UNMIK Headlines 7 January
Sejdiu: Party membership wants me to take over LDK leadership (telegrafi.com)
Former Kosovo President and LDK honorable president Fatmir Sejdiu said in an interview for KTV on Monday that LDK leader Isa Mustafa bears the biggest responsibility for LDK's defeat in Pristina. Sejdiu said he is under pressure from the party's membership to take over leadership of the party and that when conditions are right he will announce his candidacy for the post of LDK leader.
"The LDK won in many municipalities, but it lost the capital city. This is alarming for the LDK and explanations are needed. There can be no excuse for losing Pristina," Sejdiu said.
Sejdiu also said he had asked Mustafa not to run for a third term as mayor of Pristina. "Mustafa justified his candidacy by saying that any other candidate would lose Pristina. He also said that he would resign if he lost Pristina," he added.
Asked if he will run for LDK leader, Sejdiu said he would do so because the party's membership is asking this from him. "I am under daily pressure from the membership to run for LDK leader again. The first time that processes in the LDK require me to be there, I will be ready to take over the party's leadership," Sejdiu said.
Vucic and Vulin in Gracanica today (koha.net)
Serbian Principal Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic will visit Gracanica today. Serbian media reported on Monday that Vucic will attend the Orthodox Christmas mass in Gracanica Monastery. Vucic said he will be travelling to Kosovo with messages of peace. The Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo said that Serbian Minister for Kosovo Aleksandar Vulin will also attend mass in Gracanica.
Kosovo Police arrest four people in Gjakova protest (rtklive.com)
Kosovo Police issued a communiqué about Monday's events in the city of Gjakova where Kosovo Albanians protested against the visit by Serbian Government's Minister for Kosovo Aleksandar Vulin and Serbian pilgrims. Police arrested four Kosovo Albanians during the protest.
Around 150-200 protesters tried to enter the church in an attempt to block the entrance to Vulin and the Serb pilgrims. The protesters were soon joined by several associations such as "The Cries of Mothers" and families of missing persons.
Police reported that around 13:00 hrs, a convoy of two buses with around 70 pilgrims arrived in Gjakova and despite security measures a person threw a stone at the bus smashing its windshield and another protester stopped his car on the street blocking it. "Police arrested the suspect and removed the car from the street," the police report said.
Soon after, large numbers of Gjakova citizens took to the streets to voice their anger over the visit.
"During this period, police officers from the Gjakova station were aided by border police and police officers from Decan and Klina, who helped control the crowd of 3500-400 people. Most of the protesters were mothers who were carrying pictures of their missing loved ones, including women and children," police reported. Later on, protesters were dispersed peacefully.
Government planning to privatize PTK in three months (koha.net)
The Government of Kosovo is planning to formalize the privatization of the Kosovo Post and Telecom (PTK) in the next three months. The government is planning to do so without consent from parliament. This is confirmed in the government's work plan for 2014, a copy of which Koha Ditore managed to secure. Namely, the objective "Post-privatization of KEDS and privatization of 75 percent of PTK shares" that is ascribed to the Ministry for Economic Development, foresees three activities in relation to the PDK. All three activities are planned to be completed by end of March.
"1. Signing the agreement for the transaction of PTK shares; 2. Transfer of shares to the winning bidder; and 3. Transfer of funds from the sale of 75 percent of PTK shares," are the activities listed in the document adopted by the government. A decision by parliament on 31 December 2011 and the government's decision on 16 February 2013 were mentioned as legal foundations for such activities.
Hamiti: Religious debates must end (Epoka e Re)
Xhabir Hamiti, professor of Islamic studies in Pristina and former chairman of the assembly of the Islamic Community of Kosovo, told the paper that religious debates in Kosovo incited by foreign agendas must come to an end. He warned that debates filled with ill-will stereotypes against people with different beliefs will ruin the Albanian nation.
"We as Albanians, both Muslim and Christian, for centuries were part of a high culture of respect and tolerance for the beliefs of others. This virtue can be shaken only by foreign anti-Albanian circles which have been very active in this respect in the last couple of years. We need to vigilant and remain mobilized as a society and state in order to prevent such dangerous initiatives," he said.
Hamiti also called on leaders of religious communities to keep their work under control and to take disciplinary measures against ad-hoc, immature and tendentious statements by religious leaders. He added that being a religious leader does not give one the right to make immature statements that can lead to divisions between people.