UNMIK Headlines 25 February
NATO, EULEX to replace Serb structures (Koha Ditore, Express)
Pristina and Belgrade agreed that Serbia will remove its parallel security structures from the north, which will be replaced by NATO and EULEX troops until the so-called Kosovo security super-structure is ready to take over.
Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi and Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic agreed on this during talks in Brussels, reports Radio Free Europe. Dacic said it is Serb public opinion that Belgrade will not allow the dismissal of its structures in the north without knowing who will replace them.
On the other hand, political coordinator for talks with Serbia Blerim Shala said it will take a maximum of several months for Serb security structures to be disbanded. He added that it will take the same amount of time for Kosovo’s organizational capacity to prepare for takeover. “Meanwhile, we count on the strong support of EULEX and NATO because there is a principled will of Pristina and Belgrade for the international community to play an important role in the transitioning of the north of Kosovo”, Shala told RFE.
Thaçi breaches Assembly’s Resolution (Zëri)
Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi has seriously breached the Resolution of the Kosovo Assembly and the Constitution by “striking deals” with his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic regarding the north. Although the last meeting between both prime ministers officially ended without any agreement, signals from Brussels suggest that the issue of the north could be resolved by April. It is also learnt that Thaçi and Dacic agreed for Belgrade to withdraw its structures from the north of Kosovo but, at the same time, Dacic came up with a proposal to create the association of northern municipalities, which is unacceptable for authorities in Pristina.
Blerim Shala, not known what he coordinates (Koha Ditore)
Representatives from opposition parties and civil society claim that they are not seeing results from coordinator in the political dialogue with Serbia Blerim Shala. They are also unsure what he coordinates exactly and view his position as superfluous.
LDK’s Vjosa Osmani said they cannot assess a performance they have not witnessed yet. “We are waiting to see now that the dialogue is becoming more intensive if such a position is necessary,” she said. Vetëvendosje’s Dardan Molliqaj on the other hand said that Shala’s appointment was made so as to include the party he represents, AAK, directly in negotiations with Serbia: “Blerim Shala and Atifete Jahjaga are in this process only to support Mr. Thaçi and share responsibility.”
Haradinaj supports community of municipalities in north (Koha Ditore)
AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj said on Sunday in Suhareka that he supports association of the municipalities in the north, but explained that those should be a model of the Association of Kosovo Municipalities, which acts now for some time in Kosovo. “In Kosovo there is an association of municipalities. An organization of municipalities is also foreseen. According to the Constitution, a partial organization can happen,” emphasized Haradinaj. “Such a partial organization is possible, but those associations should not have executive and legislative powers,” said Haradinaj.
Two explosions in north, one controlled by KFOR (dailies)
Dailies report that KFOR units on Sunday evening neutralized one unexploded hand grenade in the yard of a home in Bosniak Mahalla, in north Mitrovica. Ergin Medic, stated KFOR soldiers, during a controlled explosion exercise, neutralized this hand grenade, which was found in a neighborhood inhabited mainly by Albanians and Bosnians. This was the second incident in the last 24 hours. A prior incident happened Sunday morning where unidentified persons activated an explosive device near the disability pension fund on the Kolashin road. According to Kosovo police, the branch of the Republican Fund of Serbia for Insurance and Disability Pensions was the target.
Serb court rules compensation for tortured Kosovar in 1999 (Koha Ditore)
Appeals Court in Belgrade decided that the Serbian Government will compensate Sylejman Bajgora from Podujeva for the torture he experienced by members of the Serb Interior Ministry in 1999. The court said police arrested Bajgora without grounds and kept him in detention for four months where he was subjected to physical and psychological mistreatment.