UNMIK Headlines 19 September
"Kosovo will join UNESCO" (Epoka e Re)
The director of the British Council in Kosovo, Arjeta Emra, told the paper that the Council is working hard for Kosovo's membership in UNESCO. She also indicated that the British Council, which has long been a partner of the Foreign Affairs Ministry for the advancement of public diplomacy, has already designed activities and has identified partners to achieve this goal. Emra stated that, except for UNESCO membership, the Council is also working towards Kosovo signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU."Now the activities are designed, partners have been identified, we have a clear idea of what we want to achieve in the coming months. Normally, the focus will be on UNESCO and the signing of the SAA,” Emra said. She expressed optimism that in this regard, Kosovo's diplomacy with its partners will overcome the Serbian diplomacy.
Mustafa’s difficult reporting (Zeri)
The paper reports that a harsh political “war” is expected to take place on Tuesday in the Assembly, where Prime Minister Isa Mustafa is expected to report on the agreements signed with Serbia in Brussels. This is due to the objections of the opposition, who are demanding the annulment of the agreement on the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. The opposition parties warned that if the government doesn’t annul this agreement, there will be massive protests against this agreement and government. Arban Abrashi, spokesperson for the government, told the paper that PM Mustafa is not afraid to report to MPs on these agreements, and said that the reasons for the request to postpone the reporting were made public. He further said that the Prime Minister is committed that in his reports and debates in the Parliament, not to remain unexplained issues.
Government identifies potential terrorist activities groups (Koha)
The government of Kosovo, through the 'Strategy for prevention of violent extremism and radicalism that lead to terrorism' which was approved a few days ago, has raised the alarm about the threat of terrorism. In this strategy which the paper claims to possess, it says that one of the potential threats might be those who returned from Syria and Iraq. The document says that the Islamic extremists are not considered the only source to conduct terrorist activities. “There are also groups of Serb and Albanian nationalists who oppose the existing borders and the governance who might be a potential source of terrorist activities.” While for the growing radicalism, the government blames itself. It was admitted that radicalization is the product of two factors: the economic situation and low institutional integrity.
Kosovo Police: We didn’t pressure anyone (RTK)
The Kosovo Police reacted to Vetevendosje’s claims that the police put pressure on those who wanted to sign the petition against the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. "Kosovo Police does not exercise any kind of pressure on the citizens of Kosovo and activists of any political party," said KP’s spokesperson, Baki Kelani. According to Kelani, the KP works to maintain public order and safety, including providing security for all the citizens.