The President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga and Prime Minister Isa Mustafa today appointed Agron Selimaj as director of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (KIA). Selimaj served as a General Inspector at KIA. The news was confirmed by President’s Office through a press release.
Minister of European Integration Bekim Collaku said in an interview for the Austrian paper Der Standard that the Agreement on Stabilisation and Association (SAA) with the EU is in the process of being translated and once completed, “we expect to sign it.” “We believe this will happen very soon. In April or May,” said Collaku.
Arban Abrashi, the spokesman for the goverment of Kosovo, reacted today to a statement by Marko Djuric, the head of the Serbian government’s office for Kosovo, on the Trepca mining complex. “We need to stress that no one will ask Serbia to give up on something that is not hers. Trepca and all its wealth belongs to Kosovo. We also understand Djuric and the fact that he needs to make big statements,” Abrashi said.
Prime Minister of Kosovo Isa Mustafa in a meeting of the government today expressed regret over the people injured in the protest yesterday and the support for the police in guaranteeing a safe and secure environment. He reiterated that the protest was politically motivated. “The main cause of yesterday’s escalation of the protest was the ultimatum for removing the police cordon,” said Mustafa.
Today’s protest called by Vetevendosje and supported by other opposition parties has turned violent after the police tried to disperse protesters with teargas to prevent the crowds from approaching the government building. At present, Kosovapress reports that the protest has worsened, with a major clash occurring between the police and protesters in front of the Ministry of Culture building at Mother Theresa Square.
Prime Minister of Kosovo Isa Mustafa is reported to have met today ambassadors of Quint countries. There is no official announcement of the meeting but reports suggests it focused on recent developments regarding Trepca, Minister for Communities and Returns Aleksandar Jablanovic, and the current situation.
Several news sites cover Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa’s post on Facebook this morning, focusing on protests against Communities and Returns Minister Aleksandar Jablanovic and the Trepca issue. He wrote:
Hashim Thaci, Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, is visiting Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, where he initially met with his counterpart, Nikola Poposki. According to the FYROM electronic media, the two ministers discussed the possibilities for further bilateral and regional cooperation. It is also understood that they discussed the possibility for the populations of the two countries to cross the borders only with their identity cards. However, Thaci is quoted as saying that this can be expected only after six months.
Central Election Commission (CEC) has not certified today Vladeta Kostic for mayor of Gracanica, because he still carries a post at the Government of Serbia.
CEC held today a meeting, but it did not make public the decision not to certify the result of the elections for Gracanica mayor.
Koha.net sources within CEC informed that Kostic’s election was not certified and will not be certified until his resignation from the post in the Government of Serbia.
The President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, was received today in Rome by the Acting President of the Republic of Italy, Mr. Pietro Grasso. Jahjaga and Grasso discussed the overall development in Kosovo and the region, as well as special emphasis was paid to the Kosovo’s European integration, the commitment on internal reforms, the rule of law and economic cooperation between Kosovo and Italy. Jahjaga highly praised the help that Italy has given and continues to give to Kosovo, especially the support provided through KFOR and EULEX.