Kosovo’s minister without portfolio and chief negotiator in the EU-facilitated dialogue with Belgrade, Edita Tahiri, said that delays in the start of works for revitalization of the Iber River main bridge in Mitrovica are unjustifiable and possible further delays will only increase tensions. In an interview for RTV Dukagjini, Tahiri said she was disappointed with the EU for postponing the works for 48 hours after they were initially planned to begin on 15 October.

Kosovo’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Petrit Selimi, is visiting Thailand where he met senior state officials, including Deputy Foreign Minister, Virasadaki Futrakul. The latter hailed Kosovo’s progress in the last couple of years and said that Thailand would vote in favor of Kosovo’s accession bid to the UNESCO. The UNESCO General Assembly is expected to vote on Kosovo’s accession in early November.

Arban Abrashi, spokesperson of the Kosovo Government and Minister of Labour and Social Welfare said in an interview for Tirana’s Top Channel television that the opposition wants to send Kosovo to early elections but that this is unacceptable. He said that the actions of the opposition at the Assembly are uncivilized, undemocratic and vandalistic and that the government has made it clear that all opposition concerns can be addressed at the Assembly. “In the first session after the summer break, we asked to discuss all agreements but this was not allowed.

A press release issued by the European Union Office in Kosovo announced that the start of revitalization of the Mitrovica bridge and its surroundings, scheduled to commence today has postponed for a maximum of 48 hours, in order to provide all parties additional time to reach a mutually agreeable solution. “This short delay should enable conclusion of discussions on the Memorandum of Understanding on the municipal boundaries between the Mitrovica North and the Mitrovica South municipalities.

The Kosovo Government issued a press release condemning today’s attack by Vetevendosje activists against Deputy Foreign Minister Petrit Selimi. The government said the violent act, “which is in the series of recent violent actions by the Vetevendosje Movement and supported by other opposition parties, is directed against the legitimate institutions and the will of the people of the Republic of Kosovo”. “This attack, which was carried out at a time when Mr.

Vetevendosje MP Rexhep Selimi said in an interview with TV Dukagjini today that, at the Kosovo Assembly session on Thursday, the opposition will continue its protest against the formation of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. “Even in earlier sessions [of the Assembly] it was decided to continue with the sessions, but we were adamant to prevent this until the signatures on the Association are withdrawn. We are determined to continue our protests until the Association is stopped,” he said.

The blocking of the Albanian language school textbooks by the Serbian side has forced the Kosovo authorities to impose reciprocity measures on Serbian language school books in Kosovo. The issue was already discussed in the EU-facilitated dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade and the Serbian side pledged to resolve the issue in a matter of few days. But although more than a week has passed, the Albanian language books are still with Serbian customs and Belgrade authorities are saying it is reviewing their content.

The news site reports that in addition to dividing the city of Mitrovica into southern and northern municipalities, the city could now face another negative development. According to the Brussels Agreement, the Mitrovica South and Mitrovica North must define their cadastral boundaries by October 10. Serbs however want to go beyond the Ahtisaari Package and redesign the boundaries. According to reliable sources, Serbs want to shift the boundary to the Iber River, in which case the villages of Suhodoll, Gushavc and Viranc would belong to the Mitrovica North municipality.

President of the Kosovo Assembly, Kadri Veseli, will meet today at midday ambassadors of Quint countries in Pristina. The meeting is expected to focus on yesterday’s events at the Assembly where the opposition used teargas in an effort to block its work.

The Office of the President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, issued a reaction saying that today’s actions by opposition MPs were against democracy. “President Jahjaga calls on all members of the Kosovo Assembly to distance themselves from violence, to respect institutions that have been built with tremendous effort and sacrifice, including the personal sacrifice of the MPs.