UNMIK Headlines 11 September
Pahor: Serbs to accept they are a minority in Kosovo (dailies)
All dailies cover yesterday’s visit by Slovenian President Borut Pahor to Kosovo, some highlighting the following statement: “I want to recall an opinion I expressed in 1990: I said at the time that the two nations should learn to live with changed roles – the Albanian people as a majority in a young state and the Serb people as a minority. The future of this state depends on both nations and so do the relations between the two states,” said Pahor.
“It is very important that Kosovo has found the way to ensure coexistence and you should give the young people of all ethnic groups the room for positive thinking. We see this with great pride; this has to do with different nations coexisting.”
Pahor praised local leaders for their courage to engage in political dialogue with Serbia. “I want to say that this is perhaps one of the most positive issues, an impressive achievement of wisdom, courage and political will to peacefully resolve open issues in the Western Balkans,” he added.
Attack on Macedonian Embassy in Pristina (Bota Sot)
Around midnight, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the Macedonian Embassy in Pristina. No damages were reported. Investigations are ongoing and police suspect the attack was carried out by three persons travelling in a white Toyota car. The attack was condemned by foreign ministries of Kosovo and Macedonia, President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga, and political parties.
Macedonia allows only passage of goods from third countries (dailies)
The Macedonian side has given in to the pressure from “third-country” businesses allowing them passage through the border points to Kosovo. Sources from the Kosovo Government told Koha Ditore that over ten truckloads from the Thessaloniki port came through Macedonia to Kosovo.
Meanwhile, the Macedonian Government convened an urgent meeting yesterday to discuss the trade dispute with Kosovo, which stretched well into midnight. On the ground, citizens from Kosovo were allowed entry to Macedonia on foot only, while Macedonian transporters continued to keep the border blocked in reaction to the embargo imposed by Kosovo.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry appealed to the citizens of Kosovo to avoid travelling to Macedonia and expressed their commitment to adhere to the decision on blocking Macedonian goods until Skopje lifts all trade restrictions for Kosovo.
Kusari-Lila: This situation can have consequences (Epoka e Re)
In a front-page interview for the paper, Kosovo’s Trade and Industry Minister Mimoza Kusari-Lila said that the latest trade situation between Kosovo and Macedonia may have consequences.
“The border has been closed on both sides. This is an unpleasant situation that can have consequences. Overcoming this situation requires readiness by the Macedonian Government. We need to return to square one, where we were, without any barriers or limitations of the freedom of movement of goods and people,” she said.
Kusari-Lila added: “We communicated with [Macedonian] Minister Valon Saraqini and told him about our decision to ban products from Macedonia until the latter revokes two decisions: the fee on flour and for citizens of the Republic of Kosovo. We will not revoke our decision before Macedonia revokes its two decisions.”
Serbia creates yet another illegal structure in Kosovo (Koha Ditore)
The Government of Serbia established a managing team tasked with the creation of the Association of municipalities with a Serb majority similar to the one the Government of Kosovo set up last year. The move came after the assemblies of four northern municipalities refused to implement the 19 April agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, and to take part in upcoming local elections.
The paper claims the establishment of the managing team is in violation with the 19 April agreement and quotes Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuçi in saying that this structure is illegal. Kuçi further noted that Serbia is not entitled to make such decisions. “The Government of Serbia has no competencies to undertake any action in Kosovo, but it is positive if parallel structures there are not supported and there is respect for Agreement reached on 19 April,” said Kuçi.
The north to have its own energy and telecom operators (Koha)
The Government of Kosovo on Tuesday published copies of the agreement on telecommunications and the agreement on energy reached in Brussels. The agreement on telecommunications foresees issuing the license to operate in Kosovo to a Serb landline company, which, at the same time, will be allowed to provide mobile telephony services. The agreement on energy foresees the creation of a new energy company that will supply and be able to provide distribution services for consumers in the four Serb majority municipalities in the north. The energy company will be able to buy and sell energy on the open market.
Thaçi briefs Quint on details of telecom and energy agreements (Tribuna)
Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, accompanied by dialogue coordinator Blerim Shala, met with Quint ambassadors on Tuesday in Pristina and briefed them on the latest agreements between Kosovo and Serbia on telecommunications and energy. A Government press release said the conclusion of the meeting was that these agreements represent another step forward in the implementation of the agreement for the normalisation of relations between the two countries.
Agreement for police cooperation fails to be reached (Zëri)
The political agreement between Kosovo and Serbia is reported to have completely failed with respect to establishing police cooperation, concluded a conference yesterday in Pristina organised by the Kosovo Centre for Security Studies. Panelists argued that none of the parties made sufficient effort to establish police cooperation or to integrate Kosovo into regional security initiatives.