UNMIK Headlines 6 February
Jahjaga to meet Nikolic today in Brussels (dailies)
Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga will meet Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic today in what is their first meeting since Kosovo declared independence. The meeting is being facilitated by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton and primarily viewed as a symbolic gesture that will hopefully help the process of normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
“This meeting will broaden support for the dialogue both in Serbia and in Kosovo. We welcome the fact that both presidents also support the dialogue and hope this will continue to be the case,” an EU official told Koha Ditore.
Meanwhile, Express writes that Jahjaga has left for Brussels and making contradictory assessments on her meeting with Nikolic. Though she stated that the meeting will be of symbolic importance and will only support the ongoing Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, she also said that the first meeting with the head of the Serb state will focus on finding a solution on all matters, which implies there will be negotiations between the two.
Police arrest Kosovo Serb for wounding children in Mitrovica (dailies)
Kosovo police reported yesterday that Kosovo Serb Srdjan Stojanovic was arrested following investigations of injuries to two children in northern Mitrovica. Police found a hand grenade, weapons, and ammunition during the raid in Stojanovic’s home.
The Kosovo Government issued a press release on the incident:
“The Government of the Republic of Kosovo is closely following the situation in the north and condemns the most recent incident in northern Kosovo. The Government of the Republic of Kosovo calls on citizens to maintain calm, show maturity, and not fall prey or cooperate with groups that are attempting to create tensions in this part of Kosovo. The Government also calls on citizens to cooperate with law enforcement authorities and help them apprehend the people behind these incidents. The Government calls for the high engagement and commitment by law enforcement authorities to maintain law and order and bring the perpetrators of these incidents to justice as soon as possible,” the press release read.
Zarif concerned about situation in north (dailies)
Several daily newspapers report that UNMIK chief Farid Zarif condemned Monday’s incident in northern Mitrovica. The UNMIK chief said in a press release he was “deeply shocked upon hearing the news of the attack on a home in north Mitrovica in which two children were injured when an explosive device was thrown at their home in the northern Mitrovica neighborhood of Bosniak Mahala. This is a cowardly act unbefitting of any civilized society.”
UN before NATO (Express)
According to senior NATO officials in Brussels, it is not possible for Kosovo to become a member of this military alliance or partnership for peace in a near future if Kosovo does not become a member of the United Nations. “There is no initiative for Kosovo’s membership in NATO or eventually gaining partner status; nothing is happening in this direction,” senior NATO officials told Belgrade-based daily Danas. According to them, UN membership is a prerequisite to join NATO, and four NATO members - Spain, Greece, Romania and Slovakia - have not recognized Kosovo’s independence.
Mitrovica residents also blame KFOR for biggest postwar massacre (dailies)
Vetëvendosje, the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) in Mitrovica, the Association of Journalists in Mitrovica, and Serbian forces consider French KFOR troops responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Albanians in northern Mitrovica. These remarks were made on the 13th anniversary of the 3-4 February 2000 massacre, when 10 Albanians were killed, 25 were wounded in their homes, and thousands were expelled from northern Mitrovica.
Roundtable speakers said French KFOR troops did nothing to prevent the violence and placed barbwire on the bridge on the River Ibër to prevent Albanians from returning to their homes.
“10 Albanians were executed without any regard for gender or age, starting from a 13 year-old child to a 65 year-old woman. 25 others were wounded, 93 were tortured, and 11,364 were expelled from their homes. All this was done in the presence of French KFOR peacekeepers and UNMIK Police who did not react and assisted Serb criminals,” said Mitrovica’s CDHRF chairman Halit Berani.
Hysni Syla, chairman of the Association of Journalists in Mitrovica, said Albanians were killed and expelled from their properties in the presence of KFOR soldiers and UNMIK Police.
Krasniqi: Law applied in Deçan property dispute (dailies)
Kosovo Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi said that the property dispute involving the Deçan Monastery and the special chamber of the Kosovo Supreme Court should only be resolved through legal procedures. Krasniqi made the comments in a meeting with organizational council representatives, who opposes the Supreme Court’s decision.