Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, travelled to Brussels today to attend meetings on the judiciary, telecom and the integrated border management, as part of the EU-brokered talks between Pristina and Belgrade. The meetings, which will take place today and tomorrow, will focus on the implementation of agreements and the obligations of parties on these matters.
Vetevendosje Movement collected signatures from MPs for a special session of the Assembly to discuss the death of its activist, Astrit Dehari, at the Prizren detention facility. However, the request failed as, according to Vetevendosje, one of the MPs was pressured into removing his signature. In sign of protest, Vetevendosje and the other opposition parties, walked out of the meeting of the Assembly Presidency which was supposed to decide the timing of the next session.
Vetevendosje Movement through a press release today announced that Kosovo Police has arrested five Vetevendosje activists in Podujeve/Podujevo. The activists were escorted to the police station after writing graffiti seeking justice for Vetevendosje activist Astrit Dehari who died at the Prizren Detention Center on 5 November. According to the press release, the arrest of these activists is the next scandal of the government. “Nobody can stop those seeking justice,” notes the statement.
Kosovo President Hashim Thaci through a Facebook post today said that illegal operations and the current obstacles would be eliminated entirely with the telephone code for Kosovo. He added that this strengthens the position of Kosovo in the field of telecommunications, and opens ways for the state program of digitization. “The position of our country is strengthened even more in the international arena with the new code in the field of telecommunications. +383 telephone code is the property of Kosovo, which will be administered by our institutions.
Kosovo President Hashim Thaci participated today in the launch of OSCE’s information campaign on package of laws on human rights. Thaci said that the rights and fundamental freedoms are indivisible, inalienable and inviolable and are the basis of the legal order guaranteed by the Constitution of Kosovo. According to him, the legal framework regulating the field of human rights is significantly advanced with the adoption of a package of laws on human rights, including the Law on Protection from Discrimination, the Law on Gender Equality and Law on Ombudsman.
In today’s routine meeting, the government of Kosovo reviewed European integration agenda. Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuci spoke about implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) and the criteria Kosovo has to meet in its path to joining the EU while Prime Minister Isa Mustafa underlined the importance of the reforms agenda and noted that implementation of SAA precedes Kosovo’s EU accession.
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, said in a conference organised by the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society and the Group of Legal and Political Studies on the EU integration process that the people of Kosovo view themselves as part of Europe although they are the only ones in the Balkans that cannot travel freely to Europe. He said that dialogue with Serbia on normalization of relations has no alternative and that it also contributes to peace in Europe.
The chief prosecutor of the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, David Schwendiman, met today in Pristina Kosovo’s chief prosecutor, Aleksander Lumezi. The prosecutors discussed the organization, functions, power and jurisdiction of the Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office. Also, during the meeting they discussed the cooperation between the Specialist Prosecutor's Office and Kosovo’s Special Prosecution Office (SPRK).
President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, announced early elections in the municipality of Drenas/Glogovac for 4 December and he also instructed the Central Elections Commission to undertake all necessary steps to organise the voting process.
Kosovo Centre for Security Studies (KCSS), today released a report entitled: "Gordian Knot: Kosovo's obstacles on joining international organizations: INTERPOL case." This analysis comes after failed attempts of Kosovo institutions to join international organizations such as UNESCO and the need for coordination and greater preparation for membership in other organizations, such as INTERPOL .