UNMIK Headlines 29 January
Kosovo Government wants dialogue (Tribuna)
The paper reports on the front page that the Government of Kosovo is confident that there is only one way to move toward EU integration and that is by integrating the northern part of the country and by dismantling Serbia’s illegal structures in the north. The government in Pristina believes this can be achieved through dialogue with Serbia, namely by implementing the April 19 agreement between the two prime ministers and all other agreements that derive from political and technical dialogue.
In a confidential report sent to Brussels, the Kosovo Government expressed its readiness to implement all agreements with Serbia. The report signed by Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri explains in details the actions for the implementation of agreements.
“We remain committed to the consistent and effective implementation of the Brussels agreement which supports the key objectives for normalization of relations between the two countries. The agreement normalizes the situation in northern Kosovo by integrating Serb citizens in Kosovo institutions, by dismantling Serbia’s illegal structures that have been operating in Kosovo since 1999 and advances the European integration of both countries,” the report notes.
French commander refused to arrest Ivanovic in 2000 (Koha Ditore)
The paper reports on the front page that there was sufficient evidence to arrest Kosovo Serb leader, Oliver Ivanovic, back in 2000 but the chief of French Gendarmerie based in the north had refused to carry out the arrest saying this would trigger “third world war”.
The evidence in 2000 was collected by Mahmut Halimi, investigating judge at the Mitrovica district court, and Guy Bourassa, investigator at UNMIK war crimes unit. Halimi told the paper that based on the evidence they secured, seven persons were arrested on war crimes charges but they subsequently escaped from detention. He said he had testimonies of three eye witnesses who had seen Ivanovic participating in the killing of 22 Albanians in Mitrovica.
Six advisors threaten to resign if Ivanovic is not released (Koha Ditore)
Representatives of the northern municipalities have not elected yet the speakers of the assemblies. While arrest of Oliver Ivanovic by EULEX, under suspicion for war crimes, has raised tensions in the north. Six advisors of north Mitrovica Municipal Assembly, have threatened with resignation, if their leader is not allowed to defend in liberty. Albanians advisors, being a minority there, have requested from the European Union to make pressure on Serbs not to leave the meetings and sessions at the very last moment, as it happened with the signing of the declaration of oath.
Tahiri: ITU standards should be respected at telecom (Epoka e Re)
Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri informed on Tuesday that the second meeting on implementation of the agreement on telecom between Kosovo and Serbia, was held in Brussels. She stated that major progress was marked in all aspects of determining obligations and deadlines for both parties. “During this meeting, we agreed to respect border of frequencies between the two countries, and not to interrupt each other on frequency zone any more, respecting completely the International Telecommunication Union on these issues, and also there was readiness for cooperation on digitalization agenda,” said Tahiri.
Serbia brings Kosovo leaders to their knees (Zëri)
Early parliamentary elections in Serbia scheduled for March are expected to also take place in the territory of Kosovo while institutions in Pristina in the past were unable to prevent Serbia’s voting which is in contradiction to the Constitution of Kosovo. While Kosovo Government officials have not yet taken a clear position on the issue, opposition parties fear Serbia’s elections will yet again be organized in Kosovo.
Bekim Çollaku, advisor to Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, said Serbia cannot organise elections in Kosovo but members of the Serb community with dual citizenship will be able to vote. “As to what technical modalities will be applied to enable such a thing, is too early to say”, he added.
Pentagon welcomes results in Kosovo-Serbia dialogue (dailies)
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel hailed Serbia’s steps in the process of normalizing relations with Kosovo. A spokesman for the Pentagon said dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia has created a positive momentum for the region. The remarks were made after Hagel’s meeting with his Serbian counterpart Nebojsa Rodic. An agreement for military cooperation was signed by Hagel and Rodic. “The two leaders discussed regional security concerns in the Balkans and ways to push forward the positive momentum from dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo. Secretary Hagel praised the progress that Serbia and Kosovo have achieved in normalizing relations and highlighted Minister Rodic’s positive impact on regional security cooperation,” the spokesman said.
EU interested in simplification of election system (Koha Ditore)
In a roundtable organized by Kosovo-based NGO, Democracy for Development, ambassadors of the Germany, Switzerland, and Netherlands called on political parties to carry out election reform as simple as possible and in such a way as to prevent fraud. They claimed this is the main concern of European Union.
Germany’s Mathias Kiesler said that there should be a general agreement that there is no ideal election system but that it is important for the reform to result in simplification and transparency. At the same time, Netherland’s Ambassador, Robert Bosch, said there are enough models available for Kosovo to choose the most appropriate one.
Pantic under Serbian Gendarmerie escort (Zëri)
Krstimir Pantic, candidate for North Mitrovica mayor, was interviewed yesterday by the police as a victim but resulted to be a suspect for an assault against Dragan Basic. Sources told the paper that Pantic arrived at the police station escorted by hour men in civilian clothes but who are members of the Serbian Gendarmerie. EULEX investigators interviewed Pantic regarding a dispute he has with a neighbor.
Zbogar disappointed with IMC (Kosova Sot)
EU Special Representative to Kosovo, Samuel Zbogar, sent a letter to the Independent Electronic Media Association expressing concern with the current situation at the Independent Media Commission. “It is regrettable that despite a great deal of effort and advice, including expertise from European Union, the Independent Media Commission is still without a steering council and incapable of performing its duties”, said Zbogar. He added that the EU has expressed its concerns at the Kosovo Assembly about the way the previous appointments of IMC members were made and that these will also be reflected in the European Commission’s report.
Rasic: Minorities could abandon the institutions (Epoka e Re)
In an interview for the paper, Labor and Social Welfare Minister Nenad Rasic warns that minorities can abandon Kosovo’s Parliament and government institutions if the latter fail to meet their request to extend reserved seats in parliament for another mandate. Rasic said abandoning the institutions would not be a good solution, “but this is high time to act”. He added that if Kosovo does not meet the request of minority communities this would damage Pristina’s relations with the international community. Rasic also said political parties, especially the opposition, would have to shoulder the responsibility for failing to meet requests of minority communities.
Rasic’s group breaks up (Tribuna)
Starting from this week, the Government of Kosovo will have four less MPs that support it in parliament. Namely, the parliamentary group “Joint Future” which was established several months ago by Labor and Social Welfare Minister Nenad Rasic have split, as four members of parliament from the group resigned. Rasic told the paper: “According to my information, they are planning to establish a new parliamentary group that will follow instructions from Belgrade”.