UNMIK Headlines 22 May
EULEX: Institutions to bring Drenica Group to Mitrovica (Koha)
Koha Ditore reports that EULEX expects Kosovo institutions to find and send all members of the Drenica Group to the detention center in Mitrovica by 09:30 today. EULEX officials said on Wednesday that they expect the three members of the Drenica Group, whose whereabouts are unknown, Sami Lushtaku, Ismet Haxha and Sahit Jashari, will appear in court on Thursday. Families of the defendants meanwhile have ruled this out. The Ministry of Justice issued a press release saying that Kosovo’s Correctional Service did not decide to transfer the defendants to northern Mitrovica because it did not receive guarantees from EULEX.
“We are convinced that as planned the first hearing session of the main proceeding will be held tomorrow at 09:30 at the Basic Court in Mitrovica. The goal of the mission is to prevent the situation from destabilizing. EULEX will assist the authorities of the Kosovo Correctional Service with additional police officers at the Detention Center in Mitrovica, during the period that the defendants will be there,” EULEX said in a press release. The rule-of-law mission also denied statements by families of the defendants that they negotiated with EULEX judges for two days for the group not to be transferred to the north. “The mission once again emphasizes that the rule of law is non-negotiable”.
Officials at the correctional service told the paper that arrest warrants have been issued for Lushtaku, Haxha and Jashari.
Veterans do not allow transfer of Drenica Group (Epoka e Re)
KLA veterans will gather today (Thursday) at 07:00 hours at the Kosovo Clinical and University Center (QKUK) to prevent transfer of Sami Lushtaku, Sahit Jashari and Ismet Haxha to Mitrovica prison. War veterans’ acting leader, Smajl Elezaj, said for this daily that the protest will not stop until the decision of EULEX judge is abolished. EULEX on the other hand informed that the order of the judge has not changed and it remains in power.
Borg-Olivier: EULEX needs to change decision on Drenica Group (Koha)
Alexander Borg-Olivier, former head of the UNMIK Legal Office, presently working as an international lawyer in Kosovo, told Kosovapress on Wednesday that he was surprised with EULEX’s decision to transfer the Drenica Group, “such a decision is hard to justify because it violates human rights”. “I think the decision made by the EULEX judge is very hard to justify; it was quite surprising and I think it created unnecessary panic among the detainees, who don’t want to be transferred to a place where they think their lives will be in danger. I believe this is a violation of human rights. I also believe that the decision to transfer them to a hostile location as far as the detainees are concerned, should be changed so that they can await trial in a place that is safe and well-guarded,” Borg-Olivier added.
Haradinaj says Drenica Group escape, bad news (Bota Sot)
Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj said that yesterday’s event is a bad news for Kosovo. Haradinaj stated that in this case, the court and individuals under arrest measures should act according to legal provisions. “The entire system has degraded in Kosovo, therefore AAK has a clear vision on how to heal Kosovo,” said Haradinaj.
Talks continue today in Brussels (Lajm)
Today Kosovo delegation will meet with officials of European Union in Brussels to discuss the issue of vehicle insurance where the main aim of Kosovo is to find modalities for lowering high prices of border insurance and facilitating unnecessary border procedures for travellers and citizens of Kosovo and Serbia. Kosovo delegation is led by Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri.
According to a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Kosovo delegation will have meetings with representatives of Green Card Bureau based in Brussels to discuss about methods for the Bureau, as a most important European mechanism on the issue of border insurances, to be part of a possible agreement and ensure the implementation of standards of this organization.
Zbogar: Blockade in the north, psychological (Tribuna)
EU Special Representative to Kosovo Samuel Zbogar said the barricade in Mitrovica should be removed for many reasons. He said the blockade is not only physical but also psychological. “We are here to remove all barricades that Kosovo has towards normalising life in Kosovo”, said Zbogar in a lecture before the students of the Riinvest college in Pristina. He said the next barricade Kosovo faces is the visa liberalisation and added that Kosovo has made a great deal of progress on the issue, especially in the last year.
President requests mobilization of justice during elections (Bota Sot)
President Atifete Jahjaga met yesterday the Kosovo chief prosecutor Ismet Kabashi to discuss preparations for the election process. President stressed the need and readiness of all responsible institutions to organize, secure the elections process while Kabashi informed her on the preparations of the Prosecution. Later in the day, Jahjaga met also with the head of the Elections Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) Shukri Sylejmani who informed her on the preparations for ensuring a regular election process.