The Kosovo Security Force (KSF) on Wednesday donated 50 sets of blankets, pillows and sheets to the Serbian Orthodox Church in Gračanica/Graçanicë. The donation will be delivered to the most vulnerable families in this municipality. Priest Srđan Stankovic who received the donation thanked the KSF, saying this was a welcomed relief in the current difficult weather conditions. The KSF representative, Colonel Afrim Veseli, said the KSF so far carried out many humanitarian projects in service of all the citizens of Kosovo, regardless of their religion and ethnicity.

The US Ambassador to Kosovo, Greg Delawie, said in an interview for RTK2 that his country supports transformation of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into Kosovo Armed Force (KAF). “Certainly the United States supports the transformation of Kosovo Security Force to the Kosovo Armed Forces. I think it’s important this transformation happens in a way that is Constitutional, that involves the interests of all communities of Kosovo. So, this is another issue, I think, that improved dialogue is very important between the communities.

Kosovo Security Force Minister, Haki Demolli, in a visit to Gjilan/Gnjilane hailed NATO’s readiness to step up cooperation with Kosovo. “We hope this cooperation will be a step forward to KSF’s preparation for transformation into KAF (Kosovo Armed Force),” Demolli said.

Kosovo’s Minister of Security Force, Haki Demolli, today while reporting to the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs stressed that the Ahtisaari package foresees Kosovo to have its own army in the future. “The government has on its agenda as a priority the transformation of the KSF in Kosovo Armed Force,” Demolli said. “We have drafted the constitutional amendments that aim to change the status of the KSF into Armed Force, and we submitted these amendments to the Constitutional Court. The Court gave us the green light,” he said.

The Serbian List, represented in the Assembly of Kosovo with 11 MPs, is blocking the transformation of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into Kosovo Armed Force (KAF), said representatives of the Kosovo government. The establishment of the Kosovo Armed Force can only be done through a constitutional amendment which requires double majority, namely also two-thirds of votes from non-Albanian communities.  Kosovo Security Force Minister, Haki Demolli, said that KSF has already implemented its entire programme and is ready to undergo the transformation process.

President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, said today at the opening of a training centre at the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) barracks that the force is gradually growing in the direction of maintaining operational capacities. “KSF is Kosovo’s future army”, said Thaçi without giving a timeline of when the transformation process will start. “KSF is a good indicator of our state and society’s character by integrating members of all communities”, Thaçi said further.

US Army Commander for Europe, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges said in Pristina after visiting the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) that he is hopeful about Kosovo’s future from what he saw at the KSF premises. “In the US, the army is the institution that brings people together and helps in the future development of their talent and I believe the KSF can offer the same thing under the leadership of commander [Rrahman] Rama. What I’ve seen here is impressive”, said Hodges stressing the importance of political support for the KSF in its transformation process.

In a recent poll carried out by the Kosovo-based research group, Riinvest, the government of Kosovo was identified as the most corrupt institution while the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) as the least corrupt.  According to the poll, around 48 percent of the citizens in Kosovo have been involved in corruption by bribing officials in exchange for public administration services. Riinvest’s Lumir Abdixhiku said Kosovo authorities are responsible for the high level of corruption which, he warned, is posing a threat to the Kosovo society, development and integration process.

“Through legislative changes and without change of the name of the Kosovo security forces, Kosovo could expand the mandate of that formation, and thus become an armed force. In that way they would be able to participate in NATO missions and submit a request for membership in the ‘Partnership for Peace’,” said the former chairman of the Serbian Parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija, Milovan Drecun.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa said that the statute of the Association of the Serb-majority Municipalities, will be drafted and based on this, it will be established.