Headlines - 12.03.2014 Kuçi: Tribunal damages Kosovo (Koha Ditore) Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuçi welcomed the man investigating the listed claims for a Council of Europe report, which discusses war crimes committed by the  Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). He tried to convince prosecutor Clint Williamson that the trial for such claims should be held in Kosovo. “There is a possibility to achieve independent justice, impartiality and fairness in our country,” said Kuçi, who is also the Justice Minister. Mr. Williamson is an American prosecutor for the Special Task Force established in 2011 by the EU Council, with a mandate to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute individuals for crimes claimed in Dick Marty’s report. Now, when the prosecution is expected to begin, the international community initiated preparations to establish an ad hoc Tribunal that will judge the cases in this report. A draft-statute was also drafted, which foresees that the Tribunal’s headquarters be placed outside Kosovo. Williamson also met with UNMIK chief Farid Zarif, EU Special Representative Samuel Zbogar and EULEX head Bernd Borchardt. In the meetings, Williamson is reported to have expressed determination to carry out independent and unbiased investigations that will reveal the truth behind the allegations of the Council of Europe’s report. Williamson interviewed Thaçi (Tribuna, Bota Sot) Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, met with Clint Williamson, Lead Prosecutor for the EU Special Investigative Task Force (SITF), who is investigating alleged crimes mentioned in the Dick Marty report. According to the newspaper’s sources, the Prime Minister did not meet with Mr. Williamson in his official capacity but rather as a subject of the investigation. The same sources say that the fact that the meeting took place does not necessarily mean that the Prime Minister will be among the indicted. Furthermore, Tribuna, using the same sources, reported earlier that Mr. Thaci was not expected to be among the defendants after the end of the investigation in June of this year. On the other hand, Bota Sot reports that, while Mr. Williamson did meet the Deputy Prime Minister, Hajredin Kuci, he did not meet with Prime Minister Thaci. Thaçi: Let us be united on creation of Armed Forces (Epoka e Re) Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi stated on Monday that the decision to begin amending the Constitution of Kosovo regarding the establishment of Kosovo’s Armed Forces has been signed. He said that the decision was passed to the Assembly Chairmanship in order to be proceeded at the Constitutional Court. “We, as partners of the coalition, will unanimously vote for the creation of the army of Kosovo, KAF. I believe that these segments will further unite Kosovo’s political spectrum,” stated Thaçi. Tahiri: Statutes not in accordance with law, will be declared illegal (dailies) Four northern municipalities have called for sessions today to approve the municipal statutes, although those who already saw the draft say it doesn’t contain any Kosovo symbols as stipulated by the Law on Local Self-Government. Kosovo Government officials say that all actions that are not harmonious with the applicable laws will be declared illegal. “Just like in the rest of Kosovo, the statutes in these municipalities will be in accordance with Kosovo laws and the Constitution, as was the local elections process, the inauguration of mayors and councilors with state symbols. All have signed the oath with Kosovo symbols and those who refused are no longer part of this process,” said Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri according to Koha Ditore. Furthermore, Tribuna reports that the statutes of the northern municipalities begin by recalling UN SC resolution 1244, followed by the name of the municipalities and the municipal emblem. Petrovic deepens Government crisis (Tribuna) Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Serb Liberal Party (SLS), Slobodan Petrovic, decided to join the Serb List. While the move was hailed by international officials who hope that Petrovic’s affiliation with Kosovo institutions will help cooperation between the Serb List and Kosovo parties, it is most likely to cause headaches to the Kosovo Government. “From now on, for any decision, one of the Government of Kosovo coalition partners will directly consult the Government of Serbia,” said an unnamed Kosovo senior official. The move is also expected to contribute to Kosovo heading to early parliamentary elections. Sources said that Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi will call a meeting with leaders of other political parties next week to discuss the possibility of dismissing the Assembly and announcing early elections. Government calls Serbia’s polling centres as collecting (Koha Ditore) The so-called places for collecting votes will serve as polling centres for Serbs in Kosovo, who on Sunday will vote during Serbia’s parliamentary elections. Ten of them will be opened by OSCE itself, where a staff of 400 people will be engaged to help voters. Kosovo Government officials evaluated the role of the OSCE as “only a technical role”, while election experts said that the so-called collection points are nothing else than voting centres. OSCE officials told the newspaper that modalities have been set after consulting with all interested parties, especially Pristina and Belgrade.