Mustafa in Brussels: It would have been different if the special court was voted (Koha)
Kosovo and Serbia will try to reach agreements on telecommunication, the so-called Peace-Park, energy and association of the municipalities with Serb majority.
Municiplaity of Drenas/Glogovac, against the special court (Koha)
The Municipal Assembly of Drenas/Glogovac, dominated by advisers from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, has just voted a statement, which appeals on the deputies of the Assembly of Kosovo not to vote the constitutional amendments which open way to the establishment of the special court.
This position is in contradiction with the determination of the central structures of PDK with regards to this court.
Veseli on the special court: Let us rise above the individual emotions, and act with state reason (Koha)
Kadri Veseli, Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo said at the third conference of Ambassadors that is being held in Pristina that courtesy diplomacy is not sufficient for Kosovo. “We need concrete actions of measurable effect. We need concrete agreements with the countries that we have bilateral relations, especially in the field of economic cooperation. It should be clear to us that no one will come pleading for this,” said Veseli.
Speaker Veseli fails to secure KLA veterans’ support for special court (Koha)
Kosovo Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli had a meeting today with representatives of Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) associations in a bid to convince them to support the establishment of the specialized chamber and not protest against it. The meeting took place behind closed doors and lasted for over two hours. After the meeting, Veseli said he stressed the importance of the establishment of the chambers in order to clarify allegations against the KLA war but KLA veterans said the war was just and fair and “needs no cleaning from any court which in fact is only aimed at staining it”.
Niue recognizes Kosovo (Koha)
Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci writes on his Facebook account today that Niue, an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, has recognized the independence of Kosovo. “Last night I received a verbal note from Toke Talagi, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Niue, for the recognition of Kosovo and the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries. The sovereign vote of Niue in agencies such as the UNSECO, WTO and the WHO, will help Kosovo secure the required majority for membership of the United Nations agencies,” Thaci writes.
No construction activity in Kroi i Vitakut today (Koha)
Albanian residents of the Kroi i Vitakut neighbourhood in the northern part of Mitrovica changed their position regarding resuming construction work on their houses today. Earlier, neighbourhood representatives said they would continue construction today but they have now decided to wait for the outcome of talks between Pristina and Belgrade representatives in Brussels.
Freedom House: Kosovo democracy level at 5.14 (Koha)
According to the newest Freedom House report “Nations in Transit”, there is no consolidated democracy in any of the Balkans countries while four out of seven countries registered have recorded a decline in their democracy level. Kosovo, which scored 5.14, has been ranked amongst the countries with semi-consolidated authoritarian regime along with Armenia and Kyrgyzstan while Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), and Bosnia and Herzegovina are part of the so-called transitional government or hybrid regime.
Assembly presidency to meet tomorrow, specialized chambers not on agenda (Koha)
Kosovo Assembly presidency is to meet tomorrow but Koha claims that the working agenda does not include review of constitutional amendments paving way for establishment of specialized chambers. However, it is possible the issue be included in the agenda on a request of a parliamentary group.
Serbia seeking 40 former KLA members (Koha, RTK2)
Three former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) could face the same destiny of Ramush Haradinaj when traveling out of Kosovo, writes Pristin-based Koha Ditore. According to the paper, Interpol warrants are still valid for Azem Syla, Shukri Buja and Fatmir Limaj. They are on warrants, which are valid in 190 states, whereas names of Hashim Thaci and Agim Ceku have been removed from the list.
Llapushnik residents protest again, threaten religious freedoms (Koha)
The residents of the village of Llapushnik protested today in front of the Drenas/Glogovac municipal assembly building, opposing a decision to build a Catholic cemetery and a church in their village. One of the organizers of the protest said the church should not be built in the said area because that is the location of the Battle of Llapushnik between the former Kosovo Liberation Army and the Serbian forces in 1998. The protesters held placards saying “The House of God cannot be built by force”, “Stop the Catholic church” and “We don’t want any division, they want division”.