The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa said the problems in the country cannot be resolved by teargas, Molotov cocktail and violence. Mustafa made these comments during a meeting with the Education Trade Unions.
The Assembly of Kosovo faces a dilemma as to whether to begin the first spring session with the election of the new president of Kosovo. Sources within the Assembly mention the 11 February as a possible date for the election of the President. Another possibility that was mentioned is to start with a normal working session to learn more about the opposition's approach. However, there has been no official confirmation of this news.
The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, declared today that Kosovo needs a solution as soon as possible to overcome the current crisis. He added that a political agreement should be reached before the election of the President of Kosovo. “An agreement must be reached between political parties in Kosovo and it must happen before 17 February. With regards to the protest organized for 17 February, we distance ourselves from any violence that may occur. We are against violence,” Haradinaj said.
The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) reacted after yesterday’s meeting between Kosovo PM Isa Mustafa and Serbia PM Aleksandar Vucic. “The AAK considers that after the decision of the Constitutional Court which said the agreement on Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities is not entirely in line with the Constitution, PM Mustafa has lost the legitimacy to represent Kosovo in any talks. All he can do for overcoming the political crisis is to announce early elections,” reads a statement issued by the AAK.
Vice-President of the European Parliament Urlike Lunacek, and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn, have offered to help on relaxing the relations between the opposition parties and the government of Kosovo.
Opposition parties have warned that they would continue opposing assembly sessions. Vetevendosje Movement spokesperson, Frasher Krasniqi, said the opposition has no reason to change its actions. According to him, it is the government that should change, because it lacks legitimacy. Krasniqi further stated that calling a new assembly session represented a provocation.
The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) called a press conference today to speak about the Kosovo government’s intention to allow a GSM operator from Serbia to operate in Kosovo once the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) grants it a dialling prefix. AAK said the move is “unacceptable” and unknown to international practices. “The government has instructed the Serb authority to operate in Kosovo through an opportunity the operators don’t enjoy even in Serbia,” said AAK’s Anton Berisha.
Halil Matoshi writes today that quarrels and aggressive discourse against the opposition cannot overcome the situation “of the small and clashed country” as referred to Kosovo in the western media. He considers that the solution stands in an offer for a political, unconditioned discussion, which would not exclude early elections.
In a meeting with youth, opposition leaders said called on the people of Kosovo to join the anti-government protest on 9 January adding that the violators of the constitution needs to step down. The leaders reiterated their demands for annulment of agreements with Serbia and Montenegro while Vetevendosje leader Visar Ymeri said the new year will begin on 9 January. The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj said they will not allow anything being taken away from Kosovo.
Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) officials said in a press conference today that they hoped Kosovo would receive two good news in 2015: visa liberalization and UNESCO membership; none of which materialized. Ardian Gjini hailed the decision of the Constitutional Court on the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities but noted that the government is viewing the decision through a wrong discourse.