Prime Minister of Kosovo Isa Mustafa has not yet received from the Serbian List a nominee for the post of Minister for Communities and Returns after dismissing Aleksandar Jablanovic two days ago. Kosovo government spokesperson Arban Abrashi said PM Mustafa is waiting for a proposal from the Serbian List and added that the government believes in the party’s constructiveness.
Kosovo Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci, who is visiting Washington, told the "Voice of America" that dismissal of Jablanović should be seen as individual case.
When asked whether meeting the demands of opposition protesters in Pristina presents a negative message to the representatives of the Serbian community, which is willing to participate in Kosovo institutions, Thaci said that the decision was not directed against the Serbian community.
Following the removal of the minister in the Kosovo government, Aleksandar Jablanovic, decision on further participation in the cabinet of Isa Mustafa, representatives of the Serbian list will bring in the coming days. More information will be known after a meeting with Serbian Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vucic.
Serb representatives estimate that the decision to dismiss Aleksandar Jablanovic has shown nervousness of Kosovo Prime Minister before the resumption of dialogue in Brussels.
Decision of Isa Mustafa to dismiss Aleksandar Jablanovic from the post of the minister for communities and return had brought into question participation of representatives of the Serbian List in the Kosovo government. Whether they will leave the government might be known already today following their talks with the Serbian Prime Minister, Aleksadar Vucic, in Belgrade.
The leader of the Civic Initiative ‘Srpska’ Vladeta Kostic said that decision on dismissal of Aleksandar Jablanovic is wrong.
“By doing so, the matrix has been set for any minister in the government, no matter is it Serb or Albanian, to be dismissed due to street protests. Thus, government is not showing the strength and responsibility. In my opinion, the decision is wrong and reaction should have been different,” said Kostic and added that the government had succumbed to pressure.
This is the winter of discontent in Kosovo. The lingering euphoria over independence in 2008 has given way to frustration with economic stagnation and political squabbling. Unemployment sits at 45 percent, and an estimated 500,000 of Kosovo’s 1.8 million citizens — the vast majority of whom are ethnic Albanians — live on less than $2 a day. On Jan. 24 and Jan. 27, some 15,000 Kosovars took to the streets to protest corruption and poverty.
The head of the “Cries of Mothers” Association, Nysrete Kumnova, said on Wednesday that the Association is relieved by the dismissal of the Communities and Returns Minister Aleksandar Jablanovic. Kumnova said that Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa could have dismissed him immediately after his insulting statements. “In the end, we achieved what we were aiming for, and we are very sorry for those who got beaten up during the protest of 27 January,” said Kumnova. She called on the Kosovo Police to immediately release those who were arrested in that protest.
The leader of the Vetevendosje Movement, Albin Kurti, told Radio Dukagjini that “the dismissed Communities and Returns Minister Aleksandar Jablanovic should not have any kind of power in Kosovo.” “I believe that the government has realized now that people like Jablanovic should not stay in Kosovo government,” said Kurti. "We protest with clear requirements. Jablanovic is gone and now we must save Trepca,” he added.
Kosovo PM Isa Mustafa endangered the confidence of Serbs in the Brussels dialogue, by the decision to dismiss Minister of Communities and Returns Aleksandar Jablanović, was stated from the Movement of Socialists (PS). "According to the requirements of the Brussels Agreement, the real Serbian representatives should present the interests of the Serbs in Pristina’s institutions. Jablanović was doing exactly that. In Pristina, those efforts could not be forgiven to him, but the Serbs, regardless of the fact where they live, are grateful for that," reads the statement.
Aleksandar Jablanovic no longer is part of my cabinet, said Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa. The decision was made without consultation with the Serbs, says Branimir Stojanovic, Kosovo's deputy prime minister.
Mustafa did not explain whether Jablanovic resigned or he was removed from the office. "We faced the demands of demonstrators in the previous period related to the Trepca and Minister Jablanovic. I can inform you that as of today Jablanovic is not part of the Cabinet of the Government of Kosovo," said Mustafa.