Headlines - 18.10.2017

• U.S. calls on parties to reach agreeable timeline on integration of judiciary (media)
• Special court to have presence in Kosovo, Serbia and Albania (Koha)
• Prime Minister Haradinaj’s interview to RT21
• President Thaci accused of becoming part of election campaign (Zeri)
• Apostolova concerned with Assembly’s slow-paced work (Zeri)
• 30 days of house detention for NISMA MP Zeka (Zeri)
• Kosovo’s Minister of Justice to visit Bujanovac today (Indeksonline)

U.S. calls on parties to reach agreeable timeline on integration of judiciary (media)

The United States Embassy in Pristina issued a press release on Tuesday saying they welcome “the intense preparations and work that has been done by Kosovo’s state institutions – the Justice Ministry, Kosovo Judicial Council, Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, and others – and the European Union to welcome judges and prosecutors from other communities into Kosovo’s judicial system”.  “Once achieved, judicial integration will mark an important milestone in advancing the integration of communities in Kosovo and the Normalization Dialogue with Serbia.  All Kosovo citizens deserve fully functioning Rule of Law institutions; this integration will mark an important step forward.  We understand the parties are continuing the hard work to achieve integration, and we encourage the parties to reach an agreeable timeline in the nearest possible future,” the press release noted.

Special court to have presence in Kosovo, Serbia and Albania (Koha)

Citing unnamed sources, the paper reports on its front page that the prosecutors and the support staff of the special court, which will address war crimes allegations, will conduct activities in Kosovo, Serbia and Albania. “This activity includes work in the field for collecting and reviewing different information and evidence,” said the source. “The scope of the investigations is wide-ranging, it includes allegations made by former chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte, senator Dick Marty and others”. The paper recalls that last week, Kosovo President Hashim Thaci argued that the specialist chambers do not have the same cooperation with Kosovo and Serbia. According to Thaci, the special court has only symbolic and one-sided cooperation with Kosovo whereas with Serbia it has maximal and mutual cooperation.

Prime Minister Haradinaj’s interview to RT21

Kosovo Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, said in an interview with RTV21 that it is true that there are corrupt politicians, prosecutors and judges in Kosovo. Haradinaj also said he was working for Kosovo to have a strong chance of joining INTERPOL next year and UNESCO two years from now. “Our focus is also on membership in NATO and the United Nations,” he added. Haradinaj also said that the fight against corruption and the demarcation with Montenegro are two requirements for visa liberalization for Kosovo. Pristina-based Insajderi, in its coverage of the interview, notes that Haradinaj continues to believe that Kosovo can get visa liberalization even without ratifying the demarcation deal with Montenegro.

President Thaci accused of becoming part of election campaign (Zeri)

The paper reports on the front page that the meeting of President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, with Sokol Bashota, candidate for Klina mayor from his former Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), has caused a stir with the opposition which claims Thaci is breaching his constitutional role by becoming involved in election campaign. Meanwhile, political analysts the paper has spoken to say that Thaci has never actually played the figure of a unifying factor and that he is behaving more as a president of the party he once led than president of all the people of Kosovo.

Apostolova concerned with Assembly’s slow-paced work (Zeri)

Head of the EU Office in Kosovo and Special Representative, Nataliya Apostolova, expressed concerned over the slow-paced work of the Kosovo Assembly. In meetings with representatives of parliamentary parties – the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) – Apostolova said that there are many crucial laws that need to be passed. “11 June elections slowed down the reforms process and we are now entering the process of local elections which leads to new delays,” Apostolova said adding that the financial aid as part of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) will not be delivered to Kosovo without implementation of certain reforms.

30 days of house detention for NISMA MP Zeka (Zeri)

The Basic Court in Pristina has issued a measure of 30 days house detention for Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) MP, Milaim Zeka, arrested on Monday on charges of fraud, tax evasion and taking part in a criminal enterprise. The court has also confiscated Zeka’s passport.

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice to visit Bujanovac today (Indeksonline)

The news website reports that Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Abelard Tahiri, is scheduled to visit the municipality of Bujanovac in Serbia today. Tahiri will meet municipal leaders and political representatives of Albanians living in Presevo Valley. The news website recalls that in the past Kosovo’s leaders were not allowed to visit Albanians living in Bujanovac and Presevo.

OSCE urges steps to resolve social housing problems in Plemetin (Telegrafi)

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo and Obiliq/Obilic municipality are set to organise a meeting for local and international partners in an effort to find a solution for the difficult living conditions for residents of the social housing in the village of Plemetin. Around 180 residents, mainly of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities face a humanitarian crisis because of the frequent flooding of their flats and the damaged building. The meeting will focus on finding concrete steps to address the situation and raise funds to reconstruction of the building’s roof as a short-term solution.