Several media reported today that the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) parliamentary group decided that the party will boycott the Assembly of Kosovo. A copy of the decision published by media states that however the AAK will continue to be part of the united opposition.
After being splashed with water by an opposition MP, Prime Minister of Kosovo Isa Mustafa said at the Assembly that he sees no reason why the opposition supporters should attack his home or him personally. He called on the judicial authorities to undertake necessary measures against such actions. “If the house of the Prime Minister of Kosovo is attacked with Molotov cocktail and everyone remains silent in face the of this, then there is something seriously wrong with this country,” said Mustafa.
Kosovo Security Force (KSF) Commander Rrahman Rama told a parliamentary commission today that preparations are underway for the establishment of Kosovo Armed Forces (KAF) and that they are only waiting for the political decision to begin the transformation process. Rama said that 28 new cadets were admitted to the KSF last year and that there have been numerous training opportunities for the KSF officers in different countries.
Vetevendosje Movement activists overturned a truck carrying Serb products. In a press release, Vetevendosje said the move is a response to the decision of Serbian authorities to send back Albanian-language textbooks to Kosovo. “16 years after the war, the perpetrator of massacres and wide scale destruction in Kosovo, the Republic of Serbia, is controlling and using Kosovo economically with its products, without recognizing it,” Vetevendosje said.
In an opinion piece originally published by EUobserver, journalist Ekrem Krasniqi warns that Kosovo is facing the most serious political situation since 1999 and that it is finally time for the EU and the US to broker a dialogue between the ruling and opposition parties “for the sake of stability.” Krasniqi says that what began as opposition to the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities has now transformed into “popular anger over corruption and economic stagnation.” The people of Kosovo are fed up living with corruption, organi
Opposition representatives told the news agency today that although early parliamentary elections were not their initial objective, elections are now seen as the only solution to the political crisis. Muharrem Nitaj, spokesman for the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), said the opposition expected the government would reflect on the “two anti-constitutional” agreements, referring to the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro and the agreement on the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities.
According to the news site, the three opposition parties – the Vetevendosje Movement, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and the Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA), are planning to set up tents on Pristina's main square in an attempt to prevent Hashim Thaci’s election as President of Kosovo. Unnamed sources told the news site that protesters will stay on the main square until 7 March, the last deadline for presidential elections after which the country would immediately have to hold early elections.
Today, Kosovo’s Minister for European Integration, Bekim Collaku, criticized the actions of opposition parties saying that they are seriously damaging Kosovo’s prospect of European integration. Collaku said he regrets that the opposition is doing nothing to help Kosovo meet the visa liberalization requirements. “The actions of the opposition are against not only the visa liberalization requirements but also against our strategic orientation for Euro-Atlantic integration,” Collaku said.
Kosovo’s Minister of European Integration, Bekim Collaku, announced today that the recommendation of the European Commission for providing the facility and budgetary independence for the Ombudsperson was fulfilled today. “Today we have found a solution for establishing this institution in a new location, in the former building of the Bank of Ljubljana. This will ensure smooth and full capacity of this institution.
In an interview with Austrian magazine Profil Kosovo, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci spoke about the expectations Kosovo has of the EU, the visa liberalization process and the current political crisis in Kosovo. Thaci said the next step in Kosovo’s EU integration process is visa liberalization which, according to him, should be granted by the end of the year. On the political situation in Kosovo, Thaci said it is paramount for all parties to respect Kosovo laws and democratic procedures.