Headlines - 16.10.2017

• Haradinaj cancels visit to Skopje (Zeri/Koha Ditore)
• Implementation of justice agreement, likely to be postponed (Koha Ditore)
• Analysts: Agreements with Serbia, on paper only (Zeri)
• Unity team to be established after 22 October elections (Indeksonline)
• Vucic: Brussels requested from me Kosovo’s membership at UN (Lajmi)
• Dacic: Kosovo is not internationals’ favorite anymore (RTK/TV Pink)
• 30 days detention for journalist Kajtazi’s attacker (Zeri)

Haradinaj cancels visit to Skopje (Zeri/Koha Ditore)

Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, has turned down invitation to take part in the two-day Summit 100 of South-East Europe business leaders in Skopje today. PM Haradinaj will not be going to Skopje due to his prearranged agenda but invited his counterpart from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Zoran Zaev, to soon undertake an official visit to Kosovo, read a statement issued by Haradinaj’s office. It also went on to dismiss reports that Haradinaj was not going to Skopje to avoid meeting Montenegrin Prime Minister, Dusko Markovic.

Implementation of justice agreement, likely to be postponed (Koha Ditore)

The failure to carry out tasks deriving from the agreement on justice reached between Pristina and Belgrade in Brussels, is likely to yet again postpone agreement’s implementation, writes the paper on the front page. The agreement stipulates that the court in the northern part of Mitrovica should begin work by Tuesday but President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, has not yet decreed judges and prosecutors expected to work in the north while Serbian authorities have not provided any evidence of regulating the retirement status of Serb judges and prosecutors.

Analysts: Agreements with Serbia, on paper only (Zeri)

Kosovo is continuing to delay implementation of agreements reached with Serbia in the framework of the dialogue for normalization of relations, reports the paper quoting analysts who also say that Serbia is also to blame for the stalling of the implementation process. Analysts further note that Kosovo has not only signed agreement not entirely in line with its Constitution but has also not expressed any interest in implementing them. Jeta Krasniqi from the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) said both parties are showing negligence to implementing agreements while analyst Imer Mushkolaj suggested the EU put more pressure on the parties. “Before new agreements are reached, there should be a review of implementation in practice of those signed so far,” he said.

Unity team to be established after 22 October elections (Indeksonline)

Bekim Collaku, Chief of Staff at the Office of the President of Kosovo, told the news website that it is clear to everyone that the dialogue for normalization of the relations between Pristina and Belgrade has entered its final phase. “This is a good and necessary development for the Euro-Atlantic perspective of Kosovo as well as regional peace and stability,” he said. “Unity Team will be established immediately after the conclusion of local elections, because the President did not want to interfere with such an important matter prior to the conclusion of the elections process,” Collaku said. He noted that positions of political parties on the matter differ, however he added that “one thing is certain, everyone should be involved in matters of national interest. And dialogue with Serbia imposes this.”

Vucic: Brussels requested from me Kosovo’s membership at UN (Lajmi)

Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vucic, was asked by the Serbian paper, Novosti, if he faced international pressure on Kosovo. He did not want to speak about the United States, however he stressed that major pressure came from the European Union. “If you insist, I will tell you that pressures were more open from Brussels. The requested from me to allow Kosovo’s entrance at UN. While the regional police would have been in accordance with the number of inhabitants in seven Serb municipalities, which means 68 percent Albanians, and 32 percent Serbs. Of course I did not agree with these communist conditions,” Vucic said.

Dacic: Kosovo is not internationals’ favorite anymore (RTK/TV Pink)

Serbia’s Foreign Minister, Ivica Dacic, said that Pristina is not moving according to their plan, and added that it is important for Serbia to have direct contacts with the U.S. President, Donald Trump. “They think that they have finished their job, that there is no more need to make any compromises. It is enough for them only to show up and, there, everyone will vote for them,” Dacic said. He added that the picture has changed and Kosovo is no longer the darling of the international community while Serbia is no monger perceived as the bad guy. According to him, this is the reason why Pristina has not applied for membership at UNESCO and INTERPOL.

30 days detention for journalist Kajtazi’s attacker (Zeri)

Fitim Thaqi from the village of Llapushnik, Drenas/Glogovac, has been handed down a 30-day detention verdict by the Basic Court in Pristina for attacking the founder of the news website Insajderi, Vehbi Kajtazi, in one of Pristina cafeterias on Friday. Thaqi turned himself over to the police on Saturday evening and while Kajtazi insists he was attacked because of a series of stories he published alleging involvement of NISMA MP Milaim Zeka in criminal activity,  Thaqi’s family claims the attack was “coincidental” and unrelated to Zeka.