Kosovo Assembly MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Vjosa Osmani, advised the government to breach the coalition with the Serbian List and replace it with the other Serb party Serbian Liberal Party (SLS), which currently has five MPs at the Assembly.
According to the front page editorial of this daily, abuse with power in Kosovo is not stopping while judicial reflection or moral reaction of the incriminated protagonists is desperate. “Abusive government officials do not feel the slightest regret for the major harm caused to Kosovo, while competent officials appear to be competent only to remain silent.
The paper’s front-page editorial today criticizes politicians in power who usually address only “big” problems such as border-demarcation and Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities while no one is dealing with citizens’ real problems. “Without denying the great importance of having territorial integrity and sovereignty in Kosovo, our politicians are to be blamed for bypassing numerous of problems.
The paper’s front-page editorial today criticizes the newly appointed Justice Minister Dhurata Hoxha for her statements that she will follow the path of previous Justice Minister Hajredin Kuci. “During the years while the justice sector was led by Minister Kuci, the crisis only has deepened in the rule of law. Minister Kuci’s biggest failure was the extreme degradation of justice and the failure of presenting radical reforms by removing corrupt judges and prosecutors.
The paper’s front-page editorial notes that the government of the Republic of Kosovo received another blow on Thursday, this time from the U.S. Department of State’s report on human trafficking. According to the report, the Kosovo government fails to entirely meet the minimal standards for eliminating human trafficking and that corruption in the government creates an environment that enables some of the trafficking crimes. The editorial further notes that even the annual European Commission’s Progress Report on Kosovo includes the same findings.
The paper remarks that it is final time for the Kosovo political leadership to review the format of talks with Serbia because the current process is not doing the people of Kosovo any favours. If the Kosovo leaders had any moral integrity, writes the paper, they would change the entire negotiating team and restore the dignity to their country. The paper does not argue against negotiations with Serbia recognising that dialogue is the only way to resolve problems but it claims that the negotiations only resulted in concessions from the Kosovo side.
The paper’s front-page editorial today notes that the outgoing head of EULEX, Gabriele Meucci, yesterday confirmed that several politicians in Kosovo are above the law and they do whatever they want. “As Mr. Meucci says, the fight against corruption and organized crime is being hampered by influential politicians, who think they can do whatever they want. In fact, they continue to do whatever they want, without ever facing the law for violations, abuses and their continuous scandals. Consequently, the state has become dysfunctional.
Hundreds of millions of euros of European taxpayers will be spent again to keep EULEX in Kosovo, the paper notes in its front-page editorial. Eight years after Kosovo declaring independence, according to the paper, EULEX still remains irreplaceable, although criticized for unsatisfactory performance, corruption scandals and partnership with corrupt politicians. “The EU’s largest civilian mission was supported by the government and opposition, who together have not been able for all these years to guarantee the functioning of an independent judiciary.
The front page editorial of the paper notes that return of the biggest opposition party at the Assembly is a warning for return of the tensioned sessions and deepening of political crisis. Vetevendosje movement has ended its boycott of the Parliament, on the verge of the ratification of the agreement for demarcation of the border with Montenegro and re-actualization of the Association/Community of the Serb-majority Municipalities.
When Brussels officials come to inspect the progress in Kosovo, they face two completely different points of view, writes the paper in today’s editorial. The first is the government’s version of how things stand which represents an exaggerated truth and depicts the leadership as fighting corruption and standing up for civil rights. The second version of the state of affairs is provided by the opposition and this is always a bleak picture of how nothing is as it should be in Kosovo and how its leaders deserve to “rot in prison” for all the wrongdoings they are responsible for.