UNMIK Headlines 5 June
No ratification without agreement of leaders (Zëri)
Agreement with Serbia on normalization of relations along with its implementation plan cannot be put to vote at the Assembly of Kosovo without a political consensus being achieved between main political leaders. The ratification process requires 80 votes and it seems that crucial for the document to pass is an agreement between leader of Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Hashim Thaçi and that of Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Isa Mustafa.
LDK deputy leader Teuta Sahatçiu said time is needed for internal consultations and consultations within the political spectrum as the agreement relates to Kosovo and its future. “A broader consensus is needed with regards to the agreement”, she said.
Implementation of the agreement to be discussed today (Epoka e Re)
Kosovo Deputy Prime Minster, Edita Tahiri, stated that she expects progress on the implementation plan of the agreement with Serbia. She said that Pristina and Belgrade delegations will meet again today in Brussels to discuss implementation plan of the agreement on normalization of relations between the two countries. She explained that today they will discuss security, justice and creation of the association of Serb municipalities.
“We expect progress in this process but I cannot say if it will be concluded by the end of this week. However, by 15 June, the main part of these obligations have to be defined, agreements have to be reached and some actions have to be taken,” she said.
Agreement on telecom postponed (Zëri)
In an interview for the paper, Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri said that Serbia has agreed in principle for Kosovo to get its own international prefix but that its insistence to have a Serb mobile operator licensed in Kosovo without respecting legal procedures has again blocked the reaching of the agreement on telecom.
“According to Kosovo laws, in order for a mobile operator to be licensed, it should undergo tendering while Serbia demands entering Kosovo without these procedures therefore we refused it”, said Tahiri.
Officials involved in dialogue, were not verified by KIA (Koha Ditore)
Kosovo officials involved in the two recent processes of political and technical dialogue with Serbia did not undergo any verification procedure. The Law for classified information and security verification stresses the need to check on every official that has access to classified information.
Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister, Hajredin Kuçi refused to make a statement on whether the participants in the dialogue underwent the Kosovo Intelligence Agency procedures He told this daily that they should contact his colleague, Edita Tahiri, who coordinated the technical dialogue, and now also the working groups of political dialogue. However, the latter did not respond to the phone calls on Tuesday.
US: Accusations are not against KLA, but against individuals (Koha Ditore)
United States of America has warned the Government, Assembly and other political mechanisms not to interfere in justice. US Embassy in Pristina said that the people of Kosovo are rightfully proud of the war and that the investigations for war crimes are not conducted against KLA but against few individuals suspected for war crimes.
“US embassy has noticed that there are grave political reactions in the Assembly and the media in connection with the investigation of the so-called ‘Drenica Group’. The people of Kosovo are rightfully proud of their successful war for an independent and democratic state which is based on the respect for rule of law,” said the US Embassy in Pristina.
Assembly to debate on EULEX? (Koha Ditore)
War veterans associations have requested from the Assembly to reconsider EULEX’s mandate in Kosovo. Some of the Assembly members support the request of the three organizations to call for an extraordinary parliamentary session where they would discuss recent arrests and EULEX mandate. PDK MP, Behar Selimi, and AAK’s Ahmet Isufi, said that this request should be considered.
One Albanian man arrested for war crimes (dailies)
EU mission in Kosovo has informed on Tuesday that EULEX police arrested one person accused of war crimes against civilian population. EULEX said the person is suspected to have raped one Kosovo Albanian woman during the conflict in Kosovo.
The head of KLA War Veterans Association in Mitrovica, Rafet Ibishi, said for Koha Ditore that the arrested person is from the village Kaqandoll and lives in Vaganica, municipality of Mitrovica. Ibishi said that the arrested person was not a KLA member but the newspaper learned that the suspect was in continuous contact with KLA members during and after the war.
Krasniqi lost trust with locals, requests help from internationals (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports that Kosovo Assembly Speaker, Jakup Krasniqi, has lost his confidence in Prime Minister, Hashim Thaçi, the ministers and Kosovo President, Atifete Jahjaga. According to him, Thaçi and governing cabinet intentionally have damaged the state of Kosovo with the privatization of Kosovo Post and Telecom (PTK). And to stop this illegal process, as he called it, he requests the help from the senior officials of the EU, IMF and representatives of Quint countries, through a letter which contains 18 points.
Krasniqi’s letter lists the violations of procedures and laws in the Assembly while raising suspicions in the decisions taken from Kosovo Government during privatization of PTK. The head of Kosovo Assembly did not send this letter to anyone from the leaders of local institutions, including those from justice. In a statement for Koha Ditore, he said that he lost his trust in the leader of Kosovo institutions.