Headlines - 27.10.2016

• Mustafa: Brussels wants ratification not declaration on demarcation (RTK)
• “Government has degraded, early elections as soon as possible” (Indeksonline)
• Working group will try to find solution on demarcation (Koha)
• Kosovo Assembly to discuss today courts’ rulings on KLA members (dailies)
• PDK: “Drenica 2” verdict, tendency to criminalize KLA’s war (Telegrafi)
• Democracy Plus against Assembly’s session on Drenica case (Lajmi)
• Rashiti: Dialogue with Serbia will last a long time (Klan Kosova)
• Abrashi: No budget for all KLA veterans (Kosova Sot)

Mustafa: Brussels wants ratification not declaration on demarcation (RTK)

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, said on Wednesday in an interview for the public broadcaster RTK, that ruling coalition parties have a very good cooperation and that the mandate of the government will conclude in 2018. Speaking about the demarcation of the border with Montenegro, Mustafa said that an agreement for a joint declaration of Kosovo’s political parties is not sufficient, being that the decision has to be made at the Assembly. “The declaration might be beneficial for some in order to find justification why they blocked the process until now, but in relation with the EU, the declaration of the Assembly does work,” he said. Mustafa also said that the issue of the Trepca mining complex has to be resolved in Kosovo being that Trepca is Kosovo’s property.

“Government has degraded, early elections as soon as possible” (Indeksonline)

Deputy leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ahmet Isufi, told Indeksonline about the meeting of the political leaders on demarcation issue and the reason why Ramush Haradinaj left the meeting earlier. “It is already public and Mr. Haradinaj already stated that political leaders cannot be invited while the position is the same as the one a year ago,” said Ahmeti and added that the position of the PM Isa Mustafa has irritated those present at the meeting. According to Ahmeti, the government should withdraw from its position because he said, it has harmed the territorial interest of Kosovo. “We of course respond to the meetings that have good intention,” said Ahmeti, however he added that the current government has degraded and new elections have to be held as soon as possible.

Working group will try to find solution on demarcation (Koha)

The failure of Kosovo’s political leaders to sign the joint declaration will not be the end of efforts to reach a consensus on the border demarcation with Montenegro, the paper reports on page three. Naim Rashiti, from the Balkans Policy Research Group, confirmed to the paper on Wednesday that a working group, consisting of representatives of all political parties, experts and members of the state committee on the border delineation, will work together for one month to try and resolve the demarcation issue. Rashiti also said he was confident that political leaders will ultimately sign the declaration. Meanwhile, representatives of the Haradinaj-led Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) said on Wednesday that they will sign the declaration only if their remark is included in the text.

Kosovo Assembly to discuss today courts’ rulings on KLA members (dailies)

Presidency of the Kosovo Assembly decided to call an extraordinary session today to discuss “KLA values” in light of recent courts’ decisions regarding the former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The request was submitted by the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group and endorsed by 40 MPs.

PDK: “Drenica 2” verdict, tendency to criminalize KLA’s war (Telegrafi)

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) through a press release yesterday reacted to the verdict of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commanders and fighters in the so called Drenica 2 case.  The PDK said that this verdict is not right and is a tendency to criminalize the righteous war of the KLA. “We continue to believe in the innocence of the fighters and the fight of KLA and we seek actions that protect the image of justice. We do not agree with the judgments that are based on other reasons outside the law,” reads the press release.

Democracy Plus against Assembly’s session on Drenica case (Lajmi)

The Democracy Plus organisation, which monitors the work of the Kosovo Assembly, said on Wednesday that the decision of the Kosovo Assembly Presidency to hold an extraordinary session regarding the recent judicial decisions on Drenica case is direct interference in the judiciary. “Political debate on justice institutions’ decisions implies a direct interference in the judiciary and presents dangerous practice for the future of Kosovo,” reads the press statement issued by Democracy Plus.

Rashiti: Dialogue with Serbia will last a long time (Klan Kosova)

Naim Rashiti, from the Balkans Policy Research Group, said in an interview for Klan Kosova on Wednesday that the Brussels dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade will be reformatted following elections in Serbia. According to Rashiti, one of the possible formats of dialogue is high-level parliamentary representation, including members from the opposition. “Dialogue with Serbia will be reformatted following elections in Serbia. The super powers are interested to talk about recognition of jurisdiction. These discussions are expected to be held at the level of highest leaders of the Kosovo Parliament and also a representative from the opposition, because dialogue will last for many years and longer than the mandate of state leaders. Dialogue is one of the topics where we need strong international backing,” Rashiti was quoted as saying.

Abrashi: No budget for all KLA veterans (Kosova Sot)

Kosovo’s Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Arban Abrashi, said that the €38 million that the government has allocated for pensions of Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) veterans in 2017 will not be enough and suggested that the only solution is the “cleaning of veterans’ list”. Abrashi said he plans to meet representatives of KLA associations in the coming days and urge them to clean up the lists so that only “genuine” veterans enjoy benefits entitled to them.