Headlines - 20.12.2012 Platform: Autonomy with territory, parliament, government, police (Koha Ditore) In a front-page report, Belgrade raised tensions in the dialogue process on Wednesday by putting the conditions and requests for autonomy for Kosovo on paper. Belgrade aims to fulfill these goals through political dialogue in Brussels and this will lead to the creation of a new entity for all Kosovo Serbs who will have a high level of territorial and political independence from Pristina, similar to the Serbian Republic in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper claims to have a copy of the Serbian platform sent to EU member states, the Quint, and Russia. The seven-page document details Serbia’s requests for the creation of a Serb autonomous entity in Kosovo, which will include northern municipalities and other mainly Serb-inhabited municipalities of Gracanica and Shtërpce. Kosovo officials rejected the Serbian platform, calling it anti-European and unacceptable; meanwhile, there have been mixed reactions from the European Union. On Wednesday, there was no reaction from the office of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton. Vincent Degert, head of the EU delegation in Serbia, told media in Belgrade that “certain things in the platform are going in the right direction, while others can be discussed.” Several dailies quote Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi saying that Serbia’s platform on Kosovo – sponsored by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic – is a worthless document. “This plan, this project by Nikolic, cannot be implemented in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo,” Thaçi said during a government meeting on Wednesday. He also added that the “Serbian platform will remain on the shelves of wishes in Belgrade and will share the fate of other failed Serbian projects for Kosovo.”  Bon appétit (Zëri) In a front-page story, Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi and AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj were seen dining in a restaurant in Pristina last evening. The paper notes that the meeting comes at a time when reports are circulating of a ruling coalition between the two parties, derived from the former Kosovo Liberation Army. AAK officials neither confirmed nor denied the meeting. Government dictates the Assembly (Express) The opposition in Kosovo continues to complain that the executive is dictating the legislation to a vast extent. According to them, this has made the Assembly an instrument of the vote for the decisions brought by the Government. Representatives of the coalition government deny this and asses that relations between the Government and the Assembly are correct and according to the laws and Constitution. However, Ismet Beqiri of the Democratic League of Kosovo and Glauk Konjufca of Vetëvendosje claim that the Government continues to influence the deputies of the coalition. Fisnik Rexhepi: We did not reach an agreement in Brussels (Koha Ditore) The political advisor of the Minister for Internal Affairs, Fisnik Rexhepi, stated that the technical group responsible to implement the agreement on the Integrated Border Management did not agree with the Serbian party on the regulation of the customs system. Rexhepi considers that statements made by the Serbian delegation on how the agreement was reached are false. He added that parties only discussed “an understanding” for the border crossing in Jarinje, due to the holidays period, which should end on 10 January. March in Pristina for northern Mitrovica (Express) Students of Pristina University and students of several high schools in Pristina will hold a symbolic march for northern Mitrovica today. The march will begin at the National Library of Kosovo and end in front of the Government of Kosovo. “We as students of this country and this society believe it is crucial to determine the direction of the will of the people of the Republic of Kosovo. We believe this will is being misused for daily politics and this vicious cycle includes corrupt and blackmailed politicians,” said a student. Gashi, Velija give names on paper (Koha Ditore) Attorney Tom Gashi said Wednesday that the German citizen, Natali Velija, gave prosecutors names of some officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who she claims to have given over €1.4 million. Gashi announced earlier this week that Velija is going to publish the names of corrupted officials. On Wednesday, after leaving EULEX, he said that he did not see the names that Velija provided to EULEX prosecutors in a letter. Gashi said that he did not wish to see the names and did not provide the number of names that were listed. “When first questioning Natali Velija, according to her request, the prosecution decided that all information is confidential from now on and revealing it is a criminal act,” said Gashi. “She has used tactics where she will only provide some of the names in written form. This way, the prosecutors and investigators only know some of the names,” stated Gashi, adding that his client provided one part of the documentation to prove that all the money was given with the orders of Austrian company OeSD.