Headlines - 08.10.2015 Kosovo leaders send joint letter to UNESCO delegations (Koha) The paper reports on its front page that Kosovo’s leaders, President Jahjaga, Assembly President Veseli, Prime Minister Mustafa and Foreign Minister Thaci, sent a joint letter to the UNESCO national delegations on Wednesday, seeking support for Kosovo’s bid to join this UN agency. Kosovo leaders pledged in their letter that the Republic of Kosovo would not amend any legislation on heritage without consulting the Serb Orthodox Church. They also said that in addition to protection, the Serb Orthodox Church would be secured a special connection with Serbia. Kosovo leaders also promised another $2 million, in addition to $5 million that have been invested in the last couple of years in the restoration of Serb Orthodox zones. The letter was authored by Dimitris Moschopoulos, former head of the Greek Liaison Office in Pristina and current foreign advisor to the Kosovo government on religious and cultural heritage. Mustafa: Kosovo in the final phase of UNESCO membership (Indeksonline) Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, through social media said that Kosovo is entering the final phase of membership in UNESCO and according to him, this is the result of the very hard work by Kosovo institutions. “Kosovo will respect all world standards of preservation and cultivation of cultural heritage, on the basis of the Constitution and Martti Ahtisaari's Plan and UNESCO’s expertise. We will build the educational and scientific value on this basis. Meanwhile, for Serbia’s leadership, they should focus on how to make their country better and not how to make Kosovo worse,” Mustafa wrote. Selimi confident Kosovo will enter UNESCO agenda (Epoka e Re) Kosovo’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Petrit Selimi, in an interview for Radio Free Europe said he was confident that Kosovo will be included in the UNESCO agenda. “We have optimistic signals from many countries and we expect to end this part of the battle successfully, even though lately the Serbian propaganda has increased beyond that what could be called human,” Selimi was quoted as saying. Mustafa: I will not give in even if you take my life (Klan Kosova) The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, posted on his Facebook account on Wednesday saying that he would not give in to attacks from the opposition parties. “I invite you to attack the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, with eggs, stones, metallic stars, bullets, and with whatever you want to! You can harm him, blind him, you can even take his life. He does not intend to give in,” Mustafa wrote. “I assure you that our courts will not sentence you, they have decreased the price of the Prime Minister’s life and security. Because they are your allies. The highest price that you will pay for the life of the Prime Minister is €150. Furthermore this price is a loan. Because the Court will wait for you, while you can complain. This is the face of our justice. Our shame!,” Mustafa concluded. Zbogar: Violence should not replace arguments (RTK/Kosovapress) The European Union Special Representative in Kosovo, Samuel Zbogar, said in an interview for RTK on Wednesday said that the opposition’s blocking of the Assembly is not democratic. He argued that throwing eggs at Prime Minister Isa Mustafa was a violent act. “Violence should not replace arguments,” he said. According to him, Kosovo can hold elections every month, “but this is not necessary”. Haradinaj: We will block the government too (Kosova Sot) The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, said on Wednesday that the opposition bloc would not allow the implementation of the agreement on the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. Haradinaj said they would also block the work of the government. “We will also block the government’s work, not only the Assembly. We will do this through protests and other means,” Haradinaj said. Kadaj-Bujupi: We will continue to block the Assembly (Zeri) The head of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) parliamentary group, Donika Kadaj-Bujupi, told the paper on Wednesday that the three opposition parties will continue to block the Assembly until the government withdraws from the implementation of the agreement on the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities and the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro. Kadaj-Bujupi said the government has two options: to withdraw from the agreements or to resign. Kollcaku: Serb Association divides hospitals on ethnical bases (Epoka) Representatives of the Vetevendosje Movement told reporters in Pristina on Wednesday that the Association/Community of Serb majority municipalities will bring about the disintegration of Kosovo as a state. Vetevendosje deputy leader Fatmire Kollcaku said the implementation of the agreement would have a negative impact in the health care section. She added that the agreement will divide hospitals on ethnical bases which will be harmful for Kosovo. Surroi: Kosovo is legalizing Serb autonomy (Koha) Publicist Veton Surroi said in an interview for KTV on Wednesday that Kosovo is legalizing the autonomy of Serbs “and this is something that we should address and not deny”. Surroi denied that the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities derived from the Ahtisaari Package. “During those negotiations we rejected and blocked a concept for such an association … it was clear at that time that if we allowed the formation of such an association we would have a third tier of government,” he said. Justice favored Ivanovic (Zeri) The paper reports on its front page that the President of the Kosovo Judicial Council, Enver Peci, has changed the composition of the panel of judges at the Appellate Court in the case of Oliver Ivanovic. According to the paper, faced with pressure from the international community and fearing that the accused of war crimes Oliver Ivanovic and Dragoljub Delibasic could be sent back to detention, Peci changed the panel which now has two international judges and a local judge. The paper notes that Peci made this change over the phone and not through any written notification. Political party donors gain millions of euros from public tenders (Kosova Sot) In a joint research, the anti-corruption NGO think Cohu and the network of Kosovo investigative journalists (Preportr) found that the funding of political parties is the safest and quickest way to realize profit through public tenders. The study showed that the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) has built a close connection to businesses that funded its election campaigns over the last years. PDK donors are the major beneficiaries from public tenders who gained more than 160 million euros, followed by those of Vetevendosje with 60 million, while the donors of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) and Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) gained significantly less. Police arrest 15 Serbs for damaging Sharr forests (Koha) Kosovo Police arrested on Wednesday morning 15 officials and workers of the Serbian company “Srbijasuma”, which operates in Kosovo, on the suspicion of misusing economic authorizations and the destruction of forests in the Sharr region, in the municipality of Shterpce/Strpce. The arrests were made based on a lawsuit filed by the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning two years ago. The chief prosecutor in Ferizaj/Urosevac told the paper that the director and four managing officials of the Serbian company were being held in detention and that the 10 workers were released. Marko Djuric, head of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo, said the arrests constitute a violation of the Brussels Agreement and a direct provocation on Serbia.