of Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivivca Dacic that the United Nations has rejected Kosovo’s application for membership in UNESCO. Selimi told Radio Free Europe that such statements are totally incorrect. According to him, the expectations are that in October, UNESCO’s Executive Committee will give a positive answer to Kosovo’s application to join this organization. “Kosovo cannot be denied by the UN because it didn’t apply to the UN.

The European Union Special Representative to Kosovo, Samuel Zbogar, told the Belgrade-based  news agency Tanjug that the the first indictments for the alleged war crimes suspects that will be addressed by the special court, will be filed in January next year.  He also said that the law on special court enters into force only after being signed by Kosovo’s President Atifete Jahjaga.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) through a press release has welcomed the decision of the Kosovo Assembly to establish the special court for war crimes. HRW said the court will operate under Kosovo law but with headquarters in Europe and with international judges and prosecutors. "The government and lawmakers have taken a right decision for justice," said Lotte Leicht, director of Human Rights Watch for Europe. "It is an important step for victims and for Kosovo to finally address the allegations of war crimes,” he added.

Several news sites report that around 50 war veterans of the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) are protesting in front of the Kosovo government building in Pristina. Gazeta Blic reports that some war veterans threw bottles at Deputy Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and called him “thief” as he was entering the government premises. Indeksonline reports that some war veterans are inciting others to start a riot and a war veteran was reportedly heard telling others to fetch gasoline “in order to set the government building on fire”.

The Serb deputy at the Assembly of Kosovo, Nenad Rasic, considers that it is impossible for him to have any impact on the Serbian List to vote the Kosovo Armed Force (KAF). He said that the Serbian List is being influenced by Belgrade and they consider that it is not in interest of Kosovo Serbs to vote KAF at the Assembly. “As you know, the Serbian List has a majority of votes of Serb community, and I am a deputy that cannot change their position with regards to the Kosovo Army.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo, with the help of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is organizing a preparatory meeting today in Pristina for the technical working group to find sustainable solutions for displaced persons from Kosovo. Representatives of the governments in Belgrade, Podgorica, Pristina and Skopje will present the priorities and action plans for sustainable solutions for displaced persons from Kosovo and together with representatives of international organizations shall agree on the next steps in the context of this initiative.

The possibility for the special court to investigate the post-war murders is closed, being that the international factor has rejected it.

Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, said today that it is the duty of the Kosovo institutions to shed light on killings that took place after the conflict. During the commemoration of the 17^th anniversary of the Battle for Logja, Mustafa said that the killing of Tahir Zemaj, a Kosovo Liberation Army commander who participated in the Battle for Logja, after the war was absurd. “This was a cowardly act and it caused outrage in Kosovo and the United States of America. It is our obligation to shed light on all the killings that happened after the war in Kosovo,” Mustafa added.

The United States Navy Secretary, Ray Mabus, is visiting Kosovo today as part of a Balkans tour. Mabus told reporters in Pristina that even though Kosovo doesn’t have a sea, the U.S. Marines will contribute through different seminars and trainings in Kosovo. “Our army will be committed to cooperating with the Kosovo Security Force. Our marines are outstanding soldiers,” Mabus said.

The President of the Supreme Court of Kosovo, Fejzullah Hasani, said today in Pristina that the establishment of the special court will not violate human rights and freedoms, "because this will be an international court built in accordance with European standards". Hasani made these remarks at a summit on international law and human rights organized by the Supreme Court of Kosovo and the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, and supported by the United Nations Development Programme.