The US has ‘invested a lot of bombs’ in 1999 for reaching Kosovo’s independence, however the times have changed and Americans are now aware that without Serbia nothing significant could be achieved in the region, stated the chairperson of the Serbian Assembly’s Committee for Kosovo and Metohija, Milovan Drecun.
Pristina Liaison Officer in Belgrade, Valdet Sadiku, will have a new associate. According to Pristina-based daily Zeri, Kosovo government has appointed Xhelal Shaqiri, former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) member, to the post of the Assistant Liaison Officer in Belgrade.
Former Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun said that the article published in New York Times talks about the influence of Saudi Arabia on the Islamists and Wahhabism, adding that funding the jihadists should be prevented. "This article presents a factual situation, but it is also the truth that the media were silent after I presented a document about the network of radical Islam that was backed up by Saudi Arabia, in 2007", says Drecun.
“Through legislative changes and without change of the name of the Kosovo security forces, Kosovo could expand the mandate of that formation, and thus become an armed force. In that way they would be able to participate in NATO missions and submit a request for membership in the ‘Partnership for Peace’,” said the former chairman of the Serbian Parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija, Milovan Drecun.
Authorities in Belgrade insist the Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities is established in accordance to the Brussels agreement and not the Constitution of Kosovo, reported Radio Free Europe in Albanian. The agreement reached on 25 August last year as part of the dialogue for normalisation of relations between Pristina and Belgrade grants the Association/Community a level of autonomy in education, health, urban and rural planning.
Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa stated that he will request inclusion of the opposition parties and NGOs in the Brussels negotiations. With regard to his statement, chairman of the Committee for Kosovo in the Serbian Assembly Milovan Drecun said that it is impossible to include other participants in the dialogue. He added that in this case the opposition movement Self-determination, whose members are throwing tear gas in parliament and on the streets, would participate and consequently oppose any agreement with Belgrade.
The chairperson of the Serbian Parliament’s Committee for Kosovo and Metohija, Milovan Drecun, stated that it was expected that agreements will be reached with Pristina in Brussels because Serbian delegation has defended state interests, and added that they will insist on further normalization of relations.
Drecun said in the morning TV news program of Radio Television Serbian that Serbian delegation has had support in Brussels and that the model and frame was agreed on how to reach the agreement.
The first head of UNMIK, Bernard Kouchner could be a potential witness against Hashim Thaci, who is likely to be indicted by the Special Court for war crimes in Kosovo - reported the Paris daily "Le Figaro" on Wednesday. Previously, the French agency AFP, had reported that Thaci could be among the accused before the special court for KLA crimes by the end of the year, citing an unnamed western diplomat.
"We expect that Thaci will not be an obstacle and that he does not obstruct the formation of the Association / Community of Serb Municipalities (A/CSM). We expect that he, as a president, will constructively contribute to the stabilization in Kosovo, and in particular to improving the status of the Serbian people," said Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun to the reporters in the Serbian parliament.
The meeting of the Working Group for gathering facts and evidence to shed light on crimes against Serbian people and other ethnic communities in Kosovo highlighted the importance of coordination between all services to obtain more information on numerous crimes.