Headlines - 10.01.2018

• Delawie welcomes Veseli’s statement on Special Court (media)
• Veseli’s withdrawal silences the PDK (Koha)
• Tahiri: Special court is operational (Telegrafi)
• British Ambassador comments on relation with President Thaci (Klan Kosova)
• Haradinaj blames Assembly for demarcation (Zeri)
• Osmani: Demarcation in the Assembly on January 15 (Koha)
• Citaku: Russian-Serbian Center in Nis is everything but humanitarian (media)
• Brnabic: This year with a long-term solution on Kosovo (Zeri)
• Albin Kurti, sole candidate for Vetevendosje leader (Zeri)
• Qendron Kastrati resigns from all leading positions at Vetevendosje (media)
• President Thaci doesn’t know if he will attend National Prayer Breakfast (Koha)

Delawie welcomes Veseli’s statement on Special Court (media)

The U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Greg Delawie, welcomed the recent statement by the Kosovo Assembly President Kadri Veseli on the Special Court. “Welcome public statements from Speaker Veseli and other leading political figures honoring Kosovo’s commitment to the Special Court,” Delawie wrote on his Twitter account.

Veseli’s withdrawal silences the PDK (Koha)

The paper reports on its front page that Kosovo Assembly President and PDK leader Kadri Veseli’s recent statement about the special court has silenced his fellow party members who were adamant to see through the initiative for revoking the special court. PDK officials did not say if there will be another initiative to revoke the special court. PDK MP Nait Hasani, who initiated the petition on December 22, told the paper on Tuesday that he is currently in Albania and that he will comment on the matter once he returns to Kosovo. PDK parliamentary group chief, Memli Krasniqi, did not comment on the issue. The paper recalls that in an op-ed piece Veseli wrote that the special court will happen and that this is an inevitable action.

Tahiri: Special court is operational (Telegrafi)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Abelard Tahiri, told RTV Dukagjini on Tuesday that the Special Court is now operational. “The special court was established based on the constitutional amendments in 2015. Kosovo is a parliamentary republic and the Prime Minister and ministers are obliged to respect every legal amendment coming from the Assembly … I don’t want to speculate what is going to happen in the future, but the special court is operational and that is a fact. We hope this court will have professional staff members that will not blackmail the whole system as has happened in the last couple of days,” Tahiri was quoted as saying.

British Ambassador comments on relation with President Thaci (Klan Kosova)

The British Ambassador in Kosovo, Ruairi O’Connell, said in an interview to Klan Kosova on Tuesday, that his cooperation with President Hashim Thaci has never stopped. He said he hopes they will continue to cooperate and that Kosovo’s leaders must bear responsibility for their actions. “We have good cooperation. I have known him for 10 years or more. We cooperated closely during the declaration of Kosovo’s independence. We will continue to cooperate with leaders elected by the people. We never had miscommunication. I think the time has come for state leaders to assume their responsibilities,” O’Connell said.

Haradinaj blames Assembly for demarcation (Zeri)

Kosovo Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, blamed the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) for intentionally delaying the voting process in the Assembly on the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro. Haradinaj criticized MPs, especially those at the Committee for Foreign Affairs, where the draft law on demarcation currently pends. However, MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Vjosa Osmani, who is also head of this Committee, told Radio Free Europe that the process has been blocked by the government.

Osmani: Demarcation in the Assembly on January 15 (Koha)

Vjosa Osmani, chair of the Kosovo Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Wednesday that the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro will be discussed in the Assembly on January 15. “I believe this will happen on January 15. We will make this proposal, there is a number of issues that are not resolved yet. Again we have before us a preliminary and not a final report,” Osmani said. She also said that on January 15, MPs will not be asked to vote in favor or against the agreement. “We are politicians, we are not prosecutors to determine if the claims of the new committee are accurate or not. We will leave this to every MP, at least this is how I think we should proceed, we should not recommend a vote in favor or against, but submit it for discussion and then leave it up to the MPs,” she added.

Citaku: Russian-Serbian Center in Nis is everything but humanitarian (media)

Kosovo’s Ambassador to the United States, Vlora Citaku, posted on Twitter on Tuesday that “the Russian-Serbian Center in Nis is everything but humanitarian”. Citaku’s remarks come after Serbian Prime Minister’s statement that her government will decide on “granting diplomatic status to the “Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center “in Nis personnel in accordance with the country’s interests”.

Brnabic: This year with a long-term solution on Kosovo (Zeri)

The Prime Minister of Serbia, told The Economist that a long term solution for Kosovo might be found this year. “What we are doing now is seeking a long term solution, in order not to leave a frozen conflict for those to come. We have a historic possibility to find a sustainable solution. If we do not use this chance in 2018, we will not have it in the decades to come,” Brnabic said. Asked about the Hague Tribunal, she said she did not think that this Tribunal brought justice in the ex-Yugoslav territory and it did not contribute on reconciliation. She said during the interview that she cannot mention independence of Kosovo because this would open Pandora’s Box. https://www.acast.com/theeconomistasks/theeconomistasks-anabrnabic

Albin Kurti, sole candidate for Vetevendosje leader (Zeri)

The paper quotes a Vetevendosje official as saying that until now Albin Kurti is the sole candidate for the post of Vetevendosje leader. “There have been no other candidates so far. The other steps, which are regulated by the Regulation on Internal Elections, will be announced during the week,” the Vetevendosje official said.

Qendron Kastrati resigns from all leading positions at Vetevendosje (media)

Mayor of Kamenica municipality, Qendron Kastrati, has joined the list of Vetevendosje’s senior officials who are resigning from the leading positions at this political party. He informed through a resignation letter that he is resigning from the General Council of the party as well as leading positions at Vetevendosje structures. “The atmosphere that is ruling among us is unacceptable, because it does not resemble at all the one we in the Movement are familiar with. Swearing and insults among us do not contribute to the solution of the problem. Therefore they should stop as soon as possible. Whoever is pleased with resignations of the activists, does not contribute to the Movement,” Kastrati wrote.

President Thaci doesn’t know if he will attend National Prayer Breakfast (Koha)

The Office of Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said on Tuesday that Thaci has received an invitation to attend the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington but that he has not confirmed his participation yet because of a busy schedule.