EU, Quint welcome ratification, condemn Vetëvendosje acts (dailies)

Dailies report that European Union representatives in Kosovo, as well as the most important Western embassies in Pristina, welcomed the ratification by the Kosovo Parliament of the agreement for normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. The embassies of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom in Kosovo and the Office of EU Special Representative have greeted parliament for its decision. They strongly condemned violent acts by the Vetëvendosje Movement and their supporters inside and outside parliament.

Heads of Kosovo institutions – the Office of President and the Government – also hailed the ratification. The Office of President issued a press release expressing concern over the efforts to prevent the voting process in parliament yesterday.

Tension does not stop ratification (Koha Ditore)

Despite tensions created by the Vetëvendosje Movement, parliament members ratified the agreement with Serbia with 84 votes in favor, three against and one abstained. The voting was made possible only after Kosovo Police escorted Vetëvendosje MPs out of parliament. Tensions and clashes inside parliament delayed but did not prevent the ratification of the Brussels agreement. Aware that in addition to ruling parties, opposition parties LDK and AAK would also vote in favor of the agreement, Vetëvendosje MPs tried to prevent the ratification of the agreement and physically tried preventing Parliament Speaker Jakup Krasniqi from initiating the voting procedure.

Clashes and arrests in the protest of Vetëvendosje (Koha Ditore)

32 people were injured, 21 of them police officers, were injured while hundreds of protesters tried to prevent members of parliament from entering parliament premises. Protesters blocked six entrances into the building. Police said protesters were violent. Protesters even tried to prevent US Ambassador Tracy Jacobson from entering the building. In a reaction issued later during the day, Kosovo President Jahjaga said the attempt of protesters to prevent the ambassador and her staff were shameful.

Vetëvendosje: Police used excessive force against protesters (dailies)

Dailies report that several hours after the protest in front of parliament, the Vetëvendosje Movement held a press conference accusing Kosovo Police for using excessive force against protesters. Bojken Abazi, coordinator of the General Secretariat of Vetëvendosje, said some protesters suffered broken extremities.

Vetëvendosje deputy leader Shpend Ahmeti said the aim of the protest was to prevent members of parliament from entering the building, but not of foreign diplomats. “We tried to prevent members of parliament, not diplomatic missions. However, we don’t know why they should be coming at every session of parliament. I did not see any embassy issuing a press release about corruption or about the Freedom House report which evaluates Kosovo as a half authoritarian state,” Ahmeti added.

US Embassy: Vetëvendosje damages reputation of Kosovo (dailies)

US Embassy issued a communiqué yesterday saying that Ambassador Tracy Ann Jacobson was physically prevented by Vetëvendosje protesters from entering parliament premises and attending the regular session. “The United States respects the rights of citizens for freedom of expression, at the same time it condemns the use of violent tactics in prevention of the democratic process. The freedom of expression does not mean restriction of freedom of movement for others. While always relaying on violent tactics, Vetëvendosje damages reputation of Kosovo, a democracy in development,” the communiqué said.

Formally, negotiations for SAA will be authorized today (Koha Ditore)

Leaders of the states or governments of the EU member countries, during their last day of work at the Brussels summit, will make the decision to give Serbia the deadline for the start of negotiations for EU membership, and at the same day, through a short procedure, they will approve the decision of the EU ministers to authorize the start of the negotiations for the Stabilization Association Agreement between EU and Kosovo. Kosovo is expected to be mentioned at the Summit only when they will hail the decision to authorize the start of the negotiations, while when Serbia is concerned, they will endorse the decision.

MIA does not want Milija Milosevic in the police (Koha Ditore)

Nenad Djuric and Milija Milosevic were dismissed at the same time in 2011 from Kosovo Police, for not respecting orders, braking of chain of command and other serious violations. While Djuric submitted only one complaint to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Bajram Rexhepi, Milosevic has not stopped, and he even submitted the case to the court, which decided on his favor. However, MIA has not respected the decision of the Court to allow Milosevic return to his previous position, while Djuric, without any decision of the Court, has returned to the Police in the position of the regional director for the four Serb municipalities in northern Kosovo. The Ministry has not treated the same these two cases which according to EULEX intelligence and police, were caught cooperating and enabling Zvonko Veselinovic’s smuggling.

EULEX activated in the Bor case (Tribuna)

The European Union rule-of-law mission in Kosovo (EULEX) has initiated procedures on the testimony of Ivan Pajic, a citizen from Bor, Serbia, who told the paper about the transfer of bodies of Albanians killed during the Kosovo war. Pajic said several refrigerator trucks with bodies of Albanians ended up in a mass grave in Petrovo Selo, while another truck went to the Bor smelting facility near Petrovo Selo. The EULEX unit on missing persons is aware about other testimonies published by the paper.

The EU mission does not have an executive mandate in Serbia, but it has an agreement for cooperation with competent mechanisms and together with the Kosovar side it has initiated procedures into Pajic’s testimony. “The EULEX unit for investigating war crimes is aware of the information and it is taking the necessary steps. Until these actions are not completed, we can make no further comments,” a EULEX spokesman told the paper.

Kumnova: 14 years of anxiety (Tribuna)

Nusrete Kumnova, representative of the association of missing persons “Mothers’ Cries”, told the paper that the anxiety of families of missing persons is continuing even 14 years after the end of the war in Kosovo. Kumnova said she hopes recent media reports about the existence of a mass grave in Serbia will be the first step toward shedding light on the fate of 1,700 missing persons, whose bodies were transported in organized fashion by Serbian authorities.

“We felt very bad when we heard reports that the bodies of our most loved ones were burned. If the bodies were burned, they have first and last names, because the Milosevic regime always wrote the names of those killed. We call on Serbian institutions to come out with concrete information about the names of missing persons whose bodies were burned in Serbia,” Kumnova added.

“Chetniks” at Ibër bridge threaten and insult Albanians  (dailies)

A group of Serbs, with the appearance of chetniks, who have come from Bosnia, have “occupied” the northern part of the bridge on River Ibër that divides Mitrovica city, and from there, they provoked and insulted Albanians in the southern part. This group, who call themselves Ravnogorci,” were quite close to the Kosovo Police officers, however their calls “to cut all Albanian throats” has not induced any reaction of the officials, who should be keeping order and security in the northern part of Mitrovica. They also called “there are no Albanians, you are all Turks,” “Kosovo is Serbia,” etc.

Koha Ditore also reports that the same group threatened and insulted the correspondent of Koha Ditore and the team of “Kosova Channel.”