Headlines - 02.05.2014 Uncertainty over early elections (Tribuna) A lack of political compromise on the extension of reserved seats for minority communities and the establishment of the Kosovo Armed Forces (KAF) has made it unclear whether early general elections can be held in June, reports the paper on the front page. If a compromise on the establishment of the KAF is not reached by 5 May, elections will not be able to be held on 8 June. The only alternative in this case would be to schedule elections for 15 June. But this is seen as a dangerous scenario considering that summer vacations would begin by that time, which could lead to lower voter turnouts. Thaci proposes 8 June for general elections (Kosova Sot) Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said he suggested to political leaders to consider the possibility of holding general elections on 8 June and added that he believed this would be the ideal timing. However, the issue is expected to be clarified in the forthcoming session of the Kosovo Assembly on Monday. Kuci: Elections in June? (Lajm) The Deputy Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Hajredin Kuci, has clarified that his party is in favor of national elections being held as soon as possible. Kuci said that that after the decision on the Kosovo Armed Forces (KAF) is reached, the Assembly will be dissolved. But he failed to mention any date for elections, saying that this will be part of the agreement between political parties. Minority parties have decided to make reserved seats for minorities in the Assembly a condition for the establishment of the KAF. Despite this, Kuci said that establishment of the KAF will be voted on, on Monday in the Assembly, without any preconditions. He added that minority communities’ MPs should vote for the KAF as the future army of Kosovo will not be only for Albanians. Serbia and Russia infringe on Kosovo sovereignty and 1244 (Tribuna) A senior international official told the paper that the way Russia is providing aid to Serbia’s illegal structures in the north violates the sovereignty of Kosovo as well as UN Security Council Resolution 1244. The Russian Government last week donated ten vehicles to the “Civil Protection” at a time when discussions on how to integrate this structure into Kosovo institutions are underway. This is viewed with deep concern by local and international security mechanisms in Kosovo. The paper quotes sources as saying that Moscow wishes to achieve three goals by destabilising Kosovo. First, it wants to create another crisis similar to that in Ukraine by building on the argument that Kosovo’s case was a precedent for the occupation of Crimea. Second, it wants to further challenge the EU. The third goal would be to send a message to the new government in Belgrade, which Moscow fears will abandon its pro-Russian stance. Cliff: There should be reserved seats in the next Assembly (Zeri) British Ambassador to Kosovo Ian Cliff said on Thursday that the new Assembly should have reserved seats for minority communities. “There is no logic in telling the north, ‘Welcome to Kosovo,’ and at the same time having less seats for Serbs in the Assembly,” Cliff was quoted as saying. Krasniqi reacts to Ambassador Cliff’s statement (Lajm) Kosovo Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi, who is also a co-founder of the Initiative for Kosovo, has reacted towards the statement of the British Ambassador, Ian Cliff, who called for the extension of reserved mandates for minority communities. According to Krasniqi, this would lead to Kosovo becoming dysfunctional. “It is difficult to agree with what Ambassador Cliff says as Kosovo Serbs cannot be divided into northern and local. Furthermore, Serbs have guaranteed seats, and such positive discrimination does not exist in any assemblies in the world or Europe,” said Krasniqi. Serbs make Brussels talks a condition for privatization (Koha) Serb members of the Shtërpce/Strpce municipal assembly adopted several conclusions on Wednesday conditioning the privatization of socially-owned enterprises in the municipality with talks between Pristina and Belgrade in Brussels. Through a six-point document, the majority of Serb councilors requested that privatization be postponed indefinitely. Meanwhile, Albanian councilors were against discussions on privatization and said that the issue was being politicized and that local authorities cannot interfere in the competencies of the Privatization Agency of Kosovo. Shtërpce/Strpce Mayor Bratislav Nikolic said after the meeting that no one can stop the process of privatization. He called on all councilors to cooperate with the Agency. Bahtiri confirms meeting with Rakic (Zeri) Mitrovica Mayor Agim Bahtiri said on Thursday that he met with     Mitrovica North Mayor Goran Rakic. “I asked the mayor of the municipality in the north to work together for the good of all citizens, to look toward the future and to develop our city on both sides, because this is our obligation and this is why we have been elected by the people. In doing so we would send a good message to the people, and also to Brussels and Washington, that we are ready to cooperate for the good of the citizens, regardless of their ethnicity,” Bahtiri was quoted as saying. Slovakia not under pressure to recognise Kosovo (Tribuna) Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said there is no pressure on his country to recognise the independence of Kosovo. He reiterated that both the Government and the opposition in Slovakia share the same stance on the independence of Kosovo and added that “no one has been forcing us to change our position.” Kosovo moves up from 102 to 98 in press freedom ranking (Botapress) The organization Freedom House published on Thursday its annual report about the freedom of the media in the world. In comparison with last year, Kosovo improved. This year it was ranked 98^th, unlike 2013 when it was ranked 102^nd. It appears in the category of “partly free” places. Haradinaj: No risk from the Civic Initiative Srpska (Epoka e Re) The head of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, said on Thursday that, even if reserved seats for minority communities are extended in the Kosovo Assembly, and the Civic Initiative Srpska comes second or third in the parliamentary elections, he would not be worried.