• Palmer: New government of Kosovo to lift tax, resume dialogue (VOA/Zeri)
• Isa Mustafa – LDK’s hope (Koha Ditore)
• Kosovo at a crossroads after Prime Minister’s resignation (Epoka)
• Elections in Thaci’s hands – the President delays the process (Express)
• Opposition with ultimatum to President Thaci (Zeri)
• Haxhiu: PDK will not give away post of Prime Minister as it did in the past (media)
• Specialist Chambers summon for interview AAK MP Time Kadriaj (media)
• Civil society organisations in Gjakova submit war crimes lawsuit (media)

Palmer: New government of Kosovo to lift tax, resume dialogue (VOA/Zeri)

Matthew Palmer, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, said in an interview with VOA in Serbian that Kosovo’s primary duty right now is to form new government.

“We hope Belgrade and Pristina can find again the way to the table of talks and then also find perhaps an acceptable solution for both parties which results in full normalisation of relations and paves way towards the European perspective of the two countries. I think the most important thing right now is for Kosovo to have a new government. This is the present challenge. We would want to see Kosovo form a new government as soon as possible and that government to do everything to continue dialogue – including the lifting of tax on goods from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Palmer said.

Commenting on the idea of land swap being part of the final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, Palmer said that the focus of the U.S. is to have the two parties resume dialogue. “This should be defined by the parties. No one is forced to do something that it cannot. But we would like to see negotiations take place in trust and head to an agreement that leads to a mutual recognition of Serbia and Kosovo and paves the way to Europe. The U.S. will not dictate the terms of the negotiations.”

“The agreement that is reached needs to be comprehensive, include the political, security, economic, trade and cultural component, the part that relates to the protection of Serb Orthodox Church heritage in Kosovo. So I think the focus only on maps and territory is far from what the comprehensive normalisation ought to bring.”

Isa Mustafa – LDK’s hope (Koha Ditore)

The paper reports on the front page that it seems likely that the current leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Isa Mustafa, will continue to head the party at this time which the paper says is characterized by internal fractions undermining the unity of the largest opposition party.

LDK leadership held a meeting Tuesday ahead of internal elections on 3 August but officials said no consensual candidate to take on the post of party leader was agreed upon. LDK spokesperson Besian Mustafa said the consultations will continue until the election date which is also when candidacies will be announced.

At the same time, LDK official Visar Berisha said that LDK leadership has asked Mustafa to remain in the post. “Tomorrow, branch representatives will meet and are most likely to ask Mustafa the same thing,” he wrote on Facebook.

The paper writes that frontrunners for the post include the current leader of LDK - Isa Mustafa, deputy leaders – Lutfi Haziri, Agim Veliu and Kujtim Shala, former president and LDK leader Fatmir Sejdiu, Mayor of Peja/Pec – Gazmend Muhaxheri, and MP Vjosa Osmani.

Kosovo at a crossroads after Prime Minister’s resignation (Epoka)

The paper reports that Kosovo President Hashim Thaci has started consultations with political parties about the latest developments following Ramush Haradinaj’s resignation from the post of Prime Minister. Thaci said he will exhaust all possibilities with the parties to find a solution to the new political reality and that if the parties are not able to provide a solution, he will immediately announce new general elections. Political commentators in Pristina meanwhile say that Kosovo is at a crossroads following Haradinaj’s resignation. They argue that Thaci should call a joint meeting with all political parties in order to avoid delays in announcing the new elections.

Elections in Thaci’s hands – the President delays the process (Express)

The news website reports that “it has been three weeks since Ramush Haradinaj resigned the post of Prime Minister and the country is without a functioning government, whereas President Thaci is delaying the announcement of new elections”. Express further notes that Thaci has so far has met only representatives of smaller minority parties and there is no information when he will meet representatives of the main parties. The latter told the news website during the week that they will go to a meeting called by Thaci only to discuss the date of early elections and that they will not be part of talks for an eventual technical government. They have also said that if Thaci does not speed up the procedures of announcing new elections, they will disband the Assembly.

Opposition with ultimatum to President Thaci (Zeri)

The paper reports on its front page that representatives of opposition parties have made an ultimatum to President Hashim Thaci that if he does not call a meeting with the political parties in the coming days, they will disband the Assembly next week. Opposition representatives said they are confident they will get 80 votes from MPs to disband the assembly. Some members of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) however have argued against this option saying that disbanding the Assembly is not the right solution.

Haxhiu: PDK will not give away post of Prime Minister as it did in the past (media)

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) MP Bekim Haxhiu said in an interview to RTV Dukagjini on Thursday that his party “will not give away the post of Prime Minister as it has done in the past”. Haxhiu said Ramush Haradinaj violated the trust of the PDK when he resigned the Prime Minister’s post. “He violated our trust after we gave him the mandate. The PDK is the biggest party in PAN [the ruling coalition] and it gave Haradinaj the mandate as Prime Minister. It would have been human and honest for Haradinaj to discuss with Veseli and Limaj the situation after he received the invitation from the Special Court,” he said. Haxhiu also said that “the PDK has no dilemma that in the current circumstances the country needs to go to elections and the people must determine who will lead them”.

Specialist Chambers summon for interview AAK MP Time Kadriaj (media)

Time Kadriaj, MP from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) has been the most recent political figure to be called by the Specialist Chambers in The Hague, media report. Kadriaj confirmed receiving the invitation and said that while no specific time of the interview was set she was informed it could happen sometime in September.

Civil society organisations in Gjakova submit war crimes lawsuit (media)

A group of civil society organisations in Gjakova/Djakovica submitted yesterday to the prosecution a file which they say contains evidence of war crimes committed by Serbia. “The file contains eyewitness testimonies of crimes, including killings, rapes or other crimes perpetrated by the Serbian forces,” said Shkendije Hoda, civil society representative.