UNMIK Headlines 11 August
Opposition sends special court to Constitutional Court (dailies)
Most dailies report that the opposition parties will file a complaint to the Constitutional Court against the decision of the Kosovo Assembly in favor of the formation of the special court. Koha Ditore reports on its front page that the opposition will ask the Constitutional Court to turn down the constitutional amendment that creates the legal basis for the formation of the special court, arguing that “the amendment was voted in a non-constitutional procedure”. The opposition also objects to the content of the constitutional amendment saying that it falls in opposition with many chapters of the Constitution of Kosovo. According to the paper, the Constitutional Court will decide on the matter within a month.
Petition for victims of sexual violence not submitted to UN (Koha Ditore)
On the front page, the paper reports that the petition signed in July of last year calling on the UN to provide justice to the victims of sexual violence during the Kosovo conflict has not been submitted to the UN. The petition, signed by over 100,000 people was supposed to be delivered to the UN last September but the petition’s initiator Edita Tahiri justified the delay at the time by saying that scheduling of a date for submitting the document was not in their hands. Tahiri was not available for comment but a member of the petition’s organizational board Suzana Novoberdaliu said the process will go ahead despite the delays.
Lajci: Ministry of Justice to deal with purported lists (RTK)
Driton Lajci, advisor to Kosovo Assembly President Kadri Veseli, said that the purported lists containing the names of the special court’s indictees should be viewed with caution. He said Veseli would not comment on the lists as they did not come from a relevant judicial institution. “I expect the Ministry of Justice or the EULEX Task Force to clarify whether these lists are legally credible,” Lajci said.
Kukan: There is a risk of Kosovo’s isolation (Zeri)
Eduard Kukan, a member of the European Parliament, in an interview for the paper said there is a significant risk of isolation of the people of Kosovo as a result of the lack of visa liberalization. He expressed concern that the visa liberalization process has taken a long time for Kosovo. “The visa regime is not the right way to bring Kosovo closer to the EU,” Kukan said. In his view, unemployment, the justice system and corruption are major challenges that Kosovo should address urgently. In regards to the Pristina – Belgrade dialogue, Kukan said that this dialogue will help Kosovo and Serbia in the European integration process. When asked about religious radicalism, he said that radicalism is a dangerous issue for the whole region, adding that it is very good for Kosovo that it adopted the law prohibiting its nationals from participating in foreign conflicts.
Elezaj: War veterans should be more patient (Epoka e Re)
The chairman of the War Veterans Organization, Smajl Elezaj, told the paper on Monday that the war veterans should be more patient regarding the publication of the lists of war veterans. He said that the veterans have the right to protest but that the commission to review complaints needs a little more time. According to him, this process was delayed due to the large number of complaints and the small secretarial staff of the government commission. He believes that the review of complaints should be completed by 15 September.
Kosovo, far away from Interpol (Zeri)
The paper writes that Kosovo's request to join the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) is being considered, but the possibility that the issue of accession will be on the agenda of INTERPOL’s Assembly is still far off. Kosovo’s Interior Minister, Skender Hyseni, said that he expects that the issue of Kosovo’s membership to be addressed in November next year. But despite this, Hyseni said that Kosovo is fulfilling its obligations for membership and that Kosovo’s request has already been addressed by INTERPOL.