The leader of the Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA), Fatmir Limaj, is certain that Kosovo will proceed to early elections. He is even ready to sit and discuss as part of the opposition with the governing parties in order to set the election agenda. “The only way is to sit and set the election date and we are ready for this at any time,” Limaj Said.
Senior member of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Muharrem Nitaj, said today that he believes that the Assembly violated the voting procedures in the election of the president. “I believe procedures were violated because one of the candidates voted as well. Also, most probably procedures were violated when the Assembly went on a break without reason after the first round of voting.
Kosovo’s Minister without portfolio, Edita Tahiri, said yesterday that the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities will not be established without the removal of all parallel structures in Kosovo. She said at the time when the relevant authorities will start drafting the statute of the Association/Community, technical groups of Kosovo and Serbia will start working in Brussels in order to reach an agreement to completely remove Serbia's parallel structures in Kosovo.
Mirsad Shkreta, member of Vetevendosje’s General Council, told a press conference today the government is using the Kosovo Police for political reasons. "Police interventions, especially in the last five months are purely political in order to protect the ruling-coalition and the agreements on Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities and border demarcation with Montenegro. Kosovo police are not fighting crime and corruption as they should, but instead, they are focusing in suppressing the opposition and arresting its MPs,” Shkreta said.
Representatives of the Kosovo Civil Society Consortium for Sustainable Development (KOSID), during a press conference today stated that the construction of the new power plant will damage Kosovo. According to Visar Azemi from KOSID, the agreement between the government of Kosovo and the company Contour Global, is not sustainable because they were the only bidder. He said the government has not been transparent and has not shown the details of this project.
Alessandra Roccasalvo, deputy head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kosovo, told Radio Kosova that the rule of law is very important for Kosovo’s economic future. In regards to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, Roccasalvo said there are three objectives which are more important for Kosovo. “The 16th objective, which promotes peace and justice and inclusive society, which automatically is connected to the rule of law.
The Vetevendosje Movement leader, Visar Ymeri, said yesterday that protests will ultimately nullify the agreement on Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. “On 25 August Isa Mustafa and Hashim Thaci said that the Association empowers the state of Kosovo and is in compliance with the Constitution and laws of Kosovo. It was the petition of citizens who insisted in the annulment of this agreement. It was the protest of the united opposition in the Assembly, in the streets and everywhere what forces the institutions to act.
According to a research conducted in Kosovo, only 11 percent of children with special needs attend schools. Afrim Maliqi, HENDIKOS director said the inclusion of children with disabilities in the education system is very small. “This is not only because of the lack of physical infrastructure. We also should consider that the well-being of families is extremely poor and cannot afford to send their children to school.
The representatives of associations of persons with disabilities today organized a press conference to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 3 December. During the press conference it was said the persons with disabilities are discriminated in Kosovo due to the lack of implementation of laws. They called on full integration of this category into Kosovo society and institutions.
A delegation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) visited yesterday Kosovo Ministry of Environment. The UNEP delegation, headed by Pier Carlo Sandei, director of the UNEP Office in Vienna, was informed closely with the environmental situation in Kosovo. On this occasion, UNEP has offered free National Reporting System for Kosovo which will provide general information on the environmental situation in Kosovo.