UNMIK Headlines 28 September
Jahjaga: Brussels agreement is showing signs of life (Zeri)
In an interview for Radio Free Europe, Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga said the agreement between Pristina and Belgrade for normalization of relations is showing tangible results, most notably with the upcoming November local elections. Jahjaga said Serbs in the northern part of Kosovo would have the opportunity to elect leaders that would represent their representatives.
Jahjaga said the normalization of relations would help stability in the region of South-Eastern Europe and that relations cannot keep hostage the European future of the region.
"Kosovo has strong international support and its territory will not be divided. There will be no exchange of territories and no displacement of the population," Jahjaga said.
97 percent of Serb applications illegal (Koha Ditore)
The paper reports in the leading front-page story that only 3 percent of Serbs living outside Kosovo and who have applied to vote in the November local elections have regular applications. A source told the paper that the verification process has revealed that only 1,213 out of 39,000 Serb applications were regular. Valdete Daka, chairperson of the Central Election Committee, said the verification process has yet to be completed but as the paper notes she provided controversial information to the media. Daka also said "after the completion of the verification process there would be a 'double check' to make sure that no one's votes is damaged".
EULEX offers reward for information of killing of customs officer (dailies)
All dailies report that the EU rule-of-law mission (EULEX) is offering a reward for information into the killing of an EULEX official in northern Kosovo. At a press conference in Pristina on Friday, three EULEX prosecutors said eight days of investigations into the killing of the Lithuanian customs officer have not produced any results.
Buja: Limaj and Krasniqi are "burning themselves"! (Zeri)
The paper quotes Rame Buja, member of the chairmanship of the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), as saying that the departure of Fatmir Limaj and Jakup Krasniqi from the party will mark the end of their political careers. Buja said Limaj and Krasniqi made a hasty decision and they will not be successful in other political initiatives.
Ceku: KSF must become an army (Zeri)
Kosovo's Security Force Minister Agim Ceku said the KSF must assume the role of military forces as in other sovereign countries of the world. Ceku's remarks were a response to an earlier statement by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic that he received guarantees from the NATO Secretary General that the KSF would never become an army.