The Presidency of the Assembly postponed its meeting for tomorrow due to President Jahjaga’s invitation for the political leaders to meet today and try to find a solution to the current political crisis. Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli said that the Presidency will meet tomorrow to specify the agenda and time for the next Assembly session, which according to him, will be scheduled for this week.
The Vetevendosje Movement MP, Rexhep Selimi, said yesterday that the right to referendum is being denied to the Kosovo people by not drafting the law on referendum. According to him, the current crisis would be resolved by a referendum, because people would have their say on what they want. He said he doesn’t expect any initiative by the government to draft the law on referendum, because according to him, “the government fears the voice of the citizens.”
Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga has started meeting with political leaders trying to resolve a dispute on the government's deals with Serbia and Montenegro.
http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/oct/19/kosovo-president-meets-with-politicians-to-resolve/
Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, on behalf of the Kosovo government, expressed regret over the recent incidents in the Kosovo Assembly saying that the violent actions by the opposition are not good for the people of Kosovo. He called on law enforcement authorities to do their job in relation to the incidents and said that the work of the Assembly must be unblocked. “Such actions are damaging Kosovo’s image,” Mustafa told a government meeting in Pristina today. “We are ready to answer to the Assembly on any matter. We are also ready for a debate in the Assembly on the recent agreements.
The British Ambassador to Kosovo, Ruari O’Conell, writes in an opinion piece today that the people of Kosovo have achieved a lot just a few years after the conflict, and especially after the declaration of independence. “Now, Kosovo faces major challenges. How the leadership of Kosovo choses to face these challenges will greatly affect the future of Kosovo. My message to the leaders of the opposition parties is clear. The United Kingdom is a friend of Kosovo. We do not support parties but we support the people and institutions of Kosovo.
Kosovo Assembly President Kadri Veseli said in a press conference that opposition parties must reflect and return to the Assembly. He said that the Assembly would not be stopped by threats coming from the opposition or teargas canisters. Veseli argued that “the minority opposition was misusing the Assembly and that their arguments are ungrounded”. “The Assembly is the place to express disagreements and dissatisfaction in democratic fashion but not through violence. There is a democratically-elected parliamentarian majority and we will not give up on it.
The New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) leader Behxhet Pacolli said today that the Kosovo government should resign and make way for early parliamentary elections. “I am confident that the country does not need the recent events and sights at the Kosovo Assembly. The people of Kosovo today are faced with survival problems and the Mustafa government has failed from its first day in office. In order to save the country from a deeper crisis and from eventual riots, I believe the government should resign and new elections should be held,” Pacolli wrote on his Facebook account.
The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leader Ramush Haradinaj posted on his Facebook account that the insistence to hold the session of the Kosovo Assembly is a provocation, political immaturity and lack of state leadership. “The political leaders of this country cannot pretend as if everything is normal. The country has reached a point where it needs to find a solution to the two agreements that have brought us here and then resort to normality and the institutional life between the government and the opposition.
The leader of the Vetevendosje Movement, Visar Ymeri, said today that the Assembly session will not be held as long as the government doesn’t care for its citizens. According to him, the opposition along with the citizens will not allow the implementation of the recent agreements. "The protest will continue for as long as the government doesn’t care for Kosovo citizens. Together, we will stop the agreement on Association of Serb-majority municipalities and border demarcation with Montenegro. The ruling coalition must withdraw from these agreements.
In today's editorial the paper writes that Kosovo's leadership has seen fit to sit at a table with Serbia’s leadership but not to consider a possibility of dialogue with the opposition parties after blocking the Assembly’s plenary sessions, attacks with eggs and violent reaction that came after the arrest of Vetevendosje’s former leader Albin Kurti. “This unwillingness to solve problems through dialogue will not only add to the frustration of the opposition, but also of thousands of citizens.