UNMIK Headlines 27 March
Jacobson: No second chance for agreement (dailies)
Dailies report that during a visit at the University of Pristina on Monday, U.S. Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson called for an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina. She said the U.S. supported the negotiation process from the beginning.
“In fact I was in Brussels last week, and we continue to be in close contact with the European Union, the facilitator in this process,” Jacobson told media, adding that she has good words for the Kosovo Government and coordinator Blerim Shala. “I cannot comment on how the last agreement will look, but I have to say that this is a historic moment. It is a possibility for Kosovo and Serbia to move beyond a painful past towards a brighter future. And I don’t think that such a possibility will come again,” she said.
Jacobson said the U.S. respects the red lines of the Kosovo Government in the negotiations. “I believe that there will be people with good will in Serbia, just as there are here in Kosovo and the EU; this agreement will be achieved,” Jacobson said.
Thaçi: Agreement in interest of citizens (Epoka e Re)
Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi informed Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga on Monday about his latest meeting in Brussels. He said that the Kosovo side’s stance is very clear in this process. “We have entered in this dialogue for this process to be successful and to achieve agreements that are in the interest of all citizens, in the interest of peace and stability, and in the interest of the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, as two sovereign and independent states,” said Thaçi.
Kadri Veseli, deputy of Hashim Thaçi (dailies)
Several dailies report that Kadri Veseli, former head of the Kosovo Intelligence Service (SHIK), is now deputy leader in the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK). Veseli, who joined PDK last year, was elected by PDK chairmanship.
Belgrade doesn’t want KSF in north (Tribuna)
Belgrade is using the competencies of the Association of Serb municipalities to prevent Kosovo from wielding its authority in the north. International sources in Pristina said Belgrade continues to insist on special treatment for the north, this time by camouflaging this with the Association’s competencies that include certain limitations for the central government. Limitations mainly include security and justice. Serbian officials insist that an eventual agreement with Kosovo officials should prevent the presence of the Kosovo Security Force in the north.
Çeku: Parliament to decide on KSF transformation (Koha Ditore)
The Minister of Kosovo Security Forces, Agim Çeku, stated, after reporting at the Parliamentary Commission for Internal Affairs on Tuesday, that Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) will certainly become an army. He said KSF is undergoing a review, a scientific study to identify its needs and possibilities.
“This will take time, but it is a process that is dynamic and going in the right direction,” said Çeku. He added that the Assembly of Kosovo would determine how this transformation will be called. “The only institution that Kosovo does not have, the only unfinished duty, is the military force. How big it will be and what capacities it will have will be decided by the Parliament, because this process will necessitate for us to change the Constitution, to draft new laws, and to change existing laws,” said Çeku.
UN membership application after agreement with Serbia (Lajm)
Lajm runs an interview that Alexander Borg-Olivier, former head of UNMIK Pillar I, gave to Radio Free Europe, highlighting the steps that Kosovo needs to make in order to get membership in the United Nations. A signed agreement between Kosovo and Serbia saying that Serbia will not obstruct Kosovo’s membership in international organizations would facilitate the application for UN membership. Borg-Olivier said that Kosovo first needs to get more than 100 recognitions, which would soften Russia and China’s positions.
France reconfirms support for Kosovo (dailies)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Enver Hoxhaj, during a meeting with French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Laurent Fabius, expressed appreciation for France’s support, especially in the process of state consolidation, Euro-Atlantic integrations, international recognitions, and Kosovo’s membership in EURBD. Both ministers expressed readiness for further cooperation.
“Kosovo is ready to welcome French investors. French companies will find favorable conditions to operate in Kosovo,” said Hoxhaj. “I am using this occasion to invite French experts to engage on strengthening administrative capacities, implementing structural reforms, and training Government staff.”
Kosovo portrayed as “mafia” state (Tribuna)
Pierre Pean, the reporter who shocked France in 2008 with his book on alleged links between former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and former African dictators, will publish a new book in April on Kosovo.
The book will highlight how the Kosovo Intelligence Service (SHIK) functions, the alleged links between SHIK and Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, underground activities in Kosovo, the fight of the Kosovo Liberation Army, war crime accusations, and alleged links between the underground and former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj.
According to sources, the book relies mainly on intelligence reports by KFOR French troops and involves post-war activities in Kosovo. The book also includes accusations against many international officials, including French generals Xavier Bout de Marnhac and Yves de Kermabon, for cooperating with “politicians who run Kosovo’s underground”