Headlines - 05.06.2017

• Thaci: Kosovo Army will be formed this year, no one can stop it (RTK)
• Thaci: I will cooperate with anyone who becomes Prime Minister (Epoka)
• Forty thousand observers to defend votes (Zeri)
• Serbia will redefine its constitutional position in Kosovo (Koha)
• Police detain former minister Aleksandar Jablanovic (media)
• Kosovo government bans Serbian Minister from entering Kosovo (Koha)
• German President seeks EU support for Balkans (Epoka)
• Kosovo leaders show solidarity after London attack (Zeri)

Thaci: Kosovo Army will be formed this year, no one can stop it (RTK)

The President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, told RTK on Sunday that the Kosovo Army will be formed this year and that “no one, neither in or outside Kosovo, can stop this process”. “Kosovo’s armed forces will be formed this year, in a coordinated process with NATO and other international partners. This will be a multiethnic force in line with NATO standards. It will be a genuine army of an independent and sovereign country. We will work on the campaign for including all communities in the future army of Kosovo as a requirement for partnership and membership in NATO. The Armed Forces will be formed this year and no one can stop this process. No one has the right of veto. This is the will of the people of Kosovo,” Thaci was quoted as saying.

Thaci: I will cooperate with anyone who becomes Prime Minister (Epoka)

The President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, said to Croatian media that he would cooperate with anyone who becomes head of Kosovo’s government. “Anyone who is able to assure Kosovo’s prosperity will have my support. Asked about the “war and peace wings,” Thaci said “in essence we all came out of a war and felt its consequences”. Speaking about “Greater Albania”, Thaci said that Albanians would unite in the European Union. “We have to stress that the history of “Greater Albania” is media and political campaign of Serbia, because no one in Kosovo is thinking about it. The word “Greater Albania was invented to destabilize the region,” Thaci said.

Forty thousand observers to defend votes (Zeri)

The paper reports on its front page that due to fear of theft or manipulation of votes, political parties have decided to increase the number of their observers for the 11 June parliamentary elections. Representatives of political parties at the Central Election Commission (CEC) said that around forty thousand observers and commissioners will be engaged on Election Day. They also informed that while the observers will be paid by the political parties, the commissioners and other staff will spend more than half of the €5 million budget allocated for these elections.

Serbia will redefine its constitutional position in Kosovo (Koha)

The paper reports on its front page that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has called for “brave talks” on amendments to the Serbian Constitution and on Kosovo. “We need to talk about this. I want a social dialogue that will last three or six months, on the Constitution and our relation vis-à-vis Kosovo and perhaps our relation vis-à-vis the whole region,” Vucic said. “I plan to open these courageous talks, regardless of the fact that there might be some geniuses who will label me a ‘traitor’”. The paper further notes that Serbia wants to redefine its presence in Kosovo by drafting a special constitutional law that will also reflect the agreements reached in Brussels especially the new circumstances that will be created after the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities.

Police detain former minister Aleksandar Jablanovic (media)

Kosovo Police confirmed that they detained Aleksandar Jablanovic, leader of the Kosovo Serbs Party, on Sunday evening in Leposavic. Zeljko Bojic, head of police operations in Mitrovica North, said Jablanovic was found with a firearm and that he cannot reveal further information. Slavko Simic, leader of the Serbian List, later told some media that Jablanovic had allegedly threatened to shoot an activist of the Serbian List.

Kosovo government bans Serbian Minister from entering Kosovo (Koha)

The Kosovo government has decided to ban Serbian Minister Aleksandar Vulin from entering Kosovo. Sources in the government told the news website that the ban on Vulin came as a measure of reciprocity after Serbian authorities did not allow former Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga to attend a festival in Belgrade where she was scheduled to talk about victims of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo.

German President seeks EU support for Balkans (Epoka)

Despite its own many problems, Europe should remain committed to the western Balkans amid renewed tensions stemming from the wars of the 1990s, Germany's president Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Saturday. He spoke in Slovenia after the European Union-backed meeting of Balkan leaders designed to boost cooperation in the troubled region. A joint statement called for further EU integration, strengthening of dialogue and refraining from “nationalistic and inflammatory rhetoric”. Steinmeier said that “discussions today have shown that the past has not been fully overcome”. He also warned that “what happens in this region and also what doesn’t happen is going to concern us and is going to have an impact on us”. “Peace, stability and economic development in the region should be high on our agenda,” he said. “We have not forgotten the conflict. We have not forgotten the violence in this region.”

Kosovo leaders show solidarity after London attack (Zeri)

Representatives of Kosovo institutions and political leaders have sent condolences and expressed solidarity with the people of the United Kingdom following the recent terror attack in London. Kosovo’s outgoing Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, condemned the attack saying that the UK is a cradle of freedom and democracy and that no one can violate these values. Ramush Haradinaj, AAK leader and candidate for Prime Minister, said in a Facebook post that Kosovo stands alongside its allies in the uncompromising war against terror.